Smallest Mini Split (exterior unit) recommendations

[fcmisc]

Hi guys I have a bigfoot on a flatbed and I am looking for the smallest mini split; the smallest I can find so far is 31x22x12" which is just a little too tall to fit nicely. I was wondering if any of you have used any smaller once and or if they can be mounted horizontally?

Thank you!

 

[andy_b]

12/24/48 Volt DC Air Conditioners..Battery Powered..Solar Powered..Hand Made In Arizona Since 2010

We manufacture DC battery powered air conditioners in various voltages for various applications..... Off grid living, Heavy Equipment, Boats, Telecommunications, Lithium battery climate control, Test equipment, Battery and solar powered, energy efficient...... Made in Arizona.... Custom application

www.cruisencomfortusa.com

These guys have small, easy to mount units in various sizes. More expensive than those made overseas, however.

 

[fcmisc]

12/24/48 Volt DC Air Conditioners..Battery Powered..Solar Powered..Hand Made In Arizona Since 2010

We manufacture DC battery powered air conditioners in various voltages for various applications..... Off grid living, Heavy Equipment, Boats, Telecommunications, Lithium battery climate control, Test equipment, Battery and solar powered, energy efficient...... Made in Arizona.... Custom application

www.cruisencomfortusa.com

These guys have small, easy to mount units in various sizes. More expensive than those made overseas, however.

THanks for the link. I'd love one of those and would pay double for made in usa, but 5x is not in the budget. I look forward to being able to buy something like that though thank you for the link!

 

[Darwin]

Mitsubishi makes a 6000 BTU unit and it's extremely efficient. You might want to look into one of those.

 

[carterd]

AT Overland had a fairly compact 12V mini split on their camper at Overland Expo West. See post #113 on this link: https://expeditionportal.com/forum/...site-flatbed-camper-pagoda-roof.230266/page-8

Unfortunately it does not seem to be commercially available at this time. The 120V household mini splits are much more efficient if you want to run an inverter, but tend to be large.

 

[andy_b]

AT Overland had a fairly compact 12V mini split on their camper at Overland Expo West. See post #113 on this link: https://expeditionportal.com/forum/...site-flatbed-camper-pagoda-roof.230266/page-8

Unfortunately it does not seem to be commercially available at this time. The 120V household mini splits are much more efficient if you want to run an inverter, but tend to be large.

I have the same unit as the AT Overland. It is marketed by a company called VeloSolar and sold on Amazon as an ACDC brand 12 volt mini-split. I can't link stuff on Amazon but their site is here: https://www.fleetwelcome.com/product/solar-air-conditioner/

I didn't recommend it to the OP because the compressor housing is bigger than he wanted. If it would fit, it would be a pretty good solution.

 

[fcmisc]

I have the same unit as the AT Overland. It is marketed by a company called VeloSolar and sold on Amazon as an ACDC brand 12 volt mini-split. I can't link stuff on Amazon but their site is here: https://www.fleetwelcome.com/product/solar-air-conditioner/

I didn't recommend it to the OP because the compressor housing is bigger than he wanted. If it would fit, it would be a pretty good solution.

Hi Andy, that setup looks awesome. I know I said it would be great to move weight off the roof however I could put it there and not be invasive at all.

Can you tell me how it works? What size is your camper and how many watts does it draw (roughly) steady state at what ambient temps? I know these will vary; I'm dealing with a small 10'6" bigfoot thats quite well insulated.

Also, is it quiet and functioning nicely?

Thank you!

 

[andy_b]

Hi Andy, that setup looks awesome. I know I said it would be great to move weight off the roof however I could put it there and not be invasive at all.

Can you tell me how it works? What size is your camper and how many watts does it draw (roughly) steady state at what ambient temps? I know these will vary; I'm dealing with a small 10'6" bigfoot thats quite well insulated.

Also, is it quiet and functioning nicely?

Thank you!

Like any other mini-split, there is an outdoor compressor unit and an indoor air handler. It comes with enough hose to put them pretty far from one another, but realistically, you'd just put them opposite one another. The hoses that come with it are pretty crappy so I'd get some made locally to the right length.

At steady state, it draws about 360W at 12 volts; the highest I've seen it draw is around 700W and it then cycles down. We have it installed in a Total Composites box that is about 15' in length overall and about 8.5' bed length.

Overall, it works great. We haven't really had to test it in temps higher than the low 90s, however. I have also not really used the heat function in the winter although I did confirm it works. Based on the layout of the cabin, the breeze to the far corner of the cabover is limited - IDK if it would work as intended if the distance between the air handler and the far wall was any further that ours.

The outdoor unit is pretty loud tbh. When it is running, it is still pretty quiet inside our cabin; the air handler alone is about as loud as our Maxxair at 20% fan speed. I would feel kinda guilty running it overnight because it is so loud. Luckily, we usually camp in pretty isolated places.

a

 

[fcmisc]

Like any other mini-split, there is an outdoor compressor unit and an indoor air handler. It comes with enough hose to put them pretty far from one another, but realistically, you'd just put them opposite one another. The hoses that come with it are pretty crappy so I'd get some made locally to the right length.

At steady state, it draws about 360W at 12 volts; the highest I've seen it draw is around 700W and it then cycles down. We have it installed in a Total Composites box that is about 15' in length overall and about 8.5' bed length.

Overall, it works great. We haven't really had to test it in temps higher than the low 90s, however. I have also not really used the heat function in the winter although I did confirm it works. Based on the layout of the cabin, the breeze to the far corner of the cabover is limited - IDK if it would work as intended if the distance between the air handler and the far wall was any further that ours.

The outdoor unit is pretty loud tbh. When it is running, it is still pretty quiet inside our cabin; the air handler alone is about as loud as our Maxxair at 20% fan speed. I would feel kinda guilty running it overnight because it is so loud. Luckily, we usually camp in pretty isolated places.

a

Great information. Maybe I'd put the outdoor unit on the roof where my current RV-AC is? Any thoughts on that? It says only 49lbs which is lighter than what's currently there. I know that's different than my initial request but it might just make my life easier.

Any chance I could get some "real" pictures as their site doesn't have any install pictures, just drawings etc. Or if you found any useful links of others' install. I googled a bit and could not find this unit.

Thanks for the link, I think you hit jackpot for me.

 

[andy_b]

Great information. Maybe I'd put the outdoor unit on the roof where my current RV-AC is? Any thoughts on that? It says only 49lbs which is lighter than what's currently there. I know that's different than my initial request but it might just make my life easier.

Any chance I could get some "real" pictures as their site doesn't have any install pictures, just drawings etc. Or if you found any useful links of others' install. I googled a bit and could not find this unit.

Thanks for the link, I think you hit jackpot for me.

You definitely can put the outdoor unit on the roof. Take into account that the hoses are pretty stiff and have trouble bending into tight radii. This could impact where you put the interior air handler relative to the exterior unit.

There isn't a ton online for this unit, but the vendor is pretty responsive. The documentation provided with the device is terrible but I still had a successful install. I had to buy a vacuum pump and manifold to vacuum down the lines once installed. There are numerous videos on YouTube outlining the process for mini-splits which is what I followed.

I took my camper to a local hose fabricator to get lines made - I would do this instead of using their lines although their fittings were not standard, apparently. The fabricators made new lines with better hose but reused the fittings. No leaks thus far.

air handler:



exterior unit:

 

[fcmisc]

You definitely can put the outdoor unit on the roof. Take into account that the hoses are pretty stiff and have trouble bending into tight radii. This could impact where you put the interior air handler relative to the exterior unit.

There isn't a ton online for this unit, but the vendor is pretty responsive. The documentation provided with the device is terrible but I still had a successful install. I had to buy a vacuum pump and manifold to vacuum down the lines once installed. There are numerous videos on YouTube outlining the process for mini-splits which is what I followed.

I took my camper to a local hose fabricator to get lines made - I would do this instead of using their lines although their fittings were not standard, apparently. The fabricators made new lines with better hose but reused the fittings. No leaks thus far.

Super helpful thank you Andy.

Can I ask why the lines are so long inside?

I love your rig, mine is the "I just slapped other stuff together" version for time/cost reasons but look forward to doing something like that some day!

Here's a random pic I found of the roof when I was installing solar; I'd be replacing that exterior unit and running the hoses through the roof and mount the indoor unit where the red rectangle is. Anything obvious I'm missing. Thanks again.

 

[andy_b]

Super helpful thank you Andy.

Can I ask why the lines are so long inside?

I love your rig, mine is the "I just slapped other stuff together" version for time/cost reasons but look forward to doing something like that some day!

Here's a random pic I found of the roof when I was installing solar; I'd be replacing that exterior unit and running the hoses through the roof and mount the indoor unit where the red rectangle is. Anything obvious I'm missing. Thanks again.

Because of the in ability for the lines to make a tight radius. It is super annoying. I don't have any upper cabinets to hide the lines in. A chase will eventually be made to hide the lines in but it still isn't as clean as I would like. Hard lines would probably be able to be bent tighter, but may not tolerate the vibrations very well. I assumed that the lines could be run better than this so I didn't really take that into account in the install. Sucks.

What is behind that rectangle - a bathroom? You may be able to hide most of the lines in those cabinets.

Slapped together or not, you have a nice looking setup and a great looking dog, so kudos to you!

a