RIGID HVAC a/c unit

What I’ve been seeing a lot of lately is are small inverter mini split condensers attached to the rear of RVs. I seen them on boats too. There’s a good reason. They are cheap, efficient and quiet. I don’t know if you have room on the back or even want to, but that way you can leave the unit on the roof alone. I had 16k btu MarinAir heat pump (water to air) on the boat I used to have. Man that was nice and quiet at night ZZZ zzz. Just had few people come knocking “hey your bilge pump has been running a long time” lol. I know what it like to get rid of a noisy problem, good luck.

I have to laugh. A friend mounted an AC unit on the trailer hitch of camper and created a duct box and two flexible hoses. Only cold air was feed into the trailer.

There are portable 12v AC units designed for tents. They are waterproof so could live on the trailer tongue with just 2 hoses going inside.
Here is a long winded review of one of the better ones (heat pump)...Basic info 5100btu cooling and 6100btu heat, funs on 400w solar, optional battery 8 hr run on low.

AC motors generally can't be variable speed you have 2 speeds because the motor is wired to have a low and a high speed. DC motors are different and use PWM to basically pulse on/off so many percent so they can be controlled to a specific percent.

Ac fan speed controllers lower the voltage which might work for low powered fans like a ceiling fan but fans in air conditioners use a lot of power. Also most new ceiling fans use DC motors for this reason.

That's why I suggested ripping out the original fans and adding multiple DC fans then adding a controller to set the speed to the exact percent you want. Just find the size and cfm to meet your needs.

ok. The inside fan is a squirrel cage and the outside one is a propeller type blade. (and again, no, they do not share anything, do not share bearings, do not share parts, only share the wall outlet).
Yes, i would rip the guts out and redesign the interior fan and use flat fans, but this is getting more complex than I want to.
Im going to try to just redesign the interior shroud and see how that goes before moving ahead.

Yes, all the options are good ideas for some builds, just not mine. I mentioned right away the mini split will not work; its due to space. The portable units are just a bad version of the original Rigid unit I was hoping that someone had used one and could chat about it, fingers crossed still. WIndow units, meh, too invasive. A window unit using hoses instead, well, about the same exact install task as the Rigid, so that just brings me back to can I use the Rigid question or do I have to have more btus...

It is really appealing to add another 300 solar to the roof and to remove the big object off the roof at the same time.
It is really appealing to have option to run ac off batteries also, and the extra 300 watts helps that a lot too....

So all that said, I really just need to find someone with experience on the Rigid before moving ahead. Opinions are nice and all, but first-hand knowledge trumps all.

I'll let you know. I just ordered one.

you could get one Rigid unit, but leave room for a second one in case one is not enough

Thanks timselectric. I cant wait. Your build thread looks like a building. is that what you will use it in or do you have a small vehicle?

The prob with 2 Rigid units is I need twice the battery power; I have enough for one unit to run all night.

I removed all the interior shroud pieces. I think I paid near $200 for these parts originally. I played around, and did make a flat panel over the ceiling. i put holes for intake, one big rectangle for output. Put foam rubber around. Taped the sharp edges, all the sorts of things already talked about in roof units. It is more quiet, maybe enough, still louder than I want. The plan is to make a foam tube out of eggshell foam rubber and have it hang down 6-10 inches like a tube and that will dampen a few more decibels and help direct air. This would be for night time only so does not matter is hangs in the way of walking. There is just noise the squirrel cage makes pulling air through the inside of the unit that cannot be modified easily, and that sound gets out.
I had to lengthen the control wires so I could relocated it to a cabinet. The roof unit is about flush with the ceiling is a big plus as the ceiling is low to begin with.

Here's how mine looks, it's like an airplane roof. A bit hard to see with the slides in but there's a huge sheet of insulated plywood wrapped in leather silencing then the ducting is some thin metallic foam then the left the inside of the ducting open to act as a plenum for a return and put the return vent as far away from the actual AC return to silence.

I'm replacing the ACs and remodeling the roof along with the rest of the coach.

Interesting that they make the ducting longer than the vents, not sure how that affects airflow

0truck0 said:

Thanks timselectric. I cant wait. Your build thread looks like a building. is that what you will use it in or do you have a small vehicle?

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It will be used for my solar power room, in winter.
When I'm heating the rest of the house. To pump cool air directly into the AIO's. Was planning on using a mini split, but don't really have much room.
If it doesn't work out for that, I'll find another use for it.

Maybe mounted on the back of the 48v mower. lol

Not the best pics, but
I remove the plastic thing. The holes are intake and the rectangle the output. I extended the wires and will put them in a loom all neatly secured later.
The holes still need a filter.
You can see a little of the foam ruber in the hole, seems to help a little.
I plan to make a sock tube to hang down a few inches to baffle the sound more and to direct it so there is separation from intake. This would only go on at night sleepy time.
Put your hand up in there with it not having run and you really feel the heat from the sun. It needs more insulation above. With this design I can easily put another panel over this to close it off in winter, after stuffing some insulation padding up inside.
The controls are out of the pics, but just mounted on the end of a cabinet, easier to use now too. That left the temp sensor not in the intake airflow, but will see if this is a good or bad thing, it might cycle less often and the temps might swing more between cycles.. or less, I dont know yet.

”Most reviews are van people with poor poorly insulated to no insulated vans, with lots of zero insulated glass that traps heat. These review are useless feedback for me as the van is a fail from the start so, yes, a small ac will fail for sure in a metal can. That is not me."

You know this how? Youve seen their vans, and know they dont have insulation?
Most people that self build van conversions are pretty thorough. Theyre on the same mission as you. And since they dont want people peeping in their living space, theres usually a barrier of some kind behind the front seats. In fact the vast majority of vans like sprinters etc, have no glass at all behind the front seats.
It sounds like youre rejecting reviews that dont agree with the decision youve already made. You can do that, but the results are predictable.
For comparison, the zero breeze 2 is rated at 2300 btu, considerably higher than the rigid unit. Theres enough bad reviews on that to conclude its barely effective at all. The number of used ones for sale reflect that.
If you buy this Rigid unit, please do come back and let us know how it works. A lot of us are looking for solutions like this, but personally I dont believe <2k btu is even worth the trouble.
I put a vornado window fan in the sunroof of my honda odyssey. Its like a tower blower on its side, uses only 28 watts on high and is virtually silent. I bet its more effective than that little Rigid unit. If theres a downside for your application its that I cant leave it up there in the rain. However theres probably a similar method you could employ to introduce cool air to your environment.

Batvette said:

For comparison, the zero breeze 2 is rated at 2300 btu, considerably higher than the rigid unit. Theres enough bad reviews on that to conclude its barely effective at all.

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I'm not sure comparing to a portable AC unit is a good comparison. The portable unit needs the hot air ported outside and the exhaust tube running though the van to outside is in efficient. I doubt the 2300 btu rating on that unit reflects real world cooling.

I think that's also one of the units that pulls in air for the hot side from inside the conditioned space, heats it, an exhausts it outside. Meaning the make up air is sucked in from outside, pulling in hot air.

Batvette said:

”Most reviews are van people with poor poorly insulated to no insulated vans, with lots of zero insulated glass that traps heat. These review are useless feedback for me as the van is a fail from the start so, yes, a small ac will fail for sure in a metal can. That is not me."

You know this how? Youve seen their vans, and know they dont have insulation?

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OP uses magic insulation with no windows so he has a perfect R value. Already asked for his magic insulation recipe but didn't get any info

justinm001 said:

OP uses magic insulation with no windows so he has a perfect R value. Already asked for his magic insulation recipe but didn't get any info

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The last sentance "this is not me" kind of jumped out at me that he believes something will work for him that hasnt for others. I think we have all done this before, when we really want something to work like we imagine it will.
You dismiss negative reviews, "they must be doing something wrong", or we are smarter than everyone else, or they just didnt put in the effort.
It often leads to expensive purchasing decision mistakes.
I pay attention to negative reviews, if it happens to them, it can happen to me.
In a related issue, thats how to leave negative reviews that really hurt a bad product. Be reasonable, dont rant angry or be an ass****. The reader should think your experience could happen to them too.

400bird said:

I'm not sure comparing to a portable AC unit is a good comparison. The portable unit needs the hot air ported outside and the exhaust tube running though the van to outside is in efficient. I doubt the 2300 btu rating on that unit reflects real world cooling.

I think that's also one of the units that pulls in air for the hot side from inside the conditioned space, hears it, an exhausts it outside. Meaning the make up air is sucked in from outside, pulling in hot air.,

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First point, I have seen a youtube video where the zero breeze was installed with its outlet attached to a hose and the unit enclosed, so, functionally it operated the same as the Rigid. It would just be a more complicated install.
(I think the Rigid is better, Im not pitching the zero breeze, just using numbers for comparison)
Second point, no, the zero breeze 2 is a true dual hose AC with an intake and an exhaust hose.

Batvette said:

Second point, no, the zero breeze 2 is a true dual hose AC with an intake and an exhaust hose.

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Fair enough, a quick Google showed only one hose connected to the rear. Digging deeper, your right.

While I doubt BTU specs, I don't doubt either company's power draw specs which, not accounting for how efficient each unit is, would directly relate to cooling power.

The Rigid unit linked in the first post is 8 amps at 12v vs 240 watts for the Zero Breeze 2.
Looks like the Zero Breeze would have about double the cooling power, plus have the benefit of some possible warranty if something goes wrong. I'm 100% sure that I'm on my own of my Rigid chiller fails.

Batvette said:

”Most reviews are van people with poor poorly insulated to no insulated vans, with lots of zero insulated glass that traps heat. These review are useless feedback for me as the van is a fail from the start so, yes, a small ac will fail for sure in a metal can. That is not me."

You know this how? Youve seen their vans, and know they dont have insulation?
Most people that self build van conversions are pretty thorough. Theyre on the same mission as you. And since they dont want people peeping in their living space, theres usually a barrier of some kind behind the front seats. In fact the va

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Yes, thanks for asking. I do know because these were all video reviews that showed everything inside their van, so yes, you can see how their van is built, you can see bare door frames exposed inside, can see acres of window glass too, can see their build technique that radiates heat through the walls and ceilings via the metal, so yes, I do know, but I look, did not peep.
Having done many projects there are things that pop out that I see only bc I have experience that I would not see before gaining experience.

The reason I am specifically looking for Rigid users is that the reviews were all inconclusive for many reasons such as poor insulation, no front window barrier, poor use of the item, and then the other options are using portable units that themselves have very bad reviews etc.

My insulation is not magic, but the reason I do not share too much info is because I am not looking or needing feedback on my insulation, it is far better than all the van builds that have used the Rigid and done a review, and 99% of the vans I have ever seen, does not mean that your van is lesser, but that I just have not seen it. I appreciate everyone trying to guess based on looking at the Rigid website if it would work for me or not, but I have already guess too and cannot guess without hearing from Rigid users with better insulated small spaces.
Something that does not work blowing against a hot wall or window tells me little unfortunately.

I have more specific questions, but will be happy to discuss insulation and build on a separate forum thread with its own topic.
The original interest is on the Rigid unit, which nobody so far has ever seen or owned, so after 3 pages her we are.

Still waiting for mine. Shipping from China is slow. lol

timselectric said:

Still waiting for mine. Shipping from China is slow. lol

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Did you get it?
I see Rigid now has higher BTU units in 12v, in the 2,000 to low 3,000 range, and same or similar amp numbers.