Dometic Roof A/C

[usbusin]

Does anyone know if the Dometic roof-top air conditioner can be set on "recirculate"?

In your automobile you have the choice of cooling the fresh air or the recirculated air. 

What is the maximum temperature differential between outside air temp and the inside cooled air?  Twenty degrees?

What about recirculated air? 

[bevans6]

Rooftop AC's. at least the ones I've seen including my dometic, can only recirculate.  They draw all air to be cooled in from the interior of the bus through a screen and send it out the duct vents.  No fresh outside air at any time.

Brian

[Dreamscape]

Brian is right on! That's how ours works, and works great!

Paul

[HighTechRedneck]

Same as Brian and Paul.  I've not yet seen a roof air that brought in fresh air.  Maybe they have been made, but I have never seen them.

As far as external temperature range - I don't think there is a realistic limit.  But like all AC's they have a finite cooling capacity.  Usually 13,500 or 15,000 BTU's.  How well that cools vs. outside temps will depend largely on how well insulated the bus is, what color paint (white, light or dark) and how much window surface area it has.  Most conversions seem to have 2-3 roof airs.

[luvrbus]

 3 roof tops are cutting it today in Az we just got back from lunch with friends that have a light colored H-45 Vantare with a white roof and  factory foam they had to unplug and are now running the generator sitting in a RV Park lol 50amps in this heat will not run all 4 and even with 4 running it is not real cool in their bus.
Would you believe they are going to head to North AZ 120 degrees is just to much for the pansies lol

[Dreamscape]

I've been runnin one of ours on low half the day. When the wife gets home, I turn on one more and it keeps us cool. 97 degrees until further notice! We have three, and switch back and forth depending on what part of the coach we are in.

I'm glad we don't have four, it would be a freezer in here!

[usbusin]

Thanks to all of you for the responses.  I was under the assumption that they took in outside air.  (As the bird colonel told me, "don't assume; it only makes an A-- out of U and ME)

I now feel better about traveling across the Mojave desert through Las Vegas and on across the country on I-70!!  We aren't leaving until the 26th and I sure hope we get a cooling trend by then.  LOL

Thanks, again.

[happycamperbrat]

I dont know what route you are going across the mojave desert, but if you swing by Ridgecrest give me a hollar and I will have ice cold drinks and a dump station at my home you can use

[usbusin]

Thanks, happycamperbrat, I appreciate the offer, but we are on a tight schedule this trip, at least on the out-bound leg.

We are traveling highway 58 to Barstow, then to Vegas and on to Indiana over I70 and I80.

Maybe we can catch you later on our way to Arizona next winter.

[JohnEd]

Does anyone know if the Dometic rooftop air conditioner can be set on "recirculate"?

In your automobile you have the choice of cooling the fresh air or the recirculated air. 

What is the maximum temperature differential between outside air temp and the inside cooled air?  Twenty degrees?

What about recirculated air? 

If you take liquefied freon, as it is out of your compressor, and cool it, as it is out of your condenser, and spray it into a evaporator, as you do in you AC, and blow air across it you will find a absolute max low temp you can achieve.  That is only germane if you can put enuf air thru that evap unit to absorb all that "cold" and blow it out.  Few design can do that and there is a cut off thermostat that is set to 35 degrees or so cause to go lower will freeze up the coils and without air flow you get nada for cooling.  The more perfect your insulation, the closer to 35 degrees you can come.  Here was how I got some idea of just how much temp I could tolerate.....Turn on one AC unit to MAX and let it run for hours.  Measure the temp inside and subtract that from the outside temp and that will tell you how far you can pull the temp down.  Do the same with the other unit and that will tell you what it can do and which is the stronger unit.  Finally turn on both and let them run for a long time.  Take that number....say 20 degrees and at 100 degrees your inside temp will be 80 degrees.   All that I have said is incorrect...cause the efficiency of the units changes with outside temp and you can make a AC unit work miracles by spraying water on the condenser fins.  Did you hear me say "SOME IDEA"?  If you try this at 80 degrees ambient I think you can safely assume that the cooling ability will go down a smidgen at higher temps.  Nick or Sean could refine this procedure a little, shoot hoes in it, discount it all together and provide alternative procedures you nor I could comprehend....let alone apply. Careful!

This can also let you know what you R factor is for the entire bus and could eval the benefit of improvements as you build it or make mods to an existing coach. What did I get out of isolating the rear? How much did carpet change things?  Stuff like that.

HTH,

John

PS: This procedure works with your space heaters and your furnace(s)  How low can you go?

[Just Dallas]

removed

[JohnEd]

Dallas,

You can feel free to quote me on matters "Bus".  I'm sorry you are having problems....truly, I am.  As you were told by the moderators, use PMs for the personal things such as "love" and whom to.  I will PM you this evening on personal matters about the bus posts.

Be well Dallas....Best regards to Cat,

John E. Grabe

[Songman]

I dont know what route you are going across the mojave desert, but if you swing by Ridgecrest give me a hollar and I will have ice cold drinks and a dump station at my home you can use

We're going to Vegas next weekend. But I was in Ridgecrest last Sunday and it was 112 degrees! Makes my 103 in Bakersfield seem downright cool!

[JohnEd]

Songman,

You have a Eagle with three roof tops....correct?  Which AC units do you have?  Make and size?  How did your bus do at keeping cool in that 112 temp.  What is the performance you experience in what temps.  Do you have spray in foam in the ceiling and floor and walls?

Thanks for sharing,

John

[Songman]

Nope, John. Must be thinking of someone else. I had the Eagle with the natural air conditioning.



But I sold it and am busless at the moment. Whenever I buy another Eagle I will probably pick one up that is already converted. That seems to be the way to go in this economy.

Actually, for my Ridgecrest trip I was in my Jeep Wagoneer. But it gets about the same mileage as a bus. I get about 7 mpg no matter how or where I drive it.