EasyStart 366 in a Dometic 6815xxx

[Shiny16]

Matteo

I would be more then happy to bring my sport 16 for installation testing.��

Jimmy

[Micro-Air]

Originally Posted by Shiny16

Matteo

I would be more then happy to bring my sport 16 for installation testing.��

Jimmy

We wish we could do that, Jimmy. Unfortunately, we were told by our insurance company that we can't allow people to drive up their rigs to our factory to help work on them with you. If you were located in South Florida though, I'd gladly pay you a visit!

[flyerboy]

I installed an Easy Start on my 2008 Classic, 15,000 BTU and it is night and day with the Easy Start!


No thunk and so far I've only been able to use my 2000 watt generator at 87 degrees OAT and it started just fine.

Can't help but think this will add to the A/C's longevity as well.

Truly one of those "best investments" I've made for our Classic!

[Shiny16]

Originally Posted by Micro-Air

We wish we could do that, Jimmy. Unfortunately, we were told by our insurance company that we can't allow people to drive up their rigs to our factory to help work on them with you. If you were located in South Florida though, I'd gladly pay you a visit!

Oh well ...worth a shot.

[thiel]

Originally Posted by lsbrodsky

I would tell anyone going to install this in a recent Airstream with a low-profile A/C unit to get on the roof first, take the cover off, and scope out where you want to mount the 364 and how you are going to do it. If you are good with that, then order the 364 and do the job. My 366 fits with the modifications I mentioned, but it is a real pain and if I had to do it all over again, I would go with the 364(more cost) mounted in the fan enclosure.



Larry

Larry...you sound confident that the 364 will fit in the fan enclosure but I'll just have to drill a new hole/grommet. Am I interpreting you correctly?

[Bluto]

Originally Posted by dznf0g

I have a 366 all wired up and ready to go into a 2006 era 13.5K Penguin...but I'm not doing it til a sunny 50* day. Might be awhile, but I'll take pics.

Rich,
That will be a big help. Looking forward to your install pix. I'll even send some warm weather your way.
Now, if I can just get these winds to change direction.

[Bluto]

Originally Posted by Micro-Air

Bluto - if yours is a Penguin, which I believe all the heat pump (reverse-cycle) units are, then yes, the EasyStart 364 or 366 will work. If you decide to order an EasyStart 364, if your unit is in fact a Penguin, then simply write "IP65" in the order notes, and we'll fulfill your order with that enclosure type at no extra charge.

Sounds good! I'll keep that in mind, thank you.

[lsbrodsky]

Originally Posted by thiel

Larry...you sound confident that the 364 will fit in the fan enclosure but I'll just have to drill a new hole/grommet. Am I interpreting you correctly?

I have never seen a 364 in the flesh but there is a lot of room in the fan enclosure. It is adjacent to the electric box and a wiring harness already runs through an existing hole. I feel I could have mounted most anything in the fan enclosure, but I do advise that you remove the A/C cover and look at it first, to see if it is within your skills.
Larry

[kscherzi]

I climbed onto the roof of my 2013 trailer and removed the cover from the Dometic. The label says MFG# 651816C851C0 and Product number 991762761. According to Airstream it is a 15,000 BTU heat pump. This different from lsbrodsky MFG# (6815xxx) though maybe it was an accidental transpose of two characters. Still the photographs posted compared exactly to what I saw on my AC. Very little room inside the metal electrical enclosure.

The fan area does have some room however I wonder about impacts to air flow and temperature impacts to the Micro-Air components. Whereas the existing metal electrical enclosure is outside the operating part of the machine, the other areas probably get real hot, cold, or humid depending upon in AC mode or Heat Pump mode. Further environmental conditions probably make the fan area damp at times. So if I decide to go this route I'll probably just follow lsbrodsky's example and cram it into the existing tight fitting electrical enclosure.

[lsbrodsky]

Yes, I got the numbers wrong, sorry. I think the fan takes return air from inside the trailer, pushes it over the coils, and then pushes it through the vents in the trailer. I cannot see any condition in the fan enclosure that would be worse than in the electrical enclosure, especially since Micro-Air sells the 364 in a watertight box. You can attempt what I did, but if I had to do it all over again, I would buy and install the 364, not the 366. You will never fit the 364 in the electrical enclosure.

Larry

[trumpetguy]

My unit is a Briskair II and there is plenty of room in the unit.


Sent from my iPad using Airstream Forums

[dznf0g]

Well, I got my 366 installed today in a Penguin low profile 13.5K. Tight fir but works well, but I agree with Larry (above). The electrical box is just too small to easily install a 366. Spend the extra money and get the gray sealed unit, drill a hole in the case, install a grommet and mount the MicroAir outside the electrical box in the fan area..

[Micro-Air]

Hi again everyone. Although most of the discussion here has been about the EasyStart 366, there was some question about whether or not the EasyStart 364 could be made to fit into the Dometic Penguin II units. In another thread topic, I just posted a detailed report about an installation we did on a 2015 27ft Airstream Eddie Bauer with dual Dometic Penguin II A/Cs. The post is available at this link. Please feel free to ask any questions in that thread.

[Troutboy]

Link not working?

[SeaLevel]

Originally Posted by Troutboy

Link not working?

It works fine for me.

[Troutboy]

It worked on a PC for me, not in my mobile devices iPhone/iPad

[dznf0g]

So I decided to get out my EU2000i(s) this morning and test out the A/C with both. Each started and ran the 13.5K Penguin just as if it were on shore power with the eco mode off.

Contrary to a posting on one of these threads, I would NOT run the A/C in eco mode. The fan start does not raise the RPMs to a level for compressor start that I am comfortable with. When the compressor kicks in the fan speed drops dramatically and the compressor starts slow....until the EU 2000i catches up. I believe that is a long term durability issue for the compressor. For the little bit of fuel savings, it isn't worth damaging the compressor.

That's my personal opinion and two cents.....

[lsbrodsky]

Nice to know, thanks. I won't need that capability until June, maybe. But I do appreciate the quieter start of the compressor on shore power.
Larry

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by lsbrodsky

Nice to know, thanks. I won't need that capability until June, maybe. But I do appreciate the quieter start of the compressor on shore power.
Larry

No kidding, I have to stand right under the A/C and listed really hard for the compressor start. It is really a quiet start.

[jayseejay]

We are also very happy with EasyStart.

We have 15,000 and 13,500 low profile Penguin 2s on our Airstream, and have EasyStart installed on both of them.

Over the past two weeks, we've stayed at campsites with no shore power (Flamingo at ENP) and 30 amp power (Fort Clinch SP, FL), and did some casual testing of the EasyStart units.

1. We were able to start and run either the 15 or 13.5 units with one propane Honda EU2000.

2. We are able to run both AC units simultaneously by running our 2 propane EU2000s in parallel. We started the 13.5 first, then the 15.

3. Most interesting to me, we were able to run both AC units simultaneously from a 30 amp pedestal. Again, we started the 13.5 unit first.

4. Both AC units started a little quieter when the compressor kicked in then normal.

More testing needed to confirm how much headroom we have in each case, but it in this limited use, we did not run into any problems.

Best,
Joe