Air conditioner replacement

ken burke wrote:

dpgllg wrote:
I need recommendations on a replacement air conditioner for my 5th wheel. It currently has a Duotherm 13,500 ducted AC on a 30amp system.

I see Duotherm and advent and Coleman units. I would like to replace with a 15,000 ducted unit with a heat strip. I realize that if I go with a heat strip modal I will have to replace the thermostat that will handle AC, Heat Strip, and Furnace.

I am looking for dependability, ease of installation, and cost. Can anyone recommend a particular brand and why? Are there modals I should stay away from?

Thanks in advance for your response.

Well, I am not sure that replacing a 13K a/c unit with a 15k unit is a good idea. You have 30 amp service versus 50 amp service. I suspect that all RVs with 15K a/c have 50 amp service. Your unit is not designed for 15K a/c. Stick w the 13K a/c.

Both this poster and J-D have no clue. The RV's are NOT designed with what size AC unit will be installed. A determination on how much power a 13.5 versus a 15k will depend on WHAT model/brand 13.5k you are comparing the 15k too. MOST 15k units pull the same amps(POWER) regardless of brand (Dometic and RVP). At 95 degrees outside ambient, MOST 15k units will pull 14.5 to 15.8 amps on HI /COOL. A 13.5k will depend on the Brand/model as RVP(Coleman) had and may still have what they called LOW Power 13.5 units that only pulled about 11 to 12 amps on Hi/Cool. Very few OEM's use those units anymore. The more common 13.5k Dometic and RVP will pull 1.8 to 2.0 amps LESS than the 15k.
As to oversizing. YES, that is a concern on a Stick house, but is NEVER a factor in a RV. Unless you put a 15k on a 20 foot trailer. The RULE has always been to have MORE potential cooling capacity than marginal or too little on a RV. So, to recap A 13.5k will pull about 12.5 to 13.8 amps. NOT a Power problem on 30 amp service. That extra 2 amps may cause you to have to monitor your usage, but if you have a 30 amp RV, you have to monitor it anyway regardless of the size of the AC unit on top. 2 amps is not that big a deal. Doug