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Piggy Bank · 06-23-2017, 05:10 AM

Also remember that "siting" can make a difference.

I sell in the HVAC industry, and when working on how much Air Conditioning a space needs, the orientation of the windows makes a difference.

Glass facing East, South, and especially West will allow the most solar gain (read extra heat) into your structure.

If you know your situation will be at the top end of your unit's comfortable performance, do consider if you could re-orient your trailer a bit so that you literally don't have as much sun hitting the glass and long sides.

james.mileur · 06-23-2017, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kendrick.l.j

Uncle Bob, I think we have the same model. I do use the shades and I like them just fine but I am thinking maybe a darker skylight with better heat blocking might be something I want. I already have to pull the shade if I want to sleep past sunrise so darker would be better for me. I do not have the darker cover over the vent and could really use one there. Just a thought.

We cut the silver 1/4" bubble wrap for all our windows, skylights, and door for the teens Temps we spent in TX and UT, worked great. Seems like a piece in the skylight above the shade would do same great job for reflecting heat back out? The only issue we had was humidity condensing between foil and cold exterior surface, until better fit, plugged gaps in the valences, etc. No convection air flow, no moisture collection. Most of the pieces we took down every day fit in the grill on the door for storage. We stopped using the piece in the Fantastic Fan as all the condensate would collect in the fuse cap and drip on the floor. Foil reflector is an inexpensive, low impact option for immediate relief.

kendrick.l.j · 06-23-2017, 04:30 PM

So far I have not had a problem with the AC but I am always looking ahead to try and ward off problems before they occur. The Maxim units seem to be able to do a couple of things that my current skylights and FAN-tactic vent now have. I would love the extra hail protection they might offer, my poor little FAN vent has zero protection and a little less light coming in would be nice. I don't think I will replace anything until the first year is over but it is nice to know that there is a product out there that will do the job.
Right now I am under cover in an RV port so it really isn't an issue but I do intend to get out and travel more and especially next year when I will be on the road for 6 months straight in all kinds of weather and conditions so having the Maxim may get installed next year.

uncle_bob · 06-24-2017, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kendrick.l.j

Uncle Bob, I think we have the same model. I do use the shades and I like them just fine but I am thinking maybe a darker skylight with better heat blocking might be something I want. I already have to pull the shade if I want to sleep past sunrise so darker would be better for me. I do not have the darker cover over the vent and could really use one there. Just a thought.

Hi

If you don't pull the shades at night, the light wakes up the dog. The dog then makes sure you are awake. Spotting a dark black shade against a dark black skylight is not as easy as spotting something lighter in color. If you go flat black (and are as forgetful as I am) that could be an issue.

Bob

Zybane · 06-24-2017, 07:39 PM

I cut the Reflextic silver bubble foil insulation for the two skylights, the two vista view windows, and added a white fantastic vent cover.

That seems to have helped quite a bit. I went on top of the trailer to make sure no cold air was escaping around the A/C unit gaskets. All seemed good. Although, I did notice that the white roof was actually cooler than it should have been. This means that colder air is cooling the roof surface, leading to an efficiency loss unfortunately. I guess there is only so much that they can do in that shallow of a space that the duct-work is in.

Knowing Airstream quality, I bet there is all sorts of air leaks/unsealed duct-work up in the ceiling.

paiceman · 06-25-2017, 04:43 AM

Uncle Bob, light or no light my two Labs have "trained" me to get up at 5:45am every morning.

uncle_bob · 06-26-2017, 05:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paiceman

Uncle Bob, light or no light my two Labs have "trained" me to get up at 5:45am every morning.

Hi

I get a lab nose in the face around 5:45 on a fairly regular basis. He pops back up every 30 to 45 minutes after that. It's sort of like ignoring a very long snooze alarm.

The two Neuf's don't join in until it's light....

Bob

rmkrum · 06-26-2017, 07:14 PM

Fortunately, our littler pups like to sleep late. Only an approaching full bladder will wake them up early. Generally if they bed down at their usual 10:00 pm or so they can easily wait until 09:00 am or so. They reluctantly get up or 05:00 on my work days, run outside, eat, and den up again.

Nothing like a wet nose Wakeup call, though.

Zybane · 06-28-2017, 06:51 PM

As a side note, I installed adhesive backed sound absorption pads all inside the air intake (evaporator side) cavity in the ceiling. Reduced noise about 40%.

Removing the (four closest to hitch) ceiling outlet vent diverters also seemed to increase the efficiency of the units and reduced the noise even further. I was surprised to find how much restrictions those placed on the system.

paiceman · 06-29-2017, 04:26 AM

Zybane totally agree with changing out the diverters in the ceiling. We had a 30' FC with the straight thru ceiling vents, we changed them to diverted, did not like them so back to the straight thru. When we sold the FC I put the diverters back in and kept the straight thru, glad we did as most are now back in the 2017 Classic. The unit cools down much quicker and is much quieter as well. I think they are available from JC.

kendrick.l.j · 06-29-2017, 02:02 PM

I concur with Zybane and Bud regarding the directional vents for the AC. My vent covers kept falling out so I tried Gorilla Tape, I didn't do a very good job and it looked pretty crappy so I just took them down. When I get to JC I will get the straight through vent covers. The AC seem to work much better without the directional vents. Right now I am down to just the front AC as my rear AC died sometime ago. (Also getting that fixed when I get to JC) I am in Florida but under an RV port so I am not sitting in the sun and the one AC unit has done amazingly well. I prefer to sleep in a cooler temp than a lot of people and my one AC has me happy at 68 degrees at night. Can't wait to see what happens when both are running.

Rich Jenkins · 06-29-2017, 02:56 PM

I just removed the two center vent covers on my '16 FC 30' Rear Queen.

HOLY SMOKES!

The AC is actually cycling on and off the afternoon. As in, off completely.

I have much more airflow in the coach, sitting in the front lounge area.

It's as if the AC is actually working properly now.

Going to visit JC this Sep, might stop during the factory tour and see if I can get a couple of the old straight through covers.

Bougeois · 07-13-2017, 10:42 AM

You have pics of the old style covers?

**jcanavera** · 07-13-2017, 10:52 AM

Considering that most HVAC home contractors will tell you that home ductwork is usually undersized. This does affect cooling efficiency due to the back pressure inflicted by ductwork. A non ducted Airstream will deliver more air volume but that volume is not balanced throughout the trailer. So changing outlets or removing them completely and seeing better performance is not a surprise. Ductwork and outlets are a drag on airflow and cause back pressure.

Jack

uncle_bob · 07-13-2017, 02:25 PM

Hi

There are AC systems that use amazingly small ducts. Mr Google and the term "high velocity air conditioning" will give you way more information that you would ever want. It's mainly a matter of matching the equipment to the application. High back pressure blowers are part of it. That's not to say that the guys at JC actually went that far...

Bob

franklyfrank · 07-14-2017, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kendrick.l.j

I concur with Zybane and Bud regarding the directional vents for the AC. My vent covers kept falling out so I tried Gorilla Tape, I didn't do a very good job and it looked pretty crappy so I just took them down. When I get to JC I will get the straight through vent covers. The AC seem to work much better without the directional vents. Right now I am down to just the front AC as my rear AC died sometime ago. (Also getting that fixed when I get to JC) I am in Florida but under an RV port so I am not sitting in the sun and the one AC unit has done amazingly well. I prefer to sleep in a cooler temp than a lot of people and my one AC has me happy at 68 degrees at night. Can't wait to see what happens when both are running.

Are straight through diffusers available ? I do believe the covers they come with are too restrictive. It be nice to get straight through vents with a simple directional adjustment feature.

Rich Jenkins · 07-17-2017, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by franklyfrank

Are straight through diffusers available ? I do believe the covers they come with are too restrictive. It be nice to get straight through vents with a simple directional adjustment feature.

We're currently in Portland OR. We are going by the local AS dealer this week, and I am planning to ask the service dept if they have them in stock. If I snag a couple I'll post back.

Rich Jenkins · 07-19-2017, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Llando88

We're currently in Portland OR. We are going by the local AS dealer this week, and I am planning to ask the service dept if they have them in stock. If I snag a couple I'll post back.

We stopped at Airstream Adventures NW today in Portland.

They did not have any straight-through deflectors.