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Take my working air conditioner please


sweetleon

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I'm bringing the 1986 Nissan V6 Sunrader that's at my brother's place in New York out to California in September. It has a very nice, functional air conditioner in the cabin. It's a Coleman of the Mach series, but I'm not sure which. Hopefully the pictures will help you identify it. (I believe it's original equipment.)

Even tho it worked great last month when I spent a night in the RV, I've decided that I don't want the air conditioner when it's in California, bc I mostly plan to boondock, and I don't want the extra height, weight and wind resistance. Out west where it's dry when it's hot, swamp coolers are an energy efficient solution that can run off the house battery. I've even made my own, and bought a portable one that can be powered by USB.

So I've got a proposal for y'all, since many of you have been very helpful to me: you can have the AC unit if you'll come to my brother's place, remove it from the RV and replace it with a roof vent (probably the one you've already got in your RV where the AC will go). First dibs to folks who've helped answer my questions here over the last year. Otherwise, first come first served.

Cheers,

Lenny

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I can't be sure but that looks like a Coleman Mimi Mach. If so it's 7000 BTU's and one of the few AC units that can be run easily with a Honda 2000 generator. Maybe you might want to re-think this giving it away idea. Some cleaning up and it could be worth bringing it out here

Linda S

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That's an easy one guys the opening is standard 14X14 so any vent will cover the hole up. Too bad it's 3000 miles away I need one for a camper.

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It looks like the 7000 btu mini-mach. I have the same unit on my coach that was installed in 1979 and it still works fine. The shrouds tend to get destroyed, but a universal replacement shroud will do the trick.

These old systems are ammonia based. The system is a closed loop and sealed. Never needs to be recharged like Freon.

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IF it was me and I really didn't want the A/C any more, I'd let it be known the route I was taking and make more or less a similar offer to stop on the way (perhaps a minor detour) and make an exchange of the A/C (assuming it's working well, as stated) for a Maxxfan Deluxe plus help removing the A/C and installing the Maxxfan.

1_MaxxFan_Smoke_1.jpg

But that's just me! :)

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Good point, Derek!

I'm not the one driving the RV across the country (unfortunately), but I can probably ask the friends who are doing it to make a stop if it's not too far off their route. I'm not sure of their planned route yet, but I know they plan to visit some of their friends along the way.

Tho maybe @Maineah will reconsider now that we've determined it's more like 300 miles than 3,000.

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6 hours ago, Derek up North said:

Not that far. It's in NY somewhere. Road trip time!! :)

Did I miss something I'm in Maine! So the MH is in NY but the location is San Francisco. I just got back from a road trip to MD and if the George Washington bridge involved I would rather drive to San Francisco.

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I just installed the Maxxfan Deluxe last week Derek. Highly Recommended! Just returned from a weeks camping on Lake Erie and the fan was Perfect. My coach AC just crapped out before we left and this fan blows so much air into the coach that me and my pups survived 90 degree days!

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15 hours ago, linda s said:

He bought it in Mississippi. Had it delivered to St Louis where his brother got it and took it to New York. Lennie is in San Francisco. Makes perfect sense. 

Linda S

Thank you for enlightening me! No wonder I was confused.

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Sorry for the confusion. The MH with the AC is near NYC. It's coming to SF in the fall, but I'd like to remove the AC before that trip. Mostly bc I figure it's more useful on the east coast than out here. (@linda s has a good point about running it off a small generator, but I'd rather not have the weight & noise of a generator either. @DanAatTheCape is right that swamp cooler's require water, but not that much. And since I only boondock for a few days at a time, that's OK.)

The path to my brother's house from MD (or ME) would not involve the George Washington Bridge. I know what you mean about that cluster****. Same goes for the Tappan Zee Bridge, which is another path from his place to Manhattan.

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Reno can be in the hundreds in summer and all places between until you get to the coast. Swamp coolers will help but not make you really comfortable. Not going to cost you to just bring it. If you still want to switch it out there are plenty of people out here who would love to have it. Just don't want you to have an Ohh crap moment once it's gone. Hell I would be glad to install a Maxfan vent for it.

Linda S

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If they are coming to norcal, I would be happy to organise the swap here. I want an A/C, but the smaller the better. I *should* have a roof in the coming weeks to put it on, and I am sure there are dozens of us here like linda and me.

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Well, my luck/ability to get anything is in the "only if no one else wants it" range. Thats how I ended up with the conquest! Jokes aside,  it really is a better idea to do surgeries at home base. If its in going condition, best to get situated first.

By the way, they dont seem to make anything under 13,500 btus any more. What is the lightest/smallest one can get?

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The Coleman looks like the only one available under 13.5k btu and Derek knows all. My old Dometic Penguin is 11k btu which is even too much for my rig. Gets too cold. Dometic only makes 13.5k units now. On the plus side I can run it with my Honda generator. That unit sweetleon is giving away would be Perfect! I don't understand why anyone would need a 13.5k unit in our little Toys. 

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32 minutes ago, Derek up North said:

neat little unit but weighs 63lbs. Almost 20 more than my regular portable AC that I put on the floor and vent out the window. I don't want to be moving  that much weight around. There is a Coleman unit still available that is 11,000 BTU's and uses lower power.

http://www.rvproductsshop.com/standard-height-air-conditioners/coleman-mach-i-power-saver-white-48207c966.html

Uses less power than the Polar Cub and has more cooling capability. Looks bigger but it actually weighs less than the Polar Cub.

Linda S

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  • 1 year later...

i am hopping on here with a slightly unrelated but still connected question. i dont like to run my A/C too much, and have pondered removing it....was wondering if this seems like a good offgrid option to more experienced boondockers? https://www.etsy.com/listing/590660972/solar-battery-110v12v-portable-air?ref=also_bought-2&frs=1

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The issue with “swamp coolers” is that rather than dehumidifying the air in the cooling process as a normal ac unit does, you are adding humidity. A lot of humidity!   

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don't waste your money you would be better off with something like a Fantastic fan in place of the AC.

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As long as your in California humidity is not an issue. Those units seem pretty pricey though and if you want cold ice is required. I have cooled my camper in extreme heat, 113 in Fresno, down to high 80's with wet cloths draping over windows and roof vent sucking out. Certainly not cool but not going to give you heat stroke either. 

Linda S

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Here is a chart for the efficiency of  a swamp cooler

https://www.google.com/search?q=arizona+almanac+swamp+coolers&client=firefox-b-1-d&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=_6W4BmYhrFOM0M%3A%2CBI8YyZgk_9F6sM%2C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kTJG6XEjD896ToTN8WDMP7vcTsKbg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiC7Z2N16PhAhUCjVQKHQaKCI0Q9QEwE3oECAoQBg#imgrc=_6W4BmYhrFOM0M:

One thing you have to understand with a swamp cooler you MUST have constant fresh air into the cooler, you CANNOT recurclate air inside the RV like a standard AC can

Edited by WME
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