Does the A/C work for anyone?

[woody]

Spent a couple nights in my 14XLP this weekend and it was the first time in Missouri heat/humidity.  The air conditioning unit was a fail and as I've seen mentioned a couple of times, I think it's due to the fact that they moved the A/C to an inside installation yet it's still a regular window unit that needs to hang 1/2 out for air intake/ventilation/condensation removal.  I took the unit out (which is also a stupid design in the fact that you have to remove the entire cabinet to get the a/c unit out) and the bottom of the a/c was full of water that couldn't escape.  Soo -- for those of you with older models - does the old installation with the outside door and sliding tray work well?  My old pop-up with a roof unit would freeze you out so I know even though it's a tent, it's possible to keep it cool inside.  Just trying to figure out where i want to go from here.  If the old installation method works, then maybe I can get a kit with a door and mounting frame.

thanks!

[catmanriff]

upon a few tries, the AC hasn't impressed me much in our QS10. It's sort of in the wrong spot to benefit from convection. Fans helped to send warm air it's way, cool air up. I still wonder if the popup Gizmo might be worth it..

[whoofit]

[quote source="/post/22122/thread" author="@m0brando" timestamp="1465831637"]  I took the unit out (which is also a stupid design in the fact that you have to remove the entire cabinet to get the a/c unit out) and the bottom of the a/c was full of water that couldn't escape. 


[/quote]This lack of condensate drain is part of the design. That water is intended to splash on the coil to increase efficiency through evaporation.

I have a 16DB but would like to share that my AC is side mounted. It is installed in a cabinet that resembles a window opening. The unit does not protrude from the side of the trailer. The opening on the outside is just a flush vent with no drain. This works very well. AC units do not need to be sticking half way out the opening.


There is more to your problem than this... Getting great reductions in humidity and temperature in a tent structure is going to be more difficult than a hard sided trailer or home.

[woody]

[quote source="/post/22125/thread" author="@whoofit" timestamp="1465841392"][quote source="/post/22122/thread" author="@m0brando" timestamp="1465831637"]
[/quote]

There is more to your problem than this... Getting great reductions in humidity and temperature in a tent structure is going to be more difficult than a hard sided trailer or home.

[/quote]
Very true but in the middle of the night when it's 73 outside and still 80 in the camper and the sheets are moist, something isn't right.  This was with fans sitting in front of the unit to blow air to each end.  I'm not an A/C tech by any means but I can't imagine that it's supposed to be pooling water in the bottom to be grabbed by the fan and sent as a mist out the top of the unit.  LL has a tray underneath the unit but the water doesn't work it's way through the a/c drain to the tray.

Anyway - just wondered if anyone else had success and it sounds like at least one is happy.  Humidity is the challenge of any a/c unit and I just don't think the current design is setup to address it.  Or I have a bad a/c unit but it's an 8000 btu that blows cold when you sit in front of it.  Again my 5000 btu roof unit in the old 13' pop-up would freeze me out -- so I know it's possible to keep a small canvas space cool.  I just have to find the best way to do it.

[whoofit]

[quote timestamp="1465843954" source="/post/22126/thread" author="@m0brando"][quote timestamp="1465841392" source="/post/22125/thread" author="@whoofit"]There is more to your problem than this... Getting great reductions in humidity and temperature in a tent structure is going to be more difficult than a hard sided trailer or home.

[/quote]I'm not an A/C tech by any means but I can't imagine that it's supposed to be pooling water in the bottom to be grabbed by the fan and sent as a mist out the top of the unit.  LL has a tray underneath the unit but the water doesn't work it's way through the a/c drain to the tray.


[/quote]Of the several window AC units I've purchased in the last decade I have not had one that was designed to "drain". They are designed to evaporate the condensate. Only my mini-split heat pump/AC units have drains because the evaporator and condenser coil are separated by many meters of copper tubing.

Are you saying above that your unit is misting into the trailer? Spraying out the unit's vents?

Like I said, there is more to your problem, maybe a bad AC unit, but the problem is not the mounting method. Might be location but I doubt it.

What is the difference between your intake and outlet temperatures?  From your description above with an outdoor T being lower than your indoor T with zero solar gain I would think you would want to measure this as it is suggesting your AC is kaput...

[admin]

I have the 10.0 and my AC has worked as well as could be expected. We maxed it out on a trip to Florida in July one year. It kept up with the temps and humidity most of the day with the help of a box fan for circulation. The only time it just could keep up was between noon and two when it was in full direct sun.
Even with if it was a poor placement, the performance sounds like a problem with the unit. I think woofit is right.

[sandyu]

I've sent Brando several messages last night about his problem. I'm writing this just in case someone else finds this thread with the same issue.

His problem is in the way livin lite installed the AC. The AC works perfectly, however it can't cool its outside coils with outside air boxed up. All quicksilver campers with boxed in ACs that can't slide out  are that way. The outside part of the AC only has access to the air inside the camper. Which causes the AC to suck the inside camper air in the box and blow it outside. This also causes the inside camper air to be replaced with outside hot air. It's impossible for it to cool.

Livin lite knows this and has a kit you can buy to allow the AC to stick out of the camper.

I didn't know that at the time so made some major modification to my AC box. I cut the floor of the camper out from under the AC box. Now the camper can breath using the air under the camper, and it actually gets cool if parked in shade.

 I'm experimenting with direct sun with reflective tarps today. I'll report later to tell you how it goes.

[whoofit]

So you are saying the AC install omits the function of the white roof vent that is in this picture of my flush side mounted AC and that you cut one in under the floor of your camper.


[img style="" style="max-width:100%;" src="http://i1312.photobucket.com/albums/t521/minuteman1965/13587686-5b72-4d43-a764-d29d5b37b28b_zpsqb8md7u1.jpg"]

This is an impressive feat of engineering on LL's part. Great stuff there! This is the last time I will assume LL has got it going on in even the most basic of things.

[sandyu]

Yes, plus they used so much silicone around the AC and white AC cover there was no way any air could make it in from the outside.

To be clear I'm just speaking about quicksilver campers. Maybe they did something different with the hard sided campers.

[sandyu]

https://vimeo.com/170643565

To sum up video:

1. If AC installed properly works awesome at night. My AC was not installed properly so I cut out floor under AC to let it breath. Didn't show it in video but I added AC window foam insulation to front of AC to keep the AC from pulling air from inside of camper and blowing it outside.

2. If parked in shaded spot it will keep camper cool also.

3. In direct sun you will need a lot of reflective tarp to keep almost cool. Better than sitting outside with no shade.

4. Today's results: 105 outside temps in direct sun. 84 inside with AC, fan, gizmo, and reflective tarps on south side. Outside Temps 85 in shade but more humid than inside camper.

    This is with camper closed up. If my family were running in and out of it, there's no way it could even come close to cooling.

 This camper is great for  mountains and Forrest campsites in the shade. I have learned to plan my vacations where the good weather is located. For example northern Michigan this time of year is awesome. We just got back from tubbing in Sleeping Bear National lake shore. Cool temps, sand dunes, crystal clear water were awesome.

It's at its best in travel mode getting 20mpg at 70 mph. This is one of the best long distance campers you can get.  You can afford to spend some money when you get to where you are going.

[woody]

[quote source="/post/22133/thread" timestamp="1465905087" author="@kybrowns"]I've sent Brando several messages last night about his problem. I'm writing this just in case someone else finds this thread with the same issue.

His problem is in the way livin lite installed the AC. The AC works perfectly, however it can't coil its outside coils with outside air boxed up. All quicksilver campers with boxed in ACs that can't slide out  are that way. The outside part of the AC only has access to the air inside the camper. Which causes the AC to suck the inside camper air in the box and blow it outside. This also causes the inside camper air to be replaced with outside hot air. It's impossible for it to cool.

Livin lite knows this and has a kit you can buy to allow the AC to stick out of the camper.

I didn't know that at the time so made some major modification to my AC box. I cut the floor of the camper out from under the AC box. Now the camper can breath using the air under the camper, and it actually gets cool if parked in shade.

 I'm experimenting with direct sun with reflective tarps today. I'll report later to tell you how it goes.
[/quote]Thanks for understanding the problem and all the info.  Small update -- I contacted Livin' Lite and was contacted back by Don, the warranty manager.  He sent me a pdf of a service bulletin from 2012 that basically has you drill holes in the sidewalls of the camper to add screened vents (think clothes dryer vents).  I asked about parts to convert it to the new style that sticks out and he didn't offer any suggestions.  I don't really want to cut holes in the side to rig up vents so I think my next attempt will be to contact the parts dept at a dealer and see what they have to say.

[admin]

This make me glad I have the slide out version for the AC. Plus I've always liked the fact that with the slide out version it makes for a nice clean side when closed up...

[mjmoore17]

This is such a foreign problem for me. I have a QS 6.0 with a fixed AC. I was currently  in midPennsylvania last week. The temp was 93 and camper was 74. Not in a shaded area. A small fan was adequate to blow the cool air around the unit. It may be that the smaller size of the QS 6.0 adapts well to the 5,000 btu output. I used in earlier out in the Utah desert at over 95 degrees and kept comfortable.

Michael

[woody]

[quote source="/post/22151/thread" author="@mjmoore17" timestamp="1465941000"]This is such a foreign problem for me. I have a QS 6.0 with a fixed AC. I was currently  in midPennsylvania last week. The temp was 93 and camper was 74. Not in a shaded area. A small fan was adequate to blow the cool air around the unit. It may be that the smaller size of the QS 6.0 adapts well to the 5,000 btu output. I used in earlier out in the Utah desert at over 95 degrees and kept comfortable.

Michael
[/quote]I'm sure the smaller camper has something to do with it but at the same time can you tell me if your unit sticks out of the side of the camper about 4-6"?  From your picture it looks like it might.  For those that have a newer unit that is fixed but sticks out the side, if you could post any pictures of the outside and inside mounting that would be helpful as I try to piece this together.

[peislander]

[quote source="/post/22145/thread" timestamp="1465934133" author="@m0brando"]

I've sent Brando several messages last night about his problem. I'm writing this just in case someone else finds this thread with the same issue.

His problem is in the way livin lite installed the AC. The AC works perfectly, however it can't coil its outside coils with outside air boxed up. All quicksilver campers with boxed in ACs that can't slide out  are that way. The outside part of the AC only has access to the air inside the camper. Which causes the AC to suck the inside camper air in the box and blow it outside. This also causes the inside camper air to be replaced with outside hot air. It's impossible for it to cool.

Livin lite knows this and has a kit you can buy to allow the AC to stick out of the camper.

I didn't know that at the time so made some major modification to my AC box. I cut the floor of the camper out from under the AC box. Now the camper can breath using the air under the camper, and it actually gets cool if parked in shade.

 I'm experimenting with direct sun with reflective tarps today. I'll report later to tell you how it goes.

Thanks for understanding the problem and all the info.  Small update -- I contacted Livin' Lite and was contacted back by Don, the warranty manager.  He sent me a pdf of a service bulletin from 2012 that basically has you drill holes in the sidewalls of the camper to add screened vents (think clothes dryer vents).  I asked about parts to convert it to the new style that sticks out and he didn't offer any suggestions.  I don't really want to cut holes in the side to rig up vents so I think my next attempt will be to contact the parts dept at a dealer and see what they have to say.
[/quote]I too would be reluctant to cut holes in the camper's beautiful sidewalls. I'm thinking kybrown's solution to cut a floor vent might be the best solution. One idea I'd add is perhaps you could get a small aluminum box fabricated that you'd mount below a new hole cut through the floor, located to provide ventilation to the A/C enclosure. Into the bottom face of the box could be mounted a operable vent of the kind typically installed in the walls of horse trailers and some toy haulers. When camping & want to use the a/c you'd pop open the vent letting air into the a/c enclosure. When towing or not using the A/c the vent could stay closed and remain weathertight. The reason for the box would be to give some room for the vent as I suspect one couldn't be installed directly to the floor. An alternative might be to fashion a plastic sleeve through the floor using abs drain pipe with a screw cap (or a bayonet cap like an rv waste tank outlet).

The advantage of these ideas is they are hidden and so don't affect the appearance of the QS camper. If a hole in the floor didn't work it could be easily patched.