Replacing ducted ac with nonducted unit.
Have any of you done this? I'm not a fan of my ducted ac. It doesn't seem as efficient and now that one of my unit has faild it seems like a logical time to make the change. Will a nonducted unit b...
Forum Discussion
rgatijnet1 wrote:
It seems to be that most ducted AC units are quickly installed at the factory without the benefit of the installer taking his time to actually seal all duct leaks at the unit.
My AC unit was marginal until I removed the cover and, using AC duct seal, was able to actually seal the ducts so that the cool air actually went where it was supposed to go. After doing that, I am glad that I have the ducted AC system and the airflow is sufficient now to distribute the cool air throughout the coach.
I agree that you might have had a bunch of cold air escaping the cold air duct and just returning to the A/C inlet, causing several problems including ice on the evaporator.
I also had to remove the interior cover of my buddy's Bounder and cut away some excess styrofoam that was in the fresh air duct, blocking proper air flow. I just used a kitchen knife, and cut away a section about 2" thick and 2" wide that seemed to be blocking air flow, and it improved air to the rear vents.
To the OP, Did you consider that your original A/C has not been working correctly for some time? It might be slightly low on freon for a long time, and therefore giving reduced capacity all that time. I have found that ducted A/C is much more quiet, and distributes the air all over the RV, not just into the area below the A/C.
You can buy a replacement interior cover for the ducted A/C that opens a vent directly below the air filter, and blasts cold air into the RV. This might be a great advance to your ducted A/C unit.
Or if you live in a very hot area, and don't typically use 30 amp services with marginal voltage (or already have a voltage booster to get over the low voltage problem) you can get a 15,000 Btu ducted A/C with about 10% more capacity than the typical 13,500 Btu model. This combined with perhaps a marginal A/C unit that you are replacing might give you 30% more capacity than your non-functional unit had.
I would stay with ducted A/C just because they are so much more quiet!
Fred.
