Habitation Air-Con

I looked at the cool my camper unit . Thinking of buying one in the future 👍🏻
 
Thank you Philip . We are 7.5m but I think for the price it’s worth a punt 👍🏻.
 
For me it was most use at night. Putting it on an hour before bedtime then running it in night mode worked well. It also removes the humidity and pumps it outside the van, this makes things a lot more comfortable. It did not fit very well in my Hymer and I had to adjust the brackets and turn the window blind upside down so that I could close it with the system installed.
 
If I had an electrical supply equal to that of the National Grid, like Phil, then I might consider it. Only consider though 😬😬
 
If you never leave the UK, or aren't in the south east of England, carting an Aircon around is maybe a bit of a waste. But you also benefit from the heating or dehumidifying facilities outside hot weather.
We also have a combination microwave, which we use less often than the Aircon. Would you say that was a waste too?
Then again, we do have Aircon in the house. Only use it a few days each year (not at all this year or last) but if it's the difference between being productive or not, it's paid for itself by lunchtime. That's a portable one, and it's really a bit too noisy to use unless it really is too hot.
I'd not bother getting one now: I simply turn work down instead of working in the heat.
 
Swiftman said:
I looked at the cool my camper unit . Thinking of buying one in the future 👍🏻
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They're neat, but not powerful. 1300 watts wasn't enough cooling for my Hymer (which is well insulated). But that's a lot more power than a Cool My Camper, which only has 700 watts cooling..
 
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Trotter said:
Air con? In the UK? All three days? It's your money. A 12v fan and a spray bottle for me.
Before anyone kicks off. It's an opinion . Nothing else.
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I guess it comes into its own when heading to Spain or Greece. And who knows when that would next be?!
 
snapster said:
Air con units are quite noisy
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They are, but it's worth it for some cool in sweltering weather. Our built-in generator used to be noisier, but now I've fixed the broken silencer, it is a lot better. Sounds like a distant quad bike idling. Which it is, more or less: lots of quad bikes use the same Honda engine, though they tend not to run on LPG or be in a soundproofed box..
 
wildebus said:
When you run it, you do essentially have to close up the room for it to be effective, and that is often at odds with the idea of actually using a Motorhome.
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That's a very valid point. Motorhomes tend to be that way in any event: you sit inside an insulated box, whereas with a campervan, you are nearer the outside, not just because of less insulation, but also due to the design.
A motorhome tends to be more of a home space you can retreat into, especially in extra cold or hot weather. In either case, you do need to close the windows and doors.
 
in h said:
That's a very valid point. Motorhomes tend to be that way in any event: you sit inside an insulated box, whereas with a campervan, you are nearer the outside, not just because of less insulation, but also due to the design.
A motorhome tends to be more of a home space you can retreat into, especially in extra cold or hot weather. In either case, you do need to close the windows and doors.
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There is a phrase that I think is quite good at describing the difference.... You live in a Motorhome and you live out of a Campervan.
 
For those who use campsites abroad, some with very low ampage on the EHU, have you had any problems?

Also did I read somewhere that the start up power pull on AC units can be too much for the EHU and trip it. Does that ring true?

Lastly I would say that I have seen campsites where they say that AC is forbidden. Anybody else come across this?
 
Aircon basically consists of two fans and a compressor. All those would start with quite a high current by default, but it isn't hard to start them more slowly to reduce the current surge, and/or start each of the three at different times.
As far as I know, my old Aircon (the one on eBay) starts at about 450 watts then after a while goes up to 650 watts. If anyone bothers to come and see it running before bidding, I plan to plug it into a watt meter when demonstrating it
Its replacement, a Freshjet 2200, I have run on a watt meter. I didn't take notes, so these figures are from memory. It starts at about 350 watts, then drops to about 275 watts then a bit later the power rises to about 750 watts. It takes several minutes before it builds up to its full 900 watts. And it drops back to the mid 700s when it has reached temperature and slowed down
The spec says it should be supplied with a supply of 5A but that's far higher than I ever saw it drawing.
The circuit it is on has a 10A breaker, which obviously hasn't tripped on that load.
So as far as I can see, its soft start capabilities are good. I think that "cool my camper" units need more initial power, despite using much less when running.
Some foreign EHU supplies are indeed very limited, but few are so limited that they couldn't run an aircon. Just don't use an electric kettle at the same time!
 
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wildebus said:
Does anyone have Air-con in their living area in their Motorhomes? Almost certainly only usable when on a site, but could be very handy in weather like we are currently getting (and in southern Europe generally as well I would imagine).
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yes wildebus we decided to have the DOMETIC FRESHWELL 3000 ( under-bench. or under bed, not roof fitted ) AIR CON FITTED just 3 weeks ago. very pleased with it as it is also a heater blow air heater incorporated into it and a dehumidifier all- in- one unit. you do need 240v electric or a portable Generator with you. ( not the small lightweight generators as won't be powerful enough , ours is a 3kw 3000w generator that works fine )so you can then use this air con in daytime wild camping as we have just done and a couple off others campers also did. the unit is remote controlled so depending where you fit the thermostat sensor you can turn it on without getting out off bed if you want habitation area warmed up or cooled down . we have a 8. 8 metre long van so would just need to fit a flexible collapsible extendable pipe to reach the rear bedroom area with cold air but no problem as it blow speed power is good with higher fan speed settings. the habitation area cools down fine without any need for extra piping the unit is from GERMANY and so good quality, and my mate has had his fitted in for 2 years and used it in spain in the summer and loves it, had no problems.
 
PS make sure you measure the space under bench or bed where you would want the AIR CON fitted before you order it, make sure you are able to get it into the space as its the size off medium sized suitcase . the unit dimensions are on the websites ( I found 5 or 6 different retailers in UK that can supply this dometic Freshwell 3000 under bench air con/heater ) with the price difference off up to £125.00 that you can save if you look around.
 
The Freshwell units are a fair bit cheaper than the Freshjet equivalents, and they don't increase height or raise the centre of gravity (more of an issue with caravans, really).

On the other hand, you do lose a lot of storage space and there's a lot more fitting to do to get the cold air up to the top where you want it.

I was simply replacing one roof mounted one with another, so it was a no-brainer. But then again, I don't have anywhere I could have fitted one under seats anyway.

When researching, I was warned off the Truma aircons and also warned off the Domestic Freshlights. Apparently, they're much less good. Don't know why.
 
these modern generators are a lot quitter than the older models, I agree someone parked right next too you would hear it but we ensure we park up further away in a coroner and not on top off anyone. just come back from a camping field with 60 motorhomes in spaced out well with over 50 foot away from next neighbour . there where several campers there with generators on in daytime only between 10.00am - 6.30pm but not running more than 90 mins at a time. everybody was considerate, but yes you may catch the odd selfish inconsiderate camper and thinks only off himself, when we did use ours for short spells , it was behind our camper, covered up mostly and and NO ONE battered a eyelid , it was barely noticeable . as for the air con running all day it was only on for 45 mins with all blinds, and windows closed the habitation area inside front stayed cooler for a while. off course it would be a problem if run the genie all day and if parked up in close proximity to my neighbours , but i dont.
 
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