A/C tips for keeping cool

[Mickdayank]

I taped up the return air on the 15k coleman and taped up any sharp areas. The installation person did not tape the return air area well. Had several places leaking. After taping all areas and even taping areas to make the air flow smoother, the amount of air coming out of the vents is remarkable. Using one a/c in 99 degree texas summer and able to cycle a/c on and off in the auto mode set at 74 degrees. Before taping off rough edges , rv a/c would run continuously and not keep it cool inside.... Most units probably would benefit from extra time taping off sharp edges around the duct system and return air. I think the aluminum duct tape is much cheaper than spending $180 on aftermarket product which eliminates the dump feature, leaves the a/c working as intended and works much much better than factory taping job.

True enough. I however chose to spend the money to get something that was engineered for the job so that the air does not come down into a giant box and eventually get pushed out it comes directly from the unit into the ducting via the expensive foam box. I must also add that new GD’s are being built with this in the AC units so obviously they have determined it has worth. Either way we all spend money on different things to make our units the best for us, I chose to do this. That said I did not get one for the bedroom AC as it blows a gale in the smaller area.

[bertschb]

T...I have a 351M and I swapped the vents in the LR that are closest to the sofa to the adjustable opening, one direction air flow vent.

Thanks for sharing this. Great idea! I actually ordered four of the adjustable vents from Amazon. I'll use them in the living area to direct the air where I want it.

[Sparky1]

Suber81083, I made great increase in airspeed at the vents by taping pieces of ridgid foam board inside the plenum on the Dometic 15k AC in my 2017 2150RB. About $10 in supplies and two hours work. I can’t seem to add the pics here so I’ll try again.

[DaTraveler]

I taped up the return air on the 15k coleman and taped up any sharp areas. The installation person did not tape the return air area well. Had several places leaking. After taping all areas and even taping areas to make the air flow smoother, the amount of air coming out of the vents is remarkable. Using one a/c in 99 degree texas summer and able to cycle a/c on and off in the auto mode set at 74 degrees. Before taping off rough edges , rv a/c would run continuously and not keep it cool inside.... Most units probably would benefit from extra time taping off sharp edges around the duct system and return air. I think the aluminum duct tape is much cheaper than spending $180 on aftermarket product which eliminates the dump feature, leaves the a/c working as intended and works much much better than factory taping job.

I'm glad that worked for you. Doing that hasn't worked for everyone. I had spent quite some time doing the exact same thing and was still not satisfied with the results. I didn't want to mask off the entire return or make any changes that GD or Coleman could say caused problems or that they could use as an excuse to deny any kind of warranty claim. I've had that happen before and learned my lesson. Until the warranty has expired, I won't make changes to any of the appliances that could affect any claims.

I purchased the RVairflow product and I'm glad I did. By the way, there are quite a few discount codes flying around the web that work. I was able to get 20% off. I paid $135.00 for mine and would do it again because it's a lot cheaper that buying the second A/C unit for the bedroom.

[chrisopy]

As most have said, first make like a mole. Then take down the air conditioner cover, remove filters first, and make sure the separator is perpendicular. The separator is there to make sure that when the air conditioner pulls in return air that it doesn't also pull in cool air at the same time. I found both of mine were at 45 degree angle which was pulling i would say 40% of the cool air back into the unit. Next, I installed the RV Airflow and that was the kicker. You will not believe the difference in air flow thru the ducts. Before we could barely feel air from the closest duct to the A/C and now with just the living room A/C on we can feel significant air flow back in the bedroom. It is over 100 degrees here and we are keeping our Solitude 310 at home right now and keep the thermostat set at 89. Before the RV Airflow both A/C's ran constantly. After RV Airflow they only run a few minutes at a time. One other item we did with success was to add Magna Shades to the 2 large windows next to the table and recliners.

My separator was not completely perpendicular either, but if I straighten it, the bottom won't fit into the groove on the plastic shield, making it hard to screw up. I did find out one of my ducts was partially collapsed and the black plastic in the picture that inserts into it on one side wasn't able to be fully inserted leaving openings for the air to go into the ceiling. I taped the duct open more and used tape to close any other openings up and make a smooth transition from the insert into the duct on the one side.

[Foothiller]

20 degrees below outside is pretty poor in the Western US. I full-timed for 3 years with a 35' Carriage Lite 5th, one AC, and don't recall having any overheating problems. I don't plan to spend a lot of time in hot zones, but sometimes you have to do that. This performance is particularly bad if you're traveling during the day in hot weather - you can't cool the unit when you stop.

The weekend we finally got delivery of our 295RL Reflection 150 5th, it got up to 108 here in Tucson, sunny as usual. Even with both ACs running overnight, the inside was climbing through 83 by early PM - we went home. Today, it reached 99 at home - the trailer out front was 67 this morning, 81 now in the main room, 77 in the bedroom. I only have 30A here at home, so just running the main AC. I had both awnings out on the sunny side and we weren't inside (with our heat load) most of the day. I guess some reflectix will help a bit - kind of a pain.

The supply air to return air differential was 20 degrees, right in the middle of the Coleman specification so the unit is working as designed. The trailer needs better insulation to reduce heat load.

[OurNewEra]

One thing we found helps a lot depending on where the sun is, is to put out your awning(s) to keep the sun from coming through the windows or beating on the side of the trailer.

[traveldawg]

fwiw..... Changing Lanes just posted a video on the RV AirFlow devices. They were satisfied.

for me - I did something similar to what Sparky1 did... made my own and also checked both A/C units and used some aluminum tape to be sure there were no leaks in the A/C plenum. I don't have any scientific measurements but just spent a week in the high 80's and no shade on 30 amps and my main unit kept the inside at 75 degrees with no trouble.