Keeping the driver cool

[Seangie]

Hey All -

Here is our current plan for AC on the bus -

One 9000btu mini-split at the front of the bus above the windshields.  We will have the capability to pull a divider and separate the drivers area from the living area of the bus so that would keep the air up front in the drivers cabin. 

One 9000 btu mini-split at the mid section of the bus to cool the bunk areas and front living space of the bus. 

One 9000 btu mini-split in the bedroom.

I may add drivers air at a later time but we are trying to stay on schedule to be full time by December so that will be further down the road.  As far as electrical, I am trying to get as much as I can to run on 12v DC power.  I was going to plan on getting a smaller AC unit to run off the alternator to cool the drivers area for those days where its only hot up there looking at the sun.  I'll have to look to see if I have lines still in place as adding a belt driven compressor may be an option in the future but these red-dot systems might be worth looking at as well.  Also - Might be easier and less work to add 12v alternator and run wires to a contained system than add a compressor and run tubing and find a matching evaporator.

Thanks to all of you for the suggestions.  I awe at the amount of information and ideas that I get from this board.

-Sean
www.herdofturtles.org
 

[Oonrahnjay]

Hey All -   Here is our current plan for AC on the bus -

One 9000btu mini-split at the front of the bus above the windshields.  We will have the capability to pull a divider and separate the drivers area from the living area of the bus so that would keep the air up front in the drivers cabin. 
One 9000 btu mini-split at the mid section of the bus to cool the bunk areas and front living space of the bus.    One 9000 btu mini-split in the bedroom.  (snip)   

      Sean, I know women that throw wood on and poke the fire at 10 PM in May, but I think that you're going to find 27K BTu as being marginal if you're planning to have ~6 people in a bus anywhere south of Charlotte or Denver spring to early autumn.  That kind of cooling will have a hard time de-humidfying (all things equal - you're going to have to do a lot of very good sealing to be better than average -- air infiltration is your enemy) much less dropping much temperature.  You get BIG heat through the windshield but you'll also get big heat through the floor, windows, doors, etc. (even items that are well sealed).  I'm not an expert but I am afraid you're looking at a marginal system; please ask other people to add knowledgeable data here.

[luvrbus]

40,000 btu's is marginal in the AZ heat parked much less driving lol

[Scott & Heather]

It's somewhat dependent on your insulating job Sean. As you know we have no only 1.5 inch foam, 3/4" plywood, but also two layers of Reflectix sandwiching the foam layers. We spent the summer in 101 degree heat in direct sun in Wisconsin this past summer and were able to stay comfortable with a single 13,500 BTU roof air. That being said, here are my disclaimers:

1. Other than the windshield and side glass, we have no windows yet.
2. We insulated well
3. The A/C unit ran literally nonstop the entire summer. We never shut it off.

We are definitely going to install a second unit at some point. Especially after we install some windows. But my mantra is insulate well...take the time and effort to do it at the beginning. We're about to spend our first cold winter in the bus in Ohio and we are thankful we insulated well.

[TomC]

I have three 13,500btu roof tops (Colemans) with the front one up close to the driver's area.  I can aim the vent down to me and with a dash fan blowing in my face stay quite comfortable up to 108 degrees (hotest I've been in).  When driving typically use the front and rear roof top and when parked the middle.  I also have 2.25" sprayed insulation, but just single pane windows.  If I were buying new roof tops again would, I would buy Duotherm Penquins at 15,000btu-mainly because Penquins have 3spd fan with their low being much quieter then the two spd Colemans.  But-our Colemans have been 100% reliable since I installed them in 1994. Good Luck, TomC

[luvrbus]

You guys forget he has kids lol, hey TomC the new Penguin 11 model are 2 speed now that's why I bought the Coleman lo/pro

[LowTide]

Im brand new here, and am just a sponge, but I remember a old pontiac station wagon we had growing up( back in the 60's) had a self contained ac unit under the dash. Do they still make these? if so would it work?

Funny you should mention that under dash AC unit, I have one of those in the garage sitting in a corner.....remember them very well.

[Scott & Heather]

You guys forget he has kids lol, hey TomC the new Penguin 11 model are 2 speed now that's why I bought the Coleman lo/pro

Good point. And they are the cutest kids this side of the Mississippi! We love your kids Sean...but they are probably BTU makers  So throw in one more a/c

[Seangie]

Good point. And they are the cutest kids this side of the Mississippi! We love your kids Sean...but they are probably BTU makers   So throw in one more a/c

The BTU's are the last thing I am worried about them making.  It's the dB's that they make that will drive you nutz

Well...I am ordering my first mini-split now.  12k, y'all talked me into it.  This one will be used for the template to place the other 2 and make sure that they will all fit.  It will be tight.

I'll post pictures once I get everything together.

-Sean

[buswarrior]

Good choice.

No one complains about having too much cooling or heating, but if you are short...

And a trio of 12's will pull the coach temp down faster when it is heat soaked in a parking lot all day.

I doubt you'll ever regret it.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[sledhead]

Sean   We have a 9000 btu split heat pump . (I wish I had a 12000 btu unit ) The 9000 works great when we are camping lots of a/c .bus was spray foamed r 32 in ceiling r 15 in walls,r 12 in floor .All windows are thermopane .I put a rv shaker roof top 13.5 btu in the bedroom .Have only used it a few times as I can't stand the noise.The split unit is above the front window fits fine .A little head scratching to plumb. it in .I had to redo the water drain as you need a lot of fall due to off level happens a lot while driving. I use the inverter for power on the road 12volt 2000 watts. When I redo the battery bank (is 6 years old still works good ) I will change to 24 volt more power for a 24 volt inverter.The 9000 unit uses 8- 10 amps =80 to 105 amps at 12 volts . A 24 volt inverter would be only 40-55 amps . live and learn.                      dave

[sledhead]

Sean here are some pics of my old mans a/c unit in his bus. i am his son Ty i had to do it because there is no way he could have found out how to do it. i am even amazed he knows how to work this comp to play on this site. now in order to put these on here i had to send them to face book then save them back to his computer then send them to here. there has to be an easier way to compres a photo down to post it on here. and man is your site slow.

[sledhead]

and the other three because this is SSSSSSLLLLLLLOOOOOOWWWWWWW!

[luvrbus]

Not mini splits but I helped a friend install 2 of the new Dometic Penguins model 2's on his rv today he hit a tree limb they were not quite low pro enough lol 

Anyway they have a new lower cover they have 3 adjustable vents 2 small and 1 large to blow down then 1 at each end to blow out nice setup with  the 5 vents they only have a 2 fan speeds and seem to blow a lot more air than the older 3 speed fans a little pricey at 901.00 each at CW with the president's card

good luck