Add on Thermostat

[dcs02d]

Has anyone added on a thermostat to a dometic AC? Can you do that? I've got a Scamp 13 and would love to add a thermostat to the AC.

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by dcs02d

Has anyone added on a thermostat to a dometic AC? Can you do that? I've got a Scamp 13 and would love to add a thermostat to the AC.

Escape installs a Dometic Penguin A/C with a digital thermostat that also controls the furnace. The nice thing about “thermostat controlled” is that the fan only runs when the thermostat calls for cooling.

[RV Doctor]

Don.
Do you have your AC controls on the ceiling air box?
If so, that does have a mechanical t-stat built in to it.
Now if you want a wall mounted t-stat you need to change the ceiling assembly, the wall thermostat and run wires.
Kind of pointless if you have your ceiling Airbox with controls.

[dcs02d]

It currently has controls on the AC - https://imgur.com/a/DfXpB

If I turn it on at night the fan runs constantly and it's pretty noisy... the compressor kicks on and off with the temperature.

I'd like it to kick on and off via a temperature thermostat so I don't have to listen to the darn thing non stop.

But maybe that is not possible?

[gordon2]

If its the compressor that bothers you when it kicks on, there is something you can do that might help by ramping it up and down instead of the sudden thump:
https://www.microair.net/products/ea...nt=30176048267

If its the loud fan that bothers you, then that is a harder animal to tame and I would think the fan going on and off would be even worse than the constant white noise. I have never heard of anyone modding a RV A/C so the fan only runs part time. Its not the same design as, say my home A/C with a separate air handler.

[RV Doctor]

Don.
I am a Dometic dealer amd love Dometic products!
However!
On our Bigfoot we have a Penguin II and it is like a freight train coming through our coach!
I,like you, have a ceiling ADB with controls. You cannot cycle the fan without the compressor the way it is currently set up.
We don’t run the AC unless ABSOLUTELY necessary because it is SO LOUD!

[k0wtz]

the a/c in our scamper 13 is right above the bed never run it I bet its loud!

bob

[cmartin748]

I installed a Honeywell digital stat on mine that controls the heat as well. I installed a relay at the breaker. I relocated the stat above the sink on the microwave cabinet. Works great. This was about 3 years ago.

[dcs02d]

Originally Posted by cmartin748

I installed a Honeywell digital stat on mine that controls the heat as well. I installed a relay at the breaker. I relocated the stat above the sink on the microwave cabinet. Works great. This was about 3 years ago.

That is kind of what I was thinking... Instead of me reaching up and kicking the thing on and off with my hand a thermostat would do that. I was hoping there exists a kit to do exactly that but it looks like there is not.

[cmartin748]

This is what I used. It will work as long as you have a 9000 btu ac or less.
Not enough amperage for anything bigger. No wiring needed at the unit itself, you are just breaking the hot side of the power supply.

https://www.zoro.com/white-rodgers-c...RoC1LAQAvD_BwE

[dcs02d]

So that thing will basically shut the fan off and on with the compressor?

I'd love to install that with the EasyStart but I don't want to do it myself... I'm not sure who I could get to install that stuff for me.

[cmartin748]

yes, it powers the whole unit on and off on call for cool

[Darral T.]

Here you go. Here's my installation in great detail and probably overkill. BUT, for Gordon and others....it's the BEST "Mod" i've ever done to my Scamp. The 13' got "humid" in there between the compressor runs and drove me nuts at night. A good friend on Scampers@yahoo.com group pointed me to a Casita post where a smart gentleman came up with the "relay" idea and I jumped on it. Here's the results and it has worked FLAWLESSLY for the past 7 yrs!! Mine is a Hunter digital thermostat and I can control the heating OR cooling within 1 deg if I want! Try that with the onboard controls over head!! Wont happen!!

Mine is the Coleman 9K BTU with heat unit.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/503516...57626806751813

Originally Posted by dcs02d

So that thing will basically shut the fan off and on with the compressor?

I'd love to install that with the EasyStart but I don't want to do it myself... I'm not sure who I could get to install that stuff for me.

[Casita Greg]

You can add a T-stat to control your A/C unit. In addition to using a T-stat for controlling the A/C, I also wired my propane furnace and the heat strips located in the A/C to it as well. With a flip of a toggle switch next to the T-stat, I go from either cooling (A/C) or to heating (with either the A/C heat strips or the furnace, or both heating units simultaneously.) For controlling the AC power to the air conditioner you will need a 12 VDC Relay to hook up to the T-stat, rated for 120 VAC at 30 Amps to power up the A/C unit on the alternating current side. If you don't have, or don't want to hook up the furnace as well, then just delete the part of my drawing that goes to the furnace, and just use the A/C part of the schematic.

As an aside, to combat the loud noise of the A/C coming on, (compressor start-up noise,) I removed the Dometic Hard-Start capacitor inside the roof unit of my Polar Cub A/C, and replaced it with the Micro-Air Easy Start that I mounted in the space aft of the capacitor enclosure. Yes, it's not cheap, but IMHO it was worth every penny.

https://www.microair.net/products/ea...nt=30176048267

Before the Micro-Air Easy Start the whole trailer used to shudder and shake when the A/C came on. It was enough to wake the dead. Now, you only hear a nice quiet gentle whoosh of air, no more rumbling like a freight train.

[mszabo]

Sweet!, I like it. Thanks for the mod.

[Casita Greg]

Sorry Darral,
I was "composing" my reply when you posted yours a few minutes earlier. When I hit "Submit" I hadn't seen your post until after it was loaded.
Greg

[Darral T.]

NOT a problem my friend...BTDT! When I'm personally researching, I want ALL the input I can get. This is definitely one of those "More than one way to skin a cat" You ought to see the "articles" and paperwork I gathered on this VERY topic before I attempted my A/C mod back in the spring of 2011. But I'll tell ya, if there was only ONE mod I could have done to my Scamp, this one have been IT!

Originally Posted by Casita Greg

Sorry Darral,
I was "composing" my reply when you posted yours a few minutes earlier. When I hit "Submit" I hadn't seen your post until after it was loaded.
Greg