Coleman Mach 8232 series to Atwood
I have two ancient (2003) Coleman A/C units which are ready for replacement. The system is run by the Intellitec 00-00591-200 controller and a no-longer-available Climate Controller also by Intellitec...
Forum Discussion
I did a bit more research today regarding Dometic vs Coleman. The company that became Dometic is a part of a larger company with home base in Sweden which started from the original gas-operated refrigerator. They purchased Atwood Mobile as a subsidiary in late 2014.
Coleman, on the other hand, is a US company - also part of a larger US company similarly structured like Dometic.
Atwood Mobile had a major business going in Australia where the Air Commander company was manufacturing the Cormorant Air Commander for larger rigs. They were making a move to use the Air Commander design to produce a superior air conditioner for the US market. They ended up purchasing Air Commander in 2013. Atwood Mobile was growing.
However, the company had feelers out for a merger, which was answered by Dometic. Dometic, IMHO, was attempting to respond to the 'threat' of the advanced A/C design being offered by Atwood in the form of their new heat pump dual-fan units as was Coleman. Dometic apparently saw an opportunity to get the advanced design of the Atwood Air Commander and to get a really big portion of the rest of the mobile products that Atwood offered, so the two merged.
There is no evidence in what I found to suggest that the Atwood Air Commander will be 'phased out', rather it appears that the Air Commander is a successful design with like 80% of the market in Australia, and the little brother is making big problems for Coleman and will be a major product for Dometic who has seen their A/C business falter in the last few years, due in part (IMHO) to problems with their heat pump designs and their low profile unit which have not been reliable. They have also mimicked the Atwood design in their smaller units. I would be very surprised if the Atwood name is taken off this Atwood design, although it appears that Dometic is already adding their name to the Cormorant Air Commander as it is now called the Dometic Cormorant Air Commander.
So my guess is that I hit the nail solidly when I suggested that companies purchase others for the reasons I mentioned and it appears to me like Dometic had both reasons in their merger with Atwood Mobile.
Coleman, on the other hand, is a US company - also part of a larger US company similarly structured like Dometic.
Atwood Mobile had a major business going in Australia where the Air Commander company was manufacturing the Cormorant Air Commander for larger rigs. They were making a move to use the Air Commander design to produce a superior air conditioner for the US market. They ended up purchasing Air Commander in 2013. Atwood Mobile was growing.
However, the company had feelers out for a merger, which was answered by Dometic. Dometic, IMHO, was attempting to respond to the 'threat' of the advanced A/C design being offered by Atwood in the form of their new heat pump dual-fan units as was Coleman. Dometic apparently saw an opportunity to get the advanced design of the Atwood Air Commander and to get a really big portion of the rest of the mobile products that Atwood offered, so the two merged.
There is no evidence in what I found to suggest that the Atwood Air Commander will be 'phased out', rather it appears that the Air Commander is a successful design with like 80% of the market in Australia, and the little brother is making big problems for Coleman and will be a major product for Dometic who has seen their A/C business falter in the last few years, due in part (IMHO) to problems with their heat pump designs and their low profile unit which have not been reliable. They have also mimicked the Atwood design in their smaller units. I would be very surprised if the Atwood name is taken off this Atwood design, although it appears that Dometic is already adding their name to the Cormorant Air Commander as it is now called the Dometic Cormorant Air Commander.
So my guess is that I hit the nail solidly when I suggested that companies purchase others for the reasons I mentioned and it appears to me like Dometic had both reasons in their merger with Atwood Mobile.
