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.

[brholt]

Looks like Airxcel doesn't make a smaller unit anymore, at least I couldn't find it on the web site. Here is some information on their Polar Cub:

Polar Cub product sheet

Comparing the maximum current draw of the existing units with this one you can see why it can run at on a 15 amp circuit or with a single Honda 2000 generator

[brholt]

egarant wrote:
Coleman Mach 8 15K
High total amps: 15.9
Low total amps : 15.3

Coleman Mach 8 13,5K
High total amps: 15.3
Low total amps: 14.7

If you go to there website you will see that the 15K draws less running amps in desert conditions than the 13,5K....that tells me that 15K isn't working as hard as the 13,5K.

Here is the comparison chart:
Coleman Mach 8

Looking at the comparison chart it would be pretty hard to run any of them on a 15 amp circuit.

[Bedlam]

You know the duty cycle will be less on the larger units than the ones that can barely keep up with the heat load - Maybe overall power savings are greater but you have to have a larger power source (generator) for those peaks. I don't remember what unit was on the toy hauler, but it was not a Coleman and the 5500w Onan had no trouble running the toaster oven, microwave and air conditioner all at once.

[JacintoKid]

brholt wrote:
When I got ordered my AF 1150 I tried to get the Polar Cub. Northwood refused, the dealer believed they order mass quantities of airconditioners to get discounts and put the same airconditioners in everything. I wanted the Polar Cub both for the smaller size (older threads here suggested it would be sufficient) and the lower profile. To get around Northwood we ordered it without the AC and the dealer installed the Polar Cub.

So far I haven't run into any temperatures it could not handle. Being smaller it may have to run "more" than the 13,500 units they normally install but cycling less means better dehumidification.

What year model AF? My 08 990 came from the factory with the Dometic 11K AC. It worked great with the Honda 2000. I thought Arctic Fox used the 11K on all truck campers. It would be a shame if they indeed went to the 13.5 as I think the 11K is perfectly sized, Brad

[egarant]

Coleman Mach 8 15K
High total amps: 15.9
Low total amps : 15.3

Coleman Mach 8 13,5K
High total amps: 15.3
Low total amps: 14.7

If you go to there website you will see that the 15K draws less running amps in desert conditions than the 13,5K....that tells me that 15K isn't working as hard as the 13,5K.

Here is the comparison chart:
Coleman Mach 8

[Bedlam]

15K BTU home window air conditioners can run off a 15A AC outlet - You just have to watch what else you are running. Leave the water heater and fridge on LPG, so the only other AC load is the DC converter in the camper. Use an over sized 30A or 50A cord for your power run to minimize wire loss. I ran my toy hauler 15K BTU unit off a dedicated 15A garage outlet and was fine watching TV or movies but had to turn off the air conditioning to use the microwave or toaster oven.

[brholt]

Just one other possible consideration on AC size in a truck camper. You can run the AC on a 15 amp circuit. We have used this when visiting friends and staying in the camper. We were parked in the driveway taking power from their outside outlet. Worked well with the Polar Cub but probably wouldn't have been possible with a 13,500 unit.

[Bedlam]

We have a privacy curtain for the cab over bed. Drawing it halfway closed will reduce the draft from your air conditioner.

[egarant]

The Eagle Cap's came with a standard size Coleman 13,500 BTU. It was properly sized, meaning it did get the inside cool. The downside, besides being so big on the roof, was low speed on the fan was still very high. No manner of maneuvering the vents could stop the cold air from hitting the bed. My tech said that the unit I had was primarily used for ducted campers, hence the higher speed fan.

What I love about the Coleman Mach 8 is that the low fan speed on all three models is very low, perfect for sleeping, and of course, it is so much of a lower profile on the top of the camper. It doesn't look like you carrying an ice chest on the top!

My original 13,500 was just keeping up with outside temps of 112+ in Lake Havasu, the 9,200 could not. I spoke to many campers that stayed for extended time in the hot campgrounds in Arizona and they all recommended getting the largest AC unit possible.

Since I am not running the AC on my Honda I am having the 15,000 Mach 8 installed today as the price difference between the 13,500 and 15,000 was only $151.

It was suggested that I have the 9,200 unit I have tested to see if it was charged properly....the cost for that test was going to be $126. I decided to cut my loses and figure that the odds were that the unit was properly charged from the factory and that money would be better spent on the larger unit.

I am planning on camping in Lake Havasu later this July or early August, so I will report back on how it performed.

[brholt]

When I got ordered my AF 1150 I tried to get the Polar Cub. Northwood refused, the dealer believed they order mass quantities of airconditioners to get discounts and put the same airconditioners in everything. I wanted the Polar Cub both for the smaller size (older threads here suggested it would be sufficient) and the lower profile. To get around Northwood we ordered it without the AC and the dealer installed the Polar Cub.

So far I haven't run into any temperatures it could not handle. Being smaller it may have to run "more" than the 13,500 units they normally install but cycling less means better dehumidification.

[Bedlam]

Triple digits this holiday weekend confirmed that Arctic Fox properly sized the air conditioner for our unit. We ran it for a day on the LPG Onan and three more on hookups with plenty of capacity to freeze us out if turned it too high.

[COboondocker]

anutami wrote:

Are you sure your unit is the 9,000btu?

I thought eagle cap was putting the 13,500btu unit..,

it didn't come with the a/c on, we had to add it aftermarket.

[dbertheau]

I installed a Polar Cub 9200 last summer. Used it a couple of times at sea level on 95+ degree days. Once temp in camper got to 70 we turned it off...works fine so far.

[anutami]

adambeck7 wrote:
we're very happy w/ our polar cub 9200 in our eagle cap 960 as well. used it up to 107 degree weather just last week and it got it down to low 70's in no time.

Are you sure your unit is the 9,000btu?

I thought eagle cap was putting the 13,500btu unit..,

(And it is a lie the 13.5 btu will run off a honda 2000 generator)

From TCM. Clicky

TCM: Eagle Cap is changing to low-profile 13,500 BTU air conditioners for 2015. Will the new air conditioners run off a portable 2,000 watt generator like a Honda EU2000i?

Greg: Yes, they will, although they will not run on a portable 2,000 watt generator at high elevations. This is another customer driven request that we have heard. The lower profile air conditioners are more money, but we can order in volume so the price comes down.

2015-Eagle-Cap-Low-Profile-AC

Above: The Coleman Mach 8, a 13,500 BTU high-efficiency low profile air conditioner

TCM: What air conditioner are you using?

Greg: It’s a Coleman Mach 8 which is a 13,500 BTU high-efficiency air conditioner. You gain more BTUs and it draws less power. Plus, our campers are well insulated, further increasing efficiency. Low profile is the bigger request, especially on the taller 1160 and 1165 models.

[COboondocker]

we're very happy w/ our polar cub 9200 in our eagle cap 960 as well. used it up to 107 degree weather just last week and it got it down to low 70's in no time.