Air Conditioner The Scoop On 550 Ac

H

Hilditch

Novice
Setting: Florida Keys - 10 days. Ave. hi 93o. Ave. low 78o at 6:00 AM. Sunny to partly cloudly. Tear facing East w/prevailing winds ESE. Kitchen covered w/canopy. Direct sun on tear 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Water temp 82o.

With the windows and vent open, afternoon temp in tear was 100o to 105o - slowly cooling off in the evening. From 11;00 PM until 8:30 AM the AC would hold 72o with 2 people. By 9:00 AM it would be up to 74o and rising. From 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM the AC was pretty useless.

With full shade or heavy cloud cover the AC can drop the inside temp 20o from the outside temp, but not in full sun. That said, not having the AC at night would have had us sleeping under the tear.

Hilditch
 
Thank you the info Hilditch. Us folks from the far north would just love to have weather too hot for the AC to handle. :)

And, welcome back! So, is your tear paid for now?
 
Yes Sir! The tear has now paid for itself in travel savings plus enough change left over to cover the gas for that 3,000 ride - which cost more than our camping fees for the month. :-( However, our rig created about 5 smiles and a grin per mile. Well worth it.

Hilditch
 
Hilditch,
I guess I am a little surprised at your AC "performance" down in the Keys ("From 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM the AC was pretty useless.") I would have thought that with the small closed cabin and the insulation in the roof that you would have no problem staying cool even in the hottest weather. I know the humidity will have a negative impact but have others had similar experiences in hot humid weather?
Jim & Mary Anne
560 Ultra (on order for a late August delivery)
 
The Houston area is nothing BUT hot and humid - we will be moving to that area (again) later in the summer. Plan on taking "MiniMc" to Galveston and/or Livingston area - all hot and humid. I definately plan on the AC working well and would be SHOCKED if it did not...It's a small window unit and the area inside is so small it would be ridiculous to think it wouldn't work. Having lived in hot humid weather all my life in a 3 bedroom home, even a normal window unit cools most of the house well, so I can't see why the AC wouldn't cool this small area. But I guess we will see...
 
I concur with Hilditch's findings. Once the sun starts hitting the AC unit it's efficiency falls off rapidly. It has nothing to do with the size or temp of the cabin, the AC unit is more than adequate in capacity for a space that small. It is not intended for daytime use because of it's roof top location. If trying to use it during the daytime in very hot temps you would need to make sure it is fully out of the sun, that will help.

Cary
 
Linda,
I had a separate email exchange with Cary on other matters and brought up this thread. I live north of San Diego and we have the ocean in front of us and the desert behind. We spend a lot of time at each but don't have AC at home because we just don't need it. As I related to Cary, my experience with RVs and AC in the desert has always been enjoyable. If anything, most people keep it so darn cold in their RVs that you experience thermal shock when moving in or out. That is why I asked if the humidity was a major factor. Cary made the point that most RV manufacturers install oversized AC units in their rigs for the size of the area to be cooled to compensate for the inefficiencies of direct sunlight and high temperatures. I guess they can do this because they have the space and the power. Still I am surprised at what Hilditch had to say. Cary, hope I didn't misrepresent what you said.
Jim
 
Jim,

That all looks right. The knee of the curve in the sun tends to be right around 98 degrees with our system. This is when we see it start dropping off rapidly. This seems to match Hilditch's number exactly so there should be no surprise to anything he said. The air conditioner in our teardrop is for night time use. Even in the high temps Hilditch was in it functioned as it should.

Air conditioning cannot function at all temperatures, any air conditioning. Once the condenser temp is similar to the outside ambient you are done. You can double the size of the air conditioner to squeeze that last little bit out, which is what you see often in air conditioning installs in Texas for instance. I have a friend in Carrolton Texas who has two central air units outside his house (and it is not a big house) just to try and hold ground when it is super hot. I remember during a heat spell last year with both units running full tilt it was over 90 degrees in his house (boy was he complaining). He was just at the limit of what a AC unit could do. I am glad I wasn't paying his electric bill.

Cary
 
Hi all

Use my 550 with ac in Yuma AZ... gets about 119 during the day. This is what I have experienced. Keep it under a pop up and tree cover as much as possible. Also keep it on high... when i put it to lower setting it would stop working. Learned this through trial and error. Keeps it about 78 inside during the day and 69 at night. Ran it continuous while I was there.
 
Thanks Todd - good info. I was thinking that shade would make the difference too. My daughter was in Palo Dura Canyon in the Panhandle of Texas 2 days ago and it was 111 degrees. We want to go there later this summer, but that heat would stop me in my tracks. We may venture out there now...thanks again!
 
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