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Dometic Penguin II Heat Pump 15k On Sale (Sold Out)


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Woot (a part of Amazon) has placed Dometic Penguin II 15k Heat Pumps on sale at an amazing price. The model number is 651816HXX1C0-01.

I'm posting a link here as well as a screen-shot of the offering. The price of $736.17 is unheard of, and if anyone is considering replacing a unit, this would be the time!

https://tools.woot.com/offers/dometic-651816hxx1c0-01-penguin-hc-h-p-c?ref=eml&ref_=pe_3185080_1141795680

Woot_Dometic.png

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Wow, that's a great deal! That is half price.  I tried to run through the checkout to see how much shipping was and they offer 2-day shipping for $12.  

Have you actually ordered one?

Last month I installed a new Penguin II Hi Capacity Heat Pump from Amazon and it turned out not to be a heat pump (no reversing valve).  The item is still listed incorrectly:  Dometic Penguin II Low Profile Rooftop Air Conditioner| Multi-Zone CCC II Control Board | 15K BTU with Heat Pump Polar White

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5 hours ago, vito.a said:

Last month I installed a new Penguin II Hi Capacity Heat Pump from Amazon and it turned out not to be a heat pump (no reversing valve).  The item is still listed incorrectly: 

I wonder if that's what these are.

But if you need a toilet . . . . Thetford Aqua-Magic Style Plus RV Toilet with Water Saver / High Profile / Bone - Thetford 34435 - 57% off list price

https://tools.woot.com/offers/thetford-aqua-magic-style-plus-rv-toilet-3?ref=w_cnt_lnd_cat_tool_2_144

Makes me wonder if there's a "catch" on these items?

- bob

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I purchased two to replace my (still running) 19-year old penguins, and confirmed the part number against the Dometic website (Dometic 651816HXX1C0-01).  I have Amazon Prime, so shipping was free.  They should arrive next week.

I will need to purchase a new Micro-Air thermostat...

Stay tuned. I'll report back whether I actually got what I expected (or not)

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  • Scotty Hutto changed the title to Dometic Penguin II Heat Pump 15k On Sale (Sold Out)

I didn't realize Woot was even still around!  Used to get computer electronics there dirt cheap in the early 2000's.  Woot! Woot!😀

Now I guess I need to go re-check them out.

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This may indicate a change in the industry.  I'm wondering if they are clearing out the warehouse because they have a new inverter design, comparable to the new Furrion Chill Cube (https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Air-Conditioners/Furrion/LC22BX.html).  If you don't use AC much, I guess anything will do, but if you have significant AC requirements and you pay for electricity, more up-front money for the inverter technology may be better financially.

This is where I first noticed the Chill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRb_rc8564Y

Edited by DBRV.0
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6 hours ago, DBRV.0 said:

This may indicate a change in the industry.  I'm wondering if they are clearing out the warehouse because they have a new inverter design, comparable to the new Furrion Chill Cube (https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Air-Conditioners/Furrion/LC22BX.html).  If you don't use AC much, I guess anything will do, but if you have significant AC requirements and you pay for electricity, more up-front money for the inverter technology may be better financially.

This is where I first noticed the Chill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRb_rc8564Y

These things are inefficient, power hungry dinosaurs, when compared to what's available residentially these days!

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That would be a great improvement!

Bill Groves (aka @Hotrod - R.I.P.) and I had started design of a new heat pump for motorhomes that would use inverter compressor technology and variable speed fans.  Our intent was to design an RV heat pump that would be super-efficient and use the latest technology... with the end in mind of a unit that could be run overnight using a lithium battery bank.

Sadly, Bill passed away before we finished the project.  For those who didn't know Bill, he was a really smart guy that held both Electrical and Mechanical Engineering degrees, and held several patents in the computer industry.  We've kept all his posts on the site... His company based on that technology still goes on today under the leadership of his son. My background is mechanical engineering with an emphasis on HVAC system design, and that's what I did for the first several years of my career, before I took a turn and got into lighting.  But I'll be honest... Bill was the creative force and the brains behind the design, so when he passed unexpectedly, I didn't pursue it further.  We had an initial design and were at the stage of purchasing components to build a prototype.  It just wasn't meant to be...

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10 minutes ago, 96 EVO said:

I recently had an inverter, cold climate HP installed in my home.

I swear I can heat my entire home for 8hrs using the same amount of power as running one of my Dometics for an hour in the coach.

Yeah, the energy efficiency on these units are atrocious.  Simple EER = 15,000 Btuh / 1,608W = 9.3 EER That's late 1980's technology.

That compares with the 22 SEER heat pump I just installed at my house this year.

Playing with the numbers, if we could get a 20 EER RV unit... that equates to about 750W, or less that half the electrical useage of current units.  Think about that coupled with lithium batteries and solar....  🙂

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Is a shame that even with millions of units in use, there are not multiple efficient models to select from - even for manufacturers.

In the following article, https://www.rvwithtito.com/articles/how-much-power-do-rv-air-conditioners-use/, was the following statement:

Only a few manufacturers publish their EER ratings. 

  • General Electric 13.5k Rooftop A/C: EER = 5.9
  • Furrion Chill 14.5k BTU Rooftop A/C: EER = 7.97

I put on my Sherlock Holmes monocle and trudged through the technical manuals of a dozen popular RV air conditioners, sleuthing for efficiency data.

After comparing the power draw from the top 12 RV air conditioners, I concluded that the average EER rating was roughly 6.0. That ain’t great. It’s half the legal minimum for a residential A/C system.

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After I built my garage and small workshop area I installed a York minisplit, ~20 seer, my neighbor does HVAC and got me a good deal on one.  I did all the prep work mounting the inside and outside units, wiring etc.  It took him ~1 hour to connect the control wires inside to outside unit, connect the refrigerant lines, pull a vacuum, and release the precharge of freon.   I mounted the inside unit directly inside opposite of the outside unit so the refrigerant lines were short.  The control wiring that ran the inside fan was small, maybe 22awg.  When I turned it on it was only pulling 4 amps per leg.  This was a 220 volt unit, I believe the make 120 volt units.  Either way supper efficient and easily cools and heats the 26X23' space. 

I have seen people get create and mount a minisplit on/in a motorhome.  Tough part is running the lines.  But as efficient as you can buy these don't know why they don't design one for RV's. 

 

I did buy two new 15K Penguin heat pumps from PPL in 2021.  At the time units were scarce but I got a decent price of $2700 delivered and a MicroAir thermostat.  In 95F weather I can usually get by with on AC unit.  

But the price that was offered on Amazon was super cheap.  Glad that some Monacoers were able to snatch up a few.  Good luck on the installs. 

 

The MicroAir thermostat is a great improvement, bluetooth and WiFi capable.  Comes in very handy.  The did do a software update recently which I went ahead and downloaded.  Initially I was not impressed but have come to appreciate the improvement.  The screen on the thermostat is more user friendly as well as the phone display. 

One thing that had me confused to start with is that if you on shore power and running the furnace the AC fan will come on to help distribute the heat.  Initially I didn't like it but I think it does help to provide even heat front to back.  And with the 1, 2, 3, and continous fan functions it does provide some flexibility. 

 

 

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12 minutes ago, jacwjames said:

...that had me confused to start with is that if you on shore power and running the furnace the AC fan will come on to help distribute the heat.  Initially I didn't like it but I think it does help to provide even heat front to back.  And with the 1, 2, 3, and continous fan functions it does provide some flexibility. 

 

 

That is interesting, mine does not do that with the fan, don't think I would like the extra noise but I like the big digits that I can see through the windows from outside.

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1 hour ago, Ivan K said:

That is interesting, mine does not do that with the fan, don't think I would like the extra noise but I like the big digits that I can see through the windows from outside.

Did you do an update, that when mine changed.  I was checking things out prior to my trip and found there was an update so I did it.

Had me confused to start with, even sent MicroAir and support request.  At that time I wasn't happy with the update but after using it quite a bit this last month I found it the new App display pretty handy, the thermostat display also changed for the better.

I only have the HP and Furnace for heat, on a really cold night I did let the fan run on low and the furnace cycled on/off.  The low fan isn't as loud as the furnace so it didn't bother me.  I usually leave the furnace off during the night unless it's really cold and then may only run it to keep the temp livable, I just sleep under extra blankets.

MicroAir display.PNG

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Received both of mine.  Double checked the part numbers and details and everything is as expected.  Also ordered a new CCC2-compatible MicroAir thermostat and new gaskets.  I *think* that’s all the new parts I’ll need. 

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Scotty,

Do you have the drain system that routes condensation from AC to the ground via tubing.  If so I'd suggest you order new cups, when I changed mine the cups were very brittle, they might have been usable but I didn't want to chance leaks.  If you have drain cups you'll need an extra gasket.

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1 hour ago, Scotty Hutto said:

Received both of mine.  Double checked the part numbers and details and everything is as expected.  Also ordered a new CCC2-compatible MicroAir thermostat and new gaskets.  I *think* that’s all the new parts I’ll need. 

Units don't come with a new gasket?

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