Thermostat Question - 2015 Sport

[Frank&Mike]

I'm not very technical so here goes it.

On one of our previous Airstreams (2008 International) had a thermostat that operated the air conditioner and the furnace. The thermostat allowed for selection of cool, furnace or heat pump, could set the thermostat for the desired temperature and the air conditioner, or the furnace or the heat pump would turn on and off, on it's own when the desired temperature needed to be reached.

The 2015 Sport thermostat operates only the furnace. The air conditioner/heat pump has to operated utilizing the controls on the air conditioner/heat pump - no connection whatsoever to the thermostat ... and it runs continuously.

1. I'm assuming the climate control technology for the 2015 Sport is referred to "Air Conditioner with Manual Controls"?

2. I'm assuming the climate control for the 2015 Sport could be upgraded to "Air Conditioner with Electronic Controls" by upgrading the thermostat and tying the air conditioner/heat pump into the upgraded thermostat?

Am I correct that we could upgrade to "Electronic Controls" which would allow the temperature to function just as it would on the 2008 International?

[lewster]

To convert a manual control Dometic to a digital thermostat, you will need several things in place prior to any consideration of the upgrade. The simplest thermostat is the Single Zone Thermostat (SZT) kit from Dometic. In order for this to function, it needs 12VDC positive and ground AT THE ROOF UNIT. You will also need 3 wires, minimum 16AWG, leading from the roof unit to the thermostat location.

In addition, you will need a pair of additional wires that run from the furnace control board (existing thermostat will suffice) to the roof unit that will be connected into the SZT control box.

You will also need a new ADB (air distribution box) for the bottom of the roof unit.

If you can meet all of these requirements, you should be good to go!!!

[idroba]

And there are lots of us with the integrated Atwood thermostat controls for the AC/Heat pump/Furnace who would just as soon have the simple controls you have on the Sport. I am probably going to remove the furnace from my AC controls this summer, so I have independent furnace operation. That is fairly easy to do vs. what you would need to do to combine the two systems.

[Frank&Mike]

Thank you both for your replies. Does sound as though it may not be worth the $ to accomplish.

[baldwin6601]

We are on our fifth season with our 2010 Sport which we bought new. The situation you describe has been no problem for us at all. Matter of fact, I didn't know that the AC and Furnace controls could be integrated until I read your post a moment ago

[Howard Lefkowitz]

You also need a special board which is located in the AC unit that communicates with the thermostat. Both the board and the thermostat contain computers which talk to each other. Control wires are needed for the furnace and between the computers. The cost is on the order of $350 to $500. Labor could easily be 6 or 7 hours. I do not believe it is worth the cost or time involved.

[lewster]

Howard,

Don't know who you deal with, but those prices are out of the ball park! A Dometic single zone thermostat kit, which comes complete with net t/stat AND control board is $150 MAX! The new air distribution box less than a hundred.

When I install these on units without existing wiring, 2 hours Tops!

You need some better service techs!!!


Lew Farber
RVIA/RVDA Nationally Certified Master Tech
Master Tech Energy Systems, Inc.
AM Solar Certified Installation Center
Lifeline Batteries**Magnum Inverters
541-490-6357

[Howard Lefkowitz]

I have done several 4 to 5 button conversions and a very few manual to digital conversions. You can get an idea of the cost of parts from;
Dometic 3307713.010 Comfort Control Center Upgrade Kit Camper Trailer RV . I assumed the work would be done by a Dealer and parts would be full retail cost and labor around $110/hr. Unless you are doing the work yourself my cost estimate was reasonable for a service shop. I am not a Tech so it took me more than one hour to read the instructions, understand them and just fish the wires through the walls. By the time I finished the testing, found the mistakes and had a correctly operating system several hours had passed. How long a do-it-yourself job takes is directly related to the individuals experience and knowledge.
If I just use your numbers the job would cost: $150 parts + $220 labor for a total of $370.

[Frank&Mike]

Originally Posted by Howard Lefkowitz

I have done several 4 to 5 button conversions and a very few manual to digital conversions. You can get an idea of the cost of parts from;
Dometic 3307713.010 Comfort Control Center Upgrade Kit Camper Trailer RV . I assumed the work would be done by a Dealer and parts would be full retail cost and labor around $110/hr. Unless you are doing the work yourself my cost estimate was reasonable for a service shop. I am not a Tech so it took me more than one hour to read the instructions, understand them and just fish the wires through the walls. By the time I finished the testing, found the mistakes and had a correctly operating system several hours had passed. How long a do-it-yourself job takes is directly related to the individuals experience and knowledge.
If I just use your numbers the job would cost: $150 parts + $220 labor for a total of $370.

Yes, that's the exact control unit that was in our prior Airstream. Thank you for sharing the link. I was afraid it may be pricey. Guess I'll just stick with the manual version.