Coleman Mach 8 Low Profile 9,200 BTU Review

[egarant]

I purchased the stated unit for two reasons.

One, was to be able to run it with my Honda 2000.
Second, I wanted a low a height on the unit to help lower my already tall profile. The 8" height of the Coleman is the lowest profile in the industry.

The first thing I noticed was how loud the unit was, the fan is located on the top of the unit which may or may not contribute to the sound. What I did find out is that Coleman made an upgraded fan blade that replaced the OEM and silenced the unit to acceptable levels, at least for me.

The sound inside was as quiet as you would expect and the airflow was excellent on high and on low speed suppled just enough air without blowing you out of bed at night.

I was able to run the unit in temps of 112 with no problems.

Now the bad.....my TC, and Eagle Cap is on the higher end of the spectrum when it comes to insulation, that said, with the windows shades down on a 90 degree day running all day I could only get the temp inside down to 81.

That is just the most recent example of a years worth of use that has left me with no alternative but to upgrade to the same make and model but rated at 15,000 BTU's.

I will soon have the 9,200 unit on Craigslist.

[egarant]

ISBRAM wrote:
I’m wondering if the new low noise fan cuts back on cooling efficiency; has anyone else thought the same thing?

An air-conditioner does not make cold, it transfers heat to the outside. If the fan is noticeably quieter is it also less efficient at removing heat from the A/C evaporator coil?

egarant have you tested it both ways?

Yes, I had the opportunity to use the unit with both the different fans. Same result.

When the outside temps are between 90 and 110, and that is regular occurance where we camp in the summer, the 9,200 will not handle it.

I look forward in testing the 15,000K unit, as soon as I get it installed it's first test will probably be Lake Havasu, AZ.....

[egarant]

hedge wrote:
I have the 9200 it gets mine as cold as i want it. It is noisy though, i bought the new fan but haven't installed it yet

When it gets as cold as you want it, what are your outside temps?

[DieselBurps]

anutami, lucky you! I am in SLC too only not plugged in at the moment. In the shade, all windows open and fantastic fan on high, sweating bullets here. Going to plug in in front of a friends place here soon before I roast.

Have an older coleman that came with the Northstar, waiting for my genny to arrive so I can try it out and see if it works.

[anutami]

Additional details:

I am in salt lake city right now and trying to run mine on high cool and my honda 2000 shuts right down! Generator is in the shade all other systems off.

Lo cool has been running for about 1/2 hour, cross your fingers

Temp is about 103 outside @ about 4,300ft

[ISBRAM]

I’m wondering if the new low noise fan cuts back on cooling efficiency; has anyone else thought the same thing?

An air-conditioner does not make cold, it transfers heat to the outside. If the fan is noticeably quieter is it also less efficient at removing heat from the A/C evaporator coil?

egarant have you tested it both ways?

[hedge]

I have the 9200 it gets mine as cold as i want it. It is noisy though, i bought the new fan but haven't installed it yet

[anutami]

Is there a difference running it plugged in with hook ups or with a honda genny? I have only run mine while plugged in and it gets freezing cold in the camper. We were just in redding in 100 degree temps. It was exposed in the sun and the our mach 8 was running great. It is pretty much a brand new unit so do you think it will get worse overtime?

[egarant]

trailgranny50 wrote:
Guess we just got lucky but our Coleman has done an excellent job in our old outdated camper. I run it on high when the humidity and temperatures are up there, prevents any freeze up that happens to any of them on low in those conditions, but low at night is way plenty cool for us. Haven't checked to sees how cool it actually is in there but we sleep under a Pendleton wool blanket, sheet and heavy comforter as a rule. I can't take heat and DH hates the cold so it's a real challenge keeping us both happy. I do have custom insulated window and vent coverings and we try to park in the shade as a rule for our outside comfort. Don't do solar so shade not an issue. Haven't had any problems in the sunny places tho. Our TC also isn't huge either nor any slides.

I don't know what model Coleman you have but it can't be the 9,200 BTU.

What model is it?

[JiminDenver]

I used 1 inch open cell foam to stuff our vent last week when I was testing the window shaker in our trailer when it was 95 f. The difference was instantaneous.

[bighatnohorse]

A tip to whoever buys your used unit: A simple way to gain ten degrees of cooling on those 100+ days is to place aluminum foil against the sky lights and windows.

[trailgranny50]

Guess we just got lucky but our Coleman has done an excellent job in our old outdated camper. I run it on high when the humidity and temperatures are up there, prevents any freeze up that happens to any of them on low in those conditions, but low at night is way plenty cool for us. Haven't checked to sees how cool it actually is in there but we sleep under a Pendleton wool blanket, sheet and heavy comforter as a rule. I can't take heat and DH hates the cold so it's a real challenge keeping us both happy. I do have custom insulated window and vent coverings and we try to park in the shade as a rule for our outside comfort. Don't do solar so shade not an issue. Haven't had any problems in the sunny places tho. Our TC also isn't huge either nor any slides.

[Joe417]

That's not what I would have liked to hear. We've read a few reviews in the past that harped the opposite.

We have a 11,000 btu that works better than I would like at times, but when I have to update I would have like to reduce the 13" height and get something less noisy.

I guess we will all continue to wait for the perfect AC.

[scottz]

My performance experience was similar to yours. I was told the AC would have better performance if the unit was provided shade.