12 volt ac??

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Dan sloan

Novice
after hearing about the original ac not available, was wondering if anyone has purchased or researched 12 acs? seems like a good option especially with li batteries , possibly using only battery power when boondocking
 
Dan sloan said:
after hearing about the original ac not available, was wondering if anyone has purchased or researched 12 acs? seems like a good option especially with li batteries , possibly using only battery power when boondocking
Click to expand...

The 12-volt AC units available on the market have received good reviews.

However, they do consume a significant amount of power - 20 amps at 12 volts in thier lower power consumption mode. Which may be good for 'our' intended use. Getting power to the AC would likely mean wiring, and additional capcity. Perhaps a good use of space where the old AC once was?

In terms of size, these units are 11,000 BTU and may be more efficient at removing heat than smaller window-mounted ACs. However, their larger size means they will likely sit above the roof rack rails (the units stand approximately 7 inches tall).

It's also worth noting that a single lithium battery with a capacity of 100Ah would quickly drain to zero with a continuous draw of 20 amps - in
just 4 hours, assuming no cycling or duty cycle. In reality, the compressor will likely cycle at a lower rate than 100%, which would extend the battery life.

Dometic RTX 2000 is what I was looking for when figuring above...

Looking closely at the AC, it may have a bulbous airbox -- which would intrude into the living space...not sure how that really would work....For the fun of it, I looked at my wholesaler -- and they have precisely 1 available in their warehouses, and at over $2200 -- its not a cheap option either.

@Cary Winch, what gauge wire do you pre-wire for solar? I assume 100-watt solar is what you pre-wrie for would be WAY too small for 20amp...
 
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No OEM A/C available, or something similar to fit in the window shaker after market?

I was told by Cary that Craig could rebuild the original, with some time. If thats still an option I guess you'd have to ship it...or drive to the Nest.
Not confident in my DIY ability RN to pull it out and reinstall, so a good excuse to visit some pretty country up north.

The OEM AC takes 110ac to power as even the Precision 110ah Lion DC batt option would quickly be drained, if it could even power it up on start? 1500 watts on she AC correct?

I'd Bring a genny if you cant find a campground with power and must have AC.

The rooftop fan and side door screens work for me 90% of the time but nothing beats a cool dry cave to sleep in very hot muggy conditions, or if caught in desert in a very extreme heat wave...without shade...bring a tarp for the CI too.
 
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Yeah I have 200ah of li now could easily add more. Most of what I see available is 12000 to 15000 btu. Way overkill for the tiny camper. I did see 2000btu on Amazon but leary of the quality. Another option is propane versions but again. Too much. Somebody must make a 2000 to 3000 btu ac. Im thinking it wouldn't draw that much power either at that size. That's the one downside to these small campers even the propex furnaces are overkill.
 
Sweeney said:
The 12-volt AC units available on the market have received good reviews.

However, they do consume a significant amount of power - 20 amps at 12 volts in thier lower power consumption mode. Which may be good for 'our' intended use. Getting power to the AC would likely mean wiring, and additional capcity. Perhaps a good use of space where the old AC once was?

In terms of size, these units are 11,000 BTU and may be more efficient at removing heat than smaller window-mounted ACs. However, their larger size means they will likely sit above the roof rack rails (the units stand approximately 7 inches tall).

It's also worth noting that a single lithium battery with a capacity of 100Ah would quickly drain to zero with a continuous draw of 20 amps - in
just 4 hours, assuming no cycling or duty cycle. In reality, the compressor will likely cycle at a lower rate than 100%, which would extend the battery life.

Dometic RTX 2000 is what I was looking for when figuring above...

Looking closely at the AC, it may have a bulbous airbox -- which would intrude into the living space...not sure how that really would work....For the fun of it, I looked at my wholesaler -- and they have precisely 1 available in their warehouses, and at over $2200 -- its not a cheap option either.

@Cary Winch, what gauge wire do you pre-wire for solar? I assume 100-watt solar is what you pre-wrie for would be WAY too small for 20amp...
Click to expand...

The roof top solar is 154watts and yes, the wires are fairly small for this, 16ga. Far from being useful for a roof top 12v AC unit. We have been getting asked a lot lately about these units. To run that distance for the AC unit would necessitate a 6ga wire pair. Perhaps 8ga if the route is done as short as possible. Retrofitting something like this is doable but would require a fairly large raceway for the cabling to be run along the ceiling to the cabinetry to get these cables to where they can be routed down to the battery compartment.

For sure the current draw would be pretty unreasonable for the size of the camper and the battery capacity available. 11K to 14.5K BTU is far too many BTU for such a small camper. Hopefully in the future there will be smaller variants that come on the market. Right now, just is not practical at these sizes.

Cary
 
Dan sloan said:
I wonder what size electric motor would be required to run a car or truck ac system?
Click to expand...
Probably a compressor like what is in the portable fridges we all use in our campers. I would say for a AC unit as small as you are shooting for the power consumption would be about the same as a large portable fridge.

Cary
 
I keep thinking about getting an Ecoflow Wave and seeing if I can repackage it to work in the AC space. Seems like it would be pretty close with modifications to the case. 6100 BTU's cooling/6800 heating. Looks like it pulls about 425 watts at max cooling. Jerryrigeverything did a teardown of one and it looks like removing the case, relocating the controls panel and maybe rotating the fan 90 degrees could make it work. Can run it off shore power or battery.
 
TheSongDogHouse said:
No OEM A/C available, or something similar to fit in the window shaker after market?

I was told by Cary that Craig could rebuild the original, with some time. If thats still an option I guess you'd have to ship it...or drive to the Nest.
Not confident in my DIY ability RN to pull it out and reinstall, so a good excuse to visit some pretty country up north.

The OEM AC takes 110ac to power as even the Precision 110ah Lion DC batt option would quickly be drained, if it could even power it up on start? 1500 watts on she AC correct?

I'd Bring a genny if you cant find a campground with power and must have AC.

The rooftop fan and side door screens work for me 90% of the time but nothing beats a cool dry cave to sleep in very hot muggy conditions, or if caught in desert in a very extreme heat wave...without shade...bring a tarp for the CI too.
Click to expand...

We talked about that at CICO. It can be done. I know people who do it in the 'rv' space, and RV AC's are remarkably like window-shakers...

Soldering in a servie port is possible, and better than a saddle type which are prone to failure. The trouble is you still have to find the refrigerant, and it is not legal to buy unless you have the proper licenses :(


Henry said:
I keep thinking about getting an Ecoflow Wave and seeing if I can repackage it to work in the AC space. Seems like it would be pretty close with modifications to the case. 6100 BTU's cooling/6800 heating. Looks like it pulls about 425 watts at max cooling. Jerryrigeverything did a teardown of one and it looks like removing the case, relocating the controls panel and maybe rotating the fan 90 degrees could make it work. Can run it off shore power or battery.
Click to expand...

I've seen videos with the hobo professor talking about them -- they look interesting. The trouble is, its the whole asthetic :(
 
Found these. Called a parking ac for truckers who want ac but dont want to run the engine all night. Seems like it could be tweaked to fit the camper. Needs 75 amps to start though so either alot of battery or ac required. Once started you could maybe get 6 to 8 hrs on 200a li battery bank

 
Cary Winch said:
The roof top solar is 154watts and yes, the wires are fairly small for this, 16ga. Far from being useful for a roof top 12v AC unit. We have been getting asked a lot lately about these units. To run that distance for the AC unit would necessitate a 6ga wire pair. Perhaps 8ga if the route is done as short as possible. Retrofitting something like this is doable but would require a fairly large raceway for the cabling to be run along the ceiling to the cabinetry to get these cables to where they can be routed down to the battery compartment.

For sure the current draw would be pretty unreasonable for the size of the camper and the battery capacity available. 11K to 14.5K BTU is far too many BTU for such a small camper. Hopefully in the future there will be smaller variants that come on the market. Right now, just is not practical at these sizes.

Cary
Click to expand...
Theoretically on the charts I looked at, low is about 6000 btu's --- I think that would still 'cave out' the camper becuase I"m SURE these will move air...

I'm still not ready to be on them yet, once they've been on the market for a couple years and there is some adoption maybe. Its only on the low setting this would even be feasible. Then there's the problem of getting a 20amp power supply/converter. Thats a lot of space to give up.
 
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