Duo-Therm or Coleman - which to buy ??

[George]

Now I have everyones attention ----
Actually my question is that of an air conditioner,
which to buy ??
Duo -Therm VS. Coleman
I can buy 13,500 btu's high efficiency units for exactly the same price.
Duo-Therm comes with a 3 yr warrenty as opposed to Colemans 2 Yr. As I have never used either unit, I would like openions as to personal preferances ,good points as well as bad ones
thanks in advance,
George

[zduke4x]

I have had both and operation wise they both were fine...Both came on used units....the coleman case has louvers that seem to be more delicate and crack is the only comment in difference I can
note....probably the longer warranty would sway me...lol...jem

[pap]

There is also the Carrier brand to consider.

Shroud replacement cost is 40.00 on the Duo-Therm Penguin, and about 130.00 on most of the Colemans from CamperWorld catalog. I don't know about the Duo Therm Brisk Aires shroud cost nor anything about Carrier shrouds.

How many owners ever need to replace a shroud?? Don't know but it is a good question I think for some of our pollcats.

[53flyingcloud]

pap

You might also want to consider a model that comes with the drip pan as well.

I'm not an expert on which ones has/doesn't have the drip pan.

I just remember overhearing the comments made by one of the service tech at Jackson Center, That, not all brands come with a drip pan.( or something to that effect)

ciao

[wayner1239]

I have a duo-therm that cools great but is noisy. Of course the other units may be as noisy or worse but that is one thing I would consider. I don't know if mine has a drip pan, but one hot day down at Myrtle Beach my wife noticed water running down the inside wall from the window over the sink. I figured that it must have been a stopped up overflow line. When I got back home I put some air pressure on the overflow line and have not had any more leakage.
Wayne

[overlander64]

The drip pan is a specialized part supplied by Airstream, not the air conditioner manufacturer that allows the condesate to flow down tubes installed between the ceiling and roof panels (in new coaches - - the tubes were actually visible on my '64 Coach with its factory Bay Breeze). The availability of the pan does limit both manufacturer and model selection; but does prevent potential streaking of the exterior from the condesate.

I hadn't planned on polishing my coach when I had to replace its original Bay Breeze so went with a Coleman that didn't have an available pan. I am very satisfied with the unit, it is quiet and cools quite well - - the down side is that with virtually all of the new roof air conditioning units you loose the wall thermostat that was part of the Armstrong Bay Breeze units. While I do notice condesate running down the side of the coach from time to time, thus far, it hasn't done any permanent damage.

I am planning to have an air conditioner installed on my Minuet next month, but haven't decided yet whether I am going to insist upon a model with the pan - - or go with the wider selection of standard units. I have been told that since my unit has the optional air conditioner prep package that it already has the plumbing tubes in the wall ready for an air condtioner with the condesate pan.

Kevin

[74Argosy24MH]

My Coleman AC had a drip pan in it when I purchased it. I had to modify it to work, there were drains off both sides. On the original Armstrong there was a pan that matched the curve of the roof, these are available from Airstream but not for the Coleman's. I didn't need it, the crown of the roof was low enough that the gaskets sealed without it.

John

[Inland RV Center, In]

The "ONLY" drip pan available from Airstream is for the Duotherm "Penguin" model.

However, we are working on a pan for the Carrier 15,000 BTU model.

Andy
inlandrv.com
airstreamparts.com
airstreamcandy.com