I installed a Chinese 12v split unit AC air conditioner

[voyagerspe]

I bought this split unit from alibaba a little less then $500 and 6 weeks for delivery. I installed in on my 2011 e-350 where the spare tire mount was.
It’s a cool day today but it was putting out 32 degree air. The real test will be Wednesday when it’s suppose to be 90degress out.

 

[Wowbagger]

Fully 12V, or 12V for the fans and 120VAC for the compressor? It looks an awful lot like the Danhard units that SMB installs.

 

[BroncoHauler-SMB]

You may want to consider a splash screen for the undermount portion of the unit. That looks a little vulnerable for water crossings.


Herb

 

[Twoxentrix]

A novel idea, but (it may just be me) that undermount condenser looks massive - what BTU is the unit rated ?

 

[posplayr]

Linky would be nice ?

 

[voyagerspe]

its fully 12volt. No AC required.

 

[voyagerspe]

https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...9.html?spm=a2700.wholesale.0.0.74492adaDK0Vze


here is the link.

I'm probably going to add a splash/skid plate to the unit. It sits slighty higher then the spare tire did. I just want to get some hours on the unit to make sure I don't need to change anything.

 

[posplayr]

There are several variations of that unit/ Roof top, underbody, and integrated rooftop (non-mini split).

This is the same unit being relabeled as RecPro at double the price (from amazon) but still much lower than most other options. The power is about 750 watts or 60 amps for 8900 BTU (12V)

Rated input （12V：750W），（24V：850W）
cooling capacity （12V：1800W（8875BTU）），（24V：2300W（13500BTU））

https://www.amazon.com/NEKPOKKA-Uni...ocphy=9051700&hvtargid=pla-1662885735817&th=1

 

[posplayr]

EDIT I just noticed the shipping cost is $400 bringing the total to $900. That is still better than most of the typical offerings that are mostly all AC-powered and 13K BTU.

For $500 this is an interesting integrated unit that weighs about 70 lbs which is 600W at 12V which is just over the typical 500W of a 5K BTU getto window air conditioner.

Compared to the getto solution this is equivalent to the smallest 5K wind unit but it runs off of DC at either 12 or 24 volts so you are saving 20% by not having to use a 12VDC->120VAC inverter.

It is still a bit much for a 200 amp-hour lithium battery where you might get close to 4 hours of maximum run time without having to run your engine. If it was really hot then you could bolster the power levels running the engine and use Dash air as well.

"In short, how many BTUs is 1,500 watts? 1,500 watts is equal to 5,118 BTUs."


https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...a2700.galleryofferlist.0.0.47695f62tkymOZ&s=p

 

[posplayr]

https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...9.html?spm=a2700.wholesale.0.0.74492adaDK0Vze


here is the link.

I'm probably going to add a splash/skid plate to the unit. It sits slighty higher then the spare tire did. I just want to get some hours on the unit to make sure I don't need to change anything.

Any idea what your electrical loads are? Are you using a generator or lithium system

 

[doublevan2]

Looks interesting - hope you'll keep us updated on how successful/efficient it runs --

 

[voyagerspe]

Alibaba shipping was a little strange. Turned out actual shipping was much less then what the website said. They got me a shipping quote and since I could be patient the shipping was about 200. The unit was 270 for a total of 470.

We are have a unseasonably cold weekend in upstate NY, my plan is on Wednesday (the high is 90) to test the unit and see how it does.

I have the unit powered by 3 group 29 deep cycle lead acid battery’s there 100ah each.

 

[posplayr]

Alibaba shipping was a little strange. Turned out actual shipping was much less then what the website said. They got me a shipping quote and since I could be patient the shipping was about 200. The unit was 270 for a total of 470.

We are have a unseasonably cold weekend in upstate NY, my plan is on Wednesday (the high is 90) to test the unit and see how it does.

I have the unit powered by 3 group 29 deep cycle lead acid battery’s there 100ah each.

Can you confirm whether or not you have to charge the A/C after the installation? I read that no AC systems can be transported with the refrigerant according to international laws.

 

[voyagerspe]

Yes , I added 4oz of oil and charged with 134a. They ship with no refrigerant or oil

 

[voyagerspe]

Looks like for forecast changed my 90 degree Wednesday has turned into a 68 degree rain day. Next time it gets back into the 80s I’ll try and do some testing and I’ll post my results

 

[voyagerspe]

It was 80 degrees and humid and I had time to test the unit.
I set the unit to 19 Celsius (it doesn’t do Fahrenheit) which is about 68F. Blower on the middle setting.
The unit did a good job Keeping the rear section of the van cool. I did not cover the front windshield or side windows so I had thermal gain through the windows. Also I have zero insulation on the fiberglass high top.
At the 1 hour mark the battery’s were down to 77percent
At 2 hours 55percent
At 3 hours 34 percent
I had to stop at 3.5 hours and it was down to 30 percent .

My battery’s are 3 -100ah group 29 lead acid marine battery’s

A small variable is I do have a 100watt flexible solar panel, however it’s a pretty crappy solar panel and in full sun it was only producing 20watts.

It did a great job dehumidifying the air and the drain rain almost constantly.

 

[posplayr]

Thanks for the numbers

It was 80 degrees and humid and I had time to test the unit.
I set the unit to 19 Celsius (it doesn’t do Fahrenheit) which is about 68F. Blower on the middle setting.
The unit did a good job Keeping the rear section of the van cool. I did not cover the front windshield or side windows so I had thermal gain through the windows. Also I have zero insulation on the fiberglass high top.
At the 1 hour mark the battery’s were down to 77percent
At 2 hours 55percent
At 3 hours 34 percent
I had to stop at 3.5 hours and it was down to 30 percent .

My battery’s are 3 - group 29 lead acid marine battery’s

A small variable is I do have a 100watt flexible solar panel, however it’s a pretty crappy solar panel and in full sun it was only producing 20watts.

It did a great job dehumidifying the air and the drain rain almost constantly.

Using your numbers and guessing at your output voltage 12.25v, 12.0v, and 11.75v for 1st, 2nd and 3rd hours respectively I'm getting 790 watts average. This compares pretty well to the 12V RecPRo spec at 750 watts which looks identical to yours.

Considering rated at 750 Watts in an 8900 BTU AC which at 5000 BTU would be 750*5000/8900= 421 Watts (or nominally 60*5000/8900=34A.

With some insulation and a modest lithium/solar system, you could run quite a while during the heat of the day.

• This is the same unit being relabeled as RecPro at double the price (from amazon) but still much lower than most other options. The power is about 750 watts or 60 amps for 8900 BTU (12V)
  
• Rated input （12V：750W），（24V：850W）
• cooling capacity （12V：1800W（8875BTU）），（24V：2300W（13500BTU））
  
• https://www.amazon.com/NEKPOKKA-Univ...885735817&th=1

 

[voyagerspe]

I may add another battery to my system since I have the room and I would also like to use my 12v refrigerator. But I think even with only the 3 battery’s the unit would work for our needs.
We probably will only use it at night for sleeping , during the day we are usually driving or exploring out side the camper.
I think without the solar heat gain a lower setting with less power consumption will work.

Hopefully will have time for a “real world “ test next week. I’ll post my results.

 

[landcruisin-SMB]

How flexible is the lineset? I.e. could you mount it on one of the rear doors and still be able to open it?

 

[voyagerspe]

The lines are rubber flexible refrigeration lines. I thought about mounting the unit to the door. It’s doable. The 3 major downsides I identified:
is it’s kinda ugly
it draws attention to the unit ,
I think it could wear the lines out and leak over time from opening and closing the door.