| Author |
Message |
jjrsmp12
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 14, 2004 - 4:19 pm: | |
I have a finished 1980 Eagle with a heat pump/AC unit installed. It does not cool the coach enough. There are 2 roof cutouts for vents already installed. How can I run the wiring for these A/C's when the coach is already finished? Thanks for the help. |
bruce king
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 14, 2004 - 5:13 pm: | |
Run the power up from the basement to the roof whereever it's easiest (next to the bathroom vent hole?)
run plastic electrical conduit on the roof. Noone will see it from the ground, and you can paint it the same color as the roof. You can find bulkhead fittings at any hardware store. Some caulk, and youre done. You end up with an
L shaped bit of pipe. The short leg of the L
is the feed from the edge/vent area to the centerline of the bus.
that's what i'm considering. I've got the roof airs in, but haven't run power to them yet.
I wanted to keep the exits functional, so I cut new holes for my roof ac and left the original exits alone. |
jjrsmp12
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 14, 2004 - 7:27 pm: | |
That's an excellent idea. Didn"t even think of that. Keep us posted on your progress. Thanks |
Airless in Mississippi
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 14, 2004 - 7:57 pm: | |
Minor propblem... are you going to cut another hole to run the cable down from the roof to the power input on the ac? |
John that newguy
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 14, 2004 - 9:19 pm: | |
Outside conduit up the side? Eeeeeyuck!
Why not use surface mount conduit -inside-? The stuff looks
great in some of the fanciest offices, allows for mounting and
attaching to near any surface (straight, flat or curved), and
provides for taps and outlet/switch boxes.. Oh.... and it's
easy to work with...and uhh.. and cheap. |
bruce king
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 14, 2004 - 11:05 pm: | |
john, the pipe would emerge on the roof in my scheme, not up the side. the problem with surface mount counduit for me was matching the curve of the roof |
John that newguy
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 15, 2004 - 8:07 am: | |
After chasing leaks in RV roofs for too, too long, I've become
an "anti roof-hole" guy. The flat conduit they sell at Home Depot,
Lowes, etc, can conform to almost any bend or curve and looks
great doing it.
It would seem to me, that it'd also be a whole lot safer not to have
live AC in a conduit run outside the structure of a vehicle. Any
possible brush with any low hanging object would require a climb
to insure no damage to the conduit or mount has taken place.
Or, maybe I'm just making a mountain out of a mole turd....? |
bruce king
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 15, 2004 - 3:31 pm: | |
I agree with you on the hole-in-the-roof issue, actually. Anything that'd take out the conduit on the roof would also take out the roof acs, no?
The surface mount conduit I've seen is extruded metal (aluminum or steel, don't know) which doesn't bend well at all. The curve at the edge of the roof in an mci 9 is pretty sharp, and I don't think I can bend it to match. |
Ed Jewett (Kristinsgrandpa)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 15, 2004 - 6:56 pm: | |
The trade name for the flat conduit is Wiremold. There are probably several companies that make it though.
I have use it to feed overhead fans on cathedral ceilings and it looks good, comes in colors. |
Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 15, 2004 - 7:01 pm: | |
It hates to bend.
Gary |
TWODOGS (Twodogs)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 15, 2004 - 8:24 pm: | |
very neatly,superglue romex to the ceiling,then paint it the same color as the ceiling |
John that newguy
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 15, 2004 - 9:21 pm: | |
That wiremold comes in metal or plastic. A few slices with a knife
on the inside of tight bends does wonders.
Two Dawgs... not a bad idea! Not much protection from chafing,
though... I suppose some ingenious individual could cover it with
common (fancy) U guard or molding...
It's amazing what can rub against your roof and not interfere with
objects you expect them to. I had the TV feed from the roof antenna
get caught on a branch (it was nearly flat on the roof), yet nothing
else was touched. I'd hate to have a 110v electric line bared and
touching the roof and not be aware of it. Poo happens.. |
TWODOGS (Twodogs)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 15, 2004 - 10:15 pm: | |
I was talking about the ceiling....not the roof |
Jtng
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 15, 2004 - 10:23 pm: | |
Yeah. I know. |
Glenn MC-9
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 15, 2004 - 10:34 pm: | |
I just finished running the 1 " plastic Wiremold in our MC-9. I used the ivory color to match the interior of the coach. Lowes and Home Depot has all you want with all necessary fittings.
As far as the bending goes, I used a heat gun and carefully bent it and then used sheet metal screws to permanently mount it.
This works a lot better if you've got a helper.
Glenn |
bruce king
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - 12:05 am: | |
Now that's an idea i hadn't considered. Use the plastic conduit and heat it to bend it. Ok. i'm converted. Gonna go buy me a piece tommorow and try it.
thanks! |
Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - 8:00 am: | |
I've never tried using a heat gun, I will next time I need to bend wiremold. It damn sure doesn't bend any other way.
Gary |
bruce king
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 20, 2004 - 10:07 pm: | |
Ok, i scoped out the wiremold products at my local home depot, and found two types of plastic surface mount conduit; "not for permanent use" and (apparently) permanent use pvc. It's $7 for a
four foot section of the pvc, and it's big enough that you can fit two 12/2 wires into it, if you take care.
They're also pretty flexible without heat -- i think i could get it to stick on the roof with careful screw/adhesive work, but , but with heat, they conform easily to the slope of the roof and go on without tension.
This is a better solution than mine. |