AC Hacking a Figidaire 5000 BTU

[humbird-SKO]

Oh and those winds, around here we average a 15 MPH and then there are the tornado and straight line at 60 MPH.

Holy Toledo!

 

[Ken Hopkins-JAY]

I really like this idea. I regret giving away an old bar fridge hat I was not using.

 

[Shadow Catcher]

Holy Toledo
Collingwood Blvd Toledo, 23 miles east of us. Has a large number of churches
I don't think a refrigerator would have enough BTU's, remember this is a heat pump

 

[Deryk the Pirate]

Very interesting... wonder how weather tight it would be? Granted I probably could keep it under the trailer when in use.

 

[exminnesotaboy]

fantastic, thanks for documenting this

 

[exminnesotaboy]

fantastic, thanks for documenting this

 

[Shadow Catcher]

My feeling on weather tightness is that window units hang outside, well most of it does and if you look at how they are built, the fan motor and compressor are weather tight. This leaves only the two switches one of which is now inside (thermostat). The rotary selector switch seems fairly tight and can if necessary be eliminated entirely, or pulled into the control box but that would require more wires. At this point that switch controls fan speed only (and you have to reach inside the hose opening) as the on off function is now controlled by the switch inside. It is set for high and is because of the lack of physical connection with the trailer and the hoses very quiet.

 

[Ken Hopkins-JAY]

Very interesting... wonder how weather tight it would be? Granted I probably could keep it under the trailer when in use.

I was thinking the same thing. then seen photos of a tear that had something kinda the same built into the tong box.

 

[iplay10us2]

Again, this is such a wonderful write up, and so easy to understand.

Where did you find turnable louvered vents for the inside? That's a good idea, too.

 

[Shadow Catcher]

The inside vents are very standard RV http://www.dyersonline.com/brd-4-beige- ... ister.html They are very slightly smaller than the deck plates.
One of the reasons I went with the Anderson Power Poles for connectors is that they fit through the slats in the register (and I had them on hand).

I am doing the test that flunked the Pet Cool for us a couple of year back. The trailer is in full sun both roof vent fans are running with the vent closed to help keep the air from stratifying. It is over 90 degrees and high humidity and the AC unit is keeping the temp at 70 degrees with no problem. Judging by the amount of condensate it is doing a good job on dehumidifying.

 

[iplay10us2]

I have a petcool and a Silver Shadow with the window template for hooking up the petcool. It has worked well, but I have always wanted a way to free up the door. I've seen several AC solutions on this website, but yours was well documented and seems the easiest to do....for me, at least.

Tomorrow, I will take the hole saw I picked up and drill through the side of my teardrop and install my deck plates on the outside. I hadn't decided on what the inside vents would be, but will look into this option. I'd ordered a few vents for the inside from a marine supply company to see how they looked, but might be sending them back now.

Thanks for the great documentation.

 

[Shadow Catcher]

Susann
The wall on Compass Rose are 1 1/2" thick and a Styrofoam sandwich. Your challenge may be to find an adapter for the hose, it is 60mm if I remember correctly.

 

[Shadow Catcher]

Today I tried out the AC in a test that the Pet cool failed. It is 97 and high humidity, CR is in full sun and the inside reached 75 degrees with the AC running and judging by the amount of condensate it is doing a fine job of dehumidifying.

 

[iplay10us2]

Susann
The wall on Compass Rose are 1 1/2" thick and a Styrofoam sandwich. Your challenge may be to find an adapter for the hose, it is 60mm if I remember correctly.

I bought a 3 in. deck plate, and am using a 2 inch pvc elbow to make the attachment for the hose and into the deck plate. I've used your method of the neophrene tape on the end that will go into the deck plate, and it fits snugly.

Still not sure what I will use on the inside because I need something that is not flush to the side wall. The deck plate extends a little bit into the inside. I could always get a spacer/gasket to make a vent fit flush.

Again, thanks for the great write up.

 

[Shadow Catcher]

OK there is a problem that I was afraid I might have, icing. This happens on the coil and gradually cuts off air circulation. There are two possible causes, low refrigerant or low air flow/too high humidity. My guess is the latter problem. I do however have potential solution which I mentioned earlier and that is using a 4" 12V bilge blower which sits in line in the duct. I will hook it up to a rheostat so I can adjust speed. Yes it is 12 volt and I could use a PMW to save power but in this case the only time it would be used while we are on AC so wasting a bit of power is acceptable. The blower is on order and once I have it I will do some pictures and tell how it works out.

 

[Trackstriper]

Shadow Catcher...

The blower on the evaporator side of your AC is a squirrel cage blower....similar to what's inside your home furnace. They are designed to work at higher pressures than regular bladed fans such as the fan that moves the air across the condenser coil on the backside of your AC. This much you already know.

I believe that the bilge fans are fairly small, high speed axial fans (bladed) and I don't think they'd actually help increase the air movement though your system. I doubt they can operate at the pressure capability that you already have with the built in blower of the AC. They might actually restrict total flow through your hoses. There also may also be noise factor to contend with.

I'd be thinking about simply doubling up on the hoses...two for intake and two for exhaust. Or going to a slightly large hose format...maybe six-inch.

Experiment with the bilge fan and let us know how it works out. Sometimes someone has to just do the experimenting. When you get this totally figured out there will be a lot of happy campers....literally...on the forum. Thanks for taking on this project.

 

[Shadow Catcher]

Checking the CFM for a typical 5000 BTU AC I am seeing between 140 to 240 CFM and the 4" bilge at about 220 to 240CFM, I am hoping this will be enough. I may also be able to smooth the air flow. The experience was that the AC unit would work for 20+ minutes before needing to be cycled off for a few minutes to allow ice to melt. I was using it while doing some electrical work installing a Sirius satellite receiver.
Again one of the advantages of having the only mechanical connection through the hoses is that it isolates sound.

 

[Shadow Catcher]

Success
I added the bilge blower rated a 240 CFM and this has taken care of the icing problem. The pictures are at what is currently the bottom of the first posting. I do need to refine how this goes together and I will edit pictures of the final solution.
Control wring now has to be re routed around the blower and the hose shortened or re routed to go through the cold air hose instead of the return.
My feeling is that I can reduce the speed of the blower and the noise produced (louder than I anticipated but acceptable as is, if I can not) and now that I know that it works shorten hose and route wires neatly and efficiently.

 

[Trackstriper]

Sounds good, guess that bilge blower kicks butt. Keep us posted on this as time goes by.

 

[Synthesis]

I plan to "copy" this idea, only my AC unit will be tongue mounted in a box.
I will duct cold air in, and return air back to the unit.

I have planned ahead for the icing problem a bit by allowing the return to draw air from both the cabin of the teardrop and the outside ambient air.

The idea I have is to be able to regulate the amount drawn from the cabin by using an adjustable vent inside for the return line.

This should prevent icing and allow me to cycle fresh air into the cabin without having to open a window all the way.

Thoughts?