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.

[d_smith84]

We have a eaglecap 950 with this unit and it will cool our camper down to 73 when it's 102 outside. Single glazed windows with nothing covering them. Works well with the Honda 2000, just runs on high and sucks down the gas but we are really happy with the coleman.

[77charger]

For me i would settle for no less than a 13.5 on my lance 185.I have a 13.5 and use my camper at the colorado river where it can get 115 easily in summer when we go.Mine cools down just fine it will bring it to 80 inside when its 108 outside.

If it werent for kids or me going in out it may do better but its feels cooler inside cause the vents are blowing cold air in a small space too.I can also arrive when its 100 degrees turn on the a/c and be comfy within a few minutes.

My toyhauler also has a 13.5 and out there it aint enough unless you do the foam in vents,foil foam stuff on windows and let it cool off overnight or in shade where it can bring it too 66 degrees overnight and rise to 85 in 111 degree day but neeed to limit in out of trailer too.

[wvabeer]

I have one on my Camplite 6.8 and it works fine. It was noisy outside so I replaced the condenser fan blade with the 3 blade it is noticeably quieter, not as quiet as others but more tolerable. It runs fine on my 2000w Yamaha but I have to turn off the energy saver on the generator for it to cycle normally.

[Buzzcut1]

Seriously the main factor in a TC is insulation. The windows, skylight and hekki hatch provide next to none, same goes for the blinds. It was 112 here yesterday, I had the winter foam insulation in place over all the hatches and windows just like I do mid winter camping and the Polar Cub 9200 had the Lance 1055 at 71. I had to turn it down later at night so that it didn't get too cold to sleep. Morning outside low was 75*.

[trailgranny50]

Ours works fine for us, 72-78 on super hot days in old not so well insulated camper but with added vent and window insulating coverings. Honda 2000 runs it fine, but not much else in the camper. Not surprised as we've added up all the draws against the input. Trying to find set up to facilitate second 2000 to parallel. Not cheap or easy but increase in effectiveness worth it.

[trailgranny50]

Ours works fine for us, 72-78 on super hot days in old not so wok insulated camper but with added vent and window insulating coverings. Honda 2000 runs it fine, but not much else in the camper. Not surprised as we've added up all the draws against the input. Trying to find set up to facilitate second 2000 to parallel. Nor cheap or easy but increase effectiveness.

[JiminDenver]

When I ran the 5000 BTU window A/C test running off of the 750w solar system, it started out with the 25 ft trailer already heat loaded from sitting in the lot closed up. It was already above 80 inside and out when we started and climbed to 96F. Even with everything working against it, the A/C kept the temp at 81-82f all day when the trailer would have been well over 100f just sitting in the sun like that. The next day it was 96f inside when it was only 84f outside.

Believe me, our entry lever, 3 season trailer is NOT well insulated.

Controlling the heat coming in was a biggy. I could feel the heat radiating out of the vents until I stuffed them with the foam insert. The window on the door has no curtain so covering it also helped. The same 1/2 inch foam covers I am making for the windows when it gets cold out will be a big help when it is hot too.

Last thing is it would have been a lot different had we been camping, had the trailer opened up and cooled down before the heat hit and been able to open the vents to pull the heat off of the ceiling. Next time I am on the roof I am pulling the screens out of the max airs, they is too restrictive and the heat build up in them terrible. The biggest thing that will help is not mounting the unit in the bunk area in the back of the trailer where the air flow was restricted.

[DWeikert]

Jfet wrote:

Northstar is pretty well insulated, yes?

We were able to bring the inside temp down to 79 with outside temps of 104 using a 6k BTU window unit in our custom built camper with 2 inch thick polyiso insulation in the walls plus double pane windows. No slides though.

If the Northstar has similar insulation, then 5k BTU should perform fairly similar...maybe getting you 80 to 84 inside when the outside goes over 100F.

Yes, it's well insulated. I also have the insulated windows and have camped very comfortably down to 19*F. It's also a small camper, 7' wide, E/W cabover and no slides.

[Jfet]

DWeikert wrote:

egarant wrote:

The tech's two cents....13 and15K BTU are the industry standards, have not heard good reports from anything less than that.

Odds are the tech is primarily familiar with AC for a Class A or 5th wheel where a pair of 13k units are needed.

Please do keep us informed. I'm currently contemplating a custom install of a 5k BTU window unit on my Northstar. If 9200 BTU is too small for you...

Northstar is pretty well insulated, yes?

We were able to bring the inside temp down to 79 with outside temps of 104 using a 6k BTU window unit in our custom built camper with 2 inch thick polyiso insulation in the walls plus double pane windows. No slides though.

If the Northstar has similar insulation, then 5k BTU should perform fairly similar...maybe getting you 80 to 84 inside when the outside goes over 100F.

[DWeikert]

egarant wrote:

The tech's two cents....13 and15K BTU are the industry standards, have not heard good reports from anything less than that.

Odds are the tech is primarily familiar with AC for a Class A or 5th wheel where a pair of 13k units are needed.

Please do keep us informed. I'm currently contemplating a custom install of a 5k BTU window unit on my Northstar. If 9200 BTU is too small for you...

[dakonthemountai]

Egarant, also, have you put a thermometer at the discharge of the AC to see what temp air is being produced? That is also an indicator of a potentially faulty AC unit. Just another thought.

Good luck with this. Frustrating!

Dak

[egarant]

DWeikert wrote:

egarant wrote:

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.

Out of curiosity, have you had unit checked? Even though it's new doesn't mean there isn't a refrigerant leak or maybe it didn't get the appropriate charge at the factory.

Just a thought...

I think I will do that.

I called my local RV shop, they will charge $126 to check it out. The refrigerant is sealed within the unit, it cannot be charged or measured, what they do is see how much amperage the compressor is drawing to determine if the unit is work to specifications.

The tech's two cents....13 and15K BTU are the industry standards, have not heard good reports from anything less than that.

[DWeikert]

egarant wrote:

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.

Out of curiosity, have you had unit checked? Even though it's new doesn't mean there isn't a refrigerant leak or maybe it didn't get the appropriate charge at the factory.

Just a thought...

[jpmiller]

Hi, thought I would opine. We have a 2014 Wolfcreek 850 with the mach 8 9200. Just had the unit on with 100deg weather and it dropped down to 75-78 in the camper. Absolutely love the unit. I have ran it on a 2000w genny as well.

[egarant]

anutami wrote:
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?

As long as the unit is getting the same amount of amps, the cooling won't make any difference. It's when you gain altitude and the generator starts to struggle, not putting out the same power levels is when you start to have difficulty even running your air conditioner. You will never have that problem of course when plugged into shore power.

I've never heard of air conditioners running worse over time in the way that you are describing....