MicroAir EasyTouch 352 RV Thermostat

@fpmtngal posted:

A couple of interesting things I noticed this morning when my schedule went into motion (changed the heat temperature).  The Coleman-Mach air conditioner, as set up with the AirXcel thermostat, will only run the fan on low when using the heat strip.  The MicroAir separates the fan operation from the mode it’s in, so when I had the fan setting set to full auto, the system kicked up the AC fan up to high when the heat came on (the thermostat differential was 4°F).  I went back and changed the fan speed to auto low, so the fan would come on with the heat but only on low.  I think it’s interesting way to go about it and something to bear in mind/a setting to check when doing heat settings.  With the OEM thermostat it was a simple thing.

Another thing about the operation with the Coleman-Mach AC with heat strip - OEM set-up is that if the temperature differential (ambient air temp to set temp) is greater than 5°, both the heat strip and the main furnace come on.  The only way to avoid the furnace coming on is to set the thermostat no more than 5° higher.  If you want 10° then you would have to wait until the air reached the first setting, then raise it again.  You can turn that feature off, so the furnace doesn’t come on unless you have it set to furnace.

At first I thought that I’d leave it off, but the heat strip is somewhat limited as far as heat output - it’s not the most efficient way of heating the trailer.  The furnace, on the other hand, does a great job quickly.  So if I want to warm it more than 5°, I’m more than likely going to want the extra heating to get the chill out quickly.  So I’m leaving it turned on.

Would the heat pump unit, work with this thermostat or only heat strip?  The heat strip (resistance) is the least efficient or the two.

@RobertMT posted:

Would the heat pump unit, work with this thermostat or only heat strip?  The heat strip (resistance) is the least efficient or the two.

Yes to the heat pump, you can either have a heat pump or a heat strip selected, but you can’t use both at the same time.

@fpmtngal posted:

Why don’t you also look at the Coleman-Mach Quiet series of air conditioners?  I put a 13.5K NDQ (non-ducted quiet) AC into the 1685.  At the time I didn’t think the thermostat in my 2016 trailer would be able to deal with a heat strip, so didn’t pursue that, don’t know whether it could be added to one of their NDQ units.  A quick search of their website shows there is a lot less information than there had been before.  They’ve also added a power saver NDQ model - that would have been perfect for the 1685.  And you’d be able to have the Wifi capability for cutie Teddy.  Give him a pat for me.

Really?! Now that might be worth pursuing. For my use, a power saver A/C is a must and has been the main reason I never switched to the NDQ. Thanks for the heads up.

@R&V Spiker posted:

Really?! Now that might be worth pursuing. For my use, a power saver A/C is a must and has been the main reason I never switched to the NDQ. Thanks for the heads up.

I hope you can find out some real information about it.  I found the website didn’t have nearly the kind of information it had a couple of years ago when I was looking for a quieter AC option.  About all that I could get from it was that the power saver NDQ was 13.5K

@sequoia464 - the more I think about my experience with the 1685 - when I had electrical hookups I always heated with a small basic space heater and the Lux thermostat.  It did the job quite well - I’d still be using it but found that the one I had wasn’t enough to heat this new trailer.  My little space heater, on low, uses less power than the Coleman-Mach’s heating element so I was disappointed that it wouldn’t keep up (my site here in Apache Junction is metered electric).

@fpmtngal posted:

I hope you can find out some real information about it.  I found the website didn’t have nearly the kind of information it had a couple of years ago when I was looking for a quieter AC option.  About all that I could get from it was that the power saver NDQ was 11K.

@sequoia464 - the more I think about my experience with the 1685 - when I had electrical hookups I always heated with a small basic space heater and the Lux thermostat.  It did the job quite well - I’d still be using it but found that the one I had wasn’t enough to heat this new trailer.  My little space heater, on low, uses less power than the Coleman-Mach’s heating element so I was disappointed that it wouldn’t keep up (my site here in Apache Junction is metered electric).

If the only option is an 11k unit, I'll unfortunately have to pass. Maybe that's how they define it as being a "Power Saver" NDQ unit due to it's using less current than the standard 13.5K NDQ comparatively speaking.

I'll explore and investigate.

@R&V Spiker posted:

If the only option is an 11k unit, I'll unfortunately have to pass. Maybe that's how they define it as being a "Power Saver" NDQ unit due to it's using less current than the standard 13.5K NDQ comparatively speaking.

I'll explore and investigate.

I just corrected my original post - the Mach 10 NDQ is indeed a 13.5K model.  I was looking at the wrong column when I read the chart the first time.  Sorry about that…

Interesting discussion!  Something to keep in mind! 

What would really be useful, if they had "zoned" heating.  You could set main cabin "zone" to desired temperature and basement/belly "zone" to 38-40°.  That way when you're running electric heater and tank area, gets cold, furnace kicks on, until that zone is satisfied.

I run electric wall heater off, thermostat set at desired temperature and furnace set couple degrees cooler.  When I have power, electric heater, takes care of it, until about 28° outside temp and then furnace kicks on.  This has been working to keep tanks plumbing warm enough.  I tested it last year, down to single digits, (thanks Texas) with 1,000watt floor heater.  This year, I upgraded to "cadet" 1,500watt wall furnace.  I'm not sure, if more powerful heater, will allow furnace to run often enough.  Hopefully I don't run into single digits, this year, to find out.

@RobertMT posted:

What would really be useful, if they had "zoned" heating.  You could set main cabin "zone" to desired temperature and basement/belly "zone" to 38-40°.  That way when you're running electric heater and tank area, gets cold, furnace kicks on, until that zone is satisfied.

I run electric wall heater off, thermostat set at desired temperature and furnace set couple degrees cooler.  When I have power, electric heater, takes care of it, until about 28° outside temp and then furnace kicks on.  This has been working to keep tanks plumbing warm enough.  I tested it last year, down to single digits, (thanks Texas) with 1,000watt floor heater.  This year, I upgraded to "cadet" 1,500watt wall furnace.  I'm not sure, if more powerful heater, will allow furnace to run often enough.  Hopefully I don't run into single digits, this year, to find out.

I've wanted to upgrade the Coleman Mk 1015k AC simply from a noise perspective. I'm finding this thread very informative too. Some form of ndq is in our future. Thanks Harriet @fpmtngal.

The thermostat in our 2285 is physically located in a different zone. It's through the hall and in the bedroom on the closet/vanity wall facing the bed or front of the trailer. When it's below 25F I want some heat to flow to the tanks We run an electric mica panel heater (no fan, all radiant) we move around the main room. Love the radiant heat this panel heater produces balanced with the furnace's convection heat. I can set the panel heater's thermostat low enough and aim it so the propane furnace kicks on when the bedroom temperature falls. I do have to play with the heat vents in the main room to find the balance.

@RobertMT Where are you currently? I've been watching the December future weather patterns and it looks likely the polar air will be coming south through the central part of the country in a few weeks. Seems likely to stay for a few weeks once it arrives so single digits are likely.

MicroAir does make thermostats for RVs with zone systems.  I didn’t look at them or their instructions enough to know if you could adapt one of them to do something custom, like having a separate temp sensor in the basement and use the thermostat to respond for it as well as the living area.

My plan at the moment is to run the main furnace when the temps go down to around freezing.  That’s what I always did with the 1685 and never had issues (but then I’m rarely somewhere that it gets below 30°F).  I’m treating the electric heat the same way that I did when I used the space heater, which is essentially what it is.  It’s just bigger and uses more electricity.

@VigII posted:

I've wanted to upgrade the Coleman Mk 1015k AC simply from a noise perspective. I'm finding this thread very informative too. Some form of ndq is in our future. Thanks Harriet @fpmtngal.

The thermostat in our 2285 is physically located in a different zone. It's through the hall and in the bedroom on the closet/vanity wall facing the bed or front of the trailer. When it's below 25F I want some heat to flow to the tanks We run an electric mica panel heater (no fan, all radiant) we move around the main room. Love the radiant heat this panel heater produces balanced with the furnace's convection heat. I can set the panel heater's thermostat low enough and aim it so the propane furnace kicks on when the bedroom temperature falls. I do have to play with the heat vents in the main room to find the balance.

@RobertMT Where are you currently? I've been watching the December future weather patterns and it looks likely the polar air will be coming south through the central part of the country in a few weeks. Seems likely to stay for a few weeks once it arrives so single digits are likely.

Still just above the storm line, in Stockton, MO, I move into east Texas, in about a week.  It's been high 20s in the mornings.  I'll be at Lake O' Pines, near Jefferson, TX for month and then Sam Rayburn, near Jasper, TX for six weeks to two months.  I go to Texoma, after that, for month, prime storm time and area.

Balancing storm line and snow line, is balancing act.

@fpmtngal posted:

MicroAir does make thermostats for RVs with zone systems.  I didn’t look at them or their instructions enough to know if you could adapt one of them to do something custom, like having a separate temp sensor in the basement and use the thermostat to respond for it as well as the living area.

My plan at the moment is to run the main furnace when the temps go down to around freezing.  That’s what I always did with the 1685 and never had issues (but then I’m rarely somewhere that it gets below 30°F).  I’m treating the electric heat the same way that I did when I used the space heater, which is essentially what it is.  It’s just bigger and uses more electricity.

I believe where you're at, electric is still as cheap or cheaper than propane heat.  Certainly more convenient.

It's too bad TT didn't come with quiet series heat pump installed.  Where you have moderate low temperatures and metered electric, it would've worked well.

I had upgraded to NDQ on old camper, I figuring on moving it to new camper, I ordered.  I'm trying to decide, if I want to move it or not.  After two years, it's unlikely, I'll swap it, before this one fails.

@fpmtngal

Hi Harriet, It's been a while now since you installed the Microair thermostat - any issues or new thoughts? I'm looking at getting one again.

I'm also curious about the Mach 10 NDQ that you had on your 1685 - was there a notable difference in how quickly it cooled the trailer compared to the stock 9.2K Mach 8 units that came on the 1685?

Hope life is treating you well these days, looking forward to seeing you at Shingletown, take care until then.

@sequoia464 posted:

@fpmtngal

Hi Harriet, It's been a while now since you installed the Microair thermostat - any issues or new thoughts? I'm looking at getting one again.

I'm also curious about the Mach 10 NDQ that you had on your 1685 - was there a notable difference in how quickly it cooled the trailer compared to the stock 9.2K Mach 8 units that came on the 1685?

Hope life is treating you well these days, looking forward to seeing you at Shingletown, take care until then.

I haven’t had any issues with the thermostat, I really like it.  It took me a bit to get used to the interface, but it’s pretty logical.  It hasn’t given me any trouble, works just like it should.

It recommends a 3 degree differential to avoid short-cycling, which works well with heat, but somehow I find that it’s a bit more than I like for AC when the AC starts cycling - but that is more about how I react to air conditioning than the thermostat.  I could change it to 2° or more than 3, but don’t.

I love being able to set a schedule, it was very useful over the winter.  I don’t find it as useful with the AC, but that’s partly because I’m on metered electric so try to limit shore power when the AC is on, letting the MultiPlus allow solar to provide as much power as it can.  But that’s another topic.  It’s possible to set the thermostat for a temperature range and let it switch between heat and air, I just don’t use it.

While the 13.5K NDQ was a little more efficient cooling than the 9K, the difference wasn’t huge.  It would start cycling sooner than the 9K, which more often than not just ran all the time (not a surprise when it’s over 100°F outside).  And I thought that I might have gotten 1 or 2 degrees more for differential between outside and inside temps - it seemed like the 9K would cool the trailer down about 20°, while I would get 22° with the 13.5.  That made the difference between being comfortable or not when it’s 105° outside, but it wasn’t a huge difference.  I upgraded to save my hearing more than to cool the trailer any better.

I'm a little late to this party!  I may need to get this thermostat.

Our 2285 factory t'stat was in bedroom area. Not ideal.  By the time stat was satisfied, living area was a sauna and bed room too hot for sleeping.  I moved the Mach thermostat to living area by extending wires in closet.  Chose to put it close to outside wall to keep wires contained in closet wire chase. That spot by wall isn't the best, but it's waaaay better than factory location.  Been happy with this change. Now we need just the right artwork to cover factory holes...

Also added an easily closed vent in bedroom to modulate heat. It's closed most of the time.

My pursuit of better heating I also uncovered a problem with bathroom vent. I'd bet the same problem is on most 2285's and other models with vent located in shower base.  Hose was totally crushed where it crosses along shower base and joins plastic vent. The space between outside "wall" and shower pan inside is barely bigger than hose diameter. Plastic vent is also about the same depth. As you push vent into place, hose is crushed flat. I MacGyvered a 90 degree connection on side of vent so hose can run straight into vent.  Much better.