Houghton Retrofit Process & Questions

[rideadeuce]

Interesting take on this topic above. Noise while camping is not what I want. The Dometic AC and Fridge did work fairly well (AC better than the 3-way fridge) and parts were easily sourced but after 6 years of use I have upgraded both and have been using the Atmos and Nova Kool for almost a year. And I will say, there is no comparison in how well they work and how well the Dometic equipment worked.

Dometic fridge was very finicky. Had to be level. Had to load it days in advance. Would not stay cool if load more than 75% capacity. Did not cool well off of battery 12v power and used a lot more energy to do it. Constantly had to monitor in cab to make sure steaks weren’t getting ruined. Temps were constantly above 40 degrees while traveling.

Nova Kool - let’s just say I have quit monitoring the temps in cab. I have not had to adjust temps much, mostly to turn down because it got too cold.

Dometic AC was loud and used a ton of energy. The Atmos can run twice as long on our battery bank (AC or Heat) set at 70 and you can have a conversation while getting ready for bed. No comparison, It would suck to have to go back. 

When camping the less I have to worry about something working properly the better. If I don’t hear it, even better!

Edited Friday at 04:13 PM by rideadeuce

[Galileo]

5 hours ago, rideadeuce said:

Interesting take on this topic above. Noise while camping is not what I want. The Dometic AC and Fridge did work fairly well (AC better than the 3-way fridge) and parts were easily sourced but after 6 years of use I have upgraded both and have been using the Atmos and Nova Kool for almost a year. And I will say, there is no comparison in how well they work and how well the Dometic equipment worked.

Dometic fridge was very finicky. Had to be level. Had to load it days in advance. Would not stay cool if load more than 75% capacity. Did not cool well off of battery 12v power and used a lot more energy to do it. Constantly had to monitor in cab to make sure steaks weren’t getting ruined. Temps were constantly above 40 degrees while traveling.

Nova Kool - let’s just say I have quit monitoring the temps in cab. I have not had to adjust temps much, mostly to turn down because it got too cold.

Dometic AC was loud and used a ton of energy. The Atmos can run twice as long on our battery bank (AC or Heat) set at 70 and you can have a conversation while getting ready for bed. No comparison, It would suck to have to go back. 

When camping the less I have to worry about something working properly the better. If I don’t hear it, even better!

I agree with you on steroids regarding the original Dometic “Penguin” A/C as far as noise and just plain silly operation. (On “auto” it’s positively schizophrenic with fan turning on and off.)

As for the fridge - we have the “Norcold” - which aside from the fatally weak freezer door hinges - is a marvelous piece of equipment. We run it primarily in A/C, propane while on the road. Nothing ever thaws. It makes ice fast and is one of the better RV fridges I’ve known. The defrost drip tray is a joke. Some engineer needs to be spanked for that design. I think I’ll just pull it out and mop up the bottom of the fridge every couple of days.

[jd1923]

7 hours ago, rideadeuce said:

Dometic fridge was very finicky. Had to be level. Had to load it days in advance. Would not stay cool if load more than 75% capacity. Did not cool well off of battery 12v power and used a lot more energy to do it. Constantly had to monitor in cab to make sure steaks weren’t getting ruined. Temps were constantly above 40 degrees while traveling.

Thankful we've not had these issues with our Dometic and do not want a replacement. We're not going to a compressor fridge until somebody designs one with a decent-sized freezer. Our freezer is full width of the unit, holds two short trays of ice front-to-back in one corner, will fit 2 steaks, 2 large chops, an lb of bacon, even a qt of ice cream which is keeps cold for days and more stuff at times! Why do the new fridges have freezers with about 40% of this capacity? I also do not want 6 SF of our truck bed taken up with an external fridge/freezer. We use that for a water tank for boondocking.

We start our fridge the day before leaving. Most food should be put in cold or frozen but we make a new tray of large ice cubes overnight NP. Least two weeks out our Ruuvi most often read 1F in the freezer and 34F in the fridge. Full length drip tray works as it should, seeing the drip-drip-drip under the hull. We have the Beech Lane external fan but did not need it on these trips which got to a dry 80F in the afternoons and always below 50F overnight. We set ours on #4 of the 5 cold settings. Chris is a great cook too and we fill the fridge to capacity at each grocery stop on the road.

It runs using 8AH on 12VDC on average, a little more when very hot out. We do not use LP while driving but have found that the Dometic runs best, stays coldest on LP. We would miss AC/DC/LP alternatives. Usually our rooftop solar runs the fridge with near zero net loss of battery SOC. All is good, knock on wood we get another 10 years! 🤣

Now that Dometic Penguin II A/C, loud as a 2-stroke chainsaw, is an awful piece of JUNK! Blows too loud even on low fan. It cools slowly and is an inefficient power drain! We have NEVER run it overnight since I could not sleep and TG out west it cools down at night. You can't even run it while watching TV except if using noise-cancelling headphones for your audio connection. We've found the interior of the Oliver to be extremely quiet with windows closed alone, nothing running inside. I like quiet, and I'm not somebody that believes in producing "white noise."

We're making a long trip to Minnesota and points between during June (don't fool yourself thinking the northern Midwest is always cool during the summer). Sure, cooler than most summer days in the SE, NOLA or Texas, but for example one Memorial Day holiday in Chicago it was a high of 62F on the Thursday before and 98F and HUMID all day on Saturday!

We're hoping to have the Atmos A/C installed prior to this trip. Whisper quiet per what @Ronbrink showed us at the Texas Rally and very efficient. Can't wait to see how long we can run it using 50% SOC of our 600AH LiFePO4! I figure almost twice as long as the Dometic which is not even practical on inverted AC power.

Edited Friday at 05:56 PM by jd1923

[Galileo]

24 minutes ago, jd1923 said:

Now that Dometic Penguin II A/C, loud as a 2-stroke chainsaw, is an awful piece of JUNK! Blows too loud even on low fan.

Pretty sure I’ve measured the Dometic Penguin A/C at 70+ dB on LOW fan.

To watch television, you have to have it at 90+ volume. Not good for one’s ears.

For comparison, Honda 2200EUi generator is 58 Db….

Anyway, I think this horse is -thoroughly- dead.

”Dis-MOUNT!”

(oh, and I think my Stihl MS362C-M is quieter FYI 😋 )

[jd1923]

1 hour ago, Galileo said:

(oh, and I think my Stihl MS362C-M is quieter FYI 😋 )

Bought my Stihl 026 winter of 1995 (wow, now the 30th anniversary)!
It SCREAMS LOUD, still working like new. Tuned it up last year and installed a new carb and fuel lines, filters, etc. I always wear ear protection along with other safety apparel. Never tried watching TV while clearing pine and scrub oak from the acreage! 🤣

[Galileo]

Just now, jd1923 said:

Bought my Stihl 026 winter of 1995 (wow, now the 30th anniversary)!
It SCREAMS LOUD, still working like new. Tuned it up last year and installed a new carb and fuel lines, filters, etc. I always wear ear protection along with other safety apparel. Never tried watching TV while clearing pine and scrub oak from the acreage! 🤣

Stihl 026 - the old numbering system.

I wasn’t using chain saws back then. Bought the farm in 2008. (And sold it in 2021). My saws were all the “MS” numbering. The MS362C-M was my “big” saw. A pair of MS250’s and an older MS180CB were the everyday saws. 

Sure, when you open them up they scream. At idle, they purr. (That’s when the Dometic A/C would be louder!)