[Jack Houpe]

We have decided to do away with the basement heat pumps one at a time, the new unit will be LG 24000 btu 2 zone for the front, might be a little over kill but better over kill that sorry I didn't. The first evaporator will go where the TV was in the dog box up front, it will be a 12000 btu LG art unit and the second will be the 12000 btu LG low profile console which will go in front of the small counter passenger side behind passenger chair. I could have gotten by much cheaper with a standard wall mount but Kathleen said make it look good your driving a Newell.

[Richard]

Way cool !!

Any concepts about what to do for the rear air?

[Jack Houpe]

Lg art cool mirror 18000 btu heat pump, this will be mounted on the passenger wall rear bedroom, I was going to use the ducted evaporator but this black glass unit from LG will go along with the black mirrors which are throughout the coach. I've only been in 2 Newell's in my life, this one and another I was bidding on in Michigan, is that black mirror on the ceiling normal or was the prior owner a kinky person?

Tear out begins today, is this a normal looking basement air compartment?

[Richard]

The basement air looks like it has been modded to me. Is that where your existing heat pump/AC outside units are? Because the original SCS units were NOT heat pump capable. If Newell retrofit the new units into that space, which would be logical, then some modification was need to adapt the conditioned air outlet into the existing ductwork.

The discharge outlet on the SCS units was on the very top, and one elephant snorkel was attached at the top. That snorkel fed the internal distribution system. The front ductwork was very simple, it divided into two flexible hoses that ran up the passenger wall with the discharges just above the passenger head and just above the door. The rear setup was a lot more convoluted depending on the floor plan of the coach. Usually there was one plenum that ran the centerline of the basement and split into ductwork for the galley, bedroom, and bathroom(s).

The air intake was underneath the steps and fed a central cavity that both SCS units pulled recirculated air.

Some of what I described is a bit different with ‘race’ coaches. Some of them had both SCS units mounted on the driver side to move the noise away from the passenger outside area.

[Jack Houpe]

The basement air looks like it has been modded to me. Is that where your existing heat pump/AC outside units are? Because the original SCS units were NOT heat pump capable. If Newell retrofit the new units into that space, which would be logical, then some modification was need to adapt the conditioned air outlet into the existing ductwork.

The discharge outlet on the SCS units was on the very top, and one elephant snorkel was attached at the top. That snorkel fed the internal distribution system. The front ductwork was very simple, it divided into two flexible hoses that ran up the passenger wall with the discharges just above the passenger head and just above the door. The rear setup was a lot more convoluted depending on the floor plan of the coach. Usually there was one plenum that ran the centerline of the basement and split into ductwork for the galley, bedroom, and bathroom(s).

The air intake was underneath the steps and fed a central cavity that both SCS units pulled recirculated air.

Some of what I described is a bit different with ‘race’ coaches. Some of them had both SCS units mounted on the driver side to move the noise away from the passenger outside area.

These are Coleman model #46515-811 two ton basement heat pumps, they are probably OK if hooked up correctly but they are not plumbed into the system in a good way and the heat pump doesn't work on either unit and if they did in the past there is something wrong and I suspect it has to do with thermostat wiring. Discharge air from what I can tell is on the bottom but I will verify that soon. To much silicon rubber and hvac tape to make joints. 

The mini splits will be a vast improvement over this situation and a lot cleaner mechanically.

[Richard]

That makes sense. When the SCS units were no longer available, some people switched to the Coleman unit. However, the discharge was different and some fab work had to be done to accommodate the difference.

On a different note, do you have a stacked washer and dryer in the bathroom? As I was figgering on how to accomplish a mini split implementation, the area over the dryer would hold a ducted evaporator unit. I was thinking to duct it into the existing ducting that is right there.

Not saying your rear AC unit plan is faulty at all. Just curious if you looked at that possibility.

[encantotom]

i have a former race coach with both units on the drivers side. they share a return plenum that goes across the coach to under the steps.

tom

[Jack Houpe]

Richard that is an ingenious idea I never gave it a thought, we haven't used the washer and dryer and to be honest with you I forgot they were even there, another item I forgot about the dishwasher, my wife and I wash our dishes by hand as we use them and only use the dishwasher in our home when we have a large gathering. A dishwasher and a motorhome seems to be a little too much in my opinion, that being said it's not too late to make a change the front unit, I could have the art piece up front by the windshield which it desperately needs more cold air and the ducted unit over the washer dryer or in place of the dishwasher. I'll check into this tomorrow as far as installation when I rip more of the system apart.

Tom having one Central duck for the entire coach would be a blessing a 4-ton unit would be very easy to accommodate your coach with a minimal of plumbing. Actually a 4 ton unit may be Overkill.

[folivier]

Sounds like a great plan coming together. My only thoughts are that going with a 220 vac unit won't allow you to use the AC if you're ever on a typical 30 amp plug-in. Which may not be a problem depending on how you travel. It also would give you problems if you ever decide you want to run a unit on batteries (LiFePO4). Again probably not a problem.
A mini-split should make an awesome upgrade to your coach. Please keep us informed as you go along.

[Jack Houpe]

Morning, there is a way around that, when I change my 3000k watt inverter I'm going with a Growatt split phase 220vac unit set up, it doesn't care what ac voltage you put into it, I have 2 growatt 3000 units that are on the same single phase, if I want to combine them and make split phase its just take minutes. The roof will be covered in panels so that will help out the system wattage requirements.

Richard I sent a message to the store I purchased these units on ebay to change the order from the floor mount evaporator to an concealed duct unit, both are 12k but I like your idea better, even distribution. One 12k up front on the doghouse and one 12k in the kitchen area and one18k in the bedroom.

On another note the front heat pump came on during the night and its pretty nice in there now but this new system will be much better.