A/C not cooling well

mini-split install on youtube

Yes an RV retrofit could have some issues. I am not really recommending it. But with a good install I believe it could out perform the standard RV set up.

dougrainer wrote:

time2roll wrote:
Doug, Mini-split has a single condenser and compressor and feeds freon into 1 to 4 registers that make cold air directly. No cold air ducts. Separate units inside for each room or area. Separate thermostats.

Mostly designed for homes where you can say just cool the upstairs bedroom at night or the office during the day. Large homes would have several units. Big improvement over a central system on one thermostat.

Bit of overkill for an RV. But if many RVs are like mine leaking BTU into the roof cavity the mini-split would definitely keep all the BTU in the living space.

This discussion probably deserves its own thread.

Where does the water(condensation) Go? Are you talking about the self contained units that you can roll around? If so, I looked at that for my work room and then realized that every 6 to 8 hours I would have to shut down and empty the water reservoir. OR install a drain tube out a wall which makes it hard to move around. Doug

mini split systems have a condensate drain or drain pump on EACH of the room units. the drain is then rounted outside, just like on a whole house AC unit.

not at all like the roll around units for a room.

time2roll wrote:
Doug, Mini-split has a single condenser and compressor and feeds freon into 1 to 4 registers that make cold air directly. No cold air ducts. Separate units inside for each room or area. Separate thermostats.

Mostly designed for homes where you can say just cool the upstairs bedroom at night or the office during the day. Large homes would have several units. Big improvement over a central system on one thermostat.

Bit of overkill for an RV. But if many RVs are like mine leaking BTU into the roof cavity the mini-split would definitely keep all the BTU in the living space.

This discussion probably deserves its own thread.

Where does the water(condensation) Go? Are you talking about the self contained units that you can roll around? If so, I looked at that for my work room and then realized that every 6 to 8 hours I would have to shut down and empty the water reservoir. OR install a drain tube out a wall which makes it hard to move around. Doug

Doug, Mini-split has a single condenser and compressor and feeds freon into 1 to 4 registers that make cold air directly. No cold air ducts. Separate units inside for each room or area. Separate thermostats.

Mostly designed for homes where you can say just cool the upstairs bedroom at night or the office during the day. Large homes would have several units. Big improvement over a central system on one thermostat.

Bit of overkill for an RV. But if many RVs are like mine leaking BTU into the roof cavity the mini-split would definitely keep all the BTU in the living space.

This discussion probably deserves its own thread.

Pamela1963 wrote:
I'm considering getting rid of the rooftop AC unit and installing a mini-split system in my 37 foot 5th wheel. The 5th wheel will be in a permanent/fixed location and will not be moved. It will be wired direct to an electric meter. I've seen many 'Pros', and the only 'Cons' are possible issues when traveling, which will not be an issue in my case. Any thoughts or suggestions???

It depends on what year your RV is. HOW will you route the COLD air with a split system? How will you make sure the Hot air return is getting all return air to the System? We are assuming you have 2 or 3 roof AC units and the cold air ducts run thru the roof. What is the problem with the roof air units that you want to change to another system? WHAT split air systems are you looking at? There are hundreds of thousands of RV'ers fulltiming out there that have no problem with RV roof top systems keeping their units cool. Doug

Pamela1963 wrote:
I'm considering getting rid of the rooftop AC unit and installing a mini-split system in my 37 foot 5th wheel. The 5th wheel will be in a permanent/fixed location and will not be moved. It will be wired direct to an electric meter. I've seen many 'Pros', and the only 'Cons' are possible issues when traveling, which will not be an issue in my case. Any thoughts or suggestions???

I have seen a few pictures and always good thoughts on those that have these units.

I'm considering getting rid of the rooftop AC unit and installing a mini-split system in my 37 foot 5th wheel. The 5th wheel will be in a permanent/fixed location and will not be moved. It will be wired direct to an electric meter. I've seen many 'Pros', and the only 'Cons' are possible issues when traveling, which will not be an issue in my case. Any thoughts or suggestions???

JohnG3 wrote:

Found out later that the duct to the bedroom did not have an end so that much of the cool air entered the "attic" then out the roof vents. Cut a pool noodle wide enough to fit snugly into the duct down stream from the bedroom AC vent. The result was much more air flow into the bedroom and a noticeable improvement on cooling throughout the trailer.

Yowza, now this is interesting. Who'd a thought something like this could occur? Not me. How did you check, mirror in the end ceiling register? Thanks for posting.

Lots of good advice here. It is also possible that your AC unit has gone bad. Our OEM Dometic 15K unit went out in 2 1/2 years. Dometic gave us a free replacement if I paid for replacement labor. That one went out in a few months of fall and next spring use. On line rumor was that Dometic had problems with China made evaporators that developed pin hole leaks--pretty suspicious that I had 2 of them. Third try was an old scratch and dent from a warehouse clearance sale that was made in Elkhart--holding up fine after 18 months.

If OP is not getting at least 15 degrees drop from intake to output, it's a losing cause. You've got AC troubles. I never have gotten quite 20 degrees drop (probably a humidity thing), but it does keep up.

Len R

Parked in Barstow, CA with our Montana 5th wheel a couple years ago in 100 degree temp. AC would run a few minutes then shut down. Have a plastic spray device that hooks onto a water hose. Put that on the roof pointed at the condenser and turned on the water. AC unit stayed running and the water helped to remove the heat from inside the trailer.

Found out later that the duct to the bedroom did not have an end so that much of the cool air entered the "attic" then out the roof vents. Cut a pool noodle wide enough to fit snugly into the duct down stream from the bedroom AC vent. The result was much more air flow into the bedroom and a noticeable improvement on cooling throughout the trailer.