Coleman AC

[Bill Johnson]

Originally Posted by Redsand

I'm confused. Were you running your coach ac and burned up the shore power cord or?

Yes, at my son's house he had 30 amp 240 in the garage for a heater and I was going to re-wire it for the motorhome, but the incline was too much, so I parked down below where it was level. The only circuit he had was 120 volt 20 amp. The cord was a strange one with different size wires inside. It was a 14 gauge with a center 16 gauge. I replaced that with a real 12 gauge cord, and I replaced the receptacle from a 15 amp builder grade to a 20 amp receptacle, no problem since

[Redsand]

Ah that makes perfect sense. A typical orange flavor extension cord can handle no more than around 12a. Not unusual to have a smaller gauge ground than the conductors. As far as running two units a 30a cord would be bare minimum assuming nothing else was drawing power. These small units need a solid 15a each to start and run. Glad there was no fire or damage except to maybe the wimpy cord.

[knucklehead]

Originally Posted by Redsand

Just when I thought I was ready to take this baby camping for a shake down trip the temps here hit around 95. I turned on the ac unit and came back half hour later to a warm rv. The air exiting the unit peg at 78.with the compressor running and all the evap fins are clean so not much left to check it seems. Seeing the unit is 17 years old I suppose a replacement is the best solution. Am I missing anything? I have the 13.5k btu model and thinking about upgrade to the 15k btu model. Anyone done this with Coleman units?

Good Luck finding an RV air conditioner that gives you more than a 20 degree difference. That is what I've heard since I got my first RV in 2017. Having ceramic window tinting will help, but it's pricey. I got a very high rated sun blocking tint for all the windows in my 2018 Thor Windsport 29m. $1600.00 and well worth it. Also don't forget to use the roof fans to vent the hot air out before you start the A/C up. Just one of the realities of life in a RV!!! Bob Trice

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by knucklehead

Good Luck finding an RV air conditioner that gives you more than a 20 degree difference. That is what I've heard since I got my first RV in 2017. Having ceramic window tinting will help, but it's pricey. I got a very high rated sun blocking tint for all the windows in my 2018 Thor Windsport 29m. $1600.00 and well worth it. Also don't forget to use the roof fans to vent the hot air out before you start the A/C up. Just one of the realities of life in a RV!!! Bob Trice

I have two Coleman 13.5 Units.

My RV sat in Hot sun all day today on shore power with both ACs on, Main Coach set at 79F and MBR set at 80F

Outside Temperature hit 100F

The coach was at 79F all day. That feels like an Ice Box to us from the Texas heat.

Nothing on the glass, but all of the MCD shades were pulled down except for the passenger side dinette window, and shade on door. Now the awning was out on Passenger side which tends to block some heat.

Our unit can be 100 plus degrees inside with everything shut off, it takes about 30 minutes to get bearable assuming the Chassis Cabin air is NOT turned on. It takes about 2 hours to get to thermostat set point.

I have seen it where outside was 106F and inside was 82F. But the setpoint was 82F and we were driving. So Cabin air was on too.

Now having said all of that, I do recall looking at a 2019 27B Windsport brand new that the Dealer had to jumpstart to get the genny to run. They turned on both ACs. It was 95 outside. After 4 hours it was 88F inside. We had every shade pulled down. Salesman said they would fix, but I was skeptical. Before that day we considering single 15k units, but that changed, it was 2 ACs or else for us. Checking AC air was #1 on my PDI list, I had them shut every thing off to get it as hot as possible.

I haven't done anything to our AC's but leave them alone. I should say that both are ducted, but the grille vents in the front are wide open to fight off heat from windshield. The MCD blind does a very good job, because you can feel the heat on the glass side, but cool to the touch on opposite side.

[MLP]

I had my front AC unit go out in Las Vegas a few weeks ago. 103* and only one 13.5k unit in back. Cost a bundle to get one over night and installed by a mobile tech. Changed the 13.5k unit to a 15k one and it only required a 15A breaker. The old unit had a 20A breaker so all was well. The new ones are much more efficient. I also added front driver/passenger side and windshield external screens. The screen made the front 12* cooler in +100* temps and I have put a strong fan in the bedroom blowing to the front. A lot better up front in the heat now.

[Redsand]

I've spent many days in Vegas as my Dad lived there for years. Hot is the order of the day from June to September. I can imagine your new unit was a wee bit pricey to get it quick like plus an install to boot. I shuddered at the best price to replace my 13.5 with a 15k with me doing the labor.
As ya mentioned 20a breaker should be right for the 15k AC as long as it's fed with 12Ga wire. So what is different about the new and improved model? Different refrigerant, compressor? Just curious.