I just removed my 9 year old horribly noisy Coleman Mach Polar Cub air conditioner and installed a RecPro by Houghton RV Air Conditioner Low Profile 13.5K Quiet AC Unit with Heat Pump, Non-Ducted, with remote. It's quiet inside! What an amazing difference! I'll report more after I use it for a while, but if anyone needs or wants a new air conditioner with heat, seriously consider this one.
Thanks for the update Merlin. I've looked into these and am seriously considering one. Any issues with the installation or was it a pretty direct fit? I'd be replacing the Dometic Penguin II 13K unit. It is also very noisy.
Can you operate it without the remote?
It can be operated without the remote, but limited. At the ceiling plenum, it can be turned on and off and cycled through the modes: cool, dry, fan, heat, auto. However, without the remote, the temperature is set at 75F and the fan is set at high.
Installation was very easy, other than the difficulty of getting the old unit off the roof and the new one up there. With 2 of us, one on the roof and one on the ground, we slid the old one down an extension ladder and pulled/pushed the new one up. They supply a sealing bracket that only needs some self-leveling lap sealant around the edge. It fit perfectly in the roof hole and once the unit was up there, it was super easy to set it in place. The inside bolting, electrical connections, and plenum installation took maybe 45 minutes total. The installation manual is minimalist, but is enough. All in, counting removing the old unit, cleaning up the hole for the new one and vacuuming at the end, it probably took 2 hours, with 2 people working during the heavy lifting.
Interestingly, since the old unit was working fine and we took care to not damage it, I advertised as free on the local Craigslist. Within just a few hours, I had emails from 20 different folks who wanted it and it was picked up out of my driveway same day by a nice young couple rebuilding an old RV. I warned them about the noise, but they said they knew all about that problem!
Thanks for the info. That is great you found someone that could use the old air conditioner. Sounds like it will be put to good use.
My wife doesn't want to use the A/C during the day because of the noise! We only use it while sleeping. Good to know you can get something quieter with a heat pump!
We're headed out west soon and if the heat wave out there doesn't dissipate soon, the new A/C will be severely tested!
Keep us posted on how the AC works during your trip. Enjoy!
So far, so good. It's worked quietly and very well in 90 degree heat here in Montana. Draws about 12 amps. I haven't even needed to set the fan on high yet.
Sounds great so far. Thanks and enjoy your trip!
Doug
Another major test today. We crossed eastern Washington in 104F heat. It was still 98F when we arrived at our Corps of Engineers campground on the Snake River. The A/C cooled the interior so it was tolerable in about 20 minutes and this evening I'm enjoying 73F inside while it's still 92F outside and everything is nice and quiet with the compressor cycling off and on, so I know it's not running at full capacity.
Sounds great. Thanks for the update!
One more report.........today is a chilly and damp campsite on the Pacific coast where we'll be for a few days. The heat function is working perfectly, keeping us at a comfortable 69 degrees inside. It's drawing about 12 amps when the compressor is on and it's cycling infrequently. :)
A quick question; does the inside cover have 4 outlets, 2 pointing front and back and another 2 side to side? If so, can you adjust and close all four outlets? Also, it appears as though the filter is in the middle between the outlets. Is this correct?
Glad to hear the heat pump is working as well. My wife and I talked about it today and we will probably be ordering the 13.5K low profile AC/heat pump as well. We are both tired of the noisy Dometic Penguin 2.
Enjoy your trip!
Doug
Yes, the inside air handler is a square, with a 12" X 1.5" outflow vent on all 4 sides that can be closed or directed vertically all the way from straight out to straight down. There is an approximately 12X12 intake with a filter in the center of the bottom. I put some extra filter material in the screen that's there to catch fine dust. The whole unit is thinner against the ceiling than the original Coleman, so no headroom issues for me. As an aside, RecPro has been great to deal with on shipping and questions. The only oddity for use is that when you push a button on the remote, the system has to think for a few seconds before responding.
Quick note.....the vents can't be completely closed tightly.
Quote from: Merlin on September 03, 2023, 12:28:04 AMQuick note.....the vents can't be completely closed tightly.
This leads to a quick question. On our 21BHS, the AC unit is between the kitchen on one side and the dinette slide out on the other. Can the side vents be closed enough to stop cold air from blowing onto someone working at the kitchen counter as well as stop cold air from flowing onto the dinette when eating?
Thanks!
Doug
No, in fact the opposite is the case. The maximum closure setting has the vents pointing straight down and right on someone below. To completely avoid cold air drafts on any one side, you would have to invent a cover or use tape. I'm sitting here on my couch this evening with the A/C on low fan and have the vents pointing straight out so the cold air is right along the ceiling and not on me. Pretty comfortable and doesn't feel drafty. If I were at the kitchen sink, the cold air would be right on my head. Camper life!
Thanks! Enjoy your trip.
One more question; I hope you don't mind. Given that the A/C is turned on using the remote vice a physical switch that maintains its position,what happens to the A/C if the power goes out and then comes back on? In other words, if I leave the camper on a hot day with the A/C on and while I am gone the power goes out and is restored, will the A/C turn back on or will it remain off until I turn jt back on with the remote? Id hate to come back to a hot camper just because the power momentarily went out.
Thanks!
I'll be happy to check tomorrow. We are home now with the shore power plugged in, so I can run a simple test for you. On the trip, I always turned off the unit before shutting off shorepower, so that would not be of help to your question.
Thanks!
If the power goes out while the unit is running, it starts back up in the same mode and temperature settings when the power comes back on. If the power outage is less than 2 minutes, it will wait 2 minutes before starting to save wear on the compressor, but it does start up.
That's great. Thank you! We're pretty much sold in it. We've been camping since Labor Day and the Penguin II has been freezing up a bit and has leaked condensate due to a small crack in a housing cover that I was able to repair. Between that and the constant noise; we're ready for something quieter. Thanks again!
Yesterday, I replaced the Dometic Penguin 2 A/C on my 21BHS with the RECPro AC3800, the higher profile 15KBTU A/C and heat pump. All I can say is that thing is AMAZING. We can't believe how quiet it is compared to the Dometic. We can hold a normal conversation inside without a problem and it cools and heats great. We went with the higher profile model instead of the low profile simply because of the plenum design. The high profile unit only directs the air to the front and back, nothing to the sides. My wife HATES sitting at the table or standing at the kitchen counter and having the air from the A/C hitting her. It is amazing how evenly the A/C cools the camper down.
Install was not bad at all. Getting the unit on the roof was my biggest question. My younger neighbor came over to help. He lifted the box to see how heavy it was and said, "Do you mind if I just take it up myself?" I looked at him like he was nuts but told him to have at it. He threw that box on his shoulder and climbed right up the ladder. Told my wife, "Well, that was easy." Very humbling! :D
Merlin, thanks for the feedback on your purchase. It was what clinched our decision to make the purchase and we are very happy with it.
Doug
Good work. You have a strong neighbor! You'll enjoy that unit every trip.
After our first night with the new A/C I can confirm everything Merlin said about the RecPro systems. The difference over our Dometic Penguin II is amazing. My wife said she had her best night's sleep ever in the camper and so did I. It is quiet, cools really well and the remote is an added bonus!
Taking a sound measurement about 2 feet below the unit; the Dometic was 74dB on low fan and the RecPro is 62dB from the same location. HUGE difference.
I would highly recommend this unit if you are tired of a noisy A/C.