Ducted roof top air

[Hobe]

For any one that is going to install roof top ducted air . I have a tip and how to , That may help, go to Coach Conversion Central , It is on the first page. http://users.cwnet.com/~thall/  It may help. Fred

[Songman]

Great pictures, Fred. The rounded corners should make all the difference in the world.

[TomC]

I guess I'm not holding my mouth right-went to the site and saw nothing about ducted air conditioning.  Maybe a better clue?  Good Luck, TomC

[DrivingMissLazy]

I guess I'm not holding my mouth right-went to the site and saw nothing about ducted air conditioning.  Maybe a better clue?  Good Luck, TomC

Tom, Here is the direct link to Fred's tips:

http://users.cwnet.com/~thall/fredhobe.htm

Richard

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Fred,

Great metal work!  It takes quite a bit of thought to do it right.. Huh..

It really stinks to put all that effort into the metal work and have to cover it all up with ugly duct tape and foam/plywood..

Good Luck
Nick-

[RTS/Daytona]

Hi

That takes a lot of great deal of skill to do that kind of work with metal -  Nice JOB

I was fortunate enough to great a grand tour of Featherlite Vantare and Millennium Coach here in Florida
They both used this product for ALL their duct work--> ULTRA DUCT  http://www.insul.net/prod_ultraduct.html

Vantare order a number of 4 x 8 sheets for me - ULTRA DUCT would have cut the sheets down and shipped them to me - but Vantare orders them in huge quantities and ships them in as 4 x 8

they are only 1/4 thick - super easy to work with - just cut it with a razor blade - score the bend lines and fold up and tape.
rounded corners were no trouble at all -

Super light weight / no rattle / no sheets metal / no screws/ it's insulated material - so much less sweating

It worked great for me - simple - cost effective - don't remember the cost per sheet - sorry - just call ULTRA DUCT.

Pete RTS/Dayton

[DavidInWilmNC]

As much as I'd love to duct my Carrier heat pump, I don't think that would work on an MC-8 without a raised roof.  Has anybody been able to do this without raising the roof or dropping the ceiling.  Maybe I could make some low profile ductwork on top of the roof, insulated, of course, and accomplish the same thing!     J/K

David

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

As much as I'd love to duct my Carrier heat pump, I don't think that would work on an MC-8 without a raised roof.  Has anybody been able to do this without raising the roof or dropping the ceiling.  Maybe I could make some low profile ductwork on top of the roof, insulated, of course, and accomplish the same thing!     J/K

David

Hi David,

I think it depends on "how tall you are"  Lol

Nick-

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi

That takes a lot of great deal of skill to do that kind of work with metal -  Nice JOB

I was fortunate enough to great a grand tour of Featherlite Vantare and Millennium Coach here in Florida
They both used this product for ALL their duct work--> ULTRA DUCT  http://www.insul.net/prod_ultraduct.html

Vantare order a number of 4 x 8 sheets for me - ULTRA DUCT would have cut the sheets down and shipped them to me - but Vantare orders them in huge quantities and ships them in as 4 x 8

they are only 1/4 thick - super easy to work with - just cut it with a razor blade - score the bend lines and fold up and tape.
rounded corners were no trouble at all -

Super light weight / no rattle / no sheets metal / no screws/ it's insulated material - so much less sweating

It worked great for me - simple - cost effective - don't remember the cost per sheet - sorry - just call ULTRA DUCT.

Pete RTS/Dayton

Hi Pete,

In our trade, we call that stuff "Duct Board".

I did three install with the stuff 12 years ago and everyone of them bit me because the paper/foil tape failed

that holds the seams and ends together.  Many times we were called back to reseal the joints with more tape.

It also may just be the environment they are installed in too. Like attics, and crawl spaces. excessive heat and moisture.

I have stuck with metal ever since. There is nothing like mechanical fasteners...

Good Luck
Nick-

[niles500]

Foil faced ductboard works fine with foil tape (we used to staple it also), but that was for attic/chase supply/return line installation (flex duct for branch lines) - foil tape has no shear strength and can be a problem where there is movement or vibration - the belt and suspenders installation in a bus would be- duct mastic on lap joint, then foil tape, staple through foil tape/lap joint, cover all with continuous wrap of regular duct tape - JMO

[RTS/Daytona]

Nick

I used 3m - 2 mil Alum Foil tape on all the joints - worked great - can't get the stuff off with a sledge hammer ??

The product looked/felt like cellophane wrapping tape with a shinny silver/alum finish - got it at Lowes

Nothing ever loosened ?/

Pete RTS/Daytona

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Pete,

We use the foil tape here too but, on FBBF [foil, bubble, bubble, foil] insulation stuck to metal duct only.

On duct board it's marginal at the least.  Like Jim has stated, the shear stregnth is not there.

And my 6mil costs $21 dollars a roll. It's not uncommon for a job we do to exceed $150 just in alum tape.

I just hate it when we go back to a previous install for tune-ups, and find ton's of boxes stored on our duct work.

Most of the time, I even find my metal ducts cruched from homeowners storeing things like "Wehght sets" on the trunk?? ??

If I can't build it to last a lifetime, then I just won't build it at all... That's how old school I am, I guess! Lol...

Nick-

[muddog16]

I have to agree with Nick on this, with all of the vibration and possible movement, metal duct is the only way, with plently of fasteners, Nick do you have any pictures of your duct when your bus was being converted?  Fred did a really nice job with his duct work, especially making the curved transitions to direct the flow smoothly!

Pat

[Dreamscape]

Fred,

Very nice work on the ducting! Just wanted to say your advice here is very much appreciated. Please post more of your ideas, everyone could benefit from them. I don't think anyone on this board would slap you for soliciting your ideas and work! You are a benefit to all of us!

Happy Trails,

Paul

Dreamscape

[Paul]

I was thinking of using ULTRA DUCT but might change now after reading this post. Thanks to all for there advice.

Is there any noise from the metal duct with the movement of the bus?

I was thinking of putting ALTRA DUCT on top of plywood with a wide metal strap shaped like a hat channel over the seams.

Fred always gets a good topic going.
Paul
www.incredibus.com