Your video was very reassuring. I received this product and am going to install it next week. I’m a retired respiratory therapist who fully understands the efficacy of smooth airflow and am looking very forward to the improvement that I know this product is going to make with my system.
Great video, I'm so glad there's people like you and companies like koolrv because the manufacturers don't care, they just slap them together and send them out the door!
I'm glad you enjoyed the video Mike. I'm hoping that the A/C Connect finds its way into new RVs with ducted systems. The owner says he's working on it.
I had gone to their website before just to see what it was about. Having you explain and show how to install the product was very helpful. Enjoy watching your channel.
A few companies make a product for this solution. You also can diy this. A small sheet of closed cell foam and some A/C duct tape and you can create your own baffle that fits inside that area and directs the air to those vents. We did and it is absolutely incredible how much more efficient both A/C's are now. ALOT more air pushes thru the vents. Making your own saves some money is all. Both effective
@@RVInspectionAndCare I agree, just by looking how the Kool RV product connects to the ducts is a more direct connection for the air flow instead of it having to still swirl around in the output area before it reaches the duct work.
I installed one on my Fifthwheel last year and it has been the best improvement I have ever done. I have so much more air flow in the bedroom up front. And it is quieter in the main room where the unit is located.
With the return air passing all around the Kool RV air duct system I wonder how much the warmer return air will warm up the cool supply air, thus partially defeating its purpose. It would be even more efficient to have the Kool RV duct insulated, even minimally. Maybe one could wrap some water pipe fiberglass insulation strips around the Kool RV. That would further improve the noise attenuation too.
I haven't noticed that being an issue. The air coming out of the ducts is not only in greater volume but it's also very cold air as well. And it's a LOT better than the Dometic factory setup where cold air was constantly leaking over into the return side before it ever made it to the ceiling air ducts.
What this shows is that RV manufacturers don’t really optimize their A/C units. They cut a hole and slap the unit down and hope it works ok. It might cost a few bucks to really connect the A/C output to the ductwork but that’s not important. Just get the RV out the door and let the customer figure out why it’s loud and not cooling well. This goes back to the lack of quality.
Yes, I agree that this kind of upgrade is needed on ducted A/C units. When I talked to the owner of KoolRV he said that they are working on getting the A/C Connect units installed on RVs at the factory. We'll see.
I don’t agree that manufacturers are cutting corners. The AC units come with the option of opening the output to discharge 80% of the cooled air into the room directly. So they had designed their installation to accommodate that. The addition of this KoolRV product eliminates this function. That was not mentioned in the video. That being said I agree that this product might improve cooling but I don’t blame RV manufacturers.
@@stevenreardon3944 You may have a point there Steven. But it doesn't change the fact that the plastic wall separating the intake section of the A/C from the output section is often very poorly sealed which results in very inefficient performance from the unit as some of the cold air is being sucked back up into the intake side and therefore is wasted. And that is clearly just poor workmanship on the part of the A/C supply companies as almost all of them do it. And the RV factories can certainly lean on the suppliers to get a better product if they choose to do. so. Finally, most RVers I have spoken to agree that they would sacrifice the dump feature to have a quieter and more efficient A/C any day of the week. I know that I would.
Actually I have two different AC units on my RV. One is a Penguin and the other is a Brisk II so I'm not sure what to recommend for you. The best way to be sure you get the right part for your Dometic ACs is to read their page on Dometic s carefully. You can find the one for the Brisk ii here - koolrv.com/products/a-c-connect-dometic-brisk-ii and the one for the Penguin here - koolrv.com/products/a-c-connect-dometic-penguin . They also have a guide that walks you through choosing the right part. But if you still aren't sure, you can call them and ask them. They are pretty happy to work with you to get the right part for your AC system.
Hi Robert. Yes, it was a significant noise reduction for me, especially in the bedroom A/C. Our dog Jesse has hated our A/C system and gets scared whenever it comes on. But now he's fine with it. So for me it worked very well. As always, YMMV. :-)
Hi Dwayne, what model of A/C are you showing in the video at minute 5:55? I have the same unit but the manufacturer's label doesn't state a model name of the unit. The outside bezel only says Dometic Duo Therm. I only see Brisk II, Blizzard, Fresh Jet and Penguin II as options for Dometic brand A/C's
That is a Dometic Brisk II. My other roof A/C was a Dometic Penguin. BTW, you can find the make and model of your AC by removing the filter cover and filter. You should see a sticker on the bottom of the A/C body with the information you need on it. You might have to use the model number to find out what model it is (just search it on Google), as Dometic is a little cagey about stating the model plainly on that information sticker. Then pick the corresponding A/C Connect for that brand and model and you are all set!
I'm not sure about that Dave. The A/C Connect does not fit every RV duct setup out there. I suggest that you contact them at koolrv.com and let them know what the manufacturer of your A/C is and also describe the round duct issues and see what they suggest. I hope they have a solution for you as it has worked well for us.
I also would like to see a comparison to the RV Airflow system. I have purchased and installed 2 of the RV Airflow units and have seen improvement in both efficiency and noise reduction
Good catch. I have a fifth wheel that we stay in for a few months as a home base in Arizona. But I also have a Newmar motorhome that we use for traveling in the warmer months. The Newmar's A/C system is in no need of a product like this as it is incredibly efficient and quiet. But the fifth wheel's A/C system is another matter. And this product has really helped make it work so much better.
I'm a rv owner for 30 years and have done extensive rv renovation and repairs over the span. I want to be an rv inspector. Should i do texas or florida?
I guess you're asking about where you should settle and offer your services. I can't say for sure, but I know that Florida is getting pretty saturated with certified RV inspectors. It might be a good idea to visit nrvia.org and look at the map there. It will show you where the greatest concentration of inspectors is at this point.
@@Original_SJB The only RV inspector certification process I recommend is by the NRVIA located in Athens, TX. You can learn more about it here - nrvia.org/join/
Good question. Yes, it will because the output of the A/C goes directly into the ducts. So the usual cold air dump is no longer available. But the output of the air ducts is increased dramatically in many cases and I would choose that over the cold air dump that is very noisy any day.
@@RVInspectionAndCare I guess it depends on the type of RV you have. We have one right over the kitchen and when we use the kitchen it is great to have that dump there because we can stand below it if it gets too hot in there. If we shut off the vents for the dump AC, it does good for all the other vents in our 2011 Jayco Greyhawk 31DS. We are getting ready to buy a new motorhome and it should have three ACs on it. If we put that product on the one up by the driver seat and the other one in the bedroom, will that stop the middle one from being a dump?
@@RickandDarcirvadventures That's a good point. There are situations where the cold air dump could be very helpful then. But if you leave the A/C Connect off from the unit in the kitchen, you can still use the cold air dump there while sending the most cold air directly into your ceiling ducts from the other A/C units that have the product installed.
this would not work on my roof top ac unit, why bcuz my unit is not a true ducted system. it is off set system ( duct system is off to the side) which creates a back pressure duct system in itself. its a design problem period. but I still need help. HELP its hot living in an RV 🙂 yes it could be worse, i know, but...... ugh
Actually we have both RVs now. The fifth wheel stays in Arizona and serves as our home base. And the Newmar is currently in storage up north. We plan on being back in it by June and doing some traveling over the summer. Anyway, I couldn't make this video in the Newmar because its A/C system is one of the quietest ducted systems I have ever heard. But our fifth wheel was another matter altogether. :-)
@@RVInspectionAndCare Oh good! I thought you had left our Newmar fan group...:) Yeah, the AC in our Dutch Star works pretty darn well. And it's not very loud. I have learnt how to adjust it to our liking over the 7 months or so that we have lived in it now - from 35 degree California temps to 107 degree Texas heat. And in either weather conditions the coach and the systems have performed flawlessly. I understand and can confirm the insulation quality in a Newmar now. One thing that's a bit of an oddity though, that you have to learn to work around, is that the sensor for zone 1 is placed on the wall next to the driver and the driver window. If the sun comes from that direction, that sensor can show 85 - 90 degrees easily, even though the temp just a few feet away in the recliners is nowhere near that temp. So, if you use zone 1 like the other two zones, and set the temp you'd actually like to have, the zone 1 AC will never stop running (since it can't bring the temp down according to the sensor) and it can get freezing cold in the living room area. So, what I have done is buy a tower fan that I put in the doorway to the bedroom, and I turn off the zone 1 AC and blow the cold air from the back up to the front, and leave the zone 1 AC off (unless I'm in 107 degree blazing Texas sun!). That works great. And during the night I use the zone 1 and zone 2 ACs and turn off the zone 3 AC. That works great for sleeping. Anyway, I don't know really know where else they could have put the zone 1 sensor that would have been better. Maybe just further back near the couch or something. It's just something I have had to learn to play with. But the tower fan idea works great ...:) Thanks for your truly informative content and safe travels!
@@morganfagerman817 Our zone 1 sensor is on the passenger side and sits about half-way down the living room wall. So it always works very well. It's funny how they install some components in different places depending on the floor plan. But it sounds like you have the issue worked out pretty well by now though. Enjoy your Dutch Star and Newmar quality!
You should have measured the sound levels. I’m sure the nature of the sound changed but our ears are not good at quantifying. Also, humans are susceptible to confirmation bias.
Your video was very reassuring. I received this product and am going to install it next week. I’m a retired respiratory therapist who fully understands the efficacy of smooth airflow and am looking very forward to the improvement that I know this product is going to make with my system.
That's awesome Bob. I hope you gets lots of cold and "smooth airflow"!
Great video, I'm so glad there's people like you and companies like koolrv because the manufacturers don't care, they just slap them together and send them out the door!
I'm glad you enjoyed the video Mike. I'm hoping that the A/C Connect finds its way into new RVs with ducted systems. The owner says he's working on it.
I had gone to their website before just to see what it was about. Having you explain and show how to install the product was very helpful. Enjoy watching your channel.
I'm glad it was helpful Charles. Thanks for leaving some positive feedback!
A few companies make a product for this solution. You also can diy this. A small sheet of closed cell foam and some A/C duct tape and you can create your own baffle that fits inside that area and directs the air to those vents. We did and it is absolutely incredible how much more efficient both A/C's are now. ALOT more air pushes thru the vents. Making your own saves some money is all. Both effective
Thanks for sharing your DIY approach to the issue. I did something similar last year. But the A/C Connect was a big improvement for me.
@@RVInspectionAndCare I agree, just by looking how the Kool RV product connects to the ducts is a more direct connection for the air flow instead of it having to still swirl around in the output area before it reaches the duct work.
@@Athwndr68 That's exact;ly what I thought too. Safe and happy travels to you!
This is absolutely A no brainer. Thanks.
I thought so too. I love the results we are getting in our 5th wheel. Have safe and happy travels!
I installed one on my Fifthwheel last year and it has been the best improvement I have ever done. I have so much more air flow in the bedroom up front. And it is quieter in the main room where the unit is located.
That great to hear. Thanks for sharing your experience with the product here!
Very informative and helpful. Thanks..
That's great Paul. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching!
With the return air passing all around the Kool RV air duct system I wonder how much the warmer return air will warm up the cool supply air, thus partially defeating its purpose. It would be even more efficient to have the Kool RV duct insulated, even minimally. Maybe one could wrap some water pipe fiberglass insulation strips around the Kool RV. That would further improve the noise attenuation too.
I haven't noticed that being an issue. The air coming out of the ducts is not only in greater volume but it's also very cold air as well. And it's a LOT better than the Dometic factory setup where cold air was constantly leaking over into the return side before it ever made it to the ceiling air ducts.
What this shows is that RV manufacturers don’t really optimize their A/C units. They cut a hole and slap the unit down and hope it works ok. It might cost a few bucks to really connect the A/C output to the ductwork but that’s not important. Just get the RV out the door and let the customer figure out why it’s loud and not cooling well. This goes back to the lack of quality.
Yes, I agree that this kind of upgrade is needed on ducted A/C units. When I talked to the owner of KoolRV he said that they are working on getting the A/C Connect units installed on RVs at the factory. We'll see.
I don’t agree that manufacturers are cutting corners. The AC units come with the option of opening the output to discharge 80% of the cooled air into the room directly. So they had designed their installation to accommodate that.
The addition of this KoolRV product eliminates this function. That was not mentioned in the video.
That being said I agree that this product might improve cooling but I don’t blame RV manufacturers.
@@stevenreardon3944 You may have a point there Steven. But it doesn't change the fact that the plastic wall separating the intake section of the A/C from the output section is often very poorly sealed which results in very inefficient performance from the unit as some of the cold air is being sucked back up into the intake side and therefore is wasted. And that is clearly just poor workmanship on the part of the A/C supply companies as almost all of them do it. And the RV factories can certainly lean on the suppliers to get a better product if they choose to do. so. Finally, most RVers I have spoken to agree that they would sacrifice the dump feature to have a quieter and more efficient A/C any day of the week. I know that I would.
That we agree on. 😊
Great video. I have the same Dometic as yours, can you tell me which model it is to order the correct kit? Thank you.
Actually I have two different AC units on my RV. One is a Penguin and the other is a Brisk II so I'm not sure what to recommend for you. The best way to be sure you get the right part for your Dometic ACs is to read their page on Dometic s carefully. You can find the one for the Brisk ii here - koolrv.com/products/a-c-connect-dometic-brisk-ii and the one for the Penguin here - koolrv.com/products/a-c-connect-dometic-penguin . They also have a guide that walks you through choosing the right part. But if you still aren't sure, you can call them and ask them. They are pretty happy to work with you to get the right part for your AC system.
Nice video. Did you notice a significant reduction in the noise level? My bedroom AC is so loud when it comes on that my dog runs out of the room.
Hi Robert. Yes, it was a significant noise reduction for me, especially in the bedroom A/C. Our dog Jesse has hated our A/C system and gets scared whenever it comes on. But now he's fine with it. So for me it worked very well. As always, YMMV. :-)
Hi Dwayne, what model of A/C are you showing in the video at minute 5:55? I have the same unit but the manufacturer's label doesn't state a model name of the unit. The outside bezel only says Dometic Duo Therm. I only see Brisk II, Blizzard, Fresh Jet and Penguin II as options for Dometic brand A/C's
That is a Dometic Brisk II. My other roof A/C was a Dometic Penguin. BTW, you can find the make and model of your AC by removing the filter cover and filter. You should see a sticker on the bottom of the A/C body with the information you need on it. You might have to use the model number to find out what model it is (just search it on Google), as Dometic is a little cagey about stating the model plainly on that information sticker. Then pick the corresponding A/C Connect for that brand and model and you are all set!
What about my 5th wheel that has small round vents?
I'm not sure about that Dave. The A/C Connect does not fit every RV duct setup out there. I suggest that you contact them at koolrv.com and let them know what the manufacturer of your A/C is and also describe the round duct issues and see what they suggest. I hope they have a solution for you as it has worked well for us.
I have a 2000 class A motor-home with under belly AC. Do they have a version for that ?
Not that I know of, but you can call them and ask if they make such a product. They are very pleasant and easy to talk with. Thanks for watching!
How does this modification compare to RV airflow systems products?
I'm not familiar with Airflow Systems so I can't comment on that. I only know that this product has worked very well for me. Thanks for watching!
I also would like to see a comparison to the RV Airflow system. I have purchased and installed 2 of the RV Airflow units and have seen improvement in both efficiency and noise reduction
Did you say that you installed this on your 5th wheel? I thought that you lived in a Class A full time?
Good catch. I have a fifth wheel that we stay in for a few months as a home base in Arizona. But I also have a Newmar motorhome that we use for traveling in the warmer months. The Newmar's A/C system is in no need of a product like this as it is incredibly efficient and quiet. But the fifth wheel's A/C system is another matter. And this product has really helped make it work so much better.
I'm a rv owner for 30 years and have done extensive rv renovation and repairs over the span. I want to be an rv inspector. Should i do texas or florida?
I guess you're asking about where you should settle and offer your services. I can't say for sure, but I know that Florida is getting pretty saturated with certified RV inspectors. It might be a good idea to visit nrvia.org and look at the map there. It will show you where the greatest concentration of inspectors is at this point.
@@RVInspectionAndCare i want certification, i live in south carolina
@@Original_SJB The only RV inspector certification process I recommend is by the NRVIA located in Athens, TX. You can learn more about it here - nrvia.org/join/
Will this stop you from using that type of an AC from just being a dump style AC?
Good question. Yes, it will because the output of the A/C goes directly into the ducts. So the usual cold air dump is no longer available. But the output of the air ducts is increased dramatically in many cases and I would choose that over the cold air dump that is very noisy any day.
@@RVInspectionAndCare I guess it depends on the type of RV you have. We have one right over the kitchen and when we use the kitchen it is great to have that dump there because we can stand below it if it gets too hot in there. If we shut off the vents for the dump AC, it does good for all the other vents in our 2011 Jayco Greyhawk 31DS. We are getting ready to buy a new motorhome and it should have three ACs on it. If we put that product on the one up by the driver seat and the other one in the bedroom, will that stop the middle one from being a dump?
@@RickandDarcirvadventures That's a good point. There are situations where the cold air dump could be very helpful then. But if you leave the A/C Connect off from the unit in the kitchen, you can still use the cold air dump there while sending the most cold air directly into your ceiling ducts from the other A/C units that have the product installed.
this would not work on my roof top ac unit, why bcuz my unit is not a true ducted system. it is off set system ( duct system is off to the side) which creates a back pressure duct system in itself. its a design problem period. but I still need help. HELP its hot living in an RV 🙂 yes it could be worse, i know, but...... ugh
I'm sorry to hear about that. This product doesn't work for every A/C application in RVs. Thanks for watching though!
@@RVInspectionAndCare gave me some ideas, thanks
👍
Glad you enjoyed it.
Are you in a 5th wheel now? Some other lucky person got to buy your Newmar? :)
Actually we have both RVs now. The fifth wheel stays in Arizona and serves as our home base. And the Newmar is currently in storage up north. We plan on being back in it by June and doing some traveling over the summer. Anyway, I couldn't make this video in the Newmar because its A/C system is one of the quietest ducted systems I have ever heard. But our fifth wheel was another matter altogether. :-)
@@RVInspectionAndCare Oh good! I thought you had left our Newmar fan group...:) Yeah, the AC in our Dutch Star works pretty darn well. And it's not very loud. I have learnt how to adjust it to our liking over the 7 months or so that we have lived in it now - from 35 degree California temps to 107 degree Texas heat. And in either weather conditions the coach and the systems have performed flawlessly. I understand and can confirm the insulation quality in a Newmar now. One thing that's a bit of an oddity though, that you have to learn to work around, is that the sensor for zone 1 is placed on the wall next to the driver and the driver window. If the sun comes from that direction, that sensor can show 85 - 90 degrees easily, even though the temp just a few feet away in the recliners is nowhere near that temp. So, if you use zone 1 like the other two zones, and set the temp you'd actually like to have, the zone 1 AC will never stop running (since it can't bring the temp down according to the sensor) and it can get freezing cold in the living room area. So, what I have done is buy a tower fan that I put in the doorway to the bedroom, and I turn off the zone 1 AC and blow the cold air from the back up to the front, and leave the zone 1 AC off (unless I'm in 107 degree blazing Texas sun!). That works great. And during the night I use the zone 1 and zone 2 ACs and turn off the zone 3 AC. That works great for sleeping. Anyway, I don't know really know where else they could have put the zone 1 sensor that would have been better. Maybe just further back near the couch or something. It's just something I have had to learn to play with. But the tower fan idea works great ...:) Thanks for your truly informative content and safe travels!
@@morganfagerman817 Our zone 1 sensor is on the passenger side and sits about half-way down the living room wall. So it always works very well. It's funny how they install some components in different places depending on the floor plan. But it sounds like you have the issue worked out pretty well by now though. Enjoy your Dutch Star and Newmar quality!
@@RVInspectionAndCare That makes more sensor sense! :)
You should have measured the sound levels. I’m sure the nature of the sound changed but our ears are not good at quantifying. Also, humans are susceptible to confirmation bias.
For me, the sound level dropped quite a bit. Sorry I didn't have exact sound levels for you though.