Transcool Aircon Unit

Jo001

Jo001

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We had decided to have air conditioning fitted to the van (Burstner Ixeo 590) but unfortunately, the curved shape of the roof and relatively small roof window means this isn't possible. Unless @marchie knows otherwise?

So we are looking at portable units instead - at a significant cost saving too. We had one of those really cheap £30-ish toys, it was pretty useless, and we are happy to pay a decent amount for something that is more efficient. It's still likely to be less than the £2k plus fitting we thought we would be paying.

We have found this - https://www.transcool-uk.com/product-page/transcool-2021-model-12v-24v-240v-air-cooling-unit

It works from mains, and 12 volts which sounds attractive. I don't know how long it would work on 12 volts, I assume that's dependent on battery strength, but it would be helpful to know whether we are talking hours or minutes, if anyone can point me in the right direction on how to work that out.

Does anyone in the hive have any comments, positive or negative, or other suggestions?

Thanks in anticipation,

Jo
 
Jo001 said:
We had decided to have air conditioning fitted to the van (Burstner Ixeo 590) but unfortunately, the curved shape of the roof and relatively small roof window means this isn't possible. Unless @marchie knows otherwise?

So we are looking at portable units instead - at a significant cost saving too. We had one of those really cheap £30-ish toys, it was pretty useless, and we are happy to pay a decent amount for something that is more efficient. It's still likely to be less than the £2k plus fitting we thought we would be paying.

We have found this - https://www.transcool-uk.com/product-page/transcool-2021-model-12v-24v-240v-air-cooling-unit

It works from mains, and 12 volts which sounds attractive. I don't know how long it would work on 12 volts, I assume that's dependent on battery strength, but it would be helpful to know whether we are talking hours or minutes, if anyone can point me in the right direction on how to work that out.

Does anyone in the hive have any comments, positive or negative, or other suggestions?

Thanks in anticipation,

Jo
Click to expand...
On the plus side ...
it shouldn't use a lot of power being little more than a box containing water/ice and a towel ...and a fan

On the negative ...

It's little more than a box containing water/ice...

Evaporative coolers really don't do a great deal of cooling ....especially IF you have high humidity as well as heat .

And you will need a ready supply of ice for it to do anything .
 
Thanks for that. I don't suppose you can suggest anything better? I would look at 240 volt only ones, if we'd had the fitted one installed we'd have needed electricity anyway, so if we could only use it on sites or aires with a supply, I wouldn't rule that out.
 
If you have the space look at mobile aircon units ...

Most will be around 3.5kw (12,000 btu) which would be plenty for most vans/motorhomes

Bear in mind though ...
they exhaust Condensor heat through a tumble dryer hose so need to go through window/roof vent etc

They either have a condensate tank that will need emptying/drain fitting to outside ...though some models use the condensate to cool the Condensor coil and then basically boil off most of the condensate along with the Condensor air .

Can be noisy to sleep near ....though there are starting to appear inverter compressor models now that are much more efficient power wise AND quieter ...
However more expensive

This is the lower price end of the market but gives you an idea ...

www.climachill.co.uk

12000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner | Climachill

The PAC12L – 12000 btu is a premium quality portable air conditioner, suitable for a room size up to 25m2. Click here for more info & to order today.
www.climachill.co.uk www.climachill.co.uk
 
Jo001 said:
We had decided to have air conditioning fitted to the van (Burstner Ixeo 590) but unfortunately, the curved shape of the roof and relatively small roof window means this isn't possible. Unless @marchie knows otherwise?

So we are looking at portable units instead - at a significant cost saving too. We had one of those really cheap £30-ish toys, it was pretty useless, and we are happy to pay a decent amount for something that is more efficient. It's still likely to be less than the £2k plus fitting we thought we would be paying.

We have found this - https://www.transcool-uk.com/product-page/transcool-2021-model-12v-24v-240v-air-cooling-unit

It works from mains, and 12 volts which sounds attractive. I don't know how long it would work on 12 volts, I assume that's dependent on battery strength, but it would be helpful to know whether we are talking hours or minutes, if anyone can point me in the right direction on how to work that out.

Does anyone in the hive have any comments, positive or negative, or other suggestions?

Thanks in anticipation,

Jo
Click to expand...
Sorry, Jo, my ignorance knows no bounds! David @wildebus is probably the best person to talk to re technical advice, but do be on hand if he does the installation, because he has a mental block about the step down from the hab area to the kitchen/entrance! He had to use that exit on some 5 occasions doing the latest update to Brunhilde, and fell of the step on 4 of them :ROFLMAO: 'TBS' is a new Motorhoming term; it stands for 'That Bloody Step' ... (y)

Steve
 
marchie said:
Sorry, Jo, my ignorance knows no bounds! David @wildebus is probably the best person to talk to re technical advice, but do be on hand if he does the installation, because he has a mental block about the step down from the hab area to the kitchen/entrance! He had to use that exit on some 5 occasions doing the latest update to Brunhilde, and fell of the step on 4 of them :ROFLMAO: 'TBS' is a new Motorhoming term; it stands for 'That Bloody Step' ... (y)

Steve
Click to expand...
I would think finding space on the roof of a sub-6M motorhome to fit an Air Conditioner would be a challenge? I have a Ixeo 745 on the driveway at the moment as it happens and it is hard enough to find a suitable space for a solar panel!
I certainly would not think any Air-Conditioner that could be called that would be able to be run off a battery system that would be likely ever fitted in a motorhome unless significantly upgraded (and we are talking significant here). Mains only will be the case.

Steve, you would be pleased to know I have added a new dimension and that 'TBS' is accompanied by 'TBC', which is 'That Bloody Cupboard', as I keep headbutting the overhead (or rather under-bed, as it is not over my head!) cupboard to the right of the door. You would think after the first half-dozen times you would remember it was there? 🤕
 
The unit @mistericeman linked just concerns me a bit, because the exhaust hose has to run out of a window. So the van couldnt be left unattended, and if we would need to have a window open that feels a bit like defeating the purpose of aircon in the first place?
 
Jo001 said:
The unit @mistericeman linked just concerns me a bit, because the exhaust hose has to run out of a window. So the van couldnt be left unattended, and if we would need to have a window open that feels a bit like defeating the purpose of aircon in the first place?
Click to expand...
If a unit was fitted in a garage space (which would be the best place I guess?), you could easily add a vent to the external door.
 
Good friend of mine used a similar portable in his American winnebago and fitted a through floor vent for the hose to connect to that had a removable cap for when he wasn't using the aircon unit ....
Depends on how upset you are cutting holes I guess .
 
wildebus said:
If a unit was fitted in a garage space (which would be the best place I guess?), you could easily add a vent to the external door.
Click to expand...
Is there a route from the garage area to the interior for the cool air from the unit then (never had a moho with a garage or looked at one )
 
The link seems to be an evaporative unit. These are much cheaper than a “proper” AC unit. They do work but are probably best suited to hot dry climates (not the UK!) as they increase the humidity significantly. This article may be of interest as it has some useful information about this type of unit and what is needed for them to work effectively https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporative_cooler.
 
mistericeman said:
Is there a route from the garage area to the interior for the cool air from the unit then (never had a moho with a garage or looked at one )
Click to expand...
Steve (marchie) could answer this better as I think the MH in question is same as his, but I would say it was doable depending if there is a cupboard between the fridge and the garage (I think there is).
 
mistericeman said:
Good friend of mine used a similar portable in his American winnebago and fitted a through floor vent for the hose to connect to that had a removable cap for when he wasn't using the aircon unit ....
Depends on how upset you are cutting holes I guess .
Click to expand...
I've seen a few American vans (on Youtube) that have the window Air Cons fitted in replacement of a rear window. Look blooming awful, but I guess in a lot of the US, having any kind of Air Con is better than nothing!
 
wildebus said:
Steve (marchie) could answer this better as I think the MH in question is same as his, but I would say it was doable depending if there is a cupboard between the fridge and the garage (I think there is).
Click to expand...
If you were to use ducting from the garage to the habitation it would need to be insulated OR the ducting will "sweat " due to the moisture in the ambient air condensing on the cold ducting...

Not undo able ....

I fitted a 3.5kw (cooling duty)

Split wall mounted unit into the bosses race transporter
Condensing unit in the race car space ...

Worked well AND very quiet BUT you obviously need the flat wall space for the indoor unit .
 
The cupboard between the fridge and the back cupboard (it's not really a garage) is in the bathroom so it isn't ideal.

But these are all good ideas, thank you
 
There are 'umbilical ' type portable splits too ....

Require less of an opening for the refrigerant lines to pass through than the hose types ....

Bit of a pfaff to deploy the Condensor fan BUT maybe possible to modify a window/garage type area ....

They used to come with a quick disconnect on the lines but were prone to leaking refrigerant after repeated connections/disconnects so rare to see that style now .

Most are just fixed flexible lines that you hang out of a window .

Screenshot_20230809_164233_Chrome.jpg
 
Didn’t Admin have a Cool my Camper set up, that’s a split system as above, maybe he could give feed back on it’s performance.
 
Jo001 said:
We had decided to have air conditioning fitted to the van (Burstner Ixeo 590) but unfortunately, the curved shape of the roof and relatively small roof window means this isn't possible. Unless @marchie knows otherwise?

So we are looking at portable units instead - at a significant cost saving too. We had one of those really cheap £30-ish toys, it was pretty useless, and we are happy to pay a decent amount for something that is more efficient. It's still likely to be less than the £2k plus fitting we thought we would be paying.

We have found this - https://www.transcool-uk.com/product-page/transcool-2021-model-12v-24v-240v-air-cooling-unit

It works from mains, and 12 volts which sounds attractive. I don't know how long it would work on 12 volts, I assume that's dependent on battery strength, but it would be helpful to know whether we are talking hours or minutes, if anyone can point me in the right direction on how to work that out.

Does anyone in the hive have any comments, positive or negative, or other suggestions?

Thanks in anticipation,

Jo
Click to expand...
In my VW T6, I am installing a Truma RC comfort under-seat air conditioner; they also do a slightly smaller compact version.
I have a Cool My Camper mini split air conditioner that works okay, but it is not as good as the bigger units. I will get some replacement window brackets, as I modified the current ones to fit the Hymer and then sell it. The good thing is that you don't need to carry it in the winter; the bad thing is the faf of installing it in the window each time you want to use it.
 
I’ve seen the TRANSCOOL running at their sales tents are race circuits, they seem good enough, but no idea if they would work well in a van.

What I can tell you is they discount them quite heavily at race meets, I’m at Donington this weekend I’ll gladly p.m. you if they are there and let you know how much cheaper they are.

Again, I’m not recommending them as I’ve never had one.
 
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