I have an 11 year old Dometic Brisk Air 15,000btu air conditioner in my trailer. For the past several years I have had to climb up on the roof, after the trailer has been sitting unused for 30 days or longer, take the shroud off the unit, and physically turn the fan blades and lubricate them before the air conditioner will operate normally. After doing that, it will continue to operate and put out fairly cool air as long as it does not sit unused for a long period of time.I am getting up in the years and no longer feel too comfortable climbing up on the roof of my RV. I do not want to just repair the existing unit but instead want to replace it with a new one. My question is:Should I purchase a direct replacement (Dometic 15000 BTU Duo Therm Brisk 2 Air RV Air Conditioner Complete)or Dometic Commercial Grade 15000btuorDometci Penguin II High Capacityor perhaps aColeman unit.All would have to be ducted models but no heat pump. I would appreciate any recommendations you might have or even any additional units I have not seen yet but high quality. I will be doing the installation myself(with the help of my two sons and a grandson or two).Thank you! :)Barney

Have you tried "flipping" the fan by hand from inside the RV?If I were to replace the air conditioner I would upgrade to a heat pump model.

I replaced the fans in my ten year old units. But I see your point about replacing with new. I'd go with direct replacement.

Getting your old Tstat to work with a newer unit may be a problem so check compatibility first.I had much the same problem last year with one of my 12 year old Dometic heat pumps. By putting 1/4" spacers under the front fan motor mount it no longer rubbed the fan housing which was making it hard to turn. Tried oiling for several years and this would help but not for long. This solution has solved the problem for a couple of cents.Try spinning the shaft before and after raising it up. I think you will be able to tell how much longer it keeps spinning. I could not hear it dragging or hitting and the rubber motor mounts were good. The pan/base in that area looks to be slightly bent/sagging.

You will also have to replace the 'stat and control box, yours is not compatible with new ones.Jim

I would go with the Briskair II- pretty nice unit. While it should be plug and play with the old inside assembly, you can install the new Dometic digital t-stat- the only disadvantage to going with a new inside assembly is that you are stuck with the Dometic t-stat- with the original assembly, you can use a standard one (i.e., hunter, et. al.)

Replacing Air Conditioner - which one? | Good Sam Community

23 Replies

RobertRyan
Explorer
May 01, 2015
Chris Bryant wrote:
The Air Command is a great unit, but I would be cautious- Atwood was buying the company, but now that Dometic has purchased Atwood, there are questions whether the Australian government will allow the deal to go through. It may be that unit will be orphaned (it may be the same for the Atwood helium refrigerators)- or it may not. Atwood has offered air conditioners and refrigerators in the past which are orphans.
Gree is another brand of rooftop units, built by a long time manufacturer of air conditioners.

It did allow the deal to go through saying there was competition from Japanese, Chinese and U.S. Manufacturers. So the market was not a closed shop
BarneyS
Nomad
Apr 24, 2015
Chris Bryant wrote:
I just hope you all can get parts in another year...

Chris, I just hope I don't need any parts for at least a year or many more. If they are not available by then, I guess it is time for another new air conditioner. After all, it's just money! :W

I was all set to get the Brisk Air II but decided at the last minute to give this new one a try. I liked the fact that it included a heat pump along with the air conditioner. Maybe I'll be able to get rid of my portable electric heater now. It is supposed to be delivered on Monday but I won't get it installed until July 4th week.
Barney
mpierce
Explorer
Apr 23, 2015
Chris Bryant wrote:
I just hope you all can get parts in another year...

Well, I had a Penguin that I could NOT get parts for, so what is the difference?
Chris_Bryant
Explorer II
Apr 23, 2015
I just hope you all can get parts in another year...
mpierce
Explorer
Apr 23, 2015
My bedroom Penguin gave up the ghost. The board went bad. Was almost the cost of a new AC to put new board in, as no replacement available! Then, the new board needed a new stat, as would not work with old one. The new stat needed wiring replaced, as it needed more wires!

So, I put in an Atwood 15k AC. It is 100% remote controlled. No new stat, no new wiring! Plus, we can now change the temp WITHOUT having to get up at 2AM to get to the stat on the wall!

Works great.
BarneyS
Nomad
Apr 23, 2015
Just to update. I decided to take a chance and ordered the Atwood Air Command 15,000btu ducted unit today. Got it with the heat pump option. I will make a report on the install when it is done over the 4th of July week.

Thank you to all for your advice and recommendations. It came down to the Brisk Air II and the Air Command and I just liked what I saw on the Air Command website so pulled the trigger.
Barney
Chris_Bryant
Explorer II
Apr 20, 2015
The Air Command is a great unit, but I would be cautious- Atwood was buying the company, but now that Dometic has purchased Atwood, there are questions whether the Australian government will allow the deal to go through. It may be that unit will be orphaned (it may be the same for the Atwood helium refrigerators)- or it may not. Atwood has offered air conditioners and refrigerators in the past which are orphans.
Gree is another brand of rooftop units, built by a long time manufacturer of air conditioners.
SoundGuy
Explorer
Apr 20, 2015
I've got a Dometic Brisk Air II in my current Freedom Express and having previously owned Carrier AirV, Coleman Mach III Plus, and the original Dometic Brisk Air in various trailers we've owned in the past I can't say the Brisk II is any quieter or more efficient ... maybe in lab tests but out in the real world that's not been the case for us, it's still noisy as heck and we only run it when absolutely necessary. Aside from the aforementioned, a relatively new entry to the market is an Australian product now being marketed in the US by Atwood, the Air Command series, which claims to be truly more efficient, with their 16,000 BTU "equivalent" model capable of running on a 2000 watt genset such as a Honda EU2000i. Would interest me if true.
LarryJM
Explorer II
Apr 20, 2015
BarneyS wrote:
Lonny & Diane
You wouldn't happen to have or remember the part number of that kit would you? :) I do have the 5 button thermostat and it would sure be nice to keep it. I will search online also.

Larry, thank you for the help. I will be sure to check out the plenum arrangement before I order anything. I think, without having the rig here to look at, that mine discharges on both sides. I had it apart last summer cleaning the filters, fins etc. and kind of remember openings on both sides.
Barney

Glad I could at least provide something to chew on. I'm light years shy of being any sort of even a self proclaimed expert in this area and would have to bow to someone like Chris who has seen multiple installs and has more hands on experience than I could even dream about. With that said I believe while a manufacturer might specify certain things and ways to install a system and it's associated duct work, making an A/C system play nice together with a specific duct system can be more of an art than something you get out of some sort of install cook book.

Good luck with your project.

Larry
Chris_Bryant
Explorer II
Apr 20, 2015
If your current model has a separate control box that the upper unit plus in to (more common than not), it will work fine with a new unit. Some models have the electronics installed in the unit itself- that will take a bit more work.
The BA II has a center discharge, like the Penguine, and the old BA has a side discharge. About the only time this make a difference is in Newmar products, which have ducted return. Standard installs are no problem.

I really like the BA II- they are lighter, have better air flow, and are quieter. That said- I like Coleman/RVP just as well- I just don't like their distributors, which has no real consequence to the end user (if someone comes in and wants or needs a Coleman, I have them buy it from PPL and have it shipped to me, and I install it for them).