Replacement Air Conditioner for 71 Tradewind

[Lumatic]

What are your recommendations for a replacement Air Conditioner for a 71 Tradewind? minimum BTUs? manufacturer?

There is a Campers World in Albuquerque that sells Coleman and Dometic at what seems like pretty good prices. I found another thread that says a drip pan is pretty necessary for an AS and Coleman doesn't make one.

Do you think installation is within the capacity of the average joe handiman (me) or should I find a tech?

Is there a recommended AC I can run off my Honda EU2000i? What about swamp coolers (I am in the Southwest) do they have any less electrical draw than an AC?

Much Thanks,

PS I have the old Armstrong off the roof. I had an AC guy check it and he said the either the compressor is shot or it needs a freon recharge, either way not worth the cost. The shroud is also living on borrowed time. Plus I can't find anyone around here to work on it.

[53flyingcloud]

Marshall,
I hate to hear that..Those old Armstrong unit are so unique and were built to last.
Your choices for A/C is really limited as far as BTU. The minimum you'll find that works is 13,500BTU. At that, you should expect no more than 10 to 20 degrees range between in/out temp. (Depending on the time of the day, etc) As far as drip pan issues..You may have to end up ordering that as a seperate unit from AS or an AS dealer. Dometic is the preferred way to go and, will usually mate to the drip pan. Again research this issue well in advance for that and, also as it relates to the support area of the roof members for a newer style A/C. Just a small example of some of what needs to be checked. For the EU2000 to run atypical A/C.. My recommendation would be against this. You'd be far better off running two EU2000 to handle the start-up load. I have a EU3000 and, I have not,as of yet, attempted to use this for A/C.
If you do keep the Armstrong off..Don't throw it away~! I can think of several individuals who are always looking for old units for spares..

[AYRSTRM2]

The Carrier AirV has an integral drip pan already built in and is about as easy of a replacement project as you find. Search on carrier and inlandrv to read more about these. Bottomline: easy self installation and wonderful AC unit. We love it.

[overlander63]

I second the vote for the Carrier. I installed on on a friend's SOB MoHo, and it works great. If you go with it, get the 15,000 BTU model, and heat strip. You may never need the heat strip, but if you ever run out of propane in the middle of the nioght, it will keep the chill off until morning.
If you want one with a drip pan, I believe Duo Therm Penguins are one of the few (if not the only one) that uses one.

[lewster]

Airstreams are the only application where a Dometic Penguin requires a drip pan. I see these units almost daily on MoHos and they don't use a drip pan, are mounted directly to the roof, AND have an interior drain hose arrangement. I haven't figured out why Dometic needs a drip pan while Carrier doesn't .

If you ever open a Dometic in the evaporator section, there IS a plastic drip pan integrated into the design with 2 holes for the condensate to escape. I guess you have to fabricate a fitting to connect it to the drain hose. All of the other OEMs do it, don't know why Airstream couldn't do it as well.

That said, Dometic has a 3 year warranty and Carrier only 2. They both are good units and work well. It's a tough call!

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by lewster

Airstreams are the only application where a Dometic Penguin requires a drip pan. I see these units almost daily on MoHos and they don't use a drip pan, are mounted directly to the roof, AND have an interior drain hose arrangement. I haven't figured out why Dometic needs a drip pan while Carrier doesn't .

If you ever open a Dometic in the evaporator section, there IS a plastic drip pan integrated into the design with 2 holes for the condensate to escape. I guess you have to fabricate a fitting to connect it to the drain hose. All of the other OEMs do it, don't know why Airstream couldn't do it as well.

What I understand from another thread is without a drip pan the condensate water will run down the side of the AS. Do I have that right?

[lewster]

Marshall,

If you leave the unit 'as is' and install it....YES, it will drip down the sides. With a slight modification to the inner drip pan on a Dometic, you can connect it to your interior drip hose (if you have one). If you don't have the internal hose, ANY unit will drip down the side walls.

[IndyAnne]

Is the Dometic Penguin preferred for Airstream? Will the Brisk work? Is there anything I can tell an installer to be sure they get the job done right? I am having trouble getting the job done here in Indy.
Thanks,
Anne

[Lumatic]

With it's low profile I think the Penguin will look better on an Airstream. I don't know of any other advantage except maybe a little less wind resistance.

[lewster]

Almost any roof air 'will work', but it really comes down to esthetics and the compatibility with the rounded design of the Airstream. The Brisk Air is a much taller, boxier unit that IMHO, does not lend itself well to the flowing lines of the trailer.

I would use either the Penguin or the Carrier Air V low profile.