Sound Proofing AC

rrcbov

I was looking at some articles on building a sound box for generators and thought these techniques might help reduce the noise of my CoolCat.   Mass-loaded vinyl, green glue, etc. there’s enough room in the AC compartment to do something. 

Any experience with this kind of project?

atlasb

The most noise I got from our cool cat was the compressor cutting in and out.  This happens frequently and at night was bothersome.  We started running the fan on full time instead of auto.  This keeps the air circulating in the cabin and helps mask the compressor.  I have since installed the Soft Start on the Cool Cat and so fare love it.  I do not notice the clunk of the compressor kicking in and off and no longer find a need to run the fan constantly.  While I was at it, I relocated the Cool Cat thermostat from the position near the top of the entry door to a lower level beside the closet below the light switch. This gives a more inline mounting height like home thermostats. This has modified the sensing of the internal cabin temp and gotten away from the heat at the top of the cabin.  Makes the cabin temp more realistic.  Also installed a Alde remote temp sensor below the counter next to the round cabinet under the sink.  this corrects the temp reading and it more accurately matches a secondary thermometer.  Headed out to try these mods for a few days next week.  So far in the shop they have all been very positive.

Another A/C mod that has proved beneficial, is adding 2 of the common household heater vent deflectors to the outside Cool cat vent screen cover.  These separate the exiting hot air from the incoming cool air and take some of the load off the Cool Cat.  This is an older mod that has been around for while and works. Well.

rrcbov

@atlasb thanks - a number of promising ideas.

I just today installed a soft start but haven’t had the opportunity yet to a) see if I did the install right and b) train the unit.  Headed out to a local campground Monday to try it out (I don’t have any power where I store my trailer).

Relocating the thermostat sounds like a good idea.   I recently recorded a 25 degree difference between the floor and 6 feet up during a sunny day in south Florida.   Were you able to run the thermostat line from the AC past the bathroom to get it bedside or did you add line and run it around the back?

I know nothing about the Alde remote sensor and will try to research it.

The heater vent deflectors are new to me as well.  Do you remove them while on the road in order to attach the cover?   Where might I find the deflectors.

atlasb

@rrcbov,

I removed the Cool Cat thermostat from it's original location.  The wire for it ran over the door, down the side of the door frame closest to the porthole window under the seat across under the seat and back to the A/C.  it follows a wire bundle already there.  Gently pulled and worked it free.  There is enough to run it under the shower cabinet floor (removed the slotted panel under the shower floor in the hall way.  removed the floor panel in the closet and fished it up to the area where the large light switch is.  Mounted the thermostat there about 56 inches above the floor.  This is about the same height as a home thermostat. 

The Plastic diverter vents mounted to the outside A/C screen and common diverter vents found at many big box lumber stores and most hardware stores. Normally used for floor vents for home heating systems.  They are held in place with magnets and you will need to install a small metal (steel) plate so they will stick to the screen. I do not leave them installed when we travel. I pulled the screen cover off while I installed the metal plates with JB Weld from most auto stores and installed 2 sections of weather striping separating the hot zone exhaust from the cool intake sides.  You will see the major portion of the A/C cooling fins are the center 2/3rds for expelling the heat.  the sides are for incoming cooling air. the weather strip I used also is common to using around the side of window A/C units when installing them.  Replace the vent cover and calk the sides.  The Cool Cat drips from the corners when condensation builds up and you will notice drip holes in the lower corner of the cover. 

The remote temp sensor for the Alde system was sourced directly from Truma/ Alde.  They have 2  different, one is for sensing outside temp and the other is for remote sensing inside temps.  I think they have 2 different length leads and I got the 6 ft one.  this is a plug and play install also.  By mounting it under the counter on the face of the counter I get a more accurate temp reading for the Alde.

Hope this helps

atlasb