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Old 08-18-2018, 03:52 PM   #1
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Have you replaced your rooftop A/C yet?

NOISY!!!!
This is my reason for asking.

The first thing I noticed when we were at a RV show in Dallas a few years back is the noise and excessive force of air from the vents in the 2011 Tour QD we were looking at. It was lovely, other that that. It was also more coach that we could afford or needed for our purpose.
The '05 Vectra we had at the time was really not suited for the volunteer work we are involved with. It was not built to carry the load of tools and it didn't like being used full-time so it often broke down.
We finally found the coach we have now a few years later. It is the QD without the full bath and a few missing plush features.
What it does have is the wind and noise from the A/C. It's like being in the tail seats of the old 707 with the jet engines blasting away just a few feet away.
Has anyone replaced their units with a different brand and had success in getting the noise level down? I was looking at the Dometic Brisk II Air heat pump, multi zone units as a potential replacement. Before going this route I need much more input. This is a big investment to make and risk not obtaining my goal. Any input is appreciated.
Happy trails.
Rick
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Old 08-18-2018, 09:32 PM   #2
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Rick-

I have no direct experience/knowledge re Atwood A/C's but this is a thread you may find interesting.

http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?...6534#msg266534

When I "Googled Up" Atwood RV Air Conditioners, it appeared they were in the same "ball park" price-wise as other mfrs.

Safe travels............. ed s
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Old 08-19-2018, 09:56 AM   #3
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I'm assuming you have a Coleman Mach A/C unit (you never say). You can certainly change them out but you will have to totally rewire your thermostats (and maybe replace those as well) as the Dometic units use a totally different control system.

You can either get a quiet kit for your current A/C units or, if you want, replace them with the same, redesigned units. In other words, plug and play for new quieter units or a few minutes replacing a condenser fan on the old units.
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Old 08-19-2018, 11:56 AM   #4
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I just had the dometic on our travel trailer updated to an Atwood air command with heat pump. The noise wasn’t one of my reasons but it is substantially quieter.
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Old 08-19-2018, 01:23 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by luvlabs View Post
I'm assuming you have a Coleman Mach A/C unit (you never say). You can certainly change them out but you will have to totally rewire your thermostats (and maybe replace those as well) as the Dometic units use a totally different control system.

You can either get a quiet kit for your current A/C units or, if you want, replace them with the same, redesigned units. In other words, plug and play for new quieter units or a few minutes replacing a condenser fan on the old units.

Yes, Coleman. From what I have read and heard from other RVers with this unit there is no such thing as quiet. My units are the older model, of course, and the outside blade noise is not my issue. Inside noise is what I started the thread on. Thank you, in any case, for considering this as an option.



I do wish your suggestion could work. It would make life so much simpler for me. But I think this is not possible. The design is at fault. As the old saying goes, "You can't fix stupid." And that is what level of intelligence seems to have been applied when this A/C system was designed. So sad for a rig the coasts as much as this one did when new.


The crazy thing is, we love this coach. It is some of the shortcuts and under-design issues that are our point of frustration. Here we have 3 heat pumps on the roof. Why only 2 zones? The two in the front (TV and daily living space) are on one zone and the bedroom on another. I have to shut off the breaker for the middle unit to help reduce some of the noise when watching TV, if the back can't carry the load. Real bad design. If the units had a user friendly db level I wouldn't be here with this topic.


Still looking for someone who has successfully handled this problem to express what they did.
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Old 08-19-2018, 01:29 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by RodneynDawnT View Post
I just had the dometic on our travel trailer updated to an Atwood air command with heat pump. The noise wasn’t one of my reasons but it is substantially quieter.

Dometic has a wide selection of heat pumps. Now that Atwood is under Dometic I don't know if the Atwood brand is even available any longer. The unit I am interested in is this one. https://www.dometic.com/en-us/us/pro...ii-air-_-20678 It is small and light weight compared to the monsters I have on the roof now.
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Old 08-19-2018, 02:45 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by jerichorick View Post
Dometic has a wide selection of heat pumps. Now that Atwood is under Dometic I don't know if the Atwood brand is even available any longer. The unit I am interested in is this one. https://www.dometic.com/en-us/us/pro...ii-air-_-20678 It is small and light weight compared to the monsters I have on the roof now.

Yes it’s available. As mentioned, I just bought one.

Our local independent rv tech does a lot of conversions to them. FWIW, he was told they plan to keep making them. But who knows. He’s not a fan of dometic other than that he makes a lot of money fixing or replacing them.
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Old 08-20-2018, 08:35 AM   #8
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Yes it’s available. As mentioned, I just bought one.

Our local independent rv tech does a lot of conversions to them. FWIW, he was told they plan to keep making them. But who knows. He’s not a fan of dometic other than that he makes a lot of money fixing or replacing them.
I have done several web searches for "Atwood" in different formats. The only site that comes up is the Dometic/Atwood one and there is no reference to Atwood Air Conditioners by brand name.


I just took a deeper look into the Dometic products and the "Aircommand" is still branded Atwood in the specs. All this information is general. I can't find supporting literature for installation and required accessories for any of their A/C units.


Now I am in a real pickle. I have not a clue what model of A/C unit to look for. This is so frustrating. You can't go by what the manufacturer wants you to believe because it is all smoke and mirrors. I can find no comparison test data or RV experience reviews on this topic. My goal is not to trade noise for broken. This is a bummer.
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Old 08-21-2018, 08:58 AM   #9
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I think you are overthinking this. You need 3 15.5k A/C units with heat pumps. There are at least two manufactures - Dometic and Coleman. The next question is low profile or standare height? The last question is - is your installation completely ducted or do you need an inside return air grill?

The noisier Coleman units are the Mach 8 low profile units but the latest versions are quiet (I have one of the new ones on my '17 Navion). The Mach 15 units are taller and have always been quiet.

PPLMotorhomes.com has a wide selection of RV air conditioning units (and competitive pricing). Go shopping and see if you can't come to some decision.
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Old 08-22-2018, 08:11 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by luvlabs View Post
I think you are overthinking this. You need 3 15.5k A/C units with heat pumps. There are at least two manufactures - Dometic and Coleman. The next question is low profile or standare height? The last question is - is your installation completely ducted or do you need an inside return air grill?

The noisier Coleman units are the Mach 8 low profile units but the latest versions are quiet (I have one of the new ones on my '17 Navion). The Mach 15 units are taller and have always been quiet.

PPLMotorhomes.com has a wide selection of RV air conditioning units (and competitive pricing). Go shopping and see if you can't come to some decision.

Overthinking? Not at all. I AM shopping now. If you read my thread opener you can see my purpose. When I do replace my units, I am hoping to do so through the experiences of others such as yourself.


My units are duct vented. Both supply and return. This makes a big difference on how the units sound inside the rig and how they mount onto the roof of the rig. If someone says that their units are quiet inside, but they have a grill mounted to the bottom of the unit, they are not addressing the conditions of my coach. So, for me to get the best input form all the fine folks out there wanting to help, please take into consideration the mechanical orientation of my roof and ceiling. This will help me greatly.


Reliability is another issue. It seems that the manufactures are providing us with many models and choices. They advertise great expectation for the buyer. But, in reality, many of these units just don't do as advertised and don't last much beyond the warranty (as I have already been told).



This is too much money to spend without doing a lot for research. This thread is a big part of that. Thank you all.


Happy trails.
Rick
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Old 08-22-2018, 08:59 AM   #11
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. . . My units are duct vented. Both supply and return. This makes a big difference on how the units sound inside the rig and how they mount onto the roof of the rig. If someone says that their units are quiet inside, but they have a grill mounted to the bottom of the unit, they are not addressing the conditions of my coach. So, for me to get the best input form all the fine folks out there wanting to help, please take into consideration the mechanical orientation of my roof and ceiling. This will help me greatly. . .

My Atwood doesn’t fit your parameters. While it is ducted, the return is not and it’s a solitary unit.

By the way, to return to something we discussed above, if you look at the dometic website, you will note that dometic has begun to rebrand the units “Dometic Air Command” instead of “Atwood Air Command”. That suggests to me that dometic intends to keep manufacturing them.

Will you be requiring low profile units or standard height?
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Old 08-22-2018, 03:08 PM   #12
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My Atwood doesn’t fit your parameters. While it is ducted, the return is not and it’s a solitary unit.

By the way, to return to something we discussed above, if you look at the dometic website, you will note that dometic has begun to rebrand the units “Dometic Air Command” instead of “Atwood Air Command”. That suggests to me that dometic intends to keep manufacturing them.

Will you be requiring low profile units or standard height?

The return duct seems to be my problem. I have a email into Dometic. And, yes, they are rebranding the Atwood AirCommand. I don't have a height restriction with the units. The low profile units are for aerodynamic/fuel improvements in any case.



It would seem to me that if the intake and supply vents on the A/C body are in the same location and are of the approximate size of mine any one of these units should work. Wiring is another issue to be addressed once a model is selected.



When I do the change I hope to have the most reliable unit I can buy with a great improvement on noise. If the noise issue can't be met than the change-out is a waste of time and money. I think all will agree with this thought.



Thanks for your input.
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