Hello again everybody, We are continuing our research into adding air con to our 1989 Coromal Aussie Tourer. Whilst the 'cheaper' option of a split 'house' system is still very much on our agenda [thanks to all those that replied previously], before making a final decision we are now looking at the more expensive 'caravan' systems. So far though the advice we have received from dealers/ distributors' has been somewhat confusing. Some makes are said to be good at heating but not so good at cooling, others are the opposite, some are genuine 'reverse cycle' whilst others appear to be nothing more than a glorified fan heater when in heating mode ! Can anyone who has a genuine 'caravan' system let me have a comment or two on how effective it is ? What make is it ? kWs ? Does it cool good ? But what about heating ? etc etc. Our van is full height and around 16ft6ins. Thanks everyone - any input at all would be really good, Mike and Sue
dave06 said
07:33 PM Dec 16, 2008
make sure it is "compressor driven" in both modes not heating "element"
mikeody said
10:09 PM Dec 16, 2008
Yes - understood. One of the options I was shown just had a 'heater element' in the airstream - I wasnt that impressed !
dave06 said
10:25 PM Dec 16, 2008
before you buy any of them, try to get to a caravan and camping show, they normally have a lot on display and you should be able to choose from that
brickies said
11:03 PM Dec 16, 2008
Hi we have 17 ft 6 full van with roof top dometic reverse cycle air con works great in heating and cooling only problem is very loud in cooling mode inside the van but very quite outside . a good site to check out caravan air con is www.coastrv.com.au
kesue said
08:27 AM Dec 17, 2008
We have a 161/2 foot van,full height with a roof top dometic air con. It works far better than a split system we had on our coromel poptop which was fitted on the side (Heron Q)from memory. It is a bit noisy but not enough to be a worry. I have found that a $20 fan heater from K Mart does a great job and is far quicker when we wanted to take the chill off the van.Hope this is of some use to you Keith.
brickies said
10:00 AM Dec 17, 2008
Yes the heating cycle does take a little time to kick in some people i know have turn it off thinking it dosnt work and have gone out an brought a fan heater " FAN HEATER " BEWARE
make sure you dont sleep with fan heater on , they are all right if you are awake and can kept an eye on it , has a firefighter 36 years have been to plenty of fire caused by fan heater they can tip over bed cloths fall on them and catch on fire , i would stay in bed till the air con reach it heating temp, some of the new type of fan heater have cut out switchs built in but not your chep kmart ones
mike and Judy said
07:57 PM Dec 17, 2008
got a little fan heater, bought it from a hardware shop in Forbes about 5 yr ago, only about 9inch square, worksa treat in the van, so well you wouldnt want it on longer than half an hour, certainly not when you are in bed with the doona, 2200 watts of power though, need a parks power to run it mike and judy, bloody cold here in bendigo at the moment
enjoy your sunrises
-- Edited by mike and Judy at 18:58, 2008-12-17
Cupie said
10:00 PM Dec 17, 2008
Hi ..
We have had an Aircommand Wren 3KW cool & heat in our 21'6" Jayco since new in 1999.
It works well on both cycles.
We rarely use it at night in consideration of other CP residents.
Only minor mtce problems such as worn fan mountings & air duct fixings. Fixed them myself.
We use a fixed desk fan in the sleeping area at night in hot areas, having first cooled the van with AC before dark. On cool mornings we usually use a cheap fan heater to warm the floor & general area .. sometimes aided by the AC.
We are continuing our research into adding air con to our 1989 Coromal Aussie Tourer. Whilst the 'cheaper' option of a split 'house' system is still very much on our agenda [thanks to all those that replied previously], before making a final decision we are now looking at the more expensive 'caravan' systems.
So far though the advice we have received from dealers/ distributors' has been somewhat confusing. Some makes are said to be good at heating but not so good at cooling, others are the opposite, some are genuine 'reverse cycle' whilst others appear to be nothing more than a glorified fan heater when in heating mode !
Can anyone who has a genuine 'caravan' system let me have a comment or two on how effective it is ? What make is it ? kWs ? Does it cool good ? But what about heating ? etc etc. Our van is full height and around 16ft6ins.
Thanks everyone - any input at all would be really good,
Mike and Sue
One of the options I was shown just had a 'heater element' in the airstream - I wasnt that impressed !
mike and judy, bloody cold here in bendigo at the moment
enjoy your sunrises
-- Edited by mike and Judy at 18:58, 2008-12-17
We have had an Aircommand Wren 3KW cool & heat in our 21'6" Jayco since new in 1999.
It works well on both cycles.
We rarely use it at night in consideration of other CP residents.
Only minor mtce problems such as worn fan mountings & air duct fixings. Fixed them myself.
We use a fixed desk fan in the sleeping area at night in hot areas, having first cooled the van with AC before dark. On cool mornings we usually use a cheap fan heater to warm the floor & general area .. sometimes aided by the AC.