13,500 BTU A/C on Keystone Outback

[therink]

Originally Posted by Bob Landry

How does the rotating grill part come out? I didn't see any screws and I didn't want to just start pulling on it.

Bob
Insert a small flat head screwdriver into one of the three small slots to push a tab in, then work/pull it down. It will come off.
Steve

[Bob Landry]

Thanks a lot...

[Bob Landry]

Originally Posted by ktmracer

I have a 295RE and it is pretty big for a 13.5K single A/C. However, ours also had trouble cooling the bedroom down and as well as the rest of the trailer. doing the following helped tremdously. Most of the mod's could be done on other larger outbacks as well.

1) Open up the access panel to the ducted air. Check and make sure the openings to the ducting are cut to the full allowed size, bet they aren't, if not cut them open as much as is allowed
2) Use aluminum ducting tape, tape off and make sure there are no gaps or open areas in the plenum that would let air into the ceiling. You want ALL the airflow into the ducting.
3) replace the existing vents with "airport" vents. you can get them from suppliers on the web. it allows you to close off a vent, specifically, the one you want to close off is the living area vent in the duct going to the bedroom. instead of a directed air, it blows air 360 degrees across the ceiling. you just run the vent and it will screw and unscrew, opening or closing the vent to control airflow.
4) Add another ceiling vent in the bedroom. the ducting goes beyond the vent in the bedroom, so it is easy to add a second vent in the bedroom
5) Add another vent in the bathroom, goes into the same duct going to the bedroom.
6) to cool the bedroom, close the bath door and the folding screen in the bedroom.
7) take off all the vents and make sure they are tightly sealed between the ducting and ceiling. More than likely there is an open gap on some/all between the ducting and the ceiling, so air is going into ceiling as well as the living area.

if you do the above, you can actually get the bedroom about 5 degrees cooler than the living area! (and still keep the living room comfortable) If you do (1) (2) (6)(7) you can get the bedroom at least as cool as the rest of the trailer, most likely a few degrees cooler if you are using the ducted air. opening the direct vents pretty much limits the air going through the ducts, so ducted air doesn't do much.

And, if you want even better overall cooling
Add another vent in the living area just after the ducting to the bedroom makes it's turn from the plenum. It will put a vent close to the dinette which is nice. Basically, you want minimum restriction in the ducting, the more vents you install, the lower the restriction, the higher the airflow.

Several folks have followed the above suggestions and commented that they felt the mod's made a substantial improvement.

I did some of these items on my Outback today. I found some cutouts that although they didn't appear to be leaking air, it's possible because they were poorly taped, so I removed all of the tape that was obstructing the cutouts and sealed gaps. I also closed off the ducts after the last grill so all of the air is forced through the grill and not hitting the end of the duct. It felt like I almost doubled the airflow through the grills just by doing these simple items.
It's sad, that would have been so easy for them to do in the manufacturing process, but then minimum wage workers don't have a lot of inspiration to do much extra on the production line.