Archived Renovations / Improvements > Air Conditioning
Under the cabinet A/C install.
pratch2:
Ok, Ive heard some of the pros & cons about installing an a/c unit under the cabinet facing the opening in the left side wall. But havent really seen a discussion specifically on it For those of us without a furnace I think this is an ideal spot. Installing a unit this way would keep the apaches stock appearence and is not too hard to do.
#1 Ive lowered the shelf in my 72 ramadas cabinet so it rests on the wheel well for support as well as riveting the sides as originally. This shelf is slightly angled towards the back of the cabinet.
#2 I installed a small screen on the inside of the wall opening to prevent wasps and critters from coming in.
#3 I purchased a small 2 fan window unit for $14.00 at menards to mount facing the rear of the condensor for cooling purposes. (its exactly the same height and width of the condensor & I believe this should be more than enough to keep the a/c unit from burning out prematurely)
#4 A 2" deep pan will be secured to the shelf. (this pan will have a hole & drain hose secured to it & exit somewhere on the wheel well housing)
The outter door will simply have a small hinge & locking mechanism installed.
The cabinet doors open fully to expose the a/c unit or close when not in use.
Am I missing something? Any ideas? Why couldnt this work? I am starting this install and would like some of your thoughts.
Veronica:
Sorry, but I'm not terribly good at understanding written descriptions (I need pictures, like a first-grader...lol). It sounds like the air conditioner will be completely under the cabinet, right? Without the "outside" part of the air conditioner sticking out of the camper? The "outside" part of the a/c puts out a lot of heat and I'm afraid, not only that you'll burn up the a/c, but that you'll be defeating the purpose of using it by keeping all that heat in the trailer with you.
Other than that, it sounds fine. I'd probably put the sucker on wheels and cut an access panel into the side of the Apache (could look like a furnace vent). Then you could roll the a/c out the side of the camper when you're using it and roll it back in when you're on the road.
Just my 2 cents...probably not worth that much, though.
pratch2:
Yes Veronica that's the idea. And a valid point I will add. I would really like to keep the stock appearance of the Ramada. I would refrain from making the access hole bigger if at all possible. Its a smaller a/c unit that primarily would be used to cool the camper on hot nights. The fans are reversable if I wanted to blow the heat out the access area... though I thought by sending enough air thru the condensor it would keep the a/c cool and still have enough swirling effect inside the sealed cabinet to blow the hot air out the access door.By design the exhaust fins are slanted towards the access hole anyway. How hot is the air coming out of an a/c unit .Hmmmm
pratch1:
I have seen a similar post...
I would seal the unit to the outside wall and open an entrance maybe in the floor with the fans pulling in cool air.
Only my opinion. :wink:
I like the fact that the shelf and doors are still in place with your idea.
and its not destructive. :)
This is borrowed from another post.
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Another take on AC installation
Posted from Old Site:
Well let me explain our A/C system, the unit I purchased is an Emerson Quiet Cool 7500 BTU window unit. I removed the doors on the lower half of the cabinets below the 3 burner stove, just over the wheel well. The vent panel is directly behind this area, I believe this is where a heater option may have been located. Then with some minor adjustment of the conduit that runs through this area the A/C unit slips in. The existing shelf needs to have one of the rear corners lowered, by removing one of the rivets and redrilling it to create a low point drain. The next step was to seal the 3 corners of what is now my drip pan, the low point can either be filed or drilled so the condensation will drain. Then use a piece of 1" PVC and attach it to the area that is now a drain, and plumb it to an area that can be drilled through the floor. A few pieces of high density foam is used to trim out this cavity to create a basically air tight compartment. Currently we just have the vent panel removed to experiment on the size of vent required, it appears this area could easily be trimmed and some sort of screened or louvered panel made to fit. I will fill you in on other details as they occur, we have only run this in the yard but soon plan to try it in the field. Again thanks for the great web site. . . . Well I ran into some problems on keeping the A/C unit cool, so here is my modified installation. In the cabinet under the stove I cut the existing heater vent plate larger to accommodate the A/C unit. I then made braces to fit in the cabinet for the width of the unit. I bought some drawer sliding rails 22" in length and mounted them to the braces. Then I attached the unit to the other part of the rails and put the system in. Now I can leave it in the camper while in tow and when not in use, and just slide it out when we need it. I am in the process of making a cover plate for the exterior of the opening. I will try and get some pics of the installation out for you. Thanks for the Great Site, - Kevin
pratch2:
A/C units have two fans right? Or one fan that performs two functions....Simplified one operation is to blow the cool air inside the camper and the other is to blow the heat out of the exhaust vents. My question is... After its gone thru the cooling steps How hot is the expelled heat? Is it as hot as the inside of the camper was? Or is it a super heated hot! Im sure the compressor adds to the heat. If its only as hot as the camper was inside (or close to it) I wouldnt have a concern. Im not an a/c expert if you couldnt tell. :roll: Or couldnt I just add 2 small ducts to the sides of the a/c unit and expell the heat thru the floor???
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