Furrion Chill 14.5 & 15.5 unit's both use 15.4 amps?

markchengr wrote:
AEON is building small RV's with a mini-split heat pump that will run on battery power but their units are very expensive and intended for the off road boondocking crowd. Wish I could afford one. Google their website if you want to check it out.

Cost, that IS the reason mini splits are not typically offered..

Everyone wants their RV for as low of a price point as possible, very few would be willing to spend an extra $500-$1000 for a A/C unit.

Unless you are buying from a small mom and pop "one off" specialty RV builder the basic option is the standard RV roof air..

The big brands deal with volume building, everything is done on a large scale on assembly lines. Much quicker, easier and less expensive to simply lower a fully built fully functional all in one A/C unit onto a 14" x 14" hole in the roof with four bolts to hold it in place and three wires to connect and a interior cover to put in place. All told might take them 5 minutes to complete..

Time is money, mini splits take much more time to install and more wiring plus the lineset to deal with.. I also highly doubt that any bulk RV builders would be willing to pay the wages of a certified A/C tech with proper licenses to install each mini split on every unit (as a business they must follow certain rules when dealing with things like refrigerants unlike your own personal install)..

Why should they spend more money and waste production time when they can buy a fully functional A/C unit in one box without needing specialized technicians.

Heck, they typically don't even have dedicated carpenters, electricians or plumbers, who ever is trained for and assigned to a workstation does the work required for that specific assembly area as that is how assembly lines work.

AEON is building small RV's with a mini-split heat pump that will run on battery power but their units are very expensive and intended for the off road boondocking crowd. Wish I could afford one. Google their website if you want to check it out.

jodeb720 wrote:
GDE -

as you aaid, it's all about compromise. What I'm starting to wonder is when we're going to see someone install a minisplit - not the back, but mounted on the roof with two zones. that will be a game changer - because of the efficiency of the Minisplits - and dual zones - plus the quiet. Of course, most are designed for 220 for dual zones - but it'll happen eventually.

I think your insulation has made 105 degree weather on a 20 amp circuit feasible. With an R3, there's almost no way to keep the heat out and the move the remaining heat outside. I ran into that a few years ago up in the Gold Country in central CA. it was 105 and no matter how early I ran the AC, it just couldn't move the BTU's outside the 5er as quickly as it gained it through the roof (and windows). upgrading that insulation will make all the difference.

And letting the relatives pay for the Electrical circuit... genius! :)

Josh

Mini splits are offered in 120V versions but with the caveat of in lower BTU units, typically are offered in "heat pump" versions and compared to a RV roof mounted A/C more expensive.

Most likely will not see them as "factory" or "OEM" or dealer offerings either since it uses a "line set" and couplings that need connected, purged and filled. That would require the factory or dealer to have someone with a refrigerant license to handle the install and paperwork required. That adds additional cost burdens on the manufacturer and dealer in labor, licensing and paperwork that would have to be absorbed or passed on to the consumer in the form of a higher price of the unit..

You can buy DIY minisplits and install yourself without license, but those come with a preset lineset length with special connectors with valves and a precharged. Downside is on the average RV you will have to roll up the extra line or cut and silver solder then purge and refill the line (might require a refrigerant license to get the correct refrigerant needed for that unit).

Additionally unless you can find a non heat pump minisplit in 120V you are paying for a much more complex unit with electromechanical valves that tend to be the typical failure point.. Those valves tend to be problematic to source replacements and when that happens you scrap the entire unit for a new unit.

Mini splits also require additional holes to run the lines and wiring through plus a drain line for the inside wall unit.. More points to have water leaks as if RVs don't already have enough potential leaks..

As far as letting my relatives pay for the electricity goes when we stop and visit, I have many times offered to pay them, they consistently refused to take anything in exchange. They enjoy the time we visit, they appreciate the fact that we take some of our life and vacation time and money to stop and visit them. It is a long trip of 850 miles one way, they cannot afford to come visit us (where I would offer 100% free lodging, electric and food to them), they don't feel comfortable driving that distance and I can't blame them.. They give us great enjoyment and at the same time they get great enjoyment rolling out the "Southern hospitality". Because of this relationship, I am closer to them than my own brothers and sisters and those live within 5 minutes and 2.5hrs from me.

Shame on you for making it sound like I am sponging off or taking advantage of my relatives :M

GDE -

as you aaid, it's all about compromise. What I'm starting to wonder is when we're going to see someone install a minisplit - not the back, but mounted on the roof with two zones. that will be a game changer - because of the efficiency of the Minisplits - and dual zones - plus the quiet. Of course, most are designed for 220 for dual zones - but it'll happen eventually.

I think your insulation has made 105 degree weather on a 20 amp circuit feasible. With an R3, there's almost no way to keep the heat out and the move the remaining heat outside. I ran into that a few years ago up in the Gold Country in central CA. it was 105 and no matter how early I ran the AC, it just couldn't move the BTU's outside the 5er as quickly as it gained it through the roof (and windows). upgrading that insulation will make all the difference.

And letting the relatives pay for the Electrical circuit... genius! :)

Josh

jodeb720 wrote:
Thanks to all for the responses...

Mine hasn't died, yet - and I'm going on 12 years. I just think at some point I'm going to have to replace it - much like my dometic fridge (though I'll put a 12v compressor from jc refrigeration on my dometic shell when it does).

Many years ago professor95 took a 5k window AC unit and retrofitted it into a shell of a dometic unit he got from his local RV repair shop (the unit was dead).

It was quieter than his stock unit - and from what I remember, worked well for his needs. I often wonder why we've never improved the AC units utilizing off the shelf parts that are more efficient designs - and at a lower cost because the parts are off the shelf.

Enough ranting!

thanks again!

a single 5K window unit wouldn't cut it in larger RVs.

I have a 26ft TT that I gutted down to studs, removed the 1" R3 fiberglass insulation and replaced with 1" PolyIso which has a R rating of 7. I removed a 13.5K roof A/C and installed a 10K window unit in the larger open area in the rear of my trailer. Works fine for back of the trailer, not so much for kitchen and front bedroom.. So, I added a 6.5K window unit in the front bedroom.. Much better.

Compare that to my previous TT which was 20ft length, I was able to run a single 11K window air..

As far as "off the shelf" parts goes, the compressor and fan motors in RV A/C units are pretty much "off the shelf" parts. The parts that are not are the coils, they are specifically designed to fit in a very low profile case with a very specific design to allow the unit to have both non chilled and chilled air from the A/C to use the same 14" x 14" roof opening. Needless to say, their had to be a lot of compromise in performance to pull off this feat.

The compromises is what hurts RV A/C units efficiency. Proffessor95 pretty much proved that while you could retrofit a window A/C into the same box, it required a much smaller 5K unit to pull it off..

I built my A/C units into "cabinets" and they are not on the roof but rather on the sidewall and back wall.. On the outside all you see is decorative grill work and the window units do not stick out of the wall. Inside built cabinets which hide the A/C units.

The reason I went that route was the A/C unit was over 30 yrs old when I bought the TT, and while I was rehabing the TT may as well replace the old aged A/C unit.. The two window airs I used cost less than half of a RV roof air..

Best of all, so far has been able to easily keep the TT very cool even in 105F+ daytime temps in SC all on a 20A circuit at my relatives home :B

Thanks to all for the responses...

Mine hasn't died, yet - and I'm going on 12 years. I just think at some point I'm going to have to replace it - much like my dometic fridge (though I'll put a 12v compressor from jc refrigeration on my dometic shell when it does).

Many years ago professor95 took a 5k window AC unit and retrofitted it into a shell of a dometic unit he got from his local RV repair shop (the unit was dead).

It was quieter than his stock unit - and from what I remember, worked well for his needs. I often wonder why we've never improved the AC units utilizing off the shelf parts that are more efficient designs - and at a lower cost because the parts are off the shelf.

Enough ranting!

thanks again!

Fisherman wrote:
Furion is not known to have the best quality by any stretch of the imagination.

X2!

Wise words uttered many yrs ago..

"
The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.

- Benjamin Franklin "

Furion is not known to have the best quality by any stretch of the imagination.

TurnThePage wrote:
I guess research is good, but my Coleman Mach III is 18 years old and works great. I'm not worrying about it until it makes me.

I'm not sure how they did it - but somehow, they managed to make my new Mach III Plus even noisier than the Mach II was in my previous RV.

The compressor design is still pretty much the same as it was back in the 1950's - One speed, drawing enough startup current to dim all the lights in the entire RV park.

Airxcel was selling every A/C unit they could make while COVID and the RV boom was in full swing - so no incentive to improve.

TurnThePage wrote:
I guess research is good, but my Coleman Mach III is 18 years old and works great. I'm not worrying about it until it makes me.

Yep, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

As far as which unit, if the cost difference is negligible, go for the higher BTU unit. Of course, not heard good things about furrion in general.