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Old 11-07-2013, 05:15 AM   #1
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understanding a/c

Help me understand the air flow in my frigidare 5000 btu a/c.
( the unit is not cooling the rv very well)

At the front air is flowing both in & out but, how is air flowing
at the sides & top.....if the flow is going in should the air be
directed to come from outside the rv or inside?

thanks Don-central FL
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Old 11-07-2013, 05:51 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Don Meyer View Post
Help me understand the air flow in my frigidare 5000 btu a/c.
( the unit is not cooling the rv very well)

At the front air is flowing both in & out but, how is air flowing
at the sides & top.....if the flow is going in should the air be
directed to come from outside the rv or inside?

thanks Don-central FL
The only part that should be open to the interior is the front, which has both intake and output vents for inside cooled air. The sides are outside air intake and the back is outside air exhaust.

The sides need to be ducted to the exterior, but NOT to the same vent as the exhaust. The idea is that outside air comes in the sides, gets warmed up, and then exits out the back. You don't want that warm air to immediately come in the sides again because the AC has to then work much harder to warm it up even more and the whole thing doesn't work well or overheats. In the same way you want to keep the back/sides and the front separate because the front is the cool inside air and you don't want hot outside air mixing with inside cool air (defeats the point of AC).

The most common problems I have seen relate to not keeping the air flows (front/side/back) separate enough or not having enough air flow.

I hope that helps. Feel free to ask more questions. Pictures of various setups are available if you search. Thanks to Frederick Simson who I quoted quite literally for parts of the statements above.
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Old 11-07-2013, 03:34 PM   #3
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The back and sides are outside air; input on the sides and output at the back. The front is inside air; the big lower vent with filters is input, and the small upper vent is output. Inside must be kept separate from outside.
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Old 11-07-2013, 05:08 PM   #4
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Leocraft Update - We have AIR

Hi everyone! It,s been awhile since I,ve posted anything but I check in periodically to see what,s going on. Since this topic is regarding air conditioning, I thought I would share with you what Linda & I have done to our Leocraft this year. We finally took the plunge and installed air in Stubby. We debated for some time as to which way we would go- rooftop or sidewall installation. The sidewall installation finally one out. First it was a lot cheaper ,$250 versus $1300 rooftop. Secondly, the roof would have needed support as it is made up of 2x2 beams only.Plus the fact that we can reduce wind drag too by keeping it off the roof. We are very pleased with how it turned out. We had the opportunity to use it this summer and it works great. We wanted the air conditioner to be installed near the ceiling where the hot air gathers. We new that if we wanted the cabin to cool off quickly then we had to get rid of the existing buildup of heat at the ceiling. We have a 5000 BTU and it takes 5 to 10 minutes to cool down. I highly recommend installing high and not low at floor or knee level.I realize that weight will limit many small glass eggs from placing their units high but newer glass units can now have supports built into the roof for support during construction. I wonder if anyone out there has reinforced their glass closet with a wooden frame and a sturdy plywood shelf and put the air unit on that at the ceiling level. Could that work for older vintage units? Just a thought.
Just a side note re installation. In order to get fresh air into the side intake vents,we installed a refrigerator vent over the air unit to pull air inside the cabinet to avoid over heating. The outside sidewall vent was obtained from a manufacturer that uses the same sidewall installation that we used. As a matter of fact that,s how we got the idea in the first place. All in all we are more than pleased with the outcome. I will try to post some pictures . Hope it works. Dennis & Linda
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Old 11-07-2013, 05:35 PM   #5
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No Pictures

Sorry but unable to figure out how to attach picture files. All I could see was video attachments but no pics. What am I missing? I,m not very literate when it comes to computers. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
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Old 11-08-2013, 05:31 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis Schultz View Post
Sorry but unable to figure out how to attach picture files. All I could see was video attachments but no pics. What am I missing?
There are 2 ways to add pictures to a post.
  1. While you have the "Advanced Reply" window open to add the text for your post, L K along the top for the paper clip icon.
    Click on that to add several pictures to your post as attachments.
  2. Just below the paper Clip icon L K for the yellow square with the sun over mountains inside.
    Click on that icon for adding images directly into the post.
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Old 11-11-2013, 10:00 PM   #7
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Thanks for all the info......Don
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