Dometic Briskair II

[Olie]

Am going to upgrade to a Penguin II hp or a Briskair II hp 15000 btu. We now have a Penguin 13500 and it wont cut in Texas heat.

Looking at the posts seems most people are choosing the Penguin II. I looked at the specs for both. Compressor/ fan load amps are about the same for both. With the Penguin you get the low profile, the Briskair is about 2" taller. There is a lot of difference in weight with the Penguin at 110# vs. the Briskair at only 74#. Fan speed for the Penguin is 325/250 cfm , the Briskair is 350/300 cfm. The additional cfm from the Briskair should help push more cool air into the bedroom where it is really needed in our AS.

A couple of questions.

1. Does anyone out there have a Briskair II and are you happy with it.
2. With the higher fan speed is it quite or do you have to crank up the volume on the TV to hear it.
3. Can drain cups be used with the Briskair.
4. Other than the low profile what are the advantages of going with the Penguin.
5. Is there an AS drain pan in my 2004 Classic. I can't tell by looking at the bottom of the unit.

A lot of questions but looking forward to any comments.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Olie

Am going to upgrade to a Penguin II hp or a Briskair II hp 15000 btu. We now have a Penguin 13500 and it wont cut in Texas heat.

You won't notice a difference, but it's your money, so good luck with that.

Looking at the posts seems most people are choosing the Penguin II. I looked at the specs for both. Compressor/ fan load amps are about the same for both. With the Penguin you get the low profile, the Briskair is about 2" taller. There is a lot of difference in weight with the Penguin at 110# vs. the Briskair at only 74#.

The Penguin is all about low profile. It looks better, it creates less drag when rolling down the highway, and it is 2" less likely to get caught on a bridge, wire, or tree branch.

That's what you get for the extra money and weight. There's no other benefit.

Fan speed for the Penguin is 325/250 cfm , the Briskair is 350/300 cfm. The additional cfm from the Briskair should help push more cool air into the bedroom where it is really needed in our AS.

Again, you're not going to notice a difference, but it's your money.

A couple of questions.

1. Does anyone out there have a Briskair II and are you happy with it.

I have two penguins on my trailer and an older Briskair on my truck camper. It works OK.

2. With the higher fan speed is it quite or do you have to crank up the volume on the TV to hear it.

You must be new here. They're RV air conditioners. They make enough noise to wake up the dinosaurs.

3. Can drain cups be used with the Briskair.

There are no provisions for them but you could probably figure something out.

4. Other than the low profile what are the advantages of going with
the Penguin.

There aren't any.

5. Is there an AS drain pan in my 2004 Classic. I can't tell by looking at the bottom of the unit.

A lot of questions but looking forward to any comments.

You probably have the Carrier A/C on yours, no? I believe those had an integral condensate collection pan and didn't require external cups or an extra pan, but it's been a while since I looked.

[Al - K4GLU]

Sorry to have to tell you this but the 15K ain't gonna make that much difference. My A/C failed in a new trailer and when it was replaced under warranty at JC I paid 250 bucks to upgrade to a 15K. As far as I'm concerned it was pretty much a waste of money.

[lewster]

Olie,

Just a few observations that I have recently become aware of.

I had a client with a 2006 Country Coach diesel pusher that had 2 older model Penguins on the roof....both 13.5K heat pumps. One went out (lost refrigerant) and the new Penguin II was not compatible with his existing Comfort Control I thermostat system. He opted to buy 2 new heat pumps (15K) and upgrade to the new Comfort Control II system for better service and parts availability in the future.

After about a month, he was on the road to a summer vacation in Maine and called me from a large RC service center. He said that his new Penguin II units were extremely loud and were vibrating excessively. He called Dometic tech support and was told that they are having problems with the new compressors needed to properly handle and compress the new R-410A refrigerant that is required now for air conditioners.

Part of the problem is that R-410A is harder to compress than R-22 and requires a more robust compressor spinning at faster RPMs. This makes them prone to excessive vibration and noise.

The Dometic folks offered to replace the both Penguin II units with the Brisk Air II and pay for the change-out labor. The client accepted. When he called me, the tech was having problems getting his new units mated to his CCC-II thermostat, so I talked him thru the process of dip switches and thermostat re-sets.

The client called me the next day and stated that he was very happy with the new unit's cooling capacity (both 15K units) and especially the much lower interior noise level of the Brisk Air II units. He also said that while he was NOT happy with the elevated look of the new units, it was a trade-off that he was willing to make for the reduced interior noise levels.

I have to say that I install about an even amount of both types of units and I have heard complaints about both. I especially took note of this client's reactions as he is in the analytical field and has excellent observation skills.

Something to consider.............

[Olie]

Thanks for your comments.

I was wondering if 11% more btu can make that much difference in cooling performance. Probably 2 A/C units may be the best fix if you wont to spend the money to get there.

The noise level with our Penguin 13500 is bearable ( Loud) and so is the furnace. The A/C and furnace of the other 2 RV we've owned were also loud. RV's are a small space.

I was told by Dometic that the Briskair compressor is mounted vertical ( may explain the extra height) vs. the Penguin which is horizontal which that makes the Briskair quitter and more efficient cooling. The Briskair looks like it has more sound damping due to it's EPP foam construction.

I guess based on the comments thus far, go with the Penguin for a sleeker design or go with the Briskair for a slightly quitter A/C if you can tolerate the extra height.

[lewster]

Penguin has different blower fans also................