Is the A/C quieter?

[safari05-25]

I was wondering if the A/C unit is quieter with all the insulation Airstream has in the walls and ceiling? The one I have in my rig ( Award ) is so noisy, it is a Duo- Therm. Thinking of buying a Safari.. thanks

[SafeHarbor]

Hi, Stonecrest,

Gee, that's mighty subjective. I have a neighbor in the RV park with a newish Alumiscape (Holiday Rambler) 26-footer with a DuoTherm 15K BTU, and it's much quieter inside than the antique Armstrong in my 31-foot Airstream or the Carrier V I put in my 28 Argosy.

That said, I ran the Carrier full blower just to get the Argosy cool in the summer. The old Armstrong can do the same in the middle fan position, making less noise overall even though the compressor is much, more noisy.

My GUESS is that Airstream products are just as noisy inside from the A/C as any other brand. The shape of the roof make it shed a little noise, but not that I can notice.

I'm just curious about why my neighbor's Aluminscape, which has been across the country and back three times, is so much quieter than BOTH my Airstream products.

Of course, my trailers have been around 27 and 31 years... compared to these, the HR is a baby.

Lamar

PS - The advantage of the 31 is that you can get further away from the A/C, and with the curved ends of the trailer, still get plenty of cool air where folks lounge and sleep. The center beds of the Argosy did not show this effect. By the time I got the entire trailer down to a comfortable sleeping temperature, the bathroom would be frigid.

[tpi]

Nearly all the sound in my '05 w/ Penguin is from the blower, not the compresser. I don't consider it particularly loud but that is subjective. It definitely makes some white noise.

[SafeHarbor]

I'm not any sort of A/C expert, but the newer units all use the rotary compressors, right? (This reminds me of the old "piston engines go boing, boing, boing" ads.) The old Armstrong has a cast-iron piston compressor - it growls and roars.

I won't say it's noisier than the fan, but it contributes probably one-third of the overall noise. It also has plenty of character. It shakes the whole trailer when it starts up.

Lamar

[Tarheel]

Its only noisy if you are watching your favorite program on tv. The blower makes the most noise. I have a 34' and just put in a second one in the bedroom. It helps on the really hot days and in the evening I can run it and not hear the noise in the front.