Air Conditioner Questions
Printed From: r-pod Nation
Category: Forest River r-pod
Forum Name: r-pod Warranty, Service and Recall Bulletins
Forum Description: Have a warranty or service experience to share?
URL: http://www.rpodNation.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=221
Printed Date: 16 Apr 2024 at 4:11pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.0 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Air Conditioner Questions
Posted By: Stan and Linda Irvin
Subject: Air Conditioner Questions
Date Posted: 14 Jun 2009 at 12:09pm
 Ok, what did we decide on about the air conditioners? Is the fan supposed to cycle with the compressor or not. We used it this weekend and the fan only ran when the compressor was running. The instructions say that the fan is to run continuosly and then the a/c will kick in.
Another question is; is the A/C designed to run on 30 or 50 amp. service? I can't find that information anywhere.
RPod Admin your input would be appriciated.
Thanks, Stan ------------- Stan and Linda 
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Replies:
Posted By: TerryM
Date Posted: 14 Jun 2009 at 12:16pm
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Not the Admin but the AC runs on 30amp. and on mine the fan runs only when the compressor runs. Terry |
Posted By: capringl
Date Posted: 16 Jun 2009 at 4:07am
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Mine does the same.
------------- Craig R-Pod 172 2008 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon |
Posted By: Wyn
Date Posted: 16 Jun 2009 at 7:06pm
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Stan, I posted the issues I had with the Dometic A/C in the Maintenance Issues section. To answer your question though, the Dometic is designed to have the fan cycle on and off with the compressor, the manual is wrong. This was confirmed by the Engineering Dept. of Dometic. There is not a way to modify the unit to have the fan run continuously. Neither Dometic or Forest River would do anything to correct this deficiency. My dealer did work with me though to swap out the Dometic for a Carrier, I paid the labor cost. ------------- Wyn & Gail R-171 Hudson Valley, NY |
Posted By: jherald02
Date Posted: 17 Jun 2009 at 2:56am
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Mine is the same way. Initially I thought mine was broken because it didn't kick on and off that often. But if I had been paying attention, it was always cool for long periods of time. This little unit is very well insulated. ------------- Let's hit the road! |
Posted By: rabuol
Date Posted: 18 Jun 2009 at 4:05pm
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So is anyone satisfied with their Dometic AC in theri r pod ???
The more I read about this unit, the more I fear that it is not a good unit
The thing that really gets me is that Forest River is not issuing a recall on the unit...so it must be OK!
Come on r podners.....respond....are you or are you not satisfied with the unit ?
Is there anyone out there not having problems ???
Lou
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Posted By: yizit
Date Posted: 18 Jun 2009 at 6:22pm
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We have not had any problems so far with our 172. We have spent 10 days in it. We used the A/C only for short periods of time while working on projects on the inside. We'll be taking it out for the weekend and the weather looks like it'll be warm enough for us to use it. We haven't boon dock yet, so can't say how everything would work without hookups. We have been very pleased with our little Rpod. We have a great dealer we've been working with. I'm sure you'll find more positive remarks. No complaints and we love it.
------------- Former owner of 2009 Rpod 172 Darlene & Jim, Ewok our Lhasa Roada our 2004 Roadtrek 190P Conversion Van |
Posted By: David and Danette
Date Posted: 19 Jun 2009 at 5:52am
We like the Dometic A/C it is a little loud. The fact that the fan turns off with the compressor I think it is a pluss, it is a time of it being quiet. We live in south florida and recently went camping in 96 degree weather with high humidity. The A/C performed well, we were very thakful for it. As far as reliability I can only guess that Dometic is good quality, there refrigerators seem good.  Happy camping David and Danette------------- SWFL 171 2010 Jeep Liberty |
Posted By: TerryM
Date Posted: 19 Jun 2009 at 10:53am
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Mine will be getting a test this Sunday to Wed. when I go playing with my Jeep. I have used it some and it is VERY loud. I'll try to remember to give a report when I get back home. Terry |
Posted By: Stan and Linda Irvin
Date Posted: 19 Jun 2009 at 3:21pm
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Don't get me wrong we are happy with ours too. We just were concerned that it wasn't cycling right. We went to the race the other night, left it to do it's thing and upon our return it was pleasingly cool.
------------- Stan and Linda
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Posted By: Wyn
Date Posted: 19 Jun 2009 at 5:56pm
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The Dometic AC is the loudest RV air conditioner, both the Coleman and Carrier are significantly quieter. We noticed with the Dometic we had to talk very loud to hear each other, with the Carrier we had installed, we can talk at a normal volume, and the Carrier cools better.
Other than the Dometic AC, the R-Pod is a well made, quality trailer that we expect will give us many years of good service. We are very happy with our 171. ------------- Wyn & Gail R-171 Hudson Valley, NY |
Posted By: clevispin
Date Posted: 20 Aug 2009 at 5:15pm
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The dometic unit in my new 175 just seems impossibly loud. I don't care about whether the fan switches on/off w/the compressor ... it's just that when the unit comes on it absorbs your whole attention.
Am I just going to have to live with this, or is Forest River open to hearing about it? And, what does the carrier unit run if I want to swap out? Tom |
Posted By: yizit
Date Posted: 20 Aug 2009 at 6:58pm
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Yes it is loud..wish we would have known it before we took delivery and could have swapped it out.
------------- Former owner of 2009 Rpod 172 Darlene & Jim, Ewok our Lhasa Roada our 2004 Roadtrek 190P Conversion Van |
Posted By: tabkld93
Date Posted: 21 Aug 2009 at 6:32am
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I too believe the unit to be loud and it has awakened me in the night.
I also think the size of the Pod's is leading to the sound level. It is just not a big space to have such a large fan blowing.
How can they be so quiet outside? ------------- Todd, Karen & Leah '13 Surveyor 240 '12 Ford F150 EcoBoost Former owner of 2010 R-Pod 172 |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 21 Aug 2009 at 8:08am
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You could always make a deal now with the dealer, or try to sell the new Dometic privately and then buy the Carrier. Probably a loss either way, but worth it. I'm thinking of doing the later. As I've mentioned on another thread, I'm also thinking about adding a motor control inside the unit to reduce the RPMs of the fan. ------------- '10 Forest River R-pod 171 |
Posted By: yizit
Date Posted: 21 Aug 2009 at 8:41am
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It's louder inside so it is not loud outside to disturb other campers. I wouldn't like it if I had a noisy RV parking next to me while at a state campground.
------------- Former owner of 2009 Rpod 172 Darlene & Jim, Ewok our Lhasa Roada our 2004 Roadtrek 190P Conversion Van |
Posted By: geneowens
Date Posted: 21 Aug 2009 at 9:16am
| I think I've said this but it bears repeating - 11k is more BTUs than the Pod needs even with the slide - I ran my Coleman Polar Cub in my PUP again this week and on low it is very quiet and cools the PUP in this 90 degree heat very well. The Cub is 8K BTU. I would never consider adding a 13.5K unit to the POD! I really like being able to cool the POD with only 1 Honda EU2000i which I can do with the 11k Dometic. The Honda easily runs the Polar Cub, Fridge and converter all at the same time in the PUP. |
Posted By: David and Danette
Date Posted: 21 Aug 2009 at 9:46am
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Is there anything someone could do to make the AC a little more quiet. Any ideas, someone said lowering the fan speed may help if compressor would not freeze up. What makes it so loud ? Thankyou for your comments. David ------------- SWFL 171 2010 Jeep Liberty |
Posted By: TXBoondocker1217
Date Posted: 25 Aug 2009 at 5:16pm
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We turned our AC on at 6 pm Friday the 21st and turned it off on Sunday the 23rd. The first night I forgot to turn the AC Auto off and the think woke me up every time it cycled. It sounded like it was gonna come out of the ceiling. The second night I set the fan to run and we slept like a baby (of course we were tired that night also). Just wonder if that jerking of the fan is good for the system?? It sure don't sound good. Think I will mention it to the dealer. ------------- Steve & Carole Scooter & Sophy(4 legged kids) 2010 RP-172 R-Pod "Rose Pod" 2008 Toyota 4Runner "Rose Pedal How old would you be, if you didn't know how old you are?? |
Posted By: Outbound
Date Posted: 26 Aug 2009 at 7:26am
Jerking? I wouldn't call the sound of my air condiitoner fan (or compressor) starting up as anything like jerking... Its loud, but no more so than standing next to a standard window air conditioner, and I have no sense of anything moving about (apart from the fan turning). Speaking with your dealer sounds like a good idea. ------------- Craig :: 2008 Mazda Tribute :: 2009 r-pod 171, The Johnnie Ray |
TXBoondocker1217 wrote:Posted By: Butterfly_Lee
Date Posted: 26 Aug 2009 at 10:56am
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Yes, the A/C is loud. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but we have 11,000Btu A/C units which should be enough to cool a 450sq ft. My r-172 is about 120sq ft. So we have about 3 times the power needed. When you in the southern areas of the country in the summer is a good thing. Plus we are in close quarters it's going to be loud no matter where we are, since we have 3 times the power needed. I since I sleep on the bottom buck after the first nights out I found not enough air got to me and Myra got to much. Picked up a 12" fan at walmart, then point in at the bunks. I set the A/C temp a little high and just keep the air moving around. My fan is much quieter. When the temp get warm enough the a/c kicks in long enough to kool and then it's off. There's my two cents and please check the figures you techies. Keep KOOL Lee ------------- Still a work in progress, lots of pictures. http://podterfly.blogspot.com/ |
Posted By: David
Date Posted: 26 Aug 2009 at 12:51pm
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For those who don't like the cycling on and off, BillB posted a mod on June 28 (page 4 of Maintenance Tips and Tricks). It allows the fan to run all the time, with the compressor cycling as needed. I have not done it yet, and may try it before swapping it out with a smaller Coleman or Carrier. It is too loud, for me, and the cycling wakes me up. I agree that it probably too large for a well insulated, small square footage camper. That's my 2 cents.
David
RP173 ------------- Hope to see you "out there" David - weird guy with a wolf Dixie - German Shepherd RP173 - "Campground Assault Vehicle 1" 2009 Silverado 5.3L V8 |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 26 Aug 2009 at 2:10pm
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The newer A/C units with the thermostats on the wall don't need the modification. They have a "fan on" switch. But its the fan that's too loud to begin with... ------------- '10 Forest River R-pod 171 |
Posted By: Outbound
Date Posted: 27 Oct 2009 at 5:01pm
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I ran across http://rvdailyreport.com/News/tabid/57/ctl/ArticleView/mid/372/articleId/2819/PageID/2716/Carrier-to-exit-RV-industry-at-years-end.aspx - this story today and thought I'd resurrect this thread. It looks like Carrier will no longer be manufacturing its RV air conditioners as of the new year. ------------- Craig :: 2008 Mazda Tribute :: 2009 r-pod 171, The Johnnie Ray |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 28 Oct 2009 at 3:39am
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Wow. Never thought I'd see the day... ------------- '10 Forest River R-pod 171 |
Posted By: PodPatrol
Date Posted: 28 Oct 2009 at 3:49am
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Being more concerned with AC issues than heating issues ( plug in a heater ),
has anyone looked into the cost of replacing the standard AC with something quieter and more power efficient ??? I'm not sure how the adaptability runs with this type of mod. HAPPY PODing !!! |
Posted By: duder
Date Posted: 28 Oct 2009 at 5:30am
We had our AC replaced with the Carrier unit, which we love! I hope that there will be no service issues though if Carrier is not going to produce them any longer. ------------- Chuck and Bev 2010 R-Pod 172 Happy Trails!!!! |