After about 9 years of service, it appears that my first generation PetCool air conditioner is on its last legs. I want to replace the PetCool with a 5000 btuh window unit. Many teardrops have permanent or temporary window unit air conditioning installations. What I would like to do is however something that I haven't seen on this board.
I want to mount the window unit in my tongue box and control it with a residential-style digital thermostat (non line voltage and non-programmable). My plan - at least for now - is to "hack" a manual thermostat window unit. I want to be able to separately switch/control the blower and the compressor/cooling fan from inside the teardrop with the thermostat.
With my minimal understanding of electronics, I know that I will need the thermostat, an electrical relay to switch the blower, an electrical relay to switch the compressor/cooling fan, and transformer(s) to power the themostat and relays. My questions are:
1. What type and size of relays should I use?
2. Can/should I power the thermostat and relays with the same 120V AC to 24V DC power supply? If so, what size/type power supply should I use?
3. Is there an RV thermostat that is powered by 12V DC but can switch 120V AC that could be used instead of #2 above? (Same for the relays).
4. Does anyone know of a schematic that shows what I would like to do?
While I feel pretty good about my wiring abilities, I don't have experience or education in electrical design. Thank you for your suggestions and comments.