mini split air conditioners

[Zeroclearance]

From Cliffords thread.   On the Aqua Air website they have a BTU calc.   

http://www.aquaair.net/Quick-Calc.html

[Jcparmley]

Hi

I am trying to figure out what I am going to due for my ac.  I have always thought about using the spare tire compartment for a ac compressor but didn't know what type of unit would work.  You said you have 2 crusiair units in the tire compartment.  Could you please tell me how you configured that?  Do you have any pics?  Thanks
Jared

Guys there are plenty of marine AC's out there in split or self contained units while I admire you guys trying to figure these out I took the easy way and bought the Crusiair 2 mounted in the spare tire compartment 1 at the rear no holes in the side of my bus no duct work.
Ocean Breeze and Aqua Air have some nice self contained units or split units also

good luck

[Nel]

Check out this You Tube channel called Beginning from this morning, This guy Juan installed one on his bus and his videos on his bus project are great.

[Geoff]

Happycamperbrat, aka Teresa, has an RTS; so there is limited bay space here.  Roof airs are the best option for an RTS.  The factory air, if working, is a monster and only good while driving.  I have 3ea 15k roof airs of which I normally only run two at a time.  The space were the "air handler was houses my 8k diesel gender in a soundbox.

[buswarrior]

The condenser space out back may be a lovely house for the outside unit(s) for the mini-split in an RTS?

I'd fight like the dickens to keep that transit bus roof unobstructed for access to all those places that we can't go with taller coaches, or have to make wild detours, to avoid "that bridge"

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[luvrbus]

It's going to take more than one split to cool your bus,I have a friend that went that route here he has 1-12,000 btu unit (220V) and 2 -9000 BTU units (110v) in a sprayed foam 45 ft bus he tried the 1 outside unit with 2 inside units     

[Phuriousgeorge]

Didn't really want to keep tagging onto an 8-year old thread, but here's where I'm at:

I'm planning (well, they're bought...) installing 2x 12k BTU units in mine, so I'll let you know how it works in this recent 100+ degree Texas weather.  Still some work to do before they get installed unfortunately for my sweaty self

[luvrbus]

2-12,000 BTU units1 should be fine parked,when a bus is on the move they are hard to cool that is why they have the 60,000+ btu coach air,mount the outside units where they can get plenty of fresh air or it becomes a problem in a hurry

[Phuriousgeorge]

Hmm, maybe I'll hook just the one up and see how things go.  For OTR purposes though, I'll probably have to acquire a 2nd HD alternator... P.O. took it our for some reason....  If I'm doing my math right, HD alternator 12v @120A will yield me 120v @ 15A

(DC Volts [12]* DC Amps [120]) / Estimated Efficiency [.8 or 80%] = AC Wattage [1800]
AC Wattage [1800] / AC Voltage [120] = AC Amperage [15]

I'm probably over-estimating efficiency

[chessie4905]

Just saw an almost new Prevost or Vanhool with a Volvo engine. It had 3 hd alternators mounted to engine. They all looked identical. 2 on one side in tandem and one on opposite side.

[Phuriousgeorge]

Has anyone installed their split compressors in their luggage compartments and have photos?  I had thought that I could get one back by the engine, but the area is a little smaller than I thought, and while I could manage get one to fit, I think I prefer easier access to the engine & Webasto.  So, now I'm looking to mount both compressors in my middle bay on either end or one back bay, one middle bay on the same side, depending on the tanks I purchase.  I'm thinking it'll probably be best to duct them to the underside.  Any idea if it'd be better to have the input from the side or the bottom of the bus?  Or maybe other thoughts?  I really need to get one of these units going to make working on this beast a bit more pleasant in this 100+ degree weather.

[richard5933]

Both of my basement a/c units draw in fresh air from the side and exhaust it to the ground through a vent in the floor of the bay. Same with the OTR condensing coil/fan. Our generator also pulls from the side and exhausts through the floor of the bay. Seems like the correct way to to this.

If you ran it the other way around and drew air from the underside of the bus, you'd almost immediately fill your intake with grass, leaves, debris, and crap of all kinds and kill your units. It's amazing how much crap blows out from under the bus when we start up any of these units in a parking lot, even one that appears to be clean. I can't imagine how much of a problem that all would cause if it was being sucked in rather than pushed out.

The basement a/c units use a 4-blade fan behind the condensing coil to pull air across the coil and exhaust it out the floor. The OTR unit uses a large fan in the opening of the floor to push the air out, causing a vacuum behind it pulling air across the coil. The generator uses a fairly large squirrel fan mounted over the floor vent to exhaust the hot air, causing a vacuum across the generator and pulling fresh air in across the radiator.

[Lee Bradley]

My compressor unit exhausts out the side of bus and make-up air comes in the front of the basement. I left an opening in the front of the basement wall and the air up from between the front wheels and over the fuel tank into the basement. When moving this pressurizes the basement slightly and when stopped that area is shaded and a little cooler. One of the photos is the freon lines routed from the basement through the utility wall into the ceiling. That is a 220 vac unit that draws about 2,000 watts powered by a 4024 Trace through a 5,000 watt step-up transformer. I have a 24,000 btu unit above the driver/copilot; that kept us comfortable going to the Great American Eclipse in Oregon in near 100 degree and sunny in a greenhouse (Neoplan Cityliner).

[Lee Bradley]

What the greenhouse looks like.

[Phuriousgeorge]

Thank you for the photos Lee, that sounds like a much better option.  Happen to recall how much of an opening you left in the front?  I'll have to account for 2x units pulling. Maybe I'll install a catch basin and use it for a vacuum system, I'm sure I'll be pulling some good CFM lol.  I'll have to try to crawl under the bus and see what I can manage since I'm not pulling the floors.

Also, fitting name.  I've always loved the look of those windows.