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Old 01-31-2018, 08:01 AM   #1
timsea
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A/C return vents

I'm in search of someone who has added another return vents in there Montana as the dealer said he can not order them from Keystone. I didn't want to call him a liar to his face but I can not believe that. So if anybody has I would like the part number or phone number as where I can buy them.
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Old 01-31-2018, 08:36 AM   #2
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Try Amazon and ebay. Do you feel a need to add more? Our 41' Montana has 9 which is plenty. If your unit isn't cooling I would check for other problem(s) first before drilling holes in my ceiling. Year & model?
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Old 01-31-2018, 09:19 AM   #3
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We opened and keep open our vents with PVC pipe. Look in history and you'll find a lot of threads about that over the last couple of years. That said, I carry a spare vent just in case I break one over time and got it from my dealer with no issues. You should also be able to order from trekwood.com
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Old 01-31-2018, 09:31 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by WeBeFulltime View Post
Try Amazon and ebay. Do you feel a need to add more? Our 41' Montana has 9 which is plenty. If your unit isn't cooling I would check for other problem(s) first before drilling holes in my ceiling. Year & model?
You have 9 return vents? I got seriously cheated!

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Old 01-31-2018, 03:59 PM   #5
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Me to I only have 4. But I have put the pipe in there and it is better but if you read enough Montana doesn’t put enough in according to a/c manufacturers and that’s kind of like money and bullets you can’t have enough.you can find the round ones all day but the returns are oval or rectangle.i know I’ve read that someone else has added these last year. Thanks
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Old 01-31-2018, 04:44 PM   #6
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There are only 4 A/C air intake vents. Two for the rear A/C and two for the front A/C. They are oval shaped as stated. The round ones are air output vents. The intake vents have a tendency to collapse. This is why folks are adding the pvc piping. However, the pvc can tear the venting causing other issues. The alternative is to use 1 1/4" tubing with wire wound support. So if your A/C isn't performing well, chances are that the intake vents have collapsed.
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Old 01-31-2018, 05:33 PM   #7
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You have 9 return vents? I got seriously cheated!

Mark
Sorry, I had another senior moment. Was thinking of the round discharge vents.
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Old 01-31-2018, 05:47 PM   #8
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To add another return grill, do you just cut the appropriate size hole in the ceiling and then into the return duct?
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Old 01-31-2018, 06:04 PM   #9
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This thread is a little confusing. The only return air vents that I’m aware of for the a/c are ducted directly to the a/c unit were the foam air filter is located. Everything else are air ducts directing the cold air throughout the RV. Am I wrong or are others using confusing terms.
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Old 01-31-2018, 06:54 PM   #10
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They must be talking about the newer units that have the whisper quiet ? a/c units. They have return air grills in the ceiling, along with supply ducts.
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Old 01-31-2018, 07:08 PM   #11
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They must be talking about the newer units that have the whisper quiet ? a/c units. They have return air grills in the ceiling, along with supply ducts.
Makes more sense now.
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Old 10-19-2018, 07:33 AM   #12
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https://www.dwincorp.com/product-cat...ucts/ac-vents/
I got mine here. Replaced discharge vents with spaceport and ring, and added additional return vents.
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Old 07-02-2019, 05:23 AM   #13
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Trekwood RV parts is where I got mine, paid $16.59 for them and the shipping was almost as much. I put two extra return ducts on our 2018 Keystone Montana 3811MS. This is not to hard, just be careful there were wires inside the duct on ours. I measured 32” from the side wall to center of new duct. I used my Roto Zip to cut the panel then knife to cut the the duct. I used a 1X4 to make the guide, I cut it to 2 1/4 X 9 3/4 then put two holes one on each end to hold it to the ceiling with screws. Then just cut around the guide.
The ducts really made a huge difference in the cooling of our fiver. I do not have pics at this time , sorry.
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Old 07-02-2019, 07:16 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by timsea View Post
I'm in search of someone who has added another return vents in there Montana as the dealer said he can not order them from Keystone. I didn't want to call him a liar to his face but I can not believe that. So if anybody has I would like the part number or phone number as where I can buy them.
Thanks Tim
I have a 2017 Alpine. I added two additional return air vents,one each directly under the ac unit. Makes a big difference. I also added 7 supply air vents . These are directional plus you can close them independently to push more air to another area or room.
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Old 07-02-2019, 09:28 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by timsea View Post
I'm in search of someone who has added another return vents in there Montana as the dealer said he can not order them from Keystone. I didn't want to call him a liar to his face but I can not believe that. So if anybody has I would like the part number or phone number as where I can buy them.
Thanks Tim
Actually he is kind of right Keystone does not sell parts they come through the vendor That is why Keystone will tell you to go through your dealer. The dealer knows the process they just did not want to do it.
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Old 07-02-2019, 09:37 AM   #16
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We have never had a A/C problem. We are getting the proper temps out of the A/C and good air flow the problem is these things are not all that well insulated. When at a rally in Shawnee,Ok the outside temp was 107 degrees this pretty Full Body paint Big sky with a lot of black and gray was sucking up the heat. We had outside sidewall temps of 121 degrees and inside wall temps of 90 degrees. IMO at temps of 100 degrees and above the A/C will not cool well.There is nothing wrong with the A/C it is just to hot.
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Old 07-02-2019, 02:13 PM   #17
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We have never had a A/C problem. We are getting the proper temps out of the A/C and good air flow the problem is these things are not all that well insulated. When at a rally in Shawnee,Ok the outside temp was 107 degrees this pretty Full Body paint Big sky with a lot of black and gray was sucking up the heat. We had outside sidewall temps of 121 degrees and inside wall temps of 90 degrees. IMO at temps of 100 degrees and above the A/C will not cool well.There is nothing wrong with the A/C it is just to hot.
I can see where a lot of dark colors on your RV would contribute significantly to overheating. Glad ours is mostly lighter sand colors. I guess there is a good reason boats are usually painted white.

So far our little AC test station has managed ok in the New Mexico desert. Direct sun and temps in triple digits for extended timeframes have really pushed everything to its limits. We can now verify that if the temp stays below 95F we can keep the unit below 74F with just the two OEM roof AC units. Once it reaches 95 you have to kick on a third unit to hold the temp down to a reasonable level. At 105 we are still holding at about 79 with three units. Basically two units will hold the unit 20F below outside temp and three will hold it 25F below. I think that is about the best anyone could hope for. Of course our performance is likely being helped by the very low humidity in the desert. I suspect folks in Florida would not see the same results. But then again anywhere you can find some shade will help.

Just out of curiosity and being a science geek, I wonder which has the largest impact on AC performance, Shade or humidity. And exactly how much of an impact for each?

Fortunately the temps peak about 2-4pm in the afternoon and then drop back off. Basically we turn on the third AC when we leave for work and turn it off when we get home. It is really more of a backup to protect our pups....
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Old 07-02-2019, 06:07 PM   #18
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Since the thermostat for our third AC is on the same wall about 8" above the livingroom thermostat I just set it one degree higher than the livingroom thermostat and that way it comes on when the livingroom can't keep up on it's own any longer.
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Old 07-09-2019, 02:51 PM   #19
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OK, have the return air covers off and am getting ready to install some PVC. Did you try and run one piece up the middle?? or maybe one on each side. Did you try to hook the 9" pieces together or just use one to push the next??? Looks to be about 45" to the A/C unit from each side??
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Old 07-09-2019, 03:10 PM   #20
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I ran one piece up the middle and works good. The most restriction is close to the return air register. I don't know that you would get much more help pushing several pieces into the duct but you could push 2 pieces side by side into the duct and it certainly wouldn't hurt. You could also check your a/c registers and see if they have collapsed a little and add the 9''x1 1/4'' in them. Adding more registers just redistributes the air but you can as some have done and change the registers to ones that have larger vents and probably benefit just as much. I bought my registers from PPL.
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