Is the Hybrid worth the upgrade?

[rtf150]

I purchased a little 16' lightweight RV a few days ago while I was in Indiana and will be camping in it until I get back to the Texas coast. During its PDI, I wasn't impressed with its traditional rooftop AC, which was no doubt the least amount of AC the manufacturer could equip it with.
So I had them replace it with the new Furrion 18k btu Furrion Chill Cube that has a variable speed compressor and variable speed fan, AND is rated seer 22.

(finally this residential technology made it into the RV industry)

All I can say is that it doesn't need a soft start to be installed on it. It's amazing compared to any of the 6 rooftop AC's on top of my other RV's.

The Powerboost ProPower doesn't really care if you have a soft start or not. It has a pretty robust inverter. But I bet it sleeps while supporting this new RV AC technology.

For my situation my 3 ton unit was pulling high 47ish amp (that’s a guess as I don’t accurately remember but do have a memory of over 45 at one time during testing) but tripped PPOB every time which I expected. I’m between 19 and 21 on startup with the soft start. Cool air in the dirty south after a 99 degree day with 99.9% humidity but no rain…I’ll take it! And thankful for it!

Sponsored

 

[madsend81]

You an EE?

Flattered that you thought that, but I'm an ME, actually. Maintenance and Facilities Engineering Manager for a heavy industrial manufacturer in San Diego. I have to know quite a bit about a lot of areas, including electrical.

I've been involved with overseeing soft starts and VFD installations for industrial equipment at our shop over the years.

 

[Tilstad]

No.

 

[EricR]

No.

Yes.

 

[mrtull]

I literally just traded up... 22 XLT for 24 PB XLT. First couple days of driving has me feeling like its a game. How long can I keep it in electric mode when driving? I actually didn't realize it was a PB when I was looking at it; I noticed it was one of the last 2024s on the dealer lot and figured they'd be very eager to get rid of it. I tow an RV, so I love the extra torque, and I can't wait to use the generator. Was it worth it for me? Abso-freakin-lutely!!

 

[Lefty665]

Don't forget the no altitude reduction benefit. As to softstart... is there one out there that can be used for a hotwater heater?

Get a heat pump water heater. The current draw is low enough that you can run it from the Powerboost. Set the switch on the water heater to heat pump only, don't let it use both heat pump and resistance heating elements.

 

[HoustonScrew]

Hey guys,
I have already ordered my truck (5.0 V8) however it has not been scheduled for production yet and I’m strongly considering changing to the Hybrid motor. I’ve watched various videos on the topic but not sure I’m sold just yet on the MPG increase. I would really appreciate your opinions on hybrid vs 5.0? I would also be curious if anyone else did an ROI on going with the hybrid engine? I’m estimating roughly 18,400 miles at 24 MPG at $3 per gallon as the ROI for the upgrade.

Only buy the Powerboost if you want the 7.2Kw generator, if you are buying it for mileage you will be disappointed. there is a reason why ford does not market it as a Hybrid. Heck when i bought my 24 Powerboost I didn't even know it had hybrid capabilities. All I wanted was 4x4 and the 7.2 Kw gen, anything else was pure bonus. Now for the mpgs..they are all over the place with this truck. the 2 best scenarios for great gas mileage is if you start at the top of a mountain or you are in stop and go traffic in a flat area. I live just outside Houston and commute on a straight fairly flat road, if traffic is bad and my speeds are under 40mph i can easily hit 31mpg on my way home in a 45 minute drive. Last year on a vacation to the smokey mountains and visiting my daughter, we had a 90 mile drive home from the the mountains to her place. I averaged 55mpg in that 90 mile trip due to the drive out of the mountains was almost all electric it put me at 99mpg. The pattern my truck is in the most is Highway speeds..80+ mph and my 2018 5.0 did way better on the highway...this truck gets around 18mpg at those speeds and the 5.0 did a better at 80+. im sure at that point it was the rear end gearing that helped as both were 4x4

 

[pjc123]

Deleted

 

[Sig Oris]

Flattered that you thought that, but I'm an ME, actually. Maintenance and Facilities Engineering Manager for a heavy industrial manufacturer in San Diego. I have to know quite a bit about a lot of areas, including electrical.

I've been involved with overseeing soft starts and VFD installations for industrial equipment at our shop over the years.

Can't spell GEEK with Double E

 

[rtf150]

Get a heat pump water heater. The current draw is low enough that you can run it from the Powerboost. Set the switch on the water heater to heat pump only, don't let it use both heat pump and resistance heating elements.

Even better get a Nat gas or LP tankless heater. NOT electric. Electric tankless is horrible. If at all possible I won’t build or buy another home that I cannot have or soon install a gas tankless WH. Only way to go IMO. YES…PPOB can easily handle it

 

[RAYJAY]

no hate against the powerboost, i love the concept of it, but in its current form it does not help on the hi-way with milage and for me it hurts payload too much... if they improve this on newer models i would buy one in a heartbeat.

If you drive alot in a city and need the gen it is great option.

ALSO on back roads it helps a ton ... getting 24 to 26 on the 2 lane roads here in Pa

 

[Snakebitten]

Should be at highest kW draw just after startup with lowest thermostat set point dialed in. Just want to compare efficiency to typical RV Dometic 15k BTU air conditioner. I think mine is around 1.6 kW but I will double check.

Well it's been just short of a couple of weeks since you asked. The first thing I did to prepare to collect data was to insert the 30 Amp solar generator between the Furrion Chill Cube and any shore power or the Powerboost.
The Solar Generator has a management app that makes it very convenient for monitoring inout/output current.

I quickly found that the RV is so surprisingly energy efficient that I decided to set the RV up this way semi-permanent.

The entry closet is a convenient place to just keep the generator "indoors", and I re-routed the RV 30A chord under the couch and into this closet. You can see it plugged into the front 30A receptacle.

I am charging the generator with a traditional 120V 15 Amp power chord and it is now the official external shore power port of the RV. So much easier to manage and handle, and available in every length imaginable.

After several days of running the RV like this, and in 100F ambient, I have found that I can set the charging rate on the solar generator to 10% (max charge rate is 3600 watts) and never need to be concerned with depleting the battery.

So
What you really want to know is how efficient is the Furrion Chill Cube?

First I had to establish what the baseline draw of the RV is without the Air Conditioner. That way we can at least deduct that value from the overall draw.
It's about 125 watts. That's basically the 12V fridge and a couple of 12V ceiling lights.

So I turn the Air Conditioner back on and the temperature was set at 71F

The current draw is now 475 watts.
Subtract the 125 and the AC is drawing 350 watts. It's amazing!

Admittedly I hadn't had the AC off for more than a couple of minutes, and the RV internal temp hadn't risen.

So I grab the remote and change the thermostat setting to 69F

Immediately the fan speed begins to ramp up. It's not a jump-step like low/high, but rather a true variable speed soft ramp.

The compressor sound can also be heard if you are listening for it. A low frequency growl, but fairly subtle.

Current draw increases from the previous 350watts to ~475 watts, and over the next 30 seconds or so it tops off at 875 watts.

At 875 watts, a little over 7 amps, this thing is pumping out some serious volume of seriously cold air. And it does so much quieter than any of the other 5 RV rooftop units I have.

And so far that's about the highest draw I have ever seen this Furrion Chill Cube draw. And it's really quite rare for it to ever get that high unless it's the initial cool down event for a hot RV.

It's remarkable.
I don't know how reliable it will be but it's a game changer for folks needing RV air conditioning but have anemic power supply. Eliminating the startup spike alone is fantastic for those folks. No soft start intervention necessary.

 

[turbopilot]

It's remarkable.
I don't know how reliable it will be but it's a game changer for folks needing RV air conditioning but have anemic power supply. Eliminating the startup spike alone is fantastic for those folks. No soft start intervention necessary.

That would be an understatement if it is putting out 18,000 BTU with only 875 watts. My 15,000 BTU Dometic AC puts out 15,000 BTU using 1.6 kW.

 

[Snakebitten]

That would be an understatement if it is putting out 18,000 BTU with only 875 watts. My 15,000 BTU Dometic AC puts out 15,000 BTU using 1.6 kW.

I have no way of measuring BTU per KW, but it outperforms my Dometic 13.5K & 15K and Coleman 13.5k in every experiential way. Quieter (much), quicker cooling, and stunningly more efficient while maintaining the temperature. It's so clever to never turn off but instead to ramp down and just maintain.

I'm just happy to see this technology finally arrive in the RV realm. And the price is basically the same as the legacy designed stuff.

 

[tsigwing]

Wish I could rationalize to myself replacing a basically brand new unit in my 2024 Casita. Our is LOUD.

Sponsored