Outside temperatures

[Hypoxia]

3 hours ago, Steven P said:

I have the below pic from the other day and I am not recalling a gasket anywhere.  Also, my covers were replaced 3 years ago due to a RV service company cracking the original ones.   I don't know what they looked like under the covers but I know there are no gaskets attached to the covers.  This pic is with installation of the Soft start. Any sources for the gaskets?  Thanks. 

The outline of the gasket is easily visible in that photo.  I'll bet they are on the cover.

[Steven P]

8 hours ago, Paul A. said:

Have you looked on the Mfg. of your units web site for that information? Maybe a email to tech support asking for it? A drawing of the template they use for locating the tape during manufacturing? 

I have not, I looked under the manufacturer's site yet, but that's a good idea.  I have the same as Scotty's and since he has tape, I suspect I should have it too.  Definitely going to look into this. 100 degree, 100% Alabama humidity is about here.  

8 hours ago, Hypoxia said:

The outline of the gasket is easily visible in that photo.  I'll bet they are on the cover.

An RV repair place replaced my covers after the damaged the originals.  There are no gaskets in the new covers.  

[millionroy]

Recently replace both AC covers which came from Canada without insulation.  Bought this on Amazon and mounted it to the covers just measuring where it needed to be.  Working great.

Roy

[veraken]

I also added the foam tape to the AC unit itself.  This is what I used

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Frost-King-1-in-x-13-ft-Expanding-Foam-Tape-Weathership-EF41/310655227

[Dr4Film]

Steven,

The original Penguin-I had the gasket foam attached to the covers. Both sets of Penguin-I's that I installed were that way, The covers of the second set became brittle and were damaged. So I purchased two new covers from Icon-Direct and had to install new foam as the replacement covers did not come with it installed. I bought the gasket material from one of the big box stores and put in directly on the AC not the cover.

The two new Penguin-II's that I installed in 2018 had the foam installed directly onto the AC and not the covers.

The two models are basically identical in structure so you can install the foam exactly like how it is on the Penguin-II.

Photos attached showing the differences.

[Steven P]

Thanks all and the pics help tremendously.  I've ordered what @millionroy suggested from Amazon and can't wait to see how it helps. 

[millionroy]

I was thinking after my post, I may have put two layers of that material, one on top of the other.  Not certain, but very possible to get a good seal.  

Roy

[Dr4Film]

Steven, based on this advertisement (included) the strips appear to be 1 inch square of Open Cell foam with a tacky adhesive side for mounting.

Dometic thinks these strips are Gold based on the price. I would just buy some good quality open cell foam 1inch x1 inch strips that has good adhesion properties to use on your AC's.

https://www.dyersonline.com/dometic-a-c-penguin-foam-kit.html

[Frank McElroy]

Price sure has gone up.  I bought this same kit for $10 from Dyers 4 years ago.  Much better deals at HD and Amazon.

[Steven P]

18 hours ago, Dr4Film said:

Steven, based on this advertisement (included) the strips appear to be 1 inch square of Open Cell foam with a tacky adhesive side for mounting.

Dometic thinks these strips are Gold based on the price. I would just buy some good quality open cell foam 1inch x1 inch strips that has good adhesion properties to use on your AC's.

https://www.dyersonline.com/dometic-a-c-penguin-foam-kit.html

Thanks.  I ordered the foam tape from Amazon mentioned above.  Hopefully I'll be able to add it Wednesday. 

[Steven P]

As expected, no foam gasket was on mine.  I only ordered enough for the front AC but here are some before and after pics.  Thanks all.  I hope this helps. 

[Frank McElroy]

This should make a huge difference.  But there are two area missed.  Up near the top of the picture there should be a wide seal that goes all the way to the side of the top cover.  This will require layering about two layers.  Another one missed is along the control circuit board cover so that all air flows from the outside through the condenser coils. Look closely at the picture I posted.  This will direct all hot exhaust air out the side of the cover and not circulate hot air around the front EVAP housing.

[Steven P]

7 hours ago, Frank McElroy said:

This should make a huge difference.  But there are two area missed.  Up near the top of the picture there should be a wide seal that goes all the way to the side of the top cover.  This will require layering about two layers.  Another one missed is along the control circuit board cover so that all air flows from the outside through the condenser coils. Look closely at the picture I posted.  This will direct all hot exhaust air out the side of the cover and not circulate hot air around the front EVAP housing.

Frank, nice eyes you have.  I did it a little different by the control box.  I added foam behind the box where the gap goes down the box. See blue arrow on your pic. The red arrow is where yours is, and I felt adding it here would lead to easier box access (capacitors..).  For the other place, I didn't see the thick padding you had there (bad glare on phone on roof) and I was wondering since this is exhaust air, if it's exiting Roadside and intake is sealed, would it be ok?  I'll likely add that foam though.  I used most of it up earlier. 

[Frank McElroy]

There are multiple ways to accomplish the same goal.  Basically you want all fresh air being pulled in from the outside to only go through the condenser coil.  So the idea is to seal top and side of this coil to the cover.  Then you have to seal around the motor area so that the only air it gets is pulled through the condenser.  Then there is the third compartment to seal all air exiting the blower so that the only place the air can go is outside the road side vents and not recirculate within the cover over to the air intake side.  Even with what you did, I suspect you are already seeing better cooling capacity over what you had before.

[Steven P]

@Frank McElroy. I did see big changes and I got back up there last night and added the double foam on the left side of the pic.  Today I had to work and wasn't there to check progress.  However this am I had Temps of 36 to 39 at 2 registers where I was seeing 52 to 55.  Also, today's Temps were cooler this am affecting it, I'm sure.  

[Frank McElroy]

Good to hear that all your effort has paid off.  On really hot days is when you will notice much cooler temps and lower humidity inside.  Just like getting a new AC unit for the price of some foam insulation.  That's a great deal!

[Dr4Film]

In addition I recall one member who took a roll of foil insulation used for windows plus spray adhesive and insulated the plastic cover that surrounds the cooling condenser. I had purchased the insulation and adhesive but never got around to doing it on my old Penguin units before they failed. The new Penguin-II's have thick insulation covering that area of the AC.

 

Edited June 18, 2021 by Dr4Film

[Steven P]

Not a bad idea at all and seems easy enough w the reflective covering.   Looking at that pic makes me wonder if I should have air flow holes on the back passenger side of my Icon cover for better airflow.  With just the holes in the base, it seems like it could be restricted.  But I don't think I'm ready to drill some holes.  Then I'd worry about water intrusion too. 

[Dr4Film]

Steven, the first Icon cover I ordered came without holes because I failed to click on an optional button on the order screen where you can choose "driver side venting". When I ordered the second cover is when I discovered the venting choice. The original Penguin covers came with driver side vents.

After the second cover arrived I removed the first cover and drilled holes in the drivers side similar to the way they did it at Icon Direct using the same pattern.

I feel that the heat from the condenser coil should be removed more easily through these holes versus not having any holes for the heat to escape. Never worried about rain as there are plenty of holes in the perimeter frame for the rain to escape.

[Steven P]

I just went to their website and see optional driver side venting.  It makes sense you'd want to let the heat out best you can.  I wonder why it's "optional"?  Did the original covers come with vents back in 2006?  If not, why not and were they added later for better performance?  Also, why no passenger vents for the same reasoning?   It'd be interesting to run some before/after tests w vents.  

[Steven P]

I found my pic from my original cover where the service dept broke it.  No holes in passenger side.  No pics of driver side.  

[Frank McElroy]

Mine has the driver's side cover vents.  It is a more direct straight path for the blower motor hot air exit.

[jacwjames]

This post peaked my interest since I am getting ready to head out on an extended trip toward the heat in the west.  So yesterday I pulled my covers to check if there was the foam strips in place.  They were but had seen their better days.  So I knew I couldn't get replacement quickly and wasn't confident on what was available at Lowes but took a different approach. 

Lowes sells the 1/2" foam pipe insulation You can buy it solid and/or presplit with adhesive.  I bought 2 pieces ~ $1.58 each of the whole type. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Frost-King-1-2-in-Wall-Thickness-x-1-2-in-Id-x-6-ft-Foam-Pipe-Insulation/1001277248

Some the sheetmetal surround the fan motor I was able to actually cut a piece to length, split one side, and clamp it over some sections.  I was also able to cut one to length and clamp it over the condensor.  The flat spots I just cut the piece in half.  After I got it all fitted I used 2 side adhesive tape to help hold it in place.  Fitted all the pieces back in place and put the cover back on.  I left the old foam strips in place since they were attached to the cover.    I could tell it was making a tight seal as I had to push the cover down to reinstall the screws.  I actually added extra screws since some of the attachment holes were cracked.  I also added some in front. 

[Steven P]

Nice.  Like my situation,  that should help a lot.  Post pics if you can please.  

[jacwjames]

Here is a picture of the foam pieces in place, I did add one more short piece that I attached to the vertical piece to prevent recirculation.  I think this will work, I left the foam attached to the cover so it will mate to the foam on the base portion.  

Edited June 21, 2021 by jacwjames