Cruisers Forum
Main Forum => General Discussion => Topic started by: KEB on July 18, 2021, 01:53:35 pm
-
Can anyone with a Houghton AC Quiet unit tell me if their ac's work while driving? There was a thread a while back discussing that these units would "throw a code" if used while driving but I don't see an update from someone who has one.
I had Campers Inn replace my rear Dometic unit with a Houghton AC3400 as part of the purchase. This unit works extremely well and is very quite. I am considering replacing my noisy front Dometic unit with a Houghton but would like to be able to run the unit driving if I need to.
Kevin
-
I was told they don’t do well while driving. The reason they are so efficient and quiet is they have two balanced and sequenced fans. When driving I was told the wind speed from driving will throw the fans out of sequence or something to that degree and throw error codes. He said it won’t do harm supposedly but they won’t work.
When I was having mine installed I noticed some of the vans didn’t have the houghton ac so I asked about it.
I’m on my third season with mine. I have no reason to run my gen and Ac while driving so I didn’t try. That being said they were up front with me and willing to lose the sale telling me they don’t do well while under way.
-
I am thinking I would need to run the generator and roof ac in hot weather when I travel with passengers in the back of the coach.
Joseph - Do you have the 13.5k btu unit or the 15k unit?
-
I was never told to not run mine while driving. I have had mine for a couple years now and haven't had any issues. Don't really understand why they said that. The fans are balanced yes but cant see how the vehicles velocity is going to affect the condensing fan. The design of the condenser has air travel through the condenser and out the top of the cover. If the fan were to pickup speed from the wind pressure do to vehicle speeds, as long as the fan is balanced shouldn't be an issue. If it were in a wind storm your AC would be throwing a code wouldn't it?
-
Our 2007 E350-V10 2350 (with no slide out) dash board a/c cools the bedroom in back very nicely when driving or when parked. It works so well that we prefer idling the chassis engine for a/c because of it being so quiet. Now I have to confess that we have not yet camped under extreme heat conditions.
Not having a slide out wall behind the driver helps to get more cold air in back when driving. When parked, our smaller volume of air, thermal pane glass, and improved insulation without a slide out (extended) helps too.
-
There’s two fans the outer most fan catches the wind as you drive. It’s what they claimed happens on their motorhomes. People, go ahead and do what ever floats your boat. I’m simply passing in what was passed on to me at Advanced RV which is the first company to import the units. Maybe they don’t have a clue, maybe they do.
-
There’s two fans the outer most fan catches the wind as you drive. It’s what they claimed happens on their motorhomes. People, go ahead and do what ever floats your boat. I’m simply passing in what was passed on to me at Advanced RV which is the first company to import the units. Maybe they don’t have a clue, maybe they do.
Still looking for the link, but I had found one that explained that the fans were speed controlled to reduce noise. When traveling, the wind can accelerate a fans speed and create an error condition when the onboard computer notices a mismatch between desired and measured speed. Wont run, but no harm done. Just needs a reset.
The dynamics of the roof airflow might cause this, or not. Try and see. No harm done to the unit when it goes into 'fault' mode and stops.
@Kevin - If I were in your 'seat', and you NEED to have the AC operating while underway, I would swap the two units and see if the Houghton works in the front underway. If it does, go ahead and and purchase another for the back. If it doesnt, swap them back. I do the work myself, so the labor $$ wouldnt be an issue. In my old 2006, the AC is a VERY simple R&R. No thermostat wires like later models might have, but I took our old one out, installed it on the trailer roof, then installed our new one in the camper in under 2 hrs, and that was with beer breaks. :)(: Took more time getting them up and down from the camper roof than actually installing! Now I would use my tractor bucket 2o2, but I slid them up and down a sloped ladder at that time. Your are on the same roof, so even easier. Health allowing, of course! (exactly)
Even if you paid someone $250 each swap (2 hrs at $125/hr rate... ) if it DID work up front, you would have peace of mind knowing for $250. :-D If it DIDN'T work in front, it would cost you $500 to find out, and swap them back. (WH) Instead of $1000+ purchasing and installing a new one that wont work underway, PLUS the cost to reinstall your old unit. pyho
-
Volkeman- Not a bad idea to swap rear unit to the front. I would have to figure out how to address the thermostat for the Dometic unit in the rear position. I guess I could just not connect it while testing the Houghton unit in the front position. I have to think about that one.
Maybe Jim Godfrey will chime in on this question. I saw on one of his post that he had two of the Houghton units installed by Phoenix when he purchased his coach.
Kevin
-
Hi: Sorry I never tried running mine while driving. It is just the two of us and the dash AC is MORE than enough.
That said, you could just take a test run with the rear Houghton running to see how it works out. I suppose there is a slight chance the airflow in the front will be different but would at least try it before moving thigs around.
I really love my Houghton's but now I see they are available for about half what I paid for them on RecPro.com pyho
And more options available!
-
Hi Jim- Thanks for the feedback. The dash air does work well.
Unfortunately the rear ac is not powered by the generator so I can't test it underway.
I wonder how difficult it would be to rewire the rear unit to run off the generator for testing purposes only.
-
Rewiring it is very easy IF you feel comfortable working in the electric panel.
Just find your two Air Conditioner circuit breakers and swap the two wires between them.
Of course make sure all power sources are off before removing the panel cover.
Let me know if you want help on this.
One advantage of the Houghtons with their soft start and lower running amps is that my generator can run both of them easily at the same time.
I added a jumper in the transfer switch so that when the generator is running, both legs of the panel are powered by it.
This allows both to run on generator together with room left for other small loads.
Total load for two AC was about 22 amps on a hot day, generator rated for 33amps.
-
Sounds like rewiring is by far the easiest option for testing underway and a good option if I replace my front Dometic with another Houghton.
Thanks guys for all of your input on this one. This forum sure is great!
Kevin
-
Sounds like rewiring is by far the easiest option for testing underway and a good option if I replace my front Dometic with another Houghton.
Thanks guys for all of your input on this one. This forum sure is great!
Kevin
:)(: :)(: CHEERS to Jim Godfrey for thinking INSIDE the box. roflol Thats a helluva good alternative. A LOT less work, and doesnt break the roof seal. 2o2 :)(: :)(:
For that matter <banjo music fades in > :lol ... could redneck it even more by opening the 110V junction boxes on both AC's on the roof inside. Using an appropriate jumper ( old 12ga extension cord with ends cut off, length of 12/3 romex) connect the supply for the front AC to the rear AC. Test.
The only variable I see unsatisfied is the position of the unit. Airflow around the front unit is gonna be different than around the rear. May or may not matter. I SURELY would follow Jims lead, and just do a rewire to test underway. Should it fail to work underway , you will know for a minimum of effort. (cheer)
-
Is the roof thickness on a PC adequate for this unit?
-
Thickness is adequate. Mine fits fine.
-
Maybe I should have answered your question with, I have experienced no issues with running the Houghton ac while driving. Had them for a couple years.
-
Jim
Just wanted to let you know that I moved the thermistor on my rear AC and placed it in front of the over head light so its blocked from the air flow and I like the cycling pattern much better now. Think I will do the same to the forward AC, not sure if the AC gets some air from the discharge vents back into return air but moving the thermistor is an improvement.
-
Engineerlt- I gather from your last post that there is a movable thermistor on the Houghton units. True? If so, what does it take to move it?
-
Lance: Thanks for that info! Will give it a try. I love the Houghton's but they do cycle a lot more that I would like.
Hope you are enjoying your PC! Any new projects?
-
Hey Jim
Sold our home in FL and bought one in TN. Got tired of dodging the hurricanes, and some of the political issues. So we were in the PC for 5 months while we were house hunting. I am glad to say that the PC was excellent. It never gave us a bit of problems and was just a good time... So I have been busy with the new house trying to get some things done before we go to Fl for a couple months during the winter. Not many mods since I sold our home in FL and there isn't many that I can think of doing, seems my imagination has dried up.
I hope your PC is working well for you and you are getting out to use it.
Very Respectfully
Lance
-
Wow Lance, Congratulations on the new home! Glad your PC served you well during the search.
Have to ask, with all those added storage areas, were you able to remember where you packed everything? roflol
We haven't used the PC much this season due to my wife's Moms health issues. We've needed to stay near home but hope to get a few local trips in soon.
Only projects I've done to the rig this year are a dual pane window repair, some waterproofing steps to my furnace which took in water that prevented the heat from working on our last trip and chased a couple of squeaks while driving. The one thing that is really bugging me now is the sound quality of the truck radio. I replaced the radio with a decent Sony unit and the speakers with Infinity coaxials but it still sounds like crap. Need to double check the wiring and maybe add a subwoofer.
Enjoy the rest of your summer!
Jim G.
-
I got tired of the extremely noisy Dometic AC unit in the front of my coach and replaced it with one of the Houghton quiet AC units from Recpro. Now I have two of the Houghton units. It's amazing the difference in noise level. We can now carry on a conversation without yelling and not have to turn the TV wide open to hear it when the AC is running. Camper's Inn painted it to match the original units just like they did the rear AC unit they installed before I picked up the coach.
One question I have for other owners of the Houghton units is how well does yours dehumidify the coach?
The compressor cycle is not very long and doesn't seem to run long enough to drag out the moisture like the noisy Dometic. There is a big reduction in the amount of condensate running off the roof. I have tried running them on the dehumidify setting with very little difference.
Kevin
-
Kevin: I also have two Houghtons on my 2552 and have had similar experience as you describe.
They do cycle more than I think is ideal.
I attribute it to the confined spaces in our PCs. The Thermistor that senses room temperature is inside the return air duct in the middle of the AC unit.
Cold air from the discharge vents get recirculated into the return air turning off the compressor prematurely.
I have confirmed this using an infrared thermometer aimed at the return grill and see that it cools much faster than the room itself.
For now, I have been compensating this by setting the units a few degrees colder than I want the room to be and it seems ok.
Forum member EngineerLT has done a couple of mods like putting an enclosure around the thermistor to slow the temperature change at the sensor and has reported good results.
He recently relocated the thermistor to outside the AC unit on the ceiling near the unit and got even better results.
I plan to try relocating the thermistors to a wall near my heating thermostat but still waiting to get a "round toit"
When I ordered my 2552, Ed, the electrician at the factory said he usually runs extra wires between the ACs and that location but I have yet to verify.
All in all I am VERY happy with my Houghtons and they cool very well but due to this short cycling, the room never reaches setpoint. Setting it a few degrees lower gets you where you want to be.
BTW I generally do use the Dehumidify mode as it is even quieter and seems to cycle less. Still need to set it low though.
-
Are the Houghton a/c units capable of having an external thermostat like the Dometic a/c units, or your home central a/c units? Or are they like window a/c units that just have a dial that essentially goes from Not so Cold to Colder... Not a set temperature.
-
The Houghton A/C's have a digital thermostat built into the unit. Set a temperature and let it run. In the event of power loss the unit will remember where it was last set and return to that setting.