longbedbob
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Re: Mini Split AC - Condenser unit in fifth wheel basement??
What appealed to me about front mounting the condenser was the convenience. My batteries, inverter and bedroom are in very close proximity so very little routing would be required. There is no wall space at the rear of the camper to mount the air handler. If I rear mount the condenser then I would have to remove the underpan and route 30' or so plumbing and wiring to reach the bedroom. After previously running wires and outlets for my inverter, I'm not keen on repeating that process. The front compartment idea was worth investigating. But, as pointed out above, there are clearance issues that make this type of installation not feasible. Sure... I *could* do it. But I could also be replacing condenser units every season because they fail from lack of ventilation. Time to try something else. Thanks for the input.1.3KViews0likes0CommentsMini Split AC - Condenser unit in fifth wheel basement??
Instead of adding a second roof mounted AC to our fifth wheel, I'm investigating a mini split unit instead. Weight, but most importantly, power considerations are my motivations. Most of the information that I've found deals with folks either mounting the condenser unit to the tongue or creating a shelf and mounting to the rear of the camper. What I have not yet found is anyone mounting the condenser inside of the front basement. I suspect that clearance might be an issue. My front basement runs the entire width and has a front facing access panel. Based on the dimensions that I'm seeing, I think there is space. I would need to leave that access panel when the unit is operating. The fan unit would be above in the bedroom. There's already a wall dividing the bedroom and bathroom that has a hard mounting point for a TV. I could route the refrigerant lines along the wall from below. Any condensate drain would go through the wall and connect to the sink drain on the other side. Anyone seen something like this? Thanks.7.2KViews0likes15CommentsRe: Howdy. New Owner With Questions Not Found in the Manuals.
Lots of responses here. Thanks. Apologies if I don't hit every one. 1. Consensus seems to be there's no harm with using different controllers with different set points for the various stages of charging. 2. Don't trust the levels. 2/3 is the new full. BTW, the shower does drain into the same tank as the bathroom sink. The black water tank was empty. It's never been used but I opened the valve anyway, because some showers do drain there. Dealer said there could be a check valve to help prevent these sorts of oversights from overflowing onto the floor. 3. The wine cooler is an Everchill unit. It is supposed to cool to near freezing but the glass door makes cooling inefficient. It will disappear at some point and be replaced by a conventional dorm fridge. 4. Short power is available until we demolish the old structure. Then it could be 6 months or 6 years until there will be another functioning RV outlet. I do have several generators, including an inverter model that has been converted to run on propane. We tested it for a weekend. 5 hours of daily usage with the AC at max setting and some microwave and TV used 3.5 gallons over on an 11 hour period. Pretty efficient, I'd say. Anyway, rather than add two more panels and two more flooded batteries, perhaps I'd better bite the proverbial bullet and upgrade to Li Ion batteries first. The most painful part would be over with and I'd have the same capacity as I currently do, but would have a better discharge rate and not need to concern myself with battery maintenance. A second battery and set of panels would happen if there was enough electrical demand. Thanks again for the assistance.580Views0likes0CommentsHowdy. New Owner With Questions Not Found in the Manuals.
My wife and I recently purchased a dealer holdover 2019 Cruiser Aire. It is currently parked at our weekend cabin while we demolish the old structure and rebuild on site. I ran a dedicated 50 amp RV outlet so it is plugged into shore power. We've spent a few weekends in and developed an idea for what camper living is about and some of the alterations we'd like to make. I've also developed a list of questions that I can't seem to find answers to on my own. 1. I have the Renogy 200 watt solar kit and two Interstate 100 AH deep cycle batteries. I understand that they are flooded, lead acid batteries that will require maintenance and that I am limited to 50% depth of discharge. However, my question centers around the charging aspect. Since we are away five days each week, I am concerned that the onboard three stage charge controller will "fight" to maintain a float voltage. Based on the Renogy controller, the battery is maintaing 13.7V. But is this due to solar or the "smart" onboard controller. I'm concerned that one source might be trickle charging while the other, operating at a different set point, might still be boosting. I suppose that I could always open the solar panel breaker, but the power is unreliable there. 2. I had been keeping an eye on the gray and black water tanks. My unit has two gray water tanks. The bath/shower water level was 2/3 and the kitchen tank was 1/3. However, last night the sink was backed up. On a hunch, I drained the front gray water tank and the problem was solved. This leads me to ask two follow up questions: a.) Why did my shower not overflow first? Is there a check valve in place to prevent that? b.) How do I calibrate the water tank sensors to better reflect the water levels? This is a no name, all in control panel with no obvious rheostats to adjust. Could the be on the hidden, back side of the panel? 3. The unit came with a wine chiller. Pardon the ignorance here, as I've never before owned one, but are they useful as a refrigerator? We thought it might work as a second refrigerator but it's been disappointing. No matter the temperature setting it never seems to get cold, yet runs almost all of the time. It might be suitable for chilling wine, but I can't imagine storing food inside for long. I want to ditch it for either a proper dorm style refrigerator or maybe use the space for storage. 4. Back to batteries....if I add two additional flooded batteries for a total of 400AH (200 usable) and a 3000 watt true sine wave inverter, would that be enough surge capacity to handle a microwave without overworking the batteries? I understand that Li Ion would be ideal. Given that this is essentially a trailer that won't move much, I am not concerned about the weight gain but do fuss about the nearly $2000 price tag for the equivalent storage capacity. I'm sure that there are other questions that will come with time, but knowing how to address these issues will allow to move on to discover others. Thanks.4.1KViews0likes14Comments
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Interested in fifth wheels? You've come to the right spot.Feb 16, 202519,006 Posts
