Drain pans are ordered separately. During removal the old ones usually get damaged. When I ordered my Duotherm I also ordered a new drip pan. You will be amazed at just how thin the plastic is.
I remember Andy posting something about a brand that slung the water somewhere and so did not need a drip pan, Andy?
Don't the drain pans come with the unit? Are the drain pans contoured for the curved roof top? I think I am going to go with the Duo-Therm Brisk Heat pump 15k. My head is aching going back and forth with this.....
I have decided to upgrade my stock 11,000 btu Duo-Therm with a 13,5K Low Profile Duo-Therm Heat Pump. When the installer removed the old unit he found the drain pan was cracked in several places. The drain pan is "thin" plastic and can be easily cracked when tightening down the unit so be careful. The drain pans are purchased separately, they do not come with the unit.
I had considered going with the Carrier unit but I had several RV Techs and parts personnel warn me against the Carrier due to their poor parts and tech support. The parts guy said he has a tremendous problem getting any support from Carrier and many of his customers end up waiting for parts during the peak of the camping season. On the other hand, Duo-Therm has a large network of warranty/repair centers and parts distributors and "everybody" works on them. They also offer a 3 year warranty vice 2 for the Carrier.
Trust me, I was just as confused and frustrated as you trying to make a decision, but in the end I went with the advice of the folks who deal with this stuff everyday. Only time will tell!
__________________
Steve and Bonnie
The "Mississippi Queen"
I had Camping World change out my original 1979 31ft Sov Int AC unit with a Penguin 13.5 BTU Heat Pump a month ago. A drain pan was ordered from an Airstream Dealer. The technician at CW told me the Penguin was the best he has ever seen as far as not needing much servicing etc.
The 15K Penguin HP model would not work in mine since at the present it will only work with a duct work system. The 13.5 K has a inside cover simular to the original.
Words of warning to everyone. The $88.95 AC installation charge is very misleading. They charge a lot extra ($297.00)just to remove your existing unit ( you will find this out when you pick up your unit) and extra for the wire to hook it up as well as extra charge for sealant/caulking and screws to fasten it down with. As far as I can tell everything looks ok. I have not used it yet.
Just make sure you get a firm estimate in writing for everything they will be doing before you leave your AS with them.
I had Camping World change out my original 1979 31ft Sov Int AC unit with a Penguin 13.5 BTU Heat Pump a month ago. A drain pan was ordered from an Airstream Dealer. The technician at CW told me the Penguin was the best he has ever seen as far as not needing much servicing etc.
The 15K Penguin HP model would not work in mine since at the present it will only work with a duct work system. The 13.5 K has a inside cover simular to the original.
Words of warning to everyone. The $88.95 AC installation charge is very misleading. They charge a lot extra ($297.00)just to remove your existing unit ( you will find this out when you pick up your unit) and extra for the wire to hook it up as well as extra charge for sealant/caulking and screws to fasten it down with. As far as I can tell everything looks ok. I have not used it yet.
Just make sure you get a firm estimate in writing for everything they will be doing before you leave your AS with them.
If your Airstream had a factory AC, then all the wiring is in place.
There is "NO" extra wire or wiring of any kind, any where, that needs to be added when installing a new AC, in place of the original.
This holds true from the 1964 models, to the present.
I also upgraded to the 15k Dometic Heat pump (from 13.5k) several years ago and have been very happy with it. The heat pump with the new controller works great. When the heat pump is no longer effective it automatically switches over to the furnace.
Yet another super-informative thread. Thanks, everyone. Can I hijack it a bit?
I have a 2007 19 foot Safari SE with a standard AC (honestly not too sure of the BTU). I would LOVE to upgrade to a heat pump model, largely because I am hoping it would tie in to what SilverTwinkie has called a "comfort control center" that would integrate the control of the furnace and the HP. (Right now if I turn on the AC, the fan runs all the time, which is really noisy.... I also won't talk about the night that someone had turned on the furnace switch and I woke up alternating beween frozen and cooking).
Reading this thread, I now know:
Penguin good... not sure I can find it at Camping World as you guys have. All they seem to carry now is Duo-Therm (Penguin not specified).
Camping World will install it, but may rip me off for wiring.
I probably don't need 11,500 BTU because my trailer is smaller than the OP's.
I need a drain pan from Airstream.
What I don't know is:
How do I get the coveted Comfort Control Center? Is that something that comes with the heat pump?
Do you need extra wiring to convert from the mechanical thermostat on the vanity wall to the CCC?
Is this something that MUST be done by Airstream? The nearest dealer is 300 miles from here.
Would anyone be interested in my mostly new / old AC?
Yet another super-informative thread. Thanks, everyone. Can I hijack it a bit?
I have a 2007 19 foot Safari SE with a standard AC (honestly not too sure of the BTU). I would LOVE to upgrade to a heat pump model, largely because I am hoping it would tie in to what SilverTwinkie has called a "comfort control center" that would integrate the control of the furnace and the HP. (Right now if I turn on the AC, the fan runs all the time, which is really noisy.... I also won't talk about the night that someone had turned on the furnace switch and I woke up alternating beween frozen and cooking).
Reading this thread, I now know:
Penguin good... not sure I can find it at Camping World as you guys have. All they seem to carry now is Duo-Therm (Penguin not specified).
Camping World will install it, but may rip me off for wiring.
I probably don't need 11,500 BTU because my trailer is smaller than the OP's.
I need a drain pan from Airstream.
What I don't know is:
How do I get the coveted Comfort Control Center? Is that something that comes with the heat pump?
Do you need extra wiring to convert from the mechanical thermostat on the vanity wall to the CCC?
Is this something that MUST be done by Airstream? The nearest dealer is 300 miles from here.
Would anyone be interested in my mostly new / old AC?
I don’t know about the Comfort Control Center, but I will say that I haven’t heard of an AC smaller than 11,500 BTU. Having said that, I can’t recall seeing anything smaller than 13,500 BTU for sale. I doubt that it would be overkill for your Bambi, and the flip side is the extra capacity in the heat pump.
I’m sure someone would be interested in your new/old unit. It would help if you could ascertain its size.
Let us know what you decide.
__________________ Vaughan
A sixth sense (I lack the other five) tells me that I am in serious difficulties.Oscar Levant
I have a 2008, 28' International with a 15,000 BTU Penguin II heat pump by Dometic. In cooling mode the unit does a great job cooling the AS. In heat pump mode it will heat the AS when ambient temp is in the low 40's.
The unit is some what noisy on the living side, but quiet enough in the bedroom so as not to disturb.
The Dometic plant in Mexico was totally destroyed by fire in early April 2009. I know they made the some Penguin models there. There are shortages of some models until they can initiate production at other facilities. So if you need a particular unit now you may have to wait.
__________________
Steve and Bonnie
The "Mississippi Queen"
I started this thread in February of 09 as I was in search of the best replacement/upgrade for my stock 11K btu A/C for my 25' Safari. I live in Mississippi and camp mostly in the south so the 11K unit was not cutting it. I also had a cracked pan (from the factory) and condensation was dripping into the interior. So rather than just fix the pan and reinstall the 11k unit, I decided to upgrade.
In March of this year I purchased a 13.5K btu Penguin Heat Pump from a local RV dealer and had it installed (closest AS dealer is 5 Hr drive). The unit was installed properly but on our first extended trip we discovered that the heat mode worked well however the A/C mode blew only outside air temps (no cool). Dometic Rep confirmed it to be a defective unit. RV dealer ordered a replacement unit.
Replacement unit (unit # 2) delivery was delayed due to the fire at the Dometic Plant in Mexico in April. Delivery took about a month. Replacement unit was received at the RV dealer "damaged" (big hole in box and large dent on bottom of unit). Probably caused by a fork lift at the Dometic plant or by freight carrier. New unit ordered.
New unit (# 3) arrived about three weeks later. Installed by RV dealer and during checkout the tech noted there was a clicking/rattling sound coming from the compressor. Dometic Rep confirmed the compressor was bad.
Ordered new unit (# 4). The Dometic plant informed the RV dealer that a delivery date could not be provided due to a significant backlog and we would "just have to wait". Waited three weeks, contacted Dometic for a delivery date and they said they could not predict any delivery date and we would "just have to wait".
......now I am at the end of my rope and have missed many weeks of camping, so in frustration I cancelled the Dometic order.
The RV dealer, who has been great during this whole ordeal, has now ordered a 15K Carrier Heat Pump for me and it should be installed this week (hopefully). I realize there will be no drip pan installed with the Carrier unit but I will gladly put up with the condensation drips down the side on the camper as long as the unit heats and cools well and I can start camping again.
Bottom line is my experiences with Dometic product quality and customer support have been "very" negative. IMHO I would not recommend Dometic/Penguin A/C or Heat Pump products to anyone at this time because they obviously have serious quality and logistics issues ongoing since the fire at the Mexico plant.
__________________
Steve and Bonnie
The "Mississippi Queen"
I started this thread in February of 09 as I was in search of the best replacement/upgrade for my stock 11K btu A/C for my 25' Safari. I live in Mississippi and camp mostly in the south so the 11K unit was not cutting it. I also had a cracked pan (from the factory) and condensation was dripping into the interior. So rather than just fix the pan and reinstall the 11k unit, I decided to upgrade.
In March of this year I purchased a 13.5K btu Penguin Heat Pump from a local RV dealer and had it installed (closest AS dealer is 5 Hr drive). The unit was installed properly but on our first extended trip we discovered that the heat mode worked well however the A/C mode blew only outside air temps (no cool). Dometic Rep confirmed it to be a defective unit. RV dealer ordered a replacement unit.
Replacement unit (unit # 2) delivery was delayed due to the fire at the Dometic Plant in Mexico in April. Delivery took about a month. Replacement unit was received at the RV dealer "damaged" (big hole in box and large dent on bottom of unit). Probably caused by a fork lift at the Dometic plant or by freight carrier. New unit ordered.
New unit (# 3) arrived about three weeks later. Installed by RV dealer and during checkout the tech noted there was a clicking/rattling sound coming from the compressor. Dometic Rep confirmed the compressor was bad.
Ordered new unit (# 4). The Dometic plant informed the RV dealer that a delivery date could not be provided due to a significant backlog and we would "just have to wait". Waited three weeks, contacted Dometic for a delivery date and they said they could not predict any delivery date and we would "just have to wait".
......now I am at the end of my rope and have missed many weeks of camping, so in frustration I cancelled the Dometic order.
The RV dealer, who has been great during this whole ordeal, has now ordered a 15K Carrier Heat Pump for me and it should be installed this week (hopefully). I realize there will be no drip pan installed with the Carrier unit but I will gladly put up with the condensation drips down the side on the camper as long as the unit heats and cools well and I can start camping again.
Bottom line is my experiences with Dometic product quality and customer support have been "very" negative. IMHO I would not recommend Dometic/Penguin A/C or Heat Pump products to anyone at this time because they obviously have serious quality and logistics issues ongoing since the fire at the Mexico plant.
You will like the Carrier AC.
However, the life of a "heat pump" model is less that the models that have "heat strips".
Heat pump models, run the compressor for heat as well as cooling. Therefore it uses the same amount of electricity regardless of use.
A heat strip type AC, does not use as many watts when in the "heat" mode.
We do not encourage the purchase of a "heat pump" type AC, no matter who the manufacturer may be, for those reasons, as well as the additional cost.
However, the life of a "heat pump" model is less that the models that have "heat strips".
Heat pump models, run the compressor for heat as well as cooling. Therefore it uses the same amount of electricity regardless of use.
A heat strip type AC, does not use as many watts when in the "heat" mode.
We do not encourage the purchase of a "heat pump" type AC, no matter who the manufacturer may be, for those reasons, as well as the additional cost.
Andy
Thanks Andy,
I have read many of your helpful responses on numerous topics and I genuinely respect your knowledge and insight on this issue. I understand the compressor will work "double duty" so to speak, however I really like the other attributes of the Heat Pump. In cold, damp weather (above 40 degrees) they provide consistent warm dry air exchange inside the cabin and I really like that. They also work great in southern climates. Never did care for the strip heater in my first unit, it was rather anemic.
All things considered, it is worth the shorter compressor life and propane savings to me to have the benefits of the Heat Pump.
__________________
Steve and Bonnie
The "Mississippi Queen"
A heat strip type AC, does not use as many watts when in the "heat" mode.
Andy
Is this really true? I thought the reason for a heat pump was to save electricity. If what you say is true, then what purpose does the heat pump serve
I also thought heat strips would give you dryer air compared to a heat pump.
If I am reading this right, it is the general consensus that a 15k unit on a hot day will keep a 25 Classic cool, say a comfortable 76? Reason for asking is that mine does not. When outside temp gets above 94, the unit will run all day and not cool down to 76.
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