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Old 07-22-2016, 05:49 PM   #1
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New A/C install

I finally got fed up with the puny 5000 btu a/c mounted under the front seat on the drivers side. I tried making duct work and venting but when we went out to Arizona in June all was lost 110 degrees. Luckily the frig crapped out to, so I put an LG 8000 btu in the place where the fridge was. The fridge was too small anyway. Now when it's 93 degrees on the driveway and 108 in camper it comes down to 88 degrees and really comfortable in about 20 min. Time for another trip to Az.My wife like the remote and three speed fan. It sure sucks out a lot of water. I don't remember the 5000 ever draining water.
I used large cookie sheet from Walmart and flanged out the copper drain
tubing the frig used, then JB Welded the tube to the cookie sheet. Drains perfectly. Boxed in the A/c with the same clear Aspen pine I used for the doors, cabinet and table so everything matches. No pix, maybe later.
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Old 07-22-2016, 06:13 PM   #2
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More pix

Here some pix of the drain.
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Old 07-23-2016, 10:32 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by pjanits View Post
I finally got fed up with the puny 5000 btu a/c mounted under the front seat on the drivers side. I tried making duct work and venting but when we went out to Arizona in June all was lost 110 degrees. Luckily the frig crapped out to, so I put an LG 8000 btu in the place where the fridge was. The fridge was too small anyway. Now when it's 93 degrees on the driveway and 108 in camper it comes down to 88 degrees and really comfortable in about 20 min. Time for another trip to Az.My wife like the remote and three speed fan. It sure sucks out a lot of water. I don't remember the 5000 ever draining water.
I used large cookie sheet from Walmart and flanged out the copper drain
tubing the frig used, then JB Welded the tube to the cookie sheet. Drains perfectly. Boxed in the A/c with the same clear Aspen pine I used for the doors, cabinet and table so everything matches. No pix, maybe later.
Very nice job on the install...is 88 degrees the best it would cool? I would think it could get it down to 65 or so...
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Old 07-23-2016, 05:45 PM   #4
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I want to know what it does in Arizona 110 deg! I was in 95 deg once with my 13' Scamp. It has the Coleman Cub 9200. It was all it could do to maintain...but it did...about 76 inside. At night is not a problem.

People think because these trailers are small that A/C doesnt have to work. But the POOR insulation kills it in the hot sun.
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Old 07-23-2016, 09:40 PM   #5
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Looks great!

But advice for anyone who wants to copy this project ...copper tubes and aluminum cookie sheets are not a compatible mix of metals. So use soft aluminum tubing with that aluminum cookie sheet.
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Old 07-23-2016, 10:33 PM   #6
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People think because these trailers are small that A/C doesnt have to work. But the POOR insulation kills it in the hot sun.
That is EXACTLY why I did NOT want to use Reflectix to insulate our Boler and I am still intently searching for an adhesive that can handle the elevated temperatures of the heat transferring through the shell without the adhesive failing that is holding up both our marine headliner to the insulation and the insulation to the shell...

Recently (a few weeks ago) we took a weekend trip to the northeast GA/SC border on Lake Hartwell with afternoon temps in the high 90s and the lot we were on had no shade and by 11am the temperature inside was getting very uncomfortable with our 5000 BTU on high (at night time it worked fine even got quite chilly in the middle of the night)...you could feel the heat radiating through the windows of course but more so through the shell where our insulation had came down due to the failed adhesive - hot to the touch...every other time we have used our a/c it has worked fine even in 90+ degrees but we had at least partial shade on the Boler.

I am considering either epoxying/glassing stringers to the inside shell to accommodate the insulation and headliner with fasteners or going with what I started to do by adding reinforcement to the ceiling and put the roof top a/c back on that the previous owner had installed poorly. As I have said before there has got to be some space age NASA type stuff out there that will work better in our FBRVs than ensolite or reflectix and won't be eat up by high heat automotive type adhesives...

Also considered spray in foam insulation but not sure if I want to go down that road or not...
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Old 07-24-2016, 01:53 AM   #7
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We should probably talk about insulation in a thread other than the one for his AC install so as not to distract from the intended subject.
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Old 07-24-2016, 05:03 AM   #8
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The 88 degrees was after only 20 min. in the sun. And it was comfortable, that was the benchmark. It was like driving all day and setting up in a campground and turning on the air. 20 min comfortable, I know it would go lower, but shut down and went in the house. The 5k a/c would still be 95 degrees for the next 4 hours. In AZ it never did cool, until the sun went down. This one I am guessing would probably get down to 76 or so in the sun in AZ. Gotta make another trip. When I was installing it. I had it running and on a 90 degree TN day, it did get down to 66 in there, but that was in the shade.

Insulation for the Burro would be nice, I wish the original owner had ordered it.
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Old 07-24-2016, 07:19 AM   #9
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Then maybe you should separate your METALLURGY information in another thread as well. If INSULATION doesnt pertain directly to A/C, I dont know what else will! After all, they DID have to do an upgrade from 5K to 8K. Why? Sheesh!

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We should probably talk about insulation in a thread other than the one for his AC install so as not to distract from the intended subject.
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Old 07-24-2016, 07:24 AM   #10
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I dont know the stuff "Scamp" uses, but it IS tough! And you never hear of it turning loose regardless of the temps. I always wanted to tell people that what ever it is, it's "red"...but I found out later they add red die to it so at the factory, they can tell where or where not it's been applied.

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That is EXACTLY why I did NOT want to use Reflectix to insulate our Boler and I am still intently searching for an adhesive that can handle the elevated temperatures of the heat transferring through the shell without the adhesive failing that is holding up both our marine headliner to the insulation and the insulation to the shell... As I have said before there has got to be some space age NASA type stuff out there that will work better in our FBRVs than ensolite or reflectix and won't be eat up by high heat automotive type adhesives...

Also considered spray in foam insulation but not sure if I want to go down that road or not...
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Old 07-24-2016, 09:03 AM   #11
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Thanks Darral I could not agree more, and yes I contacted scamp about the adhesive they add the red dye to. They told me the name of it but it is only available commercially can find anyone locally that sells it. May call Scamp back and see if they will sell me some but I think it may be a shipping thing/Hazmat...

Pjanits do you think the 5000 BTU would have been sufficient if your unit was insulated well? Also wondered if adding a fan to help push out the hot air exhaust out the fridge vent would make any difference?
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Old 07-24-2016, 11:41 AM   #12
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Johnny...IF you find again what the adhesive is, I'd love to know. Post it here or u can PM me.

I also agree about the fan! A/C's compressors will kick off by "thermal" protection if they're not ventilated correctly. (I've experienced this personally on another type of small A/C installation)

AND, I've also heard of using a fan to blow the inside air UPwards. That's one downside of a low-mounted A/C. Cold air stays low and that's where it comes out..so it's automatically going to be working against itself from the beginning. Just food for thought.

Good stuff here!

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Thanks Darral I could not agree more, and yes I contacted scamp about the adhesive they add the red dye to. They told me the name of it but it is only available commercially can find anyone locally that sells it. May call Scamp back and see if they will sell me some but I think it may be a shipping thing/Hazmat...

Pjanits do you think the 5000 BTU would have been sufficient if your unit was insulated well? Also wondered if adding a fan to help push out the hot air exhaust out the fridge vent would make any difference?
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Old 07-24-2016, 03:21 PM   #13
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This 5k was kind of crummy. Probably needed freon. Had only a two speed fan that when in high was about the same as the low on the 8k.
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Old 07-24-2016, 03:24 PM   #14
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Besides the 8 inch deck plate in the front of the trailer I also have one on the rear side and a 4 inch under the floor with fan. They both were part of the ducting for the 5k install. I have not used the side or bottom vents yet with the 8k. Or the fan.
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Old 07-24-2016, 04:13 PM   #15
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Then maybe you should separate your METALLURGY information in another thread as well. If INSULATION doesnt pertain directly to A/C, I dont know what else will! After all, they DID have to do an upgrade from 5K to 8K. Why? Sheesh!
I was discussing a component of the AC installation itself. That is relevant to the topic
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Old 07-25-2016, 08:59 AM   #16
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Actually, I think the JBWeld may act as an insulator between them. I gobbed it on pretty good.
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Old 07-25-2016, 09:03 AM   #17
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JohnnyM Yes I think the 5k would have been fine if it was insulated.
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