Aircon Hab for novice, few basic questions (1 Viewer)

[Ridgeway]

Thinking of adding an aircon unit to our camper, why ? well the main reason is that during long journeys it does get hot back there and whilst I'm comfortably kept cool by the factory cab aircon unit the little fellas in the back start to get a tad grumpy so though about trying to cool things down a bit. Also some hot nights it would have been a benefit to have been able to get the temp down a few degrees. So here's my simple for newbie to camper zircon questions:

1) can you even think of using the hab aircon units when driving or do they need too much power
2) is there a sizing guide so that you can define what model you need according to the volume to be cooled
3) on site I guess it's hook up only unless you can run a gennie
4) is DIY a thinkable route to go down
5) any recommended makes or models

Any else to think about ?


Many Thanks

 

[pappajohn]

Largish 12v fan would be a better option.
Plugged into the dash socket it will run off the engine battery/alternator so won't flatten the hab battery.
Moving air is always a few degrees cooler than still air.
Any air con worth having will need 230vac.

 

[Ridgeway]

so pretty much most of the aircon units I see on top of campers are for when they are stationary and on hook up, seems like an extravagance in that case.

are there some really decent 12v fans then, don't mind paying a bit more, they can even be noisy fans so I don't hear the war zone that often occurs behind me...

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[Robert Clark]

so pretty much most of the aircon units I see on top of campers are for when they are stationary and on hook up, seems like an extravagance in that case.
.

We've got hab air con
If you've got an inverter to power it, and a B2B charger, there's no reason why you can't use it on the move.

 

[pyro]

Seems to me that if most aircon units need EHU to function efficiently (as opposed to multiple batteries/invertors) then you may as well pick up a cheap 12,000 BTU aircon unit from B&Q and lug it about.

Of course it takes space, but the installation charge for a fixed unit alone would cover the cost of a B&Q room unit, and you just replace it when it breaks down. One person I know stripped off the plastic case of one of these and had it built it in to a wardrobe on his boat. Worked a treat and only cost him a couple of hundred quid

We have a huge 12V (reversible/variable speed) fan fitted to one of our rooflights (standard fitment, Chausson) and it works really well for us

 

[FJmike]

I was always of the opinion that hab air con was heavy and only for use on site. However I recently valeted a van that had a new Dometic unit that was half the size of one's I had seen before and the owner told me that it could run from an inverter and being soft start was easy on the batteries

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[Allanm]

We are lucky in that we can run our roof air con unit via the generator whilst on the move but it still uses around 2000 watts when running. I would be surprised if a battery of inverter powered air con unit would be very powerful or efficient.

 

[TerryL]

Our Bolero came with hab aircon fitted, which we thought was great. But I can count on my fingers the number of times we've used it "in anger". Can only be used whilst on hookup but then it is very efficient.

Wouldn't bother with it in future but I've often thought a reversible fan fitted in it's place would be more beneficial for our type of motorhoming.