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Old 06-29-2020, 06:55 PM   #1
Scott in Michigan
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Quieting an RV air conditioner

Does anyone have experience with the RV air conditioner quieting device marketed by Wacko products?

It's $189 on their website. Details seem sparse as to how it functions.

Scott
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Old 06-30-2020, 03:52 AM   #2
wiredgeorge
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Scott, The WackO product is designed to replaced the lower panel on ducted Dometic system. Essentially the Dometic system has what is called a "quick cool" mode where you can open louvers on the main unit and cool air comes out and reduces the amount of air coming out of the duct opening elsewhere in the cabin. When you shut the louvers full air comes out the ducted openings. The "quick cool" mode is noisy becuase all the air is coming out of the A/C right at that panel. The WackO product eliminates the ability to use the quick cool mode by eliminating the louvers completely and just allows for air to be drawn in. They stick a piece of material inside and claim it deadens sound. Not sure how that would work but the Wacko product is likely about as quiet as the original Dometic cover with the louvers shut. You could always try this on your own without buying this gizmo by putting a piece of cardboard on the inside of your lower Dometic unit to cover the louvers tha open... tape it there and see if there is a difference in sound level; I am guessing not.
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Old 06-30-2020, 04:05 AM   #3
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I like to open the quick dump when first turning system on, it dries/cools the air in the same vicinity that it draws from, once cool I close the quick dump louvers. In my mind it lessens the chance of condensate forming potential in the duct work.
If the unit was non-ducted, it wouldn't matter.
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Old 06-30-2020, 05:34 AM   #4
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I actually did install this in my living room main unit. It does make it quieter, but not silent. We had to turn the tv up loud at night to hear when the ac kicked on. When it kicked off, it was way too loud. Played the remote volume game all night.
This makes it just enough quieter that you can hear the tv without the volume needing to be adjusted.
For us it worked great and worth the $.
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Old 06-30-2020, 07:06 AM   #5
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The Wacko A/C system works on the principle of "bending the return airflow pathway" to quieten the "air rush noise". Essentially, it closes off the "air dump feature" so the device can be mounted under the ceiling unit. Air is drawn in from the rear, bends upward to enter the A/C plenum and then is cooled "by the original A/C system.

It's the "bending/re-routing" of the incoming air that's "muffled" by the Wacko addition.

Yes, it works, moderately well, if your A/C "noise" is the sound of air rushing into the return air vent. It won't quieten the vibrations above the roof that are typical of "steel stamped rafters". They still will be heard as the compressor kicks in and the fan blades vibrate....

For me, it works fairly well, but nearly $200 for a "box that screws under the air conditioner" ??? I'd think twice about whether the noise is "really that intrusive".... YMMV
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Old 06-30-2020, 04:18 PM   #6
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The largest amount of noise comes from the cold air dump. Closing the louvers on the dump does not quiet the system.

I removed the cover and used foil duct tape to block all air flow from the dump. Blocking the dump was a huge improvement. I repeat; a huge improvement.

Now we can actually hear the fan, the return air flow, and the compressor. My next project is to devise a new cover which incorporates a better air filter and moves the intake/return so it isn't a direct path.
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Old 07-31-2020, 12:17 AM   #7
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Thought I would check in and close the loop with a report on my air conditioner silencing project. First, thanks to everyone who posted advice. You were all correct.

As one of you stated, it made a huge difference to just thoroughly and carefully tape off the cold air dump outlet. I also discovered significant noise coming from a leak between the plenum and the barrel ceiling.

I caulked the leak between the plenum and the ceiling and used aluminum backed tape on the plenum face.

I went a step further and cut a piece of foam from a flat pool float and placed it inside the plenum first. This added some sound deadening and a bit of insulation. The race track duct openings are above the foam.

This made a huge difference. We can actually run the air conditioner now and have a conversation or listen to the radio. In the past we avoided turning the AC on.

I thank everyone who took the time to offer advice.

This is a low cost and very worthwhile project.
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Old 08-10-2020, 07:03 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott in Michigan View Post
Thought I would check in and close the loop with a report on my air conditioner silencing project. First, thanks to everyone who posted advice. You were all correct.

As one of you stated, it made a huge difference to just thoroughly and carefully tape off the cold air dump outlet. I also discovered significant noise coming from a leak between the plenum and the barrel ceiling.

I caulked the leak between the plenum and the ceiling and used aluminum backed tape on the plenum face.

I went a step further and cut a piece of foam from a flat pool float and placed it inside the plenum first. This added some sound deadening and a bit of insulation. The race track duct openings are above the foam.

This made a huge difference. We can actually run the air conditioner now and have a conversation or listen to the radio. In the past we avoided turning the AC on.

I thank everyone who took the time to offer advice.

This is a low cost and very worthwhile project.
Any chance you could post a picture of what the cold air dump looks like and how you taped it? I would like to try this as well. Thank you!
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Old 08-10-2020, 05:16 PM   #9
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Quieting an RV air conditioner

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Old 08-11-2020, 07:10 AM   #10
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Thanks, looks like I have my next project!
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Old 07-31-2020, 12:47 AM   #11
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here you go, a test.


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Old 07-31-2020, 07:33 AM   #12
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Not saying it's a bad idea.... but did anyone else notice that he took the first decibel reading holding it up right next to the unit and the final decibel reading was taken with the reader 4 feet away laying on the bed? How much difference would that make... asking for a friend!
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Old 07-31-2020, 08:15 AM   #13
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It would make a huge difference, when one takes into account the Inverse Square law and its effect on sound pressure.

I also took dB readings before and after, but at exactly the same point. I showed a reduction of 4 decibels.

I did not include my decibel readings because it doesn't really have any intuitive meaning to us.

It was painful for the engineer inside me to not quantify something with measurements that I had at hand, but it made more sense just to echo another member's comment that it made a huge difference.

Bottom line: at the very least buy a roll of foil backed tape and tape off the plenum dump opening and also all of the air leaks between the plenum and the roof, especially if the roof is bowed like mine.
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Old 07-31-2020, 08:50 AM   #14
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The "majority of noise" produced by my air conditioner is "mechanical noise" not "air rush noise". There are steel stamped rafters in the Cougar XLite line. Those rafters do not absorb any vibration, but transfer it to the nearest solid object. In my trailer, there are two "nearest solid objects", the ceiling luan panels and the roof decking panels... BOTH act like a drum head, to transfer all the vibrations from the air conditioner, directly into the cabin... Think of it more as a drum roll than air leaks in the plenum.

Granted, I did seal all of the air leaks that I could identify, but there is NO WAY to stop the steel stamped rafter vibrations that span the air conditioner, front and rear and reach from one side of the trailer to the other.

Quieting a noisy air conditioner means both muffling the "rush of air through the unit" and the "mechanical vibrations of the roof structure"....
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Old 07-31-2020, 08:58 AM   #15
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For us, closing off the "dump" capability is a no go. When we arrive late and it's hot, do I want to eat? Relax? Hang out? Nah. What I do want is a cold bedroom to go to sleep in vs tepid warm so we like it.

As far as listening to TV, in the last many years the main AC did not have the auto dump to block off and they were bearable. Then with new speakers etc. the AC became no issue in them.
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Old 07-31-2020, 09:32 AM   #16
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I wouldn't consider eliminating the "cold air dump" on our single ac unit either. First thing in set up is to open it up and let it run until the living room is tolerable then shift it over the ceiling ducts.

On our unit there is one setting that works exceptionally well in silencing the ac noise. It's the "OFF" setting on the t'stat.
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Old 07-31-2020, 10:32 AM   #17
Scott in Michigan
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Appears to be quite the opposite here. We prefer running the air conditioner and being able to converse or listen to the radio at the same time. And secondly, the majority of our noise originated from airflow. We can of course hear the sound that resonates with the structure, but it's not objectionable.

I hereby grant to each, the irrevocable right to do his own...
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Old 08-04-2020, 01:30 AM   #18
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I installed the Wacko product and it saved my marriage = Priceless!

DW hated the sound level of the AC no matter if the air dump was open or closed. When we were shopping to possibly upgrade to 5th wheel, one of the first things she would have the salesman do was to fire up the AC to see how loud it was. She is a happy camper with the Wacko mod!
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Old 08-04-2020, 04:39 AM   #19
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OK, here is the way I summarize this whole thread:


1. for the newly weds who still have conversations, Wacko gizmo is a must
2. for those of use who have been married (a long long) long time, a good sound bar with remote works best for TV volume control.
3. For those of us who live in slightly warmer climes, the quick cool feature can't be gotten rid of.


As noted, different stroke, etc.
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Old 08-04-2020, 05:15 AM   #20
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In my case, I didnt like the fact that I had to have my TV so loud that my neighbors could hear it. It is nice to be able to listen to the tv late at night and not worry about the “outside” noise. Could have just been crappy insulation possibly.
Troy
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