Easy Air Condition Option (May-be)

[Eddie Longest]

I just got home from Wally World after wandering around the store while the wife shopped. In the hardware department I found a small Hailer 7K BTU self contained floor A/C unit. The unit is much smaller than any self contained floor unit I have seen, 18"W, 13 1/8" D, 24" H. I measured my 13 Scamp closet and it will fit in the closet by only cutting the door opening one inch wider and you should still have about an inch clearance on either side inside the closet and plenty of room for the depth. All you should have to do for an outside opening is cut a 4" or 6" (Not sure which size.) round exhaust hole in the side of the trailer and cover with a small grille. Of course you will have to fabricate supports to hold the unit in the closet and provide power. I'm not quite sure how the condensate is dealt with on this unit but even if it collects in a reservoir you could easily fabricate a drain hose. The unit sells for $299 at my local Wally World and it comes with a remote control. It's higher than a window unit but may be well worth the extra money in ease of installation. I did not open up the unit and I got all my information from the outside the box but if I were considering installing an A/C in my Scamp I would definitely take a look at this unit.

[Ed Harris]

I looked at these at Walmart too.

What I am not clear about though is the fresh air intake?

It seems that if the intake and exhaust can easily be separated but the intake and cold air output will be from the same place if used as designed.
If you stick one of these in a closet then where will it get fresh air?

I got one of these last year as it was too cheap to pass up and I have pondered installing it in my Scamp but I can not overconme several nagging questions about the installation.

[Bryan L.]

I have a 10000BTU unit and thought about doing this also. Mine is a little deeper so I was going to have to rest it on a shelf in the closet to get it up to a place in the closet where it was wider due to the curve of the body. After a lot of measuring and whatnot, I decided against it. The reviews aren't that great about the cooling aspect since there is no separate intake for fresh air for one thing. Also, I would have had absolutely no room behind the unit to make the proper connection to the outside vent. I've decided to go with a window unit in that lower area instead.

[Al V]

been there done that eddie.
because it exhaust air out that means it has to suck air in. in other words it sucks in hot muggy air from outside as it trys to cool the inside. the eggs has to little volume for it to work. same unit did cool my garage in an experiment.

[Phillip]

I'm a Heating an A/C Tech...You need to have intake air for the Condenser from the outside... and also a separate space for Exhaust air from the Condenser for it to work properly... this is what is done in mine... mine is located under the front bench with supports on both sides and air intakes on both sides under the bench and exhaust air out the filter grill in front..This seems to work very well..this is a semi permanent solution... as for road grim I just open the front grill and insert a piece of plexi for traveling the keeps the rain or debris out ....it can be removed in just seconds and the A/C is ready for use... Just another Idea ..I fixed the unit so it doesnt move any and helps add support under the front bench ... other wise at least 2/3 of the unit needs to be mounted past the exterior of the shell (Window/hole) or the return and supply would need to be ducted from the outside in some fashion..

[DonDeutsch]

Phillip, you should consider doing a article on this. I am sure there are many members including myself, who would find it very valuable.

[Phillip]

Phillip, you should consider doing a article on this. I am sure there are many members including myself, who would find it very valuable.

Don,I would be glad and enjoy sharing my knowledge about A/Cs to answer any question you have or anyone else...the way mine is installed was just another option..options are always a good thing.... what works for one may not be the best for another...But I can advise you on what is nessasary in any installation to have a properly functioning unit.. ...

[Ed Harris]

Phillip

I keep looking at your pics and I just don't really understand what is going on there?
I do not see in the pics where the intake and exhaust are at all much less that they are divided,can you give a few more details?
I may just have a mental block about this....it would not be my first!

Ed

[Phillip]

Phillip

I keep looking at your pics and I just don't really understand what is going on there?
I do not see in the pics where the intake and exhaust are at all much less that they are divided,can you give a few more details?
I may just have a mental block about this....it would not be my first!

Ed

This is the exhaust air hole out the front of the TT .. the A/C is located the under the bench seat in front

[Phillip]

This is the air intake (1 of these is located on each side) of the A/C in the storage comparment. I just have 1 side pictured but the other side is the same .. the holeis covered with a vent in the floor and then a hole in the fiberglsass support wall for bench, which allows for air to be drawn from under the trailer, into the storage compartment then thru the the hole cut in the compartment wall into the to A/C condenser coil and exhausted out the exhaust hole in the front,Your in luck I am trying to put on new cabinet door and I have the one off nessesary to see the intake air better at this time..

[Ed Harris]

Phillip

Thanks for explaining it in more detail..
I did not understand the picture with the vent being in the side of the trailer without it.
Does this mean you don't put things in the bench for storage too?

If so that underscores the trade-offs we have to/get to make in these cozy little campers for sure.
I imagine that a lot of the mods we make here compromise the ideal function of the parts modified but in favor of having it both ways.
There may not be sufficient airflow for max/ efficiency in many AC mods but it may be weighed against keeping as much storage as we can.

I wish there were a way to easily add AC to my Scamp but since they did not provide roof support in mine the easiest option may not be an option for me at all.
It seems silly to me that they would make them all able to support an AC unit when being hatched,how expensive would it have been?

I know when I pre-wire a job I install a lot more wiring than I could ever anticipate using(and that is a lot) and the customer always asks me why?
I tell them that if they need something later and I have the wire already there I look like a genius but if I don't I look like an idiot who can not plan for down the road.

Well I am sure you can make the connection with my feelings about the Scamp roof design.

[Bill D]

Phillip,that ,IMO, is a much neater job than cutting a hole somewhere in the shell and having it stick out. Is there a recommended size for the intake vents or does it depend on the unit?

[Kevin Dunno]

I still don't see why a portable air conditioner unit could not be put into the closet with a vent to the outside just by the door using the window kit provided with most units, and having it vented on the interior where it is obviously is vented on the portable a/c unit. They have units with 2 exhaust hoses some with one, and some models that auto evap the moisture? My boler needs a/c, and I was going to go with the commercial cool unit from home depot. Someone please tell me why this wouldn't work? or will it just be a tough job with lots of modding to get it done? I am up for the challenge to fit a portable unit in a boler closet.

[Lloyd (aka Santa) Coltman]

Don,I would be glad and enjoy sharing my knowledge about A/Cs to answer any question you have or anyone else...the way mine is installed was just another option..options are always a good thing.... what works for one may not be the best for another...But I can advise you on what is nessasary in any installation to have a properly functioning unit.. ...

Philip, your offer of sharing knowledge is great.
Here's my problem: I have an old Duo-Therm 'Sunchaser' (13,000btu) on my unit, and anything under a 2.5kw generator has a real fight with it, although it works fine with a 15A household breaker. Looking at the schematic, it has no compressor start capacitor, while the later model 'BriskAir' has. The running specs are the same for both, but the 'BriskAir' seems easier starting. Most household refrigerators, freezers, and the 'BriskAir' appear to use a timed start relay and capacitor to reduce start current while increasing start torque. There are also 'hard start' capacitor kits that may even free up stuck compressors. What do you think of adding a start timer/capacitor from a fridge, to my A/C unit?

[Bob Haelle]

Eddie
How do I get into the area where trailers are for sale?

[Lloyd (aka Santa) Coltman]

Eddie
How do I get into the area where trailers are for sale?

click 'forums' (left column), scroll down to 'for sale'

[Roddy D]

When I bought my 16' 1982 Scamp it had a stand alone AC in the closet next to the door. There was one exhaust hole with a venting louvered flap door and a drain hole for the condensation. I live in Texas and during the summer it gets hot! During the day the trailer was cool mid 80's with a fan stirring the air around. At night it was a little cooler but was very noisy. I think this is because the basic design of this air conditioner. I have since removed it and built a closet shelving system in the closet and put a quiet AC under the stove top next to the Frig. The temp in the trailer has averaged 78 when the temp was 98 outside. I also use a fan to stir the air in the trailer, I like the air movement.

Hope this helps!

[Phillip]

Philip, your offer of sharing knowledge is great.
Here's my problem: I have an old Duo-Therm 'Sunchaser' (13,000btu) on my unit, and anything under a 2.5kw generator has a real fight with it, although it works fine with a 15A household breaker. Looking at the schematic, it has no compressor start capacitor, while the later model 'BriskAir' has. The running specs are the same for both, but the 'BriskAir' seems easier starting. Most household refrigerators, freezers, and the 'BriskAir' appear to use a timed start relay and capacitor to reduce start current while increasing start torque. There are also 'hard start' capacitor kits that may even free up stuck compressors. What do you think of adding a start timer/capacitor from a fridge, to my A/C unit?

is it struggling on start up ?? or while running ?? a start capacitor will only give you a boost for a fraction of a sec on start up.. if this is your problem a Hard start kit can be added very simply .. most units have a duel run capacitor the booster kit has 2 wires.. they are installed on the run capacitor if its is a duel capacitor it will be mark as follow Herm/ Fan /C
You attach the 2 lead from the booster to (Herm/C )..
I wouldnt attempt to use a part from a fridge on my A/C...

[Lloyd (aka Santa) Coltman]

is it struggling on start up ?? or while running ?? a start capacitor will only give you a boost for a fraction of a sec on start up.. if this is your problem a Hard start kit can be added very simply .. most units have a duel run capacitor the booster kit has 2 wires.. they are installed on the run capacitor if its is a duel capacitor it will be mark as follow Herm/ Fan /C
You attach the 2 lead from the booster to (Herm/C )..
I wouldnt attempt to use a part from a fridge on my A/C... :nono

Ok, here's a further report. This weekend a huge group of us were dry ( I use the term loosely, we ran the river, rapids and all) camping. One of the guys had a Yamaha EF2800i, which runs his A/C (13,500 BriskAir), converter, and fridge, with no problem. On our unit, with fridge on LP, his generator ran the A/C for about 4 min, and kicked off (overload shut down). So, maybe my A/C is drawing a lot more than it should, although it will run for days, at home, on a 15a household breaker (1800Watt), with converter and fridge. The home supply has about 70ft of # 14, from the main panel, plus about 30 ft of # 10, so maybe the long feed has the effect of limiting the current a bit? Many years ago I had a table saw that would blow breakers, if plugged directly into an outlet, but at the end of a 25' extension, it was fine.

[Lloyd (aka Santa) Coltman]

is it struggling on start up ?? or while running ?? a start capacitor will only give you a boost for a fraction of a sec on start up.. if this is your problem a Hard start kit can be added very simply .. most units have a duel run capacitor the booster kit has 2 wires.. they are installed on the run capacitor if its is a duel capacitor it will be mark as follow Herm/ Fan /C
You attach the 2 lead from the booster to (Herm/C )..
I wouldnt attempt to use a part from a fridge on my A/C...

This looks exactly like what Dometic did on the the later BriskAir. That, along with a separately controlled 3-speed fan, seem to be the only differences. Do you have any idea what the values are on the 'hard start' capacitor? BTW, my old A/C works just fine with my old (1978) Honda industrial generator (rated 3600, max 4500watt), but I'm sure, if it was close camping, somebody would shoot me (because it's a thundering beast). Not just exhaust, but mechanical noise too.
My next test will on a spare later model 'BriskAir' 13,500 with a 'Mitsubishi' 1800 watt max rated generator that I have. If that comes close to working, there'll be an A/C change in the works, because I want a smaller, quieter, lighter generator