New Crusair Controls

[Jerry Winchester]

Retrieved my coach today and while I was at the shop I got a chance to look in a couple of Prevosts that were there which started me to thinking. Our Cruisair controls are somewhat simplistic as you can set the unit to fan, cool or off and a slider controls the fan speed. Then there is a thermostat that is basically just a guess as far as what the temp will be when you set it. If I understand it correctly, the digital temp displayed on the unit is the evaporator discharge temp.

There are some newer controls from Cruisair that allow you to set the desired temp and control all the units from a central remote which seems like a reasonable idea.

Have any of you changed the Cruisair controls or used the newer control system? And if so, how did you do it and how does it work?

And I was well pleased with the new inverter and batteries. The new controller is Jon-esk smart with a temp probe and digital voltage readout.

[lewpopp]

When I turn my cruiseairs on, I of course do it thru the thermostat. It basically just is an on-off switch for me because it could reach 32 degrees in here and it would keep on pumping out. Do I need new controls?

[Jerry Winchester]

I guess that is what I am doing as well. If you don't ride herd on the controls, you can hang beef in one section and have sweat running down your crack in the other one. Well almost. The heating system has a thermostat you set by degree, but this thing is pretty much like the OTR ac except for the "audible control reminder" I have in my coach. When the girls get to whining too loudly, you turn it down.

And I am sure I am the only one married to a woman who has a +/- 2 degree operating range

[lewpopp]

Try as I might to get under the coach today to hook into my brake service line it ended in frustration. I'm not as agile as I was and Im a bigger person.

Guess I'll call Liberty to see if they will do it. I believe a lift would do it easier.

[Jerry Winchester]

I completely understand. At 6'6", I don't just ease up under the coach. However, I did get a creeper called "The Bone" which about fits me well and it has all terrain wheels which work well in my hanger, but would be a waste in a nice shop like yours.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Lew,

If you can raise the coach on its airbags and get some suports under it for your protection getting that brake line installed is fairly easy. You can actually sit up in the area between the tag wheels to install the hose and fittings.

The attached photos show the attach point on my coach. The longer shot shows the relationship of the fitting to the tag axle air bag on the driver's side.

[Jerry Winchester]

Jon,

Now that you have solved Lew's problem, how about a comment on the original topic?

Does anyone have the remote / new digital controls on their Cruisair and if so, how do they work?

And it was too windy to enjoy flying this weekend unless you were headed South.......

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Jerry,

If you are talking about the SMX controls versus the three black knobs there is no comparison.

We had the black knob controls on our 87. After a while we learned to set the temp at maximum cold, and when it got comfortable we would turn the knob back until it clicked, and turn it back very slightly to put it in the middle of the on-off differential range. From then on we never touched that control.

We left the fan speed knob in the middle, but sometimes changed it to get more air flow or less noise. The fan runs constantly, even when the condenser has cycled off.

Generally speaking the old controls worked, but required some effort on our part and did not have any real features.

The SMX is light years ahead of the old controls. Once the temperature is calibrated, you set your desired temperature in the window and set whether you want cold, heat, or both and away you go. The fan speed is automatic if you like that or you can set any speed you want. You can use it to dehumidify, and basically do just about anything you ask of it. When we have shore or generator power we just power the cruise airs and let the SMX controls take over. At night when it gets cool the fans are virtually shut off, during the day when the heat starts building the condensing unit and fans work as necessary to maintain your set temperature. If it gets cold enough for heat and that is what you selected, it switches from cooling to heating without any effort on your part.

When SMX came out (early 90s I think) converters were installing those controls in place of the old controls so the units can be upgraded.

Besides the closet carousel I can say for sure the SMX controls are the next biggest advantage my wife sees in our new coach compared to our old.

Jon

[lewpopp]

I guess ol' Lew needs some of that SMX what ever it is. I guess it's another sort of control for the air conditioner, right?

Bring some SMX to the POG rally. I'll get me a batch of that there stuff and maybe my problems will be gone, right?

[Jerry Winchester]

Here you go Lew. Just for you.

http://www.cruisair.com/sheets/L-0613A.pdf