Which Air Con Unit

[Blizzard]

We had a roof mounted Dometic air conditioning unit fitted to our caravan, for hotter continental trips.

Although the unit was excellent and very good at it's job, the noise from it was a bit too intrusive inside the van for use during the night, even on it's lowest settings.

 

We are looking for a unit for the motorhome before heading overseas next year and are wondering if any of you have found the impossible, a virtually silent air con unit ??

 

Thanks.

[lennyhb]

I've seen the Truma one running at shows & it appears to be very quite also it is installed at floor level in a bed box. They also offer a 12 volt version but when you look into it they just supply an expensive inverter & it draws about 75 amps running on 12 volts.

The vario model has a sleep mode but they do not give any db figures.

 

http://www.trumauk.com/products-airconditioning.asp

 

 

It would be nice to have aircon in living area in the van but no good for us don't use hookups very often. Not much good in Italy either where a lot of hook ups are only 3 amp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Clive]

The only 12 volt aircon systems are water evaporators which cool the air a little, but not a lot. Everything else requires power. Our Truma aircon system has a Dometic TEC 29 generator fitted below the chassis to run it.

 

What was that you said about noise?

 

C.

 

[mondo]

My own personal views are... don't bother with it!..I have lived in some rather warm climes ...Kenya,Gibraltar.Tenerife, Belize.. to name but a few and all I've ever used is a fan to circulate the air..in Gibraltar I don't think the bedroom door to the balcony ever got closed (top floor flat) apart from when we went out.. I know what your going to say I'm in a tin box and it's warm..open the roof vents..turn on a fan it works honest...we did the Vendee this year temps were in the 30s in the daytime at night the 20s and thats what we did

 

IT WORKS TRY IT AND IT'S QUIETER!!!

[Blizzard]

Thanks for your replies so far.

 

Lenny, after viewing the link you provided, I'm keen to see if the Sapphire Vario could be fitted under the floor of our MH and will be following that, or one of the others up.

 

Clive, How noisy is your under chassis set up- especially for night use.

 

Mondo, I know what you're saying, but your heat tolerance is obviously higher than mine. We spent 3 glorious weeks in the Vendee (La Chapelle Hermier) this year and I suffered during the night.

I'm more comfortable in a whiteout on a remote mountain top than I am basking in the sun.

 

And before it's suggested that I holiday somewhere cooler.... I do !, which is why we're heading up to the west coast of Scotland after Xmas, but when it comes to the main summer hol, I'm outvoted 3 to 1 by the females of the family, and the sunshine wins.

 

The aircon offers us the best of both worlds.... B-)

[Brian Kirby]

First rule is park in shade, especially afternoon/evening shade, so the van doesn't overheat during the day.

Second rule is to get the aricon on well before sunset, and then leave it running with all doors/windows/rooflights fully closed until you turn in.  This last bit is important, many folk park in full sun, and then leave their doors, rooflights and windows open with the aircon running full tilt, and don't seem to realise they are asking a small unit to cool half the neighbourhood - which it can't do!

Third rule is sit outside during the evening, so that at bed time, when you do go inside, you appreciate the nice, cool, motorhome interior.

Fourth rule, is turn it off when you go to bed.  If the ambient temperatures remain high into the late evening, get it to its lowest setting and make sure it is a thermostatically controlled model, so that it will cut off when the temperature falls in the early hours.

The problem with aircon, is that it prevents you acclimatising to higher ambient temperatures, so don't over use it, and don't set the controls too low.  Generally, clipping just a few degrees off the ambient will give welcome relief, while allowing you to gradually adjust to a hotter climate.  This also makes for greater daytime comfort.

[Guest JudgeMental]

We have the WAECO 12v/230v unit which is probably similar to yours. Had it on new van since 2007 and would not be without it. yes it is a bit loud inside but you get used to it I think? we are anyway........ and there are always soft ear plugs.

 

these split systems are probably the way to go and will be on list to have a look at for next van.

 

regards acclimatising: We were in Goa at Easter and the heat was really oppressive! walking anywhere was like walking into a brick wall....but within a few days we were getting acclimatised and really enjoyed our time there! but it was nice to return to the almost silent a/c of the hotel room!

 

[PJay]

we have the Waeco, same as the judge. Great system, we don't find it to noisy, but if you do as sujested above, cool the van down before bedtime, . we have on rare occasions kept it on all night. Our systems also runs when driving along. very handy in the heat of Spain/Portugal this year. You can also use for additional heating in winter, as long as on hook up. we at first thought maybe was a waste of money, but now glad we have it, we were the envy of a few other campers this summer. Have had it fitted from new 2006.

pauline

[Blizzard]

Brian Kirby - 2009-10-25 12:58 PM

First rule is park in shade, especially afternoon/evening shade, so the van doesn't overheat during the day.

Second rule is to get the aricon on well before sunset, and then leave it running with all doors/windows/rooflights fully closed until you turn in. This last bit is important, many folk park in full sun, and then leave their doors, rooflights and windows open with the aircon running full tilt, and don't seem to realise they are asking a small unit to cool half the neighbourhood - which it can't do!

Third rule is sit outside during the evening, so that at bed time, when you do go inside, you appreciate the nice, cool, motorhome interior.

Fourth rule, is turn it off when you go to bed. If the ambient temperatures remain high into the late evening, get it to its lowest setting and make sure it is a thermostatically controlled model, so that it will cut off when the temperature falls in the early hours.

The problem with aircon, is that it prevents you acclimatising to higher ambient temperatures, so don't over use it, and don't set the controls too low. Generally, clipping just a few degrees off the ambient will give welcome relief, while allowing you to gradually adjust to a hotter climate. This also makes for greater daytime comfort.

First rule - Not always an option when pre booked on to a family site with a big unit, this years full service pitch had no shade at all.Second rule - Pretty much what we've been doing for years (with everything closed that is)Third & Fourth rules - Do them too :-D The problem I have is that once the aircon is switched off (usually at the very last minute) I tend to warm up very quickly and once I start to get clammy I struggle to sleep, tossing & turning disturbs OH, aircon too noisy to leave on all night. I already sleep 'au naturel' on top of the bed covers so can't take anything else off.... Calm down ladies. Daytime temperatures are not a problem and I don't have problems adjusting to them, it's just the sleep bit.I'm getting some good advice and like the idea of the Waeco, which can be used on 12v while travelling - That's something I had not considered as the MH only has cab air and it's never cropped up in the past with towing a caravan.Keep them coming.

[Guest JudgeMental]

But I would not recommend the WAECO, you will find it to noisey and similar to what you have.......you may as well remove yours, fit a vent in the hole and use yours on new van.

 

Shop around and just check the spec/Db rating of the latest alternatives

[Brian Kirby]

Blizzard - 2009-10-25 4:42 PM First rule - Not always an option when pre booked on to a family site with a big unit, this years full service pitch had no shade at all. ..............

That, I suspect, is the greater part of the problem, all the same.  If the van is in full sun everything gets heated up, all the fabric, and almost everything inside to boot.  In effect, you now have 4 tonnes or so of van that has been roasting for maybe 8-10 hours in the sun, and your aircon unit simply can't shift that much heat in a few hours.  You'd need an industrial sized aircon plant to do that, and even that would take quite some time.  Stuff in lockers that has been slow cooked all day will take literally hours to give off its heat.  The aircon will cool down the air inside the van OK, but then all that stored heat from your 4 tonnes of van mass will simply begin to transfer back into the now cool air, so warming it up again.  This will continue until the contents, and fabric, of the van are the same temperature as the air.

To maintain comfort you really do need to keep the van in shade for most of the time from mid-day to sunset, to prevent this slow-roasting effect.  When booking, state the size of your unit, and ask for confirmation of a pitch with afternoon/evening shade.  Say this is very important for you.  Most holiday sites offer either shady pitches, or sunny pitches, so you should be able to exercise choice, but will need to do this at the time of booking.  If they won't/can't co-operate, go elsewhere, and if they prevaricate when you arrive, raise merry hell!  They charge enough high season, so there's no reason to put up with poor service.

[Clive]

"Clive, How noisy is your under chassis set up- especially for night use. "

 

Simple answer is far too noisy for us at anytime.

We use the generator to run the microwave for a few minutes and very occasionally to run the cheap mains vacuum cleaner we are now obliged to carry!!!. (It has far more suck than 12 volt jobbies)

 

The Aircon and the Genny were part of the van when we purchased it. If we had specced the van from new we would not have chosen either.

 

Take the advice about places to park, apertures to open and most importantly adjust your pace to suit the temperature of the environment.

 

Thats my suggestion.

 

Having said all that if you have need for a genny then the TEC 29 is probably the quietest of them all and is basicly an inverter sine wave design with a Honda Engine in a sound insulated enclosure and a significant silencer. 2.6 KVA. It has a remote control panel inside the van to start/stop and keep an eye on oil levels and the like.

The Truma under locker aircon is also supposed to be much quieter than roof mounted systems. I tried it an it works. That was enough.

 

C.

 

[Blizzard]

Some good advice there gents - thanks.

 

Although the evening air temperature in the van was always cool by bedtime, I had never given any thought to the all the 'stored' heat around the van quickly warming the air back up after the aircon was switched off.... :$

 

Once the decision is made I'll let you know what we end up with and how quiet the unit is.

[thebishbus]

I would not bother to have living area air con fitted.We had a roof mounted Electrolux unit on our Hymer, it worked well, but we could not use it when we needed it most. :- to noisy at night, it also tripped some low current hook up's abroad. Eventually I removed it and sold it on ebay.Good move, saved 39 kg in weight ( more vino to bring home), replaced it with a Fiamma polar turbo vent. Much more usefull, runs on 12 volts, has a reversible flow thermo controlled fan, is quiet enough on slow speed to use at night creating a slight air flow through van.

Regards Brian.

[thebishbus]

I would not bother to have living area air con fitted.We had a roof mounted Electrolux unit on our Hymer, it worked well, but we could not use it when we needed it most. :- to noisy at night, it also tripped some low current hook up's abroad. Eventually I removed it and sold it on ebay.Good move, saved 39 kg in weight ( more vino to bring home), replaced it with a Fiamma polar turbo vent. Much more usefull, runs on 12 volts, has a reversible flow thermo controlled fan, is quiet enough on slow speed to use at night creating a slight air flow through van.

Regards Brian.