Air Conditioner, Home type split

Haven't done this but recommend the Mitsubishi over the Panasonic.

I'd go with the Mitsubishi too, Alan. We had a Panasonic unit fitted in the last house we lived in, and you were flat out talking, or hearing, over the noise of the fan on LOW setting. They may have upped their game since?

Start up current seems low, but most of these are now "soft start" so that may account for that. The Honda should handle the 1450w load, as they are rated at 1600w continuos, with 2000w peak. With that load the engine on the genny won't glaze up, but might use a drop or two of petrol, You wouldn't be able to run much else I'd suggest, Alan, while the aircon was going.

One thing I'd suggest is to turn the aircon on well before the 'van interior gets too hot. We used to wait till the ambient temp got to 38-40 degs, but it takes too long to drag the temp back, especially if the day is going to get even hotter.

Bob

Hi Alan,

Crusader installed one in our van when they were building it and works great.

When running of the Honda 2 we found you need to set the temp not too low to start with or it cuts the genny out, say if the van is 38deg set the a/c to 30deg then slowly drop the temp on the a/c and the genny runs at around half revs.

We now get almost all day on one tank with the a/c running compared to under 4 hours running with the Heron 2.2 we had in the last van due I think to no compressor kicking on and off as the inverter just slows right down and still cold air coming out of the head unit.

Down the river last summer it was over 40deg and the van was un full sun and the a/c kept the van at 25deg (didn't need to go colder but could of done) and once the van is cooled the genny varies from idle to just over idle.

Ours below also with a cover we made.

Christian
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Hi Mate has a Mitsubnisjhi fitted to rear of his van, and it works very well and is super quiet, he fitted it himself and just got it charged up, I think they now come loaded and activate when you screw up the last pipe connection, he ran the pipes into the overhead cupboards and fitted the unit about halfway along over the beds, would be better on the end as the l/h bed gets all the direct air,
Cheers Des.

Alan, you might want to check the weight difference between a dedicated caravan airconditioner, and a household one (household one could be much heavier) - and whether the household unit is suitable for a transportation setting.
Horses for courses and all that - but each unit is designed for a specific purpose.

The dedicated caravan AC is almost certainly lighter and should be designed to resist vibration and impact shocks that it will encounter when travelling - particularly over rough roads.
The household AC has no such parameters in its design, it is designed to be placed in position and never move again.

I guess I'll have detractors state that dedicated caravan AC's are only built to light weight and low price parameters - but it would certainly be worth discussing with any household AC dealer, whether they are happy with their unit being used in a caravan, and whether the warranty still applies if used in such an application.

The only other factor I would rate as worthy of consideration is to remember that most household/electrical items today are fitted with a range of electronic controllers - and these electronic controllers are usually very fussy about voltage parameters.

In my experience, small gensets produce wide fluctuations in voltage (unlike heavier gensets that are usually more stable with power output), and this voltage fluctuation can mean death to electronic components - unless the manufacturer has inbuilt protection against such fluctuations.

Just my 0.02c worth, I'll now stand back and prepare to be torched to a crisp by the electrickery "experts". [;-)

Cheers, Ron.

There are substantial numbers of domestic inverter split systems on caravans and motorhomes. You need to keep to the well known quality brands. If mounted on the A frame your chances of the inverter system failing is virtually nil. What is important is the piping is supported well so it doesn't work fatigue, harden and crack. Plenty of clamps and support to prevent vibration fixes that.
Panasonic is good, but service is if needed is not the best.
Mitsubishi is excellent and if you want to use the unit for serious heating in 0C or less temperatures, Mitsubishi is the only brand to consider. Reason up in the snow country you only see Mitsubishi units used.
LG, Daiken, Panasonic, Mitsubishi and other major recognised brands all good and reliable. Don't make the mistake of buying cheap unknown as it will cost you. There are some shockers about.

The unit shown on the Crusader is a rebadged unit and not made by Kelvinator. They are known to use excessive or higher perhaps is a better term startup current compared to other brands.

To date we have never had a caravan or motorhome into the workshop with a failed main line brand.

I put a large dual-head Mitsu Heavy Industries household inverter split in a TV OB truck and it was a fabulous unit. I cant remember the size but at 100% full power it could draw 14 amps. Regular load was 4 to 8 amps and it kept a poorly insulated pantech full of equipment and people at a perfect 21 degrees regardless of the temp outside. We ran it off an EU6500i Honda (whole truck ran on two of these). The AC units were quiet as could be and super reliable. I'd buy another in a heartbeat and given how well it held up in the truck I'd happily put a smaller unit in a caravan. The Honda's were brilliant units too.

spoke to an aircon serviceman in the Pilbara last year and he said Mitsubishi Electric were the best and withstood the harsh climate in the Pilbara. We will be going down that same path very shortly as our Dometic rooftop model struggles, is noisy and will not run off the Honda 2.0

Hi all. In our M/h we have a TECO wall mount type with both heat and cool functions. It's only a small unit, equivalent to their current model TWW17---------. Last Nov/Dec when we were in NW Qld with temps continually in the mid to high 40's this little unit kept us ay a comfy 28 which is more than one should expect from a small unit as most A/C blokes will tell you that they won't cool much more than 10-12 degrees below ambient temp. The heating is pretty efficient as well and the minus 3-4 we copped in Alice Springs in July this year was made bearable. The 2 Kva Honda handles it with ease and fan noise inside the M/h is not unpleasantly loud. Can't compare it to any other makes but I would be quite happy to replace it with one of the same make when the time comes. Slightly OT but pleased to see OE gathering at Ross River Resort in 2015. Cheers.

I had a split system put on our van 9 yrs ago which has been sold since, it was great and only cost around $500 plus about the same again to fit it. Make sure you measure the size of your van there's no sense in getting one that way too big they only cost more and draw more power. Keep an eye on mounting brackets because they're not designed for travelling and could be prone to cracking though I didn't have any trouble with mine. I also put a ratchet strap over mine when travelling but don't do it up too tight. I would definitely make sure it's secure maybe even making a cage around it last thing you want is to have it fall off when travelling.