Air8 performance

crohrbacher

2020 T@b 400 backyard camping with no shade. 100 degrees outside. 80 inside. Fan set on medium.

Tabnero

how long has it been running? did you vent hot air in the beginning?

crohrbacher

That was after running about 10 hours. Yes I did vent it, and the windows were cracked open.

Tabnero

wow, that is kind of disappointing 

Cbusguy

I am confused.   @crohrbacher are you happy with the performance or disappointed?

If disappointed please contact nucamp so they can adjust their stats

Sharon_is_SAM

I believe the Air8 manual says it will drop the temperature 20 degrees from ambient.  In triple digit temperatures, shade is your friend.

Per Truma:  This is how to determine if your unit is functioning within an acceptable range.

“Turn on Air 8 to cool. Crack open roof fan exhaust vent. Check cabin temperature in 20min. If it is not 10°F lower than the outside temperature inside the cabin, proceed with repair procedure. If cabin cools to 20°F or more below the enviromental temperature within 3hrs, the Air8 is within the acceptable working range.“

You need to file an official report with nuCamp.

crohrbacher

I have contacted nuCamp, and am on a list to get it fixed (when they come up with a fix).

AirBoss

FYI. nuCamp indicated to me the Elwell has asked nuCamp to send them list of owners who have Air8 units. A promising step. No doubt WuhanVirus has set them back several weeks. 

Cbusguy

Hmmm I wonder if that is all air8 owners or just 400 owners

Verna

@Cbusguy, only 400’s. There have been no reported problems with the Air8 units on the T@B 320’s. 

If you do have a problem with yours, please contact nüCamp.

Cbusguy

No problem with mine, just asking the question.   

JCALD

Cbusguy said:

Hmmm I wonder if that is all air8 owners or just 400 owners

Most likely just 400 owners since the unit was sized for the 320.  The 400 has much more volume to cool which requires more BTU’s to be effective.  The 400 should have a completely different unit.

AirBoss

Camping this week in Socal. Outside temp mid-upper 80's. Installed A/C exhaust deflector on underside of rig and using Reflectix on interior of larger windows. 
Roof vent cracked, windows latched at "venting" position.

Time will tell...

AirBoss

Well...true to form.

Outside ambient temp is 93. Vented the 400 this AM before turing on the Air8, which has been running on High (consistently) for 4.5 hours. Roof vent cracked, updated grills on intake and exhaust vents and deflector installed on exhaust vent. Reflectix on a three large acrylic windows since  efore turning on Air8

Inside temp 85 degrees, plus or minus. Air8 has not stopped running.

According  to Elwell ( on the phone with them today) they expect to have the Air8 Plus out in July/Aug. It will only add 1000BTU'S to the output ( up to 7500BTU). 

Seriously doubt that will cut the mustard as thats only about  2/3 the output of the Cool Cat. 

Time will tell. I hope nuCamp looks at this real hard. Seems to me a retro-fit back to the Dometic may be in order. 

No doubt this is is NOT a shock to those with a 400/Air8 combo. 

tepe50

I just talk to Elwell last week and they didn't mention anything about a new upgraded unit only thing they had was temperature sensor relocation wiring harness that might be available June sometime. It seems like every time somebody talks to them they get a different solution. This air-conditioning nonsense has been going on for almost a year now they should've come up with a solution by now.

AirBoss

They followed up with me 30min. after I posted. Yes, the harness to relocate the sensor harness is expected in a month. Remains to be seen how that helps.

The Air8 Plus is downrange by a few months. But still, at 7500BTU's, don't think that's going to cut it, folks. Its simply not powerful enough to cool the CF of a 400. 

It will be interesting to see how this shakes out. But in the meantime, its Whack-a-Mole if you own the Air8 in a warm/ hot climates. 

One Note: I asked nuCamp why they didn't use the same type of reflective blinds throughout the 400, that they use in the narrow vertical door window. They said the door comes from a supplier fully assembled. They just fit it to the 400. They indicated no one has ever asked about using reflective blinds all around. 

Find that difficult to swallow but could be...just seems like a logical step.

Same with roof color on all units. Should be reflective white, like virtually all other RV'S. That way for a reason. 

tepe50

White might help. The air temperature coming out of my vents is 50° on low on high it's 54°. And never catches up until the sun goes down or some shade. And a coil freezes up on me now sometimes

AirBoss

Haven't had coil freeze yet but suspect it can't be far off. Been running constantly since 0830 today.

Whats the procedure for that? Just shut it down? 

tepe50

I don’t know I just happened to notice it on the screen when it threw a code. I don’t know if it happened before or not. I just let it keep running to see what would happen and I went away. Elwell said that usually happens if the holes are not lined up if the unit shifts from its location. Mine did not shift he did not have an answer for the frozen coil code.  

AirBoss

Copy that. Thanks much. 

jkjenn

AirBoss said:

Same with roof color on all units. Should be reflective white, like virtually all other RV'S. That way for a reason. 

It's an option. I prefer the silver. White might be better for temperature control, but let's be honest, a lot of us will sacrifice some function for cuteness. And these trailers are darn cute!

AirBoss

LOL! Indeed! Fact is, the color wouldn't be much of an issue if the A/C components were optimal. Hopefully they'll make it right

Just getting things set up last Sunday at Santee Lakes in SoCal. Then off to Harvest Host winery for two days. 

Denny16

AirBoss try running the Air8 on low and get a small USB fan to increase circulation in the TaB cabin.  Tepe50 is getting 50 degree F air out the vents on low, vs 54 on high?

AirBoss

Will do. Thanks! 

TNOutback

@AirBoss your Air8 results are similar to my experience, so no surprises there.  Before this whole pandemic cranked up, Elwell was telling me the end of April for a reengineered unit, and that would have worked for us since that would have been in front of summer camping season.  Now the prospect of going a full year (or more) after delivery before we might have a working air conditioner is a tough pill to swallow.

Also, I would be a bit worried about putting Reflectix on those windows (assuming you mean the insides).  The window manufacturer says not to fully close the window covers in direct sunlight, as the heat buildup can warp the windows.  I would think covering them with Reflectix has the same potential.

TNOutback

@tepe50 your air vent temperatures are very interesting.  The best I got out of mine was around 60-61 degrees.

AirBoss

Sorry @TNOutback..working from phone and it isn't always pleasant! Forgive the first "no reply,  reply."

Yes, I was concerned as well. Some folks on here have used it on interior with no issues and nuCamp said they've not heard of an issue either. I'm watching it closely. I do leave the windows locked in "Vent" position. 

Taking whatever steps I can to mitigate until Elwell and nuCamp come to some decision. As I said, I have doubts the new Air8 Plus, with 1000BTU increase, will bring a huge delta. 

We shall see...

tepe50

@TNOutback I have a temperature probe that sticks in the air duct pretty far and that's for the vent closest to the unit itself and I lose another 4° to 5° by the time it gets to the furthest most vent. Which is not surprising.

Dutch061

Just for fun, I plugged my 2020 400 BDL in this afternoon, Alde showed 103 inside. I checked it after 2.5 hours and the Alde showed 80, so down 23 degrees in 2.5 hours which I think is pretty good.. I didn't vent the hot air before starting the air conditioning, I wanted it to work full load. I need to check it tomorrow while the sun is on the camper full force, as it was in partial shade when I started. I believe that my biggest challenge is related to the temperature sensor location but it hasn't gotten good and hot in NC either.

P.S. If you can get the outlet temperature 17 to 20 degrees lower than the inlet temperature that would indicate that the refrigeration system is working properly and just doesn't have the capacity to handle the area. As a side note, we had a 2017 320S previous to this with the 5K Danby, it wasn't able to cool the camper in full sun either. I do have confidence that NuCamp will make this right, one way or another.

Regards,

Brad

AirBoss

Thanks @Dutch061

What fan setting and cool temp did you have set on the Air8?

Supposedly new sensor harness due in a month. 

Thanks! 

TNOutback

Front vent temp was 66.7 degrees