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Old 04-18-2018, 10:27 PM   #1
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Ducted AC vs Old Style--that much better?

Question for those of you who HAVE ducted AC, and USED to have the standard AC, and frequently USE your AC.

I'm curious, of course it's quieter. But is it as effective? The standard unit, like in my 2014 FC, blows cold air prodigiously, right from the AC unit into th trailer. Whereas the ducted units blow the cold air into the ducts in the added roof cavity. On hot sunny days, even thought the ductwork is insulated, is there cooling loss from those ducts being heated up? They surely have very little R-value.

Do you folks in hot climates find the ducted AC keep your coach as cool as the older style that just blows good old fashioned cold air directly from the AC unit into the coach, with no 'middleman'?

Thanks for feedback!
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Old 04-18-2018, 10:46 PM   #2
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My apologies for an early reply, no input but wondering the same and want to be notified of future posts.
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Old 04-19-2018, 12:23 AM   #3
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I think that with 2 AC units, the net effect with both operating compared to 2 conventional units running simultaneously is probably small. It gives you some flexibility with running the unit farthest from where you happen to be if you don't NEED both units, making things even quieter.

With just one unit (like I have) I think ducted air evens out the temperature better throughout the trailer without needing a fan as much. And it's MUCH quieter.
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Old 04-19-2018, 05:39 AM   #4
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Yes, they are that much better.
I am in both types on a daily basis. In a non-ducted Airstream, you almost have to yell to have a conversation with the air going full blast, and the television has to be cranked almost all the way up in most cases to be heard.
Ducted units, you can stand directly under one of the air conditioners, and carry on a normal conversation.
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Old 04-19-2018, 06:07 AM   #5
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Yes, the ducted system really is that much better. The the non-ducted AC, if you were standing or sitting right under the AC you got blasted with cold air while the bathroom was hot and stifling, in the ducted AC it is much more even temps throughout the interior. The noise level is infinitely better with the ducted system. I live in FL and have to have my AC running almost year around but have rarely had to have both AC units running at the same time, it really is that much more efficient.
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Old 04-19-2018, 06:40 AM   #6
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Ducted Air !

Ducted ! You can adjust each vent to "Balance" the desired Temp.in each area.And very Quiet!
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Old 04-19-2018, 07:30 AM   #7
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We have extensive experience with both the ducted and the ceiling mount air conditioning systems in Airstreams. We had a 2005 Safari 25FB and a 2012 Flying Cloud 23FB. Both of these Airstreams had the ceiling mounted air conditioners. We spent a total of 1,600 nights in these two Airstreams. The greates percentage of this time was spent using the airconditioner. In 2014 we bought a 2015 Flying Cloud 25FB with the ducted air conditioning system. We have spent almost 300 nights in this Airstream. Most of the time, we have used the air conditioner.

Even though both systems were able to cool the trailer, the ducted system does a better job of evenly cooling the trailer.

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Old 04-19-2018, 07:38 AM   #8
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My '09 AS had the standard A/C of course. My new GT has ducted and it is definitely quieter and seems to provide more even cooling.

I've only used the A/C once thus far so I'm not an expert by any means. But so far it is better.
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Old 04-19-2018, 08:01 AM   #9
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We’ve had both ducted and non-ducted. A 2014 25EB and now have a 2017 30 Intl. We live in the Pacific Northwest, so use our AC less, but one advantage of the quieter ducted model not yet mentioned is that you are more likely to use the heat pump function to heat the trailer in the winter time since it isn’t much louder than the furnace. Overall, we still prefer to have the heat coming off the floor with the furnace — but when feeling miserly with electrical hookups, it’s nice to have a noise tolerable option to save on propane.
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Old 04-19-2018, 08:48 AM   #10
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I only have experience with the ducted system and I'm sure it could be even better if AS did a better job with insulation. The first time I took the filters out to clean them, I was amazed at the sloppy insulation-a lot of it not glued in place and doing more to restrict airflow than to insulate. If it was like this in the areas I could see, I only wonder about all the areas I can't see. I glued the insulation in place that I could get to.

The ac has been the most problem prone items in the trailer. First, our temp sensor for the rear unit was left in the ceiling and not installed at all. Next, both ac's failed and were replaced under warranty.

We're about to leave on a month long trip and here's hoping for an uneventful journey. Even with the problems, we love our 26u.
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Old 04-19-2018, 10:01 AM   #11
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Many of those folks with the first attempts of ductless A/C had the registers falling out of the ceiling as the hole in the ceiling for the register was a few thousandths of an inch too large. Airstream was amazingly non-helpful in correcting that issue. Other issues of sloppy assemblies inside the duct work have been reported.

We are glad to have the older system in both of our trailers. It works for us. We can clean the air filters completely. One can not easily clean the entire duct run of the accumulated dust and or debris over time.
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Old 04-19-2018, 10:40 AM   #12
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I have had both and ducted air systems are far superior in noise and overall coach comfort.
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Old 04-19-2018, 10:48 AM   #13
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Thanks all for the feedback. I'm asking because I've been considering switching from a 23 FB to a 23 corner bed. Mine is a perfect 2014. Local dealer has a 23 corner bed on consignment but it's a 2017, so I would have to come up with cash after selling mine due to the value difference. The 2017 has 15 inch wheels and Ducted AC, so while my goal was to find a 2014 or 15 23 corner to keep the transaction fairly even, I've been trying to convince myself it's worth the uprade cost for the 2017 because of the ducted AC, wheels, and few other changes (Oceanair shades vs blinds). Not sure of any other changes between 2014 and 2017.
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Old 04-19-2018, 11:03 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pcskier View Post
Thanks all for the feedback. I'm asking because I've been considering switching from a 23 FB to a 23 corner bed. Mine is a perfect 2014. Local dealer has a 23 corner bed on consignment but it's a 2017, so I would have to come up with cash after selling mine due to the value difference. The 2017 has 15 inch wheels and Ducted AC, so while my goal was to find a 2014 or 15 23 corner to keep the transaction fairly even, I've been trying to convince myself it's worth the uprade cost for the 2017 because of the ducted AC, wheels, and few other changes (Oceanair shades vs blinds). Not sure of any other changes between 2014 and 2017.

Oceanair blinds are fantastic. I also understand (might not affect the 23), that they made some improvement to the roof bulges on the later ducted AC trailers versus the original ones (seem to recall something about fewer seams).
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Old 04-19-2018, 11:20 AM   #15
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Ducted for sure. I have had both. Superior comfort, flexibility, and noise reduction for sure.
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Old 03-30-2020, 09:46 PM   #16
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Interestingly I have picked apart the AC ducted versus non-ducted and even spent an afternoon with sound measuring equipment to quantify the differences between a single AC ducted and non-ducted. I have posted results some years back.

I will say that overall, ducted offers exactly what those have shared, a more even balance of cooling and overall quieter operation.

That said, I will say that there are options that can be added to non-ducted units that make a difference too. In the older Airstreams, prior to the multi-directional air handler (the unit having only front facing and rear facing vents, a air handler upgrade offers better air control to balance the air temperature. Prior to changing mine out, we would freeze with cold air blowing on us at night. It made no difference sleeping in the front or rear as there was no way to direct the air a different direction without turning the AC off. The newer design has side ducts and a larger opening straight down which is how I direct the cool air at night. This does not help much with noise. For that, you have to add the auto thermostat to utilize the three speeds of the fan.

This also is where i made a noise observation. The ducted air "streams" that I tested, when running AC at the highest setting were about the same noise level as my non-ducted unit. The noise difference was significant once the trailers' interiors were cooled down. This is where I found the ducted air to be worth having- when under normal operation

I also found that the AC compressor motor type had a lot to do with the noise level between non-ducted units. Sometime around 2008 or so the compressors on the dometic units were changed as was the coolant type. The newer ones ran noisier. This was also due to some type of grommets no longer being used as well. How the very new (2018+) or different ac unit models are now- I have no idea.

My AC does not bother me at bedtime but during time in the trailer- watching TV or just relaxing it is annoying. Ironically two years ago we moved into a new home and my ac unit air handler fan is loud any time it is running! Perhaps you agree and may find that enough to swap your 23 for another.
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