AC Question

[Sundown08]

Hi Everyone:

We have a 2015 Big Sky 379RL. 39' 7" with 3 slides. We live full time in Southern California. We have the Quiet Cool Air System with Two AC's. Yesterday it hit 102 here in So Cal. With both AC's set at 74 degrees, both AC fans on high and all shades pulled down. The best we could get was 81 in the RV. Does this sound normal or should we expect more. All return filters are clean. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Steve

[jcurtis934]

Yes, it soundS like all those air outlet ducts are too high into the ceiling ducts and/or the returns are colapsing under the suction. Prop open the foam return ducts with some short lengths of 2 inch pvc pipe. To pull down a outlet cover, insert a small flat blade screwdriver under the cover in between the notches you see on the cover. Screwdriver should go in and then on top of the vent piece that is held into the ceiling by screws. A little prying between the two will yield a pop and then you can move to another spot on the cover and repeat. Cover should be able to come off then. When you look up into the remaining part of the vent assembly, it shouldn't be sticking up very far into the foam duct. If it does, the airflow is compromised. I and others have had to remove and cut down all of ours. And you will probably find the aluminum tape holding the bottom of the duct down to the ceiling is crappy and needing to be re-done. The screw in part of the duct can be cut down very easy with some poultry shears. I had great airflow after doing this...before not so much. John

[Sundown08]

Hi John:

Thank you so much for the reply. I will certainly check this out.

Best regards,

Steve

quote:Originally posted by jcurtis934

Yes, it soundS like all those air outlet ducts are too high into the ceiling ducts and/or the returns are colapsing under the suction. Prop open the foam return ducts with some short lengths of 2 inch pvc pipe. To pull down a outlet cover, insert a small flat blade screwdriver under the cover in between the notches you see on the cover. Screwdriver should go in and then on top of the vent piece that is held into the ceiling by screws. A little prying between the two will yield a pop and then you can move to another spot on the cover and repeat. Cover should be able to come off then. When you look up into the remaining part of the vent assembly, it shouldn't be sticking up very far into the foam duct. If it does, the airflow is compromised. I and others have had to remove and cut down all of ours. And you will probably find the aluminum tape holding the bottom of the duct down to the ceiling is crappy and needing to be re-done. The screw in part of the duct can be cut down very easy with some poultry shears. I had great airflow after doing this...before not so much. John

[bncinwv]

The other thing to keep in mind is that an RV Air Conditioner usually "cools" the air by about 20 degrees, which is what you are seeing. Over time, this temperature should reduce more since you are recirculating the inside air through the air conditioner. The key is that the rv itself has to be somewhat efficient in maintaining the temperature. For instance, going in and out of the rig allows warm air in. Sitting in the sun will reduce the overall cooling efficiency as well. The shower dome is a big magnifying glass that generates internal heat as well as do the vent covers. When we are in warmer climates, we run the ceiling fan to complement the AC, but the biggest factor we have seen that helps is keeping the outside air outside! The second biggest factor, is to get the rig super-cooled in the morning which allows the AC system to maintain the temperature rather than having to cool the air.
Bingo

[Sundown08]

Hi Bingo:

Thank you for the reply. You are right on about the shower dome. It gives off quite a bit of heat. One of the things we are up against is our full time spot does not offer a whole lot of shade. I am going to do a good inspection of the inlets and returns to make sure all is as it should be. Its seems to be OK. In the bedroom the airflow is really good and nice and cold. Bearing in mind that the outlets are within arms reach. As far as the living area goes the ceiling is arched and quite high. When standing on the floor near a duct I can reach up and feel the air. Standing on a step stool and getting closer to the outlet the air flow seems pretty good. One additional thing we are going to try is getting the Rig nice and cold early before it gets real hot and monitor how well it maintains. This will of course include pulling the thermal and night shades to keep as much heat out as possible. Again thanks for the reply it was very helpful!

Regards,

Steve

quote:Originally posted by bncinwv

The other thing to keep in mind is that an RV Air Conditioner usually "cools" the air by about 20 degrees, which is what you are seeing. Over time, this temperature should reduce more since you are recirculating the inside air through the air conditioner. The key is that the rv itself has to be somewhat efficient in maintaining the temperature. For instance, going in and out of the rig allows warm air in. Sitting in the sun will reduce the overall cooling efficiency as well. The shower dome is a big magnifying glass that generates internal heat as well as do the vent covers. When we are in warmer climates, we run the ceiling fan to complement the AC, but the biggest factor we have seen that helps is keeping the outside air outside! The second biggest factor, is to get the rig super-cooled in the morning which allows the AC system to maintain the temperature rather than having to cool the air.
Bingo

[DQDick]

Doesn't sound that far off to me. We added slide toppers and window awnings to help the AC do a better job. Change filters monthly, also. Kansas in the summer will test the system.

[Sundown08]

Thanks for the reply!

Regards,

Steve

quote:Originally posted by DQDick

Doesn't sound that far off to me. We added slide toppers and window awnings to help the AC do a better job. Change filters monthly, also. Kansas in the summer will test the system.

[richfaa]

20 degree difference does not sound bad at all. We have the Big Sky which looks pretty but is painted in dark colors. Keystone must not know that white reflects heat and dark colors absorb it. We can take comfort in that we look pretty while not keeping
real cool. We do not stay in real hot temps so we are doing good. The A/C's in this 13 3402 do work harder than the ones in the 06 3400.

[Sundown08]

Hi:

Thank you so much for the reply!

Regards,

Steve

quote:Originally posted by richfaa

20 degree difference does not sound bad at all. We have the Big Sky which looks pretty but is painted in dark colors. Keystone must not know that white reflects heat and dark colors absorb it. We can take comfort in that we look pretty while not keeping
real cool. We do not stay in real hot temps so we are doing good. The A/C's in this 13 3402 do work harder than the ones in the 06 3400.

[jsmitfl]

We put this stuff on our unit and it cuts down on the inside heat tremendously. We've used it for three summers now with the sun beating in the rear windows. No problem. If you use it place the buttons on the glass or on the fiberglass not on the window frame.

http://www.ezsnapdirect.com/

[Rondo]

You also might pull your intake vents on the ceiling for the Quiet Air System and shine a flashlight up into the vent with a mirror to look up into the return vent. Look to see if the vent is collapsed partway up in the vent. There have been numerous posts here about these vents being collapsed some. Several have taken pieces of pvc and/or wood pieces and braced the vent back open. The vent is flimsy and collapses pretty easily. This allows the correct amount of return air to flow back to the A/C and lets it work a lot easier to cool also.