Dometic A/C

[atmo377]

Does anyone have any experience with adding the heating element to a Dometic Brisk Air rooftop non-ducted A/C? I found the model number of the A/C 457915.701CO. I have sent Dometic an email, but have not gotten a response yet. I found one from camping world 3101121.030 Just wondering if anyone has installed or has any experience with it.

[jbsmith]

I installed one in our last trailer. If your unit is pre-wired for it, installation is as simple as dropping the plastic shroud covering the air distribution box and installing the heat strip. You'll have to trim back some insulation and slice through thin plastic with a box cutter for the power lead. Be careful not to over tighten the screws holding the cover to the ceiling panels or you'll strip out the holes. Here's a link for installation instructions: http://bryantrv.com/docs2/temp/heatstrip.pdf.

While the strip was easy to install, I didn't think it's performance was all that good. A nice ceramic disk or tower heater seemed to work much better. YMMV

[atmo377]

Thanks for the info. We have a small tower heater that we got last fall. I will have to consider the pros and cons......

[atmo377]

I purchased the heater strip and installed it. I did not get to try it yet because I can't get power to the camper yet. When I was installing it, the heater element is very close to the air box cover. I installed it according to the directions, but it just seems too close. Does this seem right?

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by atmo377

Does anyone have any experience with adding the heating element to a Dometic Brisk Air rooftop non-ducted A/C? I found the model number of the A/C 457915.701CO. I have sent Dometic an email, but have not gotten a response yet. I found one from camping world 3101121.030 Just wondering if anyone has installed or has any experience with it.

I installed one on our 93 Holiday Rambler. It really was simple to install, and as others have said, just a box cutter to trim the area where the wiring plugs in. With the rotary dial, set it to heat and it will start moving air. It took mine about 10 minutes before there was any appreciable temp rise in the trailer, but the air coming out of the vents in the cover always seemed to be "cool" if not cold. I think it had more to do with the velocity of the air rather than the temperature. But it did heat the trailer in moderate weather and helped the furnace in cooler weather.

The only problem back then (may be improved now) was that there is no thermostat on the heat. It's either off or on, so when you go to bed, you'll wake up dry and hot the next morning. If they've improved that part, I'd say you've got a winner for saving propane in moderately cool weather. Don't forget, in cold weather, there's no heat to your subfloor area without the furnace.