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sdemino · 05-10-2017, 03:21 PM

Besides the horrible noise from the Dometica A/C unit. I don't believe it is adequate to cool a Black interstate in the Sun! Has anyone else experienced this? It 79 in Panama Fl, the A/c is screaming and reading inside temp of 81. You cannot sit in the captains chairs up front, just to warm! The Air leaving the unit is cool, just not enough to cool the entire coach to a reasonable temp. Are we all having this problem? The dash air is useless for any passengers or pets in the rear, so seems like I'm always looking for a propane stop.

LB_3 · 05-10-2017, 03:25 PM

I think your experience is typical.

sdemino · 05-10-2017, 05:16 PM

That's ridiculous, who engineered this thing? No review from any commercial entity mentions it. Anybody like myself who travels in warm climates, makes this RV useless. Is there any group making an issue of this!

Lily&Me · 05-10-2017, 05:21 PM

You know, when we have traveled with grandkids or others in the rear in hot weather, we close the two side vents, direct the center two to the rear, hit the air recirculation button, crank it all the way up and it is very tolerable.

Maggie

sdemino · 05-10-2017, 05:24 PM

I'm sitting in a campsite! The dash air with an extra fan does a better job!

Lily&Me · 05-10-2017, 05:28 PM

Ahh, didn't understand that, thought you were talking about while driving.

Do you have plenty of amperage at your site?

Maggie

BurntAsphalt · 05-10-2017, 05:35 PM

You are correct that the rear AC produces way more noise than cool air. Get a thermometer and measure the difference between the intake and exhaust air temperature. It has been reported by forum member 73Shark that Dometic advertises that it should be a 21 degree drop in temp. If you aren't getting at least a double digit drop, you may need to get it checked out.

I think Shark got tired of the rough, hot ride in the rear lounge so he sold his AI.

Lily&Me · 05-10-2017, 05:44 PM

I was thinking, too, that your AC may not be functioning properly.

Might call the service department at your dealership in the morning.

Maggie

FlyFishinRVr · 05-10-2017, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdemino

I'm sitting in a campsite! The dash air with an extra fan does a better job!

Is the front window facing the sun and are you using the reflective window covering?

My AI faces S on the storage lot and is in the sun all day long. If I don't have that solar shade in place, it gets mighty warm mighty fast. With it, it's very tolerable when I'm in there futzin' around, cleaning, etc. If I open the rear "wing" windows and turn on the Fantastic fan full blast, it pulls nice fresh air through the coach and really does a good job of managing the inside temp, even into the 90's. I haven't had my rig long enough to experience temps in the 100's yet, but I'll bet at that point I'll need to run the genny and rooftop AC while on the lot.

LB_3 · 05-10-2017, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdemino

That's ridiculous, who engineered this thing? No review from any commercial entity mentions it. Anybody like myself who travels in warm climates, makes this RV useless. Is there any group making an issue of this!

Here in Houston, our travel season is effectively over until October. To extend our season this far we painted our roof white: http://interstateblog.blogspot.com/2...ng-to.html?m=1

As others have noted, it helps to use a portable 12v fan to circulate the air from the front of the van to the rear. When you aren't driving, park in the shade and never let the van heat up because the A/C is too small to do much more than maintain vehicle temps. Our vans are big metal boxes with only a 1 ton A/C in the rear. The Sprinter A/C compressor is around 6-7 tons and actually has more capacity than most residential units.

TayaraTravel · 05-10-2017, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyFishinRVr

...If I don't have that solar shade in place, it gets mighty warm mighty fast. With it, it's very tolerable ...t.

Are you referring to the privacy screens supplied by Airstream, or an after-market shade? We would like to find a good one.

sdemino · 05-10-2017, 06:04 PM

For the amount of money we paid for these things the A/C should be adequate!!

73shark · 05-10-2017, 06:05 PM

There is just no way a 13,000 BTU A/C unit can cool a big metal box. I suspect that the chassis A/C is in the 6-8 ton capacity. (1 ton ~ 12,000 BTU) That's one of the reasons I sold ours. The Transit currently at the upfitters has a 70,000 BTU unit being installed in the rear w/ a separate engine driven compressor. Since we aren't campers, this will work much better for us when we typically travel w/ six to eight people.

The 21* temperature drop is across the evaporator, not what it will drop the interior temp. to.

The size of the rear A/C is limited by the size of the generator and the size of the generator is limited by the amount of space available.

You can get custom shields from HeatShield here. Very nice and fit well.

xrvr · 05-10-2017, 06:17 PM

You bought a black metal box, perhaps you should have looked into the ac issue before purchase. Our t1n would only cool to about 80 in the sun, good enough for us. We used a fan to help circulate the cool air.

LB_3 · 05-10-2017, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdemino

For the amount of money we paid for these things the A/C should be adequate!!

We have numerous threads on this topic. Airstream is aware of the issue because various forum members have mentioned it to their reps at trade/RV shows. Our local Holiday World reps have mentioned it to Airstream as well. I'm not sure there are many options available to them in the RV appliance market however. Rooftop A/Cs max out around 1.5 tons.

We can use our alternators to charge our batteries and our inverters allow us to run coffee makers and toasters so the only real function for the generator is to run the rooftop A/C. It would be nice if Onan would just remove the gen function and connect directly to a large A/C compressor and let Airstream figure out where to install another evaporator...

lewster · 05-10-2017, 06:35 PM

True that it's a black metal box, but it DOES have insulation.

Having a performance check done on your roof A/C is CRITICAL to diagnosing your problem. Myriad complaints are basically worthless without hard data on how your roof unit is preforming.

I have seen many new or near-new Dometic units that did not have the proper amount of refrigerant in the system......thus never allowing the unit to cool at it'a potential. They were either low on delivery to the factory or leaked soon after installation.

If you are not able to do a performance test (called measuring the Delta T, or the temperature differential between the cool exhaust air coming from the evaporator and the return air temps at the intake grill), then I highly suggest a return to your dealer to have the unit positively checked.

If your unit is NOT giving you a temperature differential of between 18º-22ºF between the measures return air at the air intake (below the filters) and the cooled exhaust air (measured at the exhaust ducts) then your dealer should either make appropriate repairs or replace your unit under warranty.

FlyFishinRVr · 05-10-2017, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TayaraTravel

Are you referring to the privacy screens supplied by Airstream, or an after-market shade? We would like to find a good one.

The ones supplied with the coach. Mine are pretty thick and reflective and seem to do a really good job of lowering the internal temp.

sdemino · 05-10-2017, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avionstream

You bought a black metal box, perhaps you should have looked into the ac issue before purchase. Our t1n would only cool to about 80 in the sun, good enough for us. We used a fan to help circulate the cool air.

No, what I bought was supposedly, a luxurious top of the line Class B RV that I would expect to have the ability to be occupied in normal summer temperatures. If it was not capable of that it should have had one more warning sticker, NOT SUITABLE FOR HUMAN HABITATION IF THE SUN IS SHINING AND TEMPERATURE IS ABOVE 75!

sdemino · 05-10-2017, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

Ahh, didn't understand that, thought you were talking about while driving.

Do you have plenty of amperage at your site?

Maggie

Multiple campsites same problem if not in shade.

sdemino · 05-10-2017, 09:05 PM

I have had tinting put in front side windows and windshield which reduced a tremendous amount of heat. I purchased a windshield sun reflector made specifically for the sprinter, helps tremendously. I put down privacy shades and nite shades. I did not measure the air temp coming out of the unit, but I can tell you this, if your standing under it, it's cold as any A/C unit I've been near. It's cold! It just can't do the job! I don't know how a reputable company can do that. They had to know it.