Why shouldn't I go this route? (AC Roof Delete)

[adamis]

In my previous post I discussed a basic plan of upgrades I have been contemplating for my camper. One of those included removing the roof top AC unit altogether and going with a Truma Air Combo Heater / AC unit like this.

Edit: Just found this as the Truma Air is only for European markets. This looks to be for US markets.

It is a AC / Heater unit designed to fit under a bed or in my case the dinette seating in place of the current furnace. Granted, this is for the European market so it is setup for 240v but that is fust a flip of a switch on an inverter so not a big deal in my opinion.

I recently connected with a boat repair shop and we discussed some future projects on the exterior of the camper to include removing the rear awning (never used and weathered anyway). Removing an older rigid solar panel on the roof held on by screws and sealing screw holes. Removing radio antenna from roof. Removing AC unit from roof and deleting opening entirely and finally, possibly removing the railing on the rear of the roof camper and sealing all of those holes.

All of this is in preparation of resealing the entire roof and then laying down as much solar as we can. 400w should be easy but 600w or more are probably also doable using custom solar panels (flexible time held down with eternabond tape). The goal in this is to eliminate as many screw holes and openings on the roof and open up as much space as possible for solar.

Getting back to the AC unit. I've been contemplating going with this Truma Air Saphire unit that can be installed under the dinette where the current furnace is. I can reuse all of the ducting as well making installation a breeze.

These are all pretty big upgrades but the end goal is to have a sealed roof with as little penetrations as necessary and a new AC unit that can be run off of the solar and batteries.

Does anyone have any experience with something similar? Or, does anyone know of something similar to the Truma Air that is an alternative?

[valhalla360]

So 600w of panels will likely produce something around 2400w-hr per day.

The unit pulls about 1000w when running, so that gets you around 2.4hr of air/con per day. Slightly more in heating mode. This all assumes a 100% solar/battery system.

With this setup, you can say you have air/con but really other than cooling off during a quick lunch stop, it's not going to work.

[time2roll]

adamis wrote:
Those are all home based units. The idea is to replace two large bulky items with one singular smaller bulky item that does two things. I don't need to run it forever on battery power, just an hour of runtime would be enough to do what I need to do. Anything else I could plug into shorepower. While it would be great to have something super efficient, I'm trying to eliminate bulk, not add to it.

Nothing wrong with that.

[adamis]

time2roll wrote:
9k LG 17 SEER

9K MrCool 19SEER

Compared to 8.5 will produce same BTU with half the power.

38 SEER for a few $$$ more

For some reason the high SEER numbers are with 230v

Those are all home based units. The idea is to replace two large bulky items with one singular smaller bulky item that does two things. I don't need to run it forever on battery power, just an hour of runtime would be enough to do what I need to do. Anything else I could plug into shorepower. While it would be great to have something super efficient, I'm trying to eliminate bulk, not add to it.

[adamis]

theoldwizard1 wrote:

adamis wrote:
It is a AC / Heater unit designed to fit under a bed or in my case the dinette seating in place of the current furnace. Granted, this is for the European market so it is setup for 240v but that is fust a flip of a switch on an inverter so not a big deal in my opinion.

I have never seen an inverter that can change from 120VAC/60Hz to 230VAC/50Hz with a flip of the switch.

I am all for heat pumps, but I would go with a known "name brand" that you can get service for before going with this one.

I'm currently looking at a different unit built for the US so power isn't an issue but to answer your question, I just need an inverter built for the European market and I don't think that would be too difficult to come by.

[time2roll]

9k LG 17 SEER

9K MrCool 19SEER

Compared to 8.5 will produce same BTU with half the power.

38 SEER for a few $$$ more

For some reason the high SEER numbers are with 230v

[theoldwizard1]

time2roll wrote:
If planning to run on solar-battery.... I would be looking at a 240v mini-split heat pump with 2x or 3x the SEER.

Small mini-splits run on 120VAC.

[theoldwizard1]

adamis wrote:
It is a AC / Heater unit designed to fit under a bed or in my case the dinette seating in place of the current furnace. Granted, this is for the European market so it is setup for 240v but that is fust a flip of a switch on an inverter so not a big deal in my opinion.

I have never seen an inverter that can change from 120VAC/60Hz to 230VAC/50Hz with a flip of the switch.

I am all for heat pumps, but I would go with a known "name brand" that you can get service for before going with this one.

[wanderingaimles]

A small mini split can be had for less than $900 with a SEER that is double the unit your looking at. one exampleAnd that higher SEER of 19 is not the limit, higher SEER units are out there, albeit at higher cost.

[time2roll]

If planning to run on solar-battery.... I would be looking at a 240v mini-split heat pump with 2x or 3x the SEER.

Will need that under seat space for the monster LFP battery, solar controller and inverter.

[greenno]

I think your original unit you mentioned was 50hz. Not sure if that would be an issue.
Using the 240v model you would need a 12v/240v inverter as a stand alone power supply as I think most truck camper systems are 120v 1ph.

Looking at the specs for your revised unit it's 120v 60hz which is good in the sense that's it's compatible with camper's existing electrical system.

You missed listing the most important specs above.
Cooling draws 8.8a and heating draws 7.2a.
Your going to need a ton of battery's to power those devices yeah?

I would think an electric heater would be my last choice for heating.

Not sure why your getting rid of your rooftop unit unless it doesn't work or ?

Good luck on whichever way you go.

[adamis]

Grit dog wrote:
Not knowing what it's power draw is, can't comment on that. But cost, apparent lack of local service/support (mostly a european item, correct?) and does it have enough cooling power (for lack of a better word) since it only cools at most about 20deg F.

But I understand these considerable "upgrades" to your camper and truck are more of a hobby and not necessarily based on ROI, so go for it!
Interested to hear how well it works.

Edited my first post as I managed to find this unit for the US. It looks to be pretty close to the same thing but for the US and has the following specs:

- Cooling capacity: 9,000 BTU/H with 8.5 EER efficiency
- Heating capacity: 9,000 BTU/H with 2.6 C.O.P.
- Voltage: 110~120V, 60Hz, 1Ph
- Operational Temperature Range: 19 - 104°F
- Pre-charged with R410a refrigerant and ready to install

One downfall I see is the heater is not propane powered so it may not be very practical for extended heating if pulling off batteries. We usually turn the furnace off at night anyway and might just change to a diesel heater or a Mr. Buddy heater type setup to mitigate that.

Yes, the upgrades are a bit of a hobby and to try something different. It also has utilitarian use as I will be using the camper a lot for cross country trips.

[Grit_dog]

Not knowing what it's power draw is, can't comment on that. But cost, apparent lack of local service/support (mostly a european item, correct?) and does it have enough cooling power (for lack of a better word) since it only cools at most about 20deg F.

But I understand these considerable "upgrades" to your camper and truck are more of a hobby and not necessarily based on ROI, so go for it!
Interested to hear how well it works.