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Greetings fellow campers. Just wanted to know if it's possible to install a thermostat to control the roof mounted ac? I'm told that if the camper is not "Ducted" it can't be done. It's a Coleman CTS192RD and since this is our first camper, we honestly didn't think about the ac running either on or off. We have lived with it but, now I would rather it not run continuously. Is it possible? Running wires won't be an issue if that's the only problem. Happy CAMPING!!!!!
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Re: Coleman roof ac thermostat add on? CTS192RD
No experience with roof mounted AC; however, if it has an electric compressor, I see no obvious reason why it could not be thermostatically controlled (note; this will probably void any warrantee), and it may take a bit of research to do it right. Excluding "anticipator" functions all that a thermostat is just a temperature controlled on off switch. I do know that it is hard on some compressors to start them under pressure (without relieving/giving the pressure time to bleed down).
I would start with an installation manual from the manufacturer of your AC unit.
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Re: Coleman roof ac thermostat add on? CTS192RD
Generally speaking, non-ducted AC units for RVs are NOT built to maintain a constant temperature. The fans may only offer two speeds (high and low) and the cooling unit itself is only on or off. But those are usually connected as a 4-way switch (high fan & cooling; low fan & cooling; high fan only; off). I'm not sure if you could wire a thermostat to control that switch via room temperature without having to go deeper into the system and re-wiring so they are connected differently. I'm thinking you'd need a thermostat that could control the fan and the cooling unit separately and then re-wire the system so that they do not connect together at all inside the ceiling box. That sounds like a lot of headache and a good possibility to mess it up. If that's the case, then it might be easier to just update your AC unit as a whole. A quick search found this non-ducted AC unit with wall thermostat:
AC ceiling distribution unit 3314850.000
wall thermostat 3314082.011.
They're on sale right now and PPL is a popular RV parts store. For both pieces, it'd be just about $200 and you'd get a nice programmable digital thermostat (it even comes in black if you'd prefer).
You could always sell your current AC unit on ebay, etc. to recoup some of the cost (even if you got $50 for it, that'd bring the new system down to $150 - not bad at all. And the install would likely be much easier than trying to rewire your current unit - you might need to adjust the opening size in the ceiling, do a really good job at sealing it all, and then just run the wires for the thermostat.“One could not be a successful scientist without realizing that, in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers and mothers of scientists, a goodly number of scientists are not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.” - James D. WatsonComment
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Re: Coleman roof ac thermostat add on? CTS192RD
Open up the switch. if it is setup lie toedtoes has mentioned, two relays used in conjunction with the tstat could make it work. Make the tstat fire the relays. One relay for "cool" and one for "fan". The unit should equalize the pressure within a few minutes of kicking off. If it kicks back on too quick, use a timer relay on the compressor side. This way the fan can come on, and then a minute later, the compressor would kick in.Comment
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