Mini spits vs thousands in ac

GlennWest · May 19, 2018

My system leaks. Works good as long as pressure holds. I may have an extra 12k 110v mini split. Anyone ever just subbed the factory ac for this?

NeverEasy · May 19, 2018

We ran a 12K system on ours but it went bad last year. The 12K was too big as it cycled on/off too much. We bought a 9k and I am in the process of installing it now. I was worried I could not get the truck ac to work but that has now been resolved. I still want the mini-split heat pump working. DW gets mean if she does not have ac. A happy wife is..... Are you interested in install pictures? I am building a new rack mount for the back of the cab. The old one had enough rust that would have been more work than building a new/better one. I just got it welded and painted today. Will probably mount it Tuesday if I get all the PM on the back of the cab done.

GlennWest · May 19, 2018

You stated it cycled on and off. Mini split that I have doesn't do that. It throttles down and basically idles once temp setting is satisfied. also one can buy a mini split for around $700.00-900.00. Don't get much AC repair for that cost.

Edited May 19, 2018 by GlennWest

GlennWest · May 20, 2018

If you guys think this bad idea, just say so. Won't hurt my feelings. I don't think mine be that costly to fix but keep hearing thousands repair bill. Got me thinking.

Jack Mayer · May 20, 2018

Glenn, the issue is one of reliability when running in motion. The parts suffer a LOT of vibration. We are Idle Free dealers and they use a similar compressor in their units. They learned long ago that the incidence of compressor failures is way too high if you run it while you are moving. They have electronics in their units to lock the AC out if the truck is moving. I don't know if you will suffer that or not....I have no direct personal experience with running them in motion.

GlennWest · May 20, 2018

Thanks Jack. I honestly don't recall vibration in cab of truck. Not saying non-existent but not noticeable by me. I would mount it on rear of cab.

Lance A Lott · May 20, 2018

There is a RV ac unit that can be mounted on the back wall of a truck. Wouldn't you have to run your generator all the time with a mini split?

Fire guy · May 20, 2018

I bought a 9k mini split last week, should show up this week. Stripped out the condo sleeper, took out the sleeper hvac unit, didn't work right anyway, and figured the mini split should work. I'd appreciate any install pics you might have. I have an idea of how I want it to work but that always changes. I will try to do the same with pics as I work through it. I've got a pretty clean slate to work with. Just got it all insulated and new floor in.

VegasFlyer · May 20, 2018

And here I thought this was a thread about a Wrestling match between two little people....lol

NeverEasy · May 20, 2018

We have run our mini-split while moving on a few occasions and it worked fine until this spring. I checked the freon charge and it was empty. It may have well been shock and vibs that broke one of the line sets but I did not waste time looking as we wanted to replace it anyway.

I should have pictures of the new install ready and posted NLT Wednesday.

jenandjon · May 21, 2018

I think I would put in a roof AC out of a camper. They are made to travel. If I were going to do it I would get one that has AC and heat.

GlennWest · May 21, 2018

I hate RV acs. Noisy and energy hogs. Also that would increase height of truck. That would cause problems.

NeverEasy · May 22, 2018

I gave the RV AC a lot of thought. We have had this truck 4 years and I don't know how long the previous owner had put the 12K mini-split on the truck but it worked great until this spring, therefore, we will give this a try. We like the smaller footprint of the 9K and hope it will not cycle on/off as much.

Pictures follow, I hope.

This is the indoor part of the 9K heat pump. Tray under it was because the old one leaked water on the bed below. When removed, I found that the installer had just pushed an extension onto the drain and did not tape them together. The female end of the extension cracked open and the two came apart. I will leave the gutter on until we are certain not water will drip from the new one.

Click For Full-Size Image.

This is the outdoor rack. Unit weighs 69 lbs. The supports under the rack can be seen better on the next picture.

Click For Full-Size Image.

This is the mounted outdoor unit. Only thing left to do is connect the outdoor line set, evac the system and let the freon in the outdoor unit fill the system.

Click For Full-Size Image.

jenandjon · May 22, 2018

On 5/21/2018 at 5:29 AM, GlennWest said:

I hate RV acs. Noisy and energy hogs. Also that would increase height of truck. That would cause problems.

Oh I didn't notice you have a condo.

sclord2002 · May 22, 2018

Chet, that is a nice looking install. I hope it serves you well for many years. Do you know the amp draw on that unit ?

Charlie

Edited May 22, 2018 by sclord2002

GlennWest · May 22, 2018

My 12k in my Teton is 6 amps. Mostly less once temp setting satisfied. Imagine an 9k would be less.

NeverEasy · May 22, 2018

Data plate says 6 amps max. When I get it running, I will put a clamp-on AC current meter on it. The old one would run off my 1kw inverter. This one should too.

jenandjon · May 23, 2018

How much will it cost to fix the A/C in your truck? I just went through this myself. I have not gotten the bill yet but I know its going to be high. They said it was going to cost over $4,000 but then they did not have to swap out the evaporator coils. So it will be a little cheaper. I did kick around the idea of putting roof AC in or a mini split but decided against it. I like having the controls right here in the dash. I didn't much like the idea of cutting holes in my truck either.

GlennWest · May 23, 2018

4k can put a solar system on my camper. Just saying. I buying o ring kit and try to fix mine. Got a vac pump and guages. If a lot more wrong than o think, mini split, here you come

NeverEasy · May 24, 2018

The mini-split heat pump is all installed. It works great! The OAT was 85. I set the AC to 69 and it got there in a hurry. It is very quiet.

The current draw was a bit disappointing. It started out at 5.8 amps but when it got going it pulled a bit over 8 amps. I ran it on the truck 1Kw inverter and it ran fine but the DC draw (on the inverter front panel) only showed 45 amps. Should have been around 78 amps if my clamp-on was any where near correct. I put a high amperage alternator on the truck a year ago so it would probably run it of the inverter ok but I have the 3kw Honda. The Honda ran on ECO and there was hardly a noticeable load. I have a couple more clamp-on AC meters. I better do some more checks.

NeverEasy · July 19, 2018

This is a follow-up report on my 9K btu mini-split heat pump install after our trip out west to Idaho for the WCR and several points in between.

I did a lot of work on the truck's dash AC and got it working great. About two hours out, the dash AC quit. The truck blew the F6 fuse that feeds the fan clutch solenoid, the environmental controls, and the AC monitor. Have not figured what is wrong with that, yet. It is not the fan clutch solenoid. I disconnected it and the fuse blew again immediately. Anyway, we had to run the mini-split all the way to Idaho and back to Virginia, set to 71 degrees. It ran off the 1000 watt inverter fine until the outdoor temperature got to 90 degrees and then it would not keep up. It did keep up when running off the 3KW Honda generator.

Obviously, we could not run the mini-split AC and the truck microwave at the same time.

This 9K btu unit is much quieter than my old 12K btu. We could sleep in the cab. If it did cycle on/off, we did not notice. While at a campground and not in the truck, I forgot to turn off the inverter one night and it ran for about 10 hours and did not kill the truck batteries but it was reasonably cool out and would not have required a lot of run time.

We did not get a chance to run the heat side of the heat pump.

Padraic · July 24, 2018

I had the similar issue, dash AC has not been working. Thinking about mini-split but rather fix the dash AC. Is there any DIY advice or link on the dash AC and/or sleeper. How about those expensive idle free gen air/heat unit. They are expensive. Can they run while the truck is moving?

For mini-split, a generator is needed. Do you run that Honda gen while the truck is moving? Sorry for so many questions.

lockmup68 · July 24, 2018

my onan quietdiesel is acting up, after getting to UT with no AC in the sleeper (driving super early headed west to have sun at back and arrive before major heat during day). I borrowed my father-in-laws Hondas, 2ks with parallel kit. Works great running down the road. Running the home depot portable AC unit, runs for about 5 hours til needing fuel. They each hold a gallon of fuel. One genset always burns more than the other, one is the companion model. Here is my redneck setup for this part of the trip.

I built a quick adapter with home depot parts, 30 amp female plug to 30 amp NEMA 5p twist into the genny. The 50 amp shore power plug twist with 30 amp male adapter is one I had. I use electrical tape to hold together going down the road. Ratchet strap the gensets to the bed and have gas cans on the other side.

Edited July 24, 2018 by lockmup68

Padraic · July 24, 2018

Lockmup68,

Nice emergency setup, 😉 I had tested one of those Home Depot LG up-right AC with a 4 inches exhausts duct unit with a single Honda 2000i. It seems to work.

Do you have an Onan quietdiesel ran while in motion? I assume that is what people do in a motorhome to power the coach AC. If that is the case, RV AC unit and Onan gen are designed to use while in motion. That may be an alternative solution for AC to substitute expensive dash AC fix of an old truck.

The RV roof AC unit can be mount behind the cab on a storage box, not adding the height of a full height sleeper.

NeverEasy · July 24, 2018

I run the Honda 3K going down the road and have done that a lot. A PITA to refuel because of the need to get to a gas pump and then getting up behind the Smart to fill.

The generator need not run unless the outdoor temperature gets above what the inverter will keep up with.

When I had a 12K BTU mini-split, I had to shut off the ECO switch on the Honda as it would not ramp up fast enough when the load required it. With the 9K BTU, it will work with the generator on ECO. I have a set of 2KW Hondas. I think the mini-split would work off one of them. Much more economical on fuel and I have an "extended run" 6 gallon boat tank to run it on (about 8 hours per/gal). I will try it soon.

Edited July 24, 2018 by NeverEasy