Air conditioner struggling

[samhain7]

I don't know what the specs are on my ac unit. But it is around 31 Celsius full sun.. We are in a non shade site. Have the temp set to 71 and we left for the day. Just got back and it is still running and the temp in the trailer is 77.
We are hooked to the 30 amp plug. Is this normal?

[CavemanCharlie]

Oh God , here we go again. Get a better AC. Mine will put out 45f to 50f degree air on a 90f degree day. Now, the next thing that happens is that someone tells you that's impossible and it will freeze up. No, it doesn't. True, I have a older AC and it's still using the old style refrigerant. But, someone on here said that they had a AC called Penguin that worked as good as mine. I have heard, but do not know, that the Atwood AC's are good too.

The Coleman Mach's are junk. My brother has one. They are also the company telling everybody that you can only drop your air by 20 degrees. That is just something they made up to cover there junk AC units.

[noplace2]

We solve this problem readily.

We have a 15K unit that gets used every 6 weeks for 30 minutes on advice of the folks who installed it and backup counsel elsewhere.

Unless we experience inside temps above 90F, it never goes on. Can't remember the last time we used it because we were too hot. If it threatens those temps we simply move to higher ground :B At 71F we would be in jammies and blankets. Seriously!

[TXiceman]

SoundGuy wrote:

samhain7 wrote:
I don't know what the specs are on my ac unit. But it is around 31 Celsius full sun..

Golden_HVAC wrote:
31C is about 80F, and the inside should be much cooler.

:h Not sure how you came up with that but 31 degree Celsius = 87.8 degree Fahrenheit.

http://www.celsius.co.uk/converter/

Pretty close to 87.8 degF. Need a new calculator.

In a typical 3 season trailer in full sun and almost 88 degF outside, a 13,500 BTUH can be struggling to keep it cool.

Ken

[down_home]

SoundGuy wrote:

down home wrote:
If you have the unit set on low and the air smells feels damp it is frozen up. You will have to cut it off and just run the fan until it thaws. You most likely have a 13,000btu unit. You could change it to a 15,000. Some newer units perform better than what we are used to in the 13,000 and the 15,000units.

I've never seen nor heard of a 13K BTU roof mounted A/C unit and the OP's trailer being a conventional 30' travel trailer almost certainly has a 13.5K BTU unit. Being a 2015 model that A/C unit will almost certainly be either the latest version of Coleman or DuoTherm Brisk II with as much efficiency as one can expect from these units. Could it have frozen up? ... sure it could, just as any of these units could freeze up, but 31 Celcius is hardly an extreme condition, not anything like 110F in Texas during the summer, so though not impossible it's unlikely this is the OP's problem.

hate to tell you this but you don't have enough cooling capacity.

In a 30' unit that's certainly possible if it's a 13.5K BTU unit, especially if it's ducted (which it almost certainly is) but the OP hasn't provided any information at all as to exactly which unit he has nor it's specifications so any speculation at this point is just that - speculation.

Easily fixed but not inexpensive at a good Dealer and install another unit and maybe upgrading to 50 amp.

Sure, upgrading a 13.5K BTU unit to a 15K BTU unit can easily be done, though costly, but upgrading any rig wired with 30 amp main service to 50 amp main service just isn't practical at all, not to mention the cost as it would mean major changes to the coach's electrical system. Remember, 50 amp service is not 50 amps across a single leg as 30 amp service is 30 amps across one leg, it's 50 amps each across two legs, or a total of 100 amp service ... entirely different. Aside from that, the OP is here in Ontario and from what I understand frequently camps in the Ontario provincial park system where 50 amp service is quite rare in most parks, in which case there would be little advantage anyway in upgrading any coach wired with 30 amp service to 50 amp service - just makes no sense at all.

Being from Toronto I would think you have a cold weather package which should help with cooling as well as heating but apparently not that much

Good grief, I see the old image of Canadians living in igloos still prevails. :S There's no more reason for any recreational vehicle sold or used here to be equipped with a cold weather package than anywhere else in N America. The rigs we buy are the same as those sold stateside, the only differences being any units imported into Canada must meet Canadian standards in terms of the electrical and gas systems.

Bottom line - this is a 2015 30' trailer with the latest version of what is likely a 13.5K BTU A/C which is doing it's darndest to cool this rig which is sitting in full sun on the hottest weekend we've had so far this year here in S Ontario. If the OP is camped at an Ontario provincial park where the run to the campsite power post may be quite long he may be experiencing a significant voltage drop which in turn will prevent his A/C unit from performing to maximum efficiency. My bet is just what I said earlier - under these conditions he's probably expecting too much from his A/C unit.

You got me 13k should have been 13.5k. I didn't see the age of his unit. The few I have talked with from Canada about their units did have a cold weather package. Doesn't matter.
Changing to a 15k unit isn't cheap but in the long run cheaper than a new camper with two units.
Installing a second unit shouldn't cost much more than changing out to a 15000k unit.
As far as going to fifty. All the equipment inside sees one twenty voltstwenty amp except washer dryer and some water heaters and ACs.
Installing a 50 amp system isn't cheap, for the equipment but you wire
one ac to one side and one to the other or divide one end or side of the camper to each leg.
Additionally some use both ACs on a 30 amp just not with the washer dryer and microwave/ convection unit too.
Ours is fifty but we have connected as many have to 30 amp at campgrounds. Both ACs will run fine. they don't start together though. If we turn on the micro wave/convection it will cut out the rear AC unit. His 30 amp may have load sheading feature. It would make sense since from one campground to another can find widely variable power supply.
I don't, of course have any figures on the 50 amp inverter,charger/converter cost or a new breaker panel or additional beaker panel. Probably a couple thousand dollars, including a fifty amp cord.
It isn't rocket science.
Seems I read, of at least, a couple Folks here, somewhere, doing this stuff and they are a lot, more intelligent, than me, on the subject.
I wasn't trying to be condescending and know it all. I apologize if I came across that way.
The washer dryer has to run on fifty it uses that much power.

[3oaks]

SoundGuy, thanks for the detailed explanation. Now I understand more fully. 🙂

[SoundGuy]

3oaks wrote:
"Canadian standards in terms of the electrical and gas systems."

I always wondered what was meant by "Canadian standards" and what the difference was. Are they more stringent or laxer than here in the U.S.? :@

Perhaps a bit more stringent in some regards but it's just in the details, otherwise US and Canadian recreational vehicles are very similar. For example, I recall that at the time we owned our Santa Fe popup the gas line feed to the inside stove had to have a valve in the line feeding the stove that US models did not require. These standards are periodically updated and US manufacturers intending to export their product into Canada will often designate a certain production run for this market, ensuring that all code requirements in this country are met. Canadian standards are also the reason that some gas and electrical adapters readily available in the US aren't sold here in Canada, as evidenced in distributors' catalogues as "Not for sale in Canada". Our electrical codes are similar as well but an example of where we differ is where it's unlikely one would ever come across 20 amp campsite service which is so common in many US campgrounds. Not necessarily better or worse, just a bit different. 😉

[3oaks]

"Canadian standards in terms of the electrical and gas systems."

I always wondered what was meant by "Canadian standards" and what the difference was. Are they more stringent or laxer than here in the U.S.? :@

[SoundGuy]

down home wrote:
If you have the unit set on low and the air smells feels damp it is frozen up. You will have to cut it off and just run the fan until it thaws. You most likely have a 13,000btu unit. You could change it to a 15,000. Some newer units perform better than what we are used to in the 13,000 and the 15,000units.

I've never seen nor heard of a 13K BTU roof mounted A/C unit and the OP's trailer being a conventional 30' travel trailer almost certainly has a 13.5K BTU unit. Being a 2015 model that A/C unit will almost certainly be either the latest version of Coleman or DuoTherm Brisk II with as much efficiency as one can expect from these units. Could it have frozen up? ... sure it could, just as any of these units could freeze up, but 31 Celcius is hardly an extreme condition, not anything like 110F in Texas during the summer, so though not impossible it's unlikely this is the OP's problem.

hate to tell you this but you don't have enough cooling capacity.

In a 30' unit that's certainly possible if it's a 13.5K BTU unit, especially if it's ducted (which it almost certainly is) but the OP hasn't provided any information at all as to exactly which unit he has nor it's specifications so any speculation at this point is just that - speculation.

Easily fixed but not inexpensive at a good Dealer and install another unit and maybe upgrading to 50 amp.

Sure, upgrading a 13.5K BTU unit to a 15K BTU unit can easily be done, though costly, but upgrading any rig wired with 30 amp main service to 50 amp main service just isn't practical at all, not to mention the cost as it would mean major changes to the coach's electrical system. Remember, 50 amp service is not 50 amps across a single leg as 30 amp service is 30 amps across one leg, it's 50 amps each across two legs, or a total of 100 amp service ... entirely different. Aside from that, the OP is here in Ontario and from what I understand frequently camps in the Ontario provincial park system where 50 amp service is quite rare in most parks, in which case there would be little advantage anyway in upgrading any coach wired with 30 amp service to 50 amp service - just makes no sense at all.

Being from Toronto I would think you have a cold weather package which should help with cooling as well as heating but apparently not that much

Good grief, I see the old image of Canadians living in igloos still prevails. :S There's no more reason for any recreational vehicle sold or used here to be equipped with a cold weather package than anywhere else in N America. The rigs we buy are the same as those sold stateside, the only differences being any units imported into Canada must meet Canadian standards in terms of the electrical and gas systems.

Bottom line - this is a 2015 30' trailer with the latest version of what is likely a 13.5K BTU A/C which is doing it's darndest to cool this rig which is sitting in full sun on the hottest weekend we've had so far this year here in S Ontario. If the OP is camped at an Ontario provincial park where the run to the campsite power post may be quite long he may be experiencing a significant voltage drop which in turn will prevent his A/C unit from performing to maximum efficiency. My bet is just what I said earlier - under these conditions he's probably expecting too much from his A/C unit.

[SoundGuy]

rondeb wrote:
put some aluminum reflective material on your roof. Weight it down so it won't blow off. Will drop your temp inside another 20 degrees. Sounds weird but it works. Especially if you are going to be sitting somewhere for a while in high temps.

Selecting a campsite that will keep the trailer shaded, especially during the hottest part of the day, will certainly reduce the heat load any A/C system has to deal with but the reality is that's just not possible, you often just get what you get - sometimes a well shaded site, sometimes not so much, sometimes not at all. Obviously if one has a trailer that is permanently parked in direct sun, or even seasonly located in one spot with little shade, then implementing some sort of additional measures to protect the rig from the sun would be worthwhile but for someone just transient camping for a few days or a week, etc this is hardly a practical solution. :S

[rondeb]

put some aluminum reflective material on your roof. Weight it down so it won't blow off. Will drop your temp inside another 20 degrees. Sounds weird but it works. Especially if you are going to be sitting somewhere for a while in high temps.

[down_home]

samhain7 wrote:
I'm stuck here! 50% say nothing wrong. 50% say something wrong,


Why can't it ever be easy. Lol

Btw. It's night now. Almost the same temp but the unit is now cooling

75 and counting

If you have the unit set on low and the air smells feels damp it is frozen up. You will have to cut it off and just run the fan until it thaws. You most likely have a 13,000btu unit. You could change it to a 15,000. Some newer units perform better than what we are used to in the 13,000 and the 15,000units.
hate to tell you this but you don't have enough cooling capacity. Easily fixed but not inexpensive at a good Dealer and install another unit and maybe upgrading to 50 amp.
Being from Toronto I would think you have a cold weather package which should help with cooling as well as heating but apparently not that much

[Ramair]

If you are in direct sunlight then the trailer is going to get hot. Running on 30 amp service and only having 1 AC will not be able to keep the inside cool.

[SoundGuy]

kaydeejay wrote:
... but if the OP is only getting down to 77, then he still has issues/

Maybe, maybe not. The OP has provided so little information it would be impossible to analyze at a distance just why he's not getting the cooling he's expecting. Right now we're experiencing the hottest weather we've had this year here in S Ontario where the OP is located and no doubt everyone camping this weekend that has a rig with A/C is running it full tilt. If we assume his camper is currently sitting in an Ontario provincial park campground the run to the campsite power post could be quite long, easily 100' or more not being uncommon so voltage drop could be significant ... but he hasn't provided this information. Neither has he said anything about what the source voltage actually is, both unloaded and loaded, nor has he given any indication as to what else might be running in the trailer as well as the A/C. He hasn't said exactly when the A/C was initially turned on so we therefore don't know what heat load it may initially have had to deal with, other than to say the trailer was sitting in full sun at the time. A trailer this size, with a 29' box, most likely has a ducted A/C system which can easily not distribute cold air evenly throughout the rig as one would like, often the nature of the beast which can be quite difficult for any dealer to improve upon. None of this is to say he doesn't have an issue with his A/C but this is a 2015 trailer so statistically it's not likely ... rather, it's quite possible the A/C is performing as well as it can under the circumstances and he's just expecting too much from it.

[samhain7]

I'm stuck here! 50% say nothing wrong. 50% say something wrong,


Why can't it ever be easy. Lol

Btw. It's night now. Almost the same temp but the unit is now cooling

75 and counting