I installed a roof unit in the kitchen vent last weekend. Since I work for a manufacturing company and my office is located in a distribution center, I pulled the coach inside the building and lifted the AC unit with a forklift. A couple of us on the roof picked it up and placed it in position. My next challenge is electrical. I ran the wire through the AC duct back to over the One Place in the center of the coach. I thought I had the perfect spot for the hole over the cabinet behind the TV and One Place. The problem is that Winnebago didn't run the duct in a straight line from the back. It angles into the hallway. That makes the hole in the ceiling visible. In addition, since the cabinet does not go all the way to the ceiling, the wire is visible coming out through the hole. Originally, I was going to cover the hole with a blank ivory switch plate and run the wire in a groove cut into the ceiling vinyl. I have been thinking about it for a week and remembered using a vinyl seat repair kit years ago. If I can get some scrap ceiling material from Winnebago, I can get a vinyl repair kit (if they still make them) and make the hole invisible. I can also move the wire back against the wall behind the cabinet and make that not noticeable, too.
I also have another couple of challenges with the electrical supply. In order to prevent having to another run a wire from the One Place to the breaker panel under the bed, I tied the power into the engine block heater circuit. The AC installation instructions called for a 20 amp circuit and the block heater is 15 amps, but I thought it would be worth trying. After installation, I ran the AC for an entire day. As long as I didn't run the fan on high, it would not trip the breaker! I also ran it for a an hour or two on the generator to make sure nothing would get overloaded. This worked fine until I started driving. After 10 minutes of driving, the 15 amp breaker would blow. I reset it a few times and it would blow after a while. I replaced the breaker with a 20 amp one, which did not blow.
The problem then moved to the generator. When both ACs were going, the was 35 amps on one leg and 10 amps on the other. After about 10 minutes, the breaker on the generator would blow. According to the EMS, I was drawing about 47 amps. Since I have an 8000 watt generator, and 47 amps is only about 5700 watts, I thought I was well within the operating range of the generator. I have not measured the current draw from both 120 volt legs, but I am assuming that one of them is being overloaded. The generator has a 35 amp double pole breaker with a single toggle. It is logical that each pole is 35 amps (35 * 120 * 2 = 8200 watts). There is only a single toggle for both poles and it appears that one can blow without the other one shutting off. I am not sure how good a design that is. The only way to reset the blown side is to shut the breaker off (which disconnects the running side, too) and turn it back on. Based on the sounds coming from the engine, you can hear the electrical circuit unload the generator when the switch is thrown. I moved the AC circuit to the other 120 volt leg in the breaker panel, thinking that this would balance the load out, but the breaker still blew. It also screwed up the EMS which now thinks I am on a 30 amp circuit (I am hooked up to a 50 amp circuit). The voltage sensing must be connected to the block heater connection. I looks like I cannot avoid running another circuit from the breaker panel to the One Place. I also need to put an ammeter on the two legs to see what is going on.
I have a Progressive surge protector and I know that one of the 120 volt legs is used for almost all the power in the coach. When I moved the breaker to the other leg, it reports that I am using 25 amps on one leg and 15 on the other. I'll have to see what's going on.
On the positive side (no pun intended
), when it was 105 out, the inside temperature was 75 and both ACs were cycling. The basement AC hasn't cycled off in hot weather since I took delivery of the coach. On the other side, John was right. I had forgotten how noisy a roof AC can be, but it's worth it!
