AC Quiet Kits

LHaven · 10-20-2019, 06:11 PM

I've seen mention on the forum of quiet kits for air conditioners, and I've seen them advertised by RV supply shops.

Our air conditioner unit is very noisy, but it's not the air conditioner proper – it's the fan. I can run just the fan and it's every bit as noisy as running the fan with the air conditioner. The air conditioner actually contributes very little.

I'd like to know how these quiet kits work, and whether they are effective at reducing fan noise, and not just air conditioner noise, which isn't really our problem.

**JRTJH** · 10-21-2019, 07:21 AM

The "quiet kits" work by "bending the intake air" so there is no "straight line from the fan noise to the intake vents"... That said, it's the same theory as moving a generator to behind the tree rather than in front of the tree. The "solid object" (in the case of the quiet kit, the ceiling panel) acts as the tree to "block some of the noise"... It does not block the "mechanical drone" caused by the fan vibrating the ceiling trusses and setting up a "hum" that's heard and felt in the ceiling around the air conditioner.

So, yes, they stop some of the "air rush noise" but not the "mechanical noise"... Some people find them beneficial, others, not so much....

LHaven · 10-21-2019, 08:33 AM

My untutored ears seem to indicate that the "air rush noise" is far and above the greatest part of the source of the din, so I will look into one of these units. Thanks.

Customer1 · 10-21-2019, 05:29 PM

You can only quiet a ducted unit, if yours is nonducted, you're out of luck.

The biggest improvement is closing off the dump. After studying the expensive kit that is sold I accomplished 80-90 percent of the improvement with a little tape.

Remove the shroud, inspect and correct the divider and duct attachments if needed, and then use foil duct tape to close up the dump opening. Put shroud back on and enjoy the quiet.

greyhair · 10-21-2019, 09:08 PM

We did'nt understand the difference between air and motor noise. Before I thought that the noise kits would remove all kinds of noise but it did not but I would say it removed 30% of the noise.

bobbecky · 10-21-2019, 09:36 PM

We just turn the volume up on the TV when the A/C comes on and enjoy the cool air blowing on us. We even put the front A/C in the bedroom in the mode that the fan runs all the time when turned on because when we first got the rig, the A/C coming on and going off all night would keep us waking up all the time. Now, with the fan on all the time, it is like white noise and we rarely hear the compressor turning on or off.

Tooth Ferry · 10-26-2019, 01:34 PM

The Whacko noise reducer unit worked well and even increased the air flow to the bedroom.

Kylemcmahon1 · 10-26-2019, 01:36 PM

Anyone have a link to these kits?

LHaven · 10-26-2019, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbecky

We just turn the volume up on the TV when the A/C comes on and enjoy the cool air blowing on us... Now, with the fan on all the time, it is like white noise and we rarely hear the compressor turning on or off.

When the AC comes on, I turn the volume up on the TV, and the DW is immediately after me that my TV is so loud that everybody in the campground can hear it. Does not promote marital harmony.

I tried running the fan all the time to get her used to it like white noise, but even I have to admit it is noisy and intrusive, and I am happier when it goes off. It is way louder than the unit in our last rig, and that was a heat pump. I can definitely hear the compressor turning on and off, but it is comparatively subtle. The fan noise is at least 10 to 20 times louder.

LHaven · 10-26-2019, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kylemcmahon1

Anyone have a link to these kits?

I simply did a web search and hit them right off the bat. I think I used the phrase: RV AC quiet kits.

LHaven · 11-21-2019, 03:07 PM

This month's Trailer Life did a one-pager on the Wacko quiet kit. One thing I didn't realize before is that it disables the "quick cool" louvers on the original AC cover, forcing all airflow out to the vents.

We do almost all of our traveling in country around the I-10 corridor, much of it one-night hops. We depend on the quick cool feature to take the main cabin down from triple digits to a livable temperature as quickly as possible after we set up. The bedroom isn't immediately crucial, and can wait until much later.

We may have to put up with the noisy AC after all.

**sourdough** · 11-21-2019, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LHaven

This month's Trailer Life did a one-pager on the Wacko quiet kit. One thing I didn't realize before is that it disables the "quick cool" louvers on the original AC cover, forcing all airflow out to the vents.

We do almost all of our traveling in country around the I-10 corridor, much of it one-night hops. We depend on the quick cool feature to take the main cabin down from triple digits to a livable temperature as quickly as possible after we set up. The bedroom isn't immediately crucial, and can wait until much later.

We may have to put up with the noisy AC after all.

Noisy RV ACs have never bothered me because I TRULY love what they do for me when it's hot. Was thinking that maybe we would like a few changes in an RV, including "quiet" ACs, and found a solution that I'm not sure we'll bite on; a new GD Solitude looked at yesterday with the "quiet" ACs. GM said you would hardly know it was running. Great!! I said. Downside; the "exceptional", never to be repeated, super price available right now was $89k. I walked away and told DW, "Dang I LOVE those droning ACs - let's look at soundbars!!!"

wiredgeorge · 11-21-2019, 04:27 PM

A soundbar cured our A/C noise issues.

Customer1 · 11-21-2019, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LHaven

This month's Trailer Life did a one-pager on the Wacko quiet kit. One thing I didn't realize before is that it disables the "quick cool" louvers on the original AC cover, forcing all airflow out to the vents.

We do almost all of our traveling in country around the I-10 corridor, much of it one-night hops. We depend on the quick cool feature to take the main cabin down from triple digits to a livable temperature as quickly as possible after we set up. The bedroom isn't immediately crucial, and can wait until much later.

We may have to put up with the noisy AC after all.

Right, like I posted earlier, seal off the dump (quick cool) and 90% of the noise is gone without buying an expensive kit.

LHaven · 11-21-2019, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Customer1

Right, like I posted earlier, seal off the dump (quick cool) and 90% of the noise is gone without buying an expensive kit.

I confess I had no idea what you meant by "the dump" until I deduced it from the photos in the article showing how the Wacko product was installed.

I'd be much happier with a product that somehow muffled the dump, but didn't disable it against explicit use.

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