3315450.000 RV Air Conditioner Replacement Part (Ducted Heat Strip)

Way better than using a space heater, distributes heat evenly throughout the entire camper. Once it gets below 40 degrees I use the furnace to bring heat back to desired temperature and the heat strip more to maintain.

Easy to install, need cool weather to see how well it works

This was a new first-time installation, not a replacement. I installed this heat strip at the same time as the new compressor unit, control kit, thermostat, and inside grill for a ducted assembly. Dometic doesn't make it easy for do-it-yourselfers, and it says right on the boxes that only OEM installers should undertake it. Nonetheless I had studied the installation manuals before I ordered the product, or so I thought. It turns out there's at least three installation manuals: 1) one manual for a ductless install which I found online. (No manual was shipped with the main AC compressor unit). I knew enough to disregard this for my ducted install. 2) one manual for a unit with a thermostat and associated control box which I also found online. This is the manual I followed in beginning my installation. (The only manual shipped with the thermostat / control box was a thermostat operating manual). 3) one manual for adding a heat strip. This manual was not available anywhere online. It was shipped with the heat strip, but covered the entire installation, from cutting a hole in the roof onward. It also covered the case of this being a retrofit, as if one had already done an install without the heat strip. Consequently, I only discovered this manual after my heat strip arrived. The problem was that I proceeded with my installation after getting the roof unit, thermostat and control box. The directions that I found online for a ducted assembly controlled by a thermostat said that once the hole in the roof was prepped, the utilities were brought to the hole opening, and the unit was set on the roof over the hole, the remainder of the install would be from the inside. That would be accurate if a heat strip was not being added. It turns out that the control box for the thermostat is typically mounted inside the RV up in the return air chamber, with all of the wiring connections routed to the inside. However with a heat strip, the control box is mounted from the outside, beneath the plastic shroud and foam cover, working on the roof. If you know this in advance, you can do some of this work while the AC unit is on the ground. If you buy all four of the pieces (AC, control/thermostat, return air grille, heat strip) to do a new install like I did and the heat strip comes last, you may read the online installation instructions and think you can get most of it done and then just add the heat strip later. That is a big mistake because it would involve a lot of work removing the control box and associated wiring from the lower part of the unit working from the inside of the RV and reinstalling the control box, along with the heat strip, from the roof of the RV. In any event the heat strip made the whole install much more difficult, working from the roof with multiple trips up and down the ladder. Next I tested out the heat strip. Unlike a conventional furnace, the fan immediately came on, even though the heat strip hadn't warmed up. This may be the fault of the programming internal to the controller and not the heat strip's fault, but one is generally tied to Dometic's recommended controller and stuck with this annoyance. So the unit blew room temperature air around for a good 3 or 4 minutes before I noticed a slight increase in the temperature of the air coming out. There are two air speeds, low and high, but I would rate them as high and tornado, so even with the heat strip fully warmed up and the fan set on low, you may not feel a heating effect with the nuisance wind chill factor even though it is putting out slightly warmer air. It seemed like a good idea being able to use the campground's electricity to take the chill out of the RV on cold mornings, without having electric space heaters sitting around, but unless it's a mild temperature elevation you're looking for, this heat strip spreads too little heat around, to too much area (ducted), at too high of a blower velocity. I would only consider it for a new installation, as the procedure that is required in a retrofit seems too cumbersome.

fit perfect works great put out enough heat to keep bunk house comfortable I would order again easy to install

Works great but a little difficult to install. Don't believe all of the reviews you read. I've done extensive tests and it hasn't melted the outer cover of the AC unit yet.

Installed easily, requires opening up both the inside and roof portions of the AC. Seems to heat up well.

Works ok. Doesn't heat the camper, only slightly warms it.

Wanted this item to add to our camper as we do a lot of cold weather camping. Looks like it would work well, but it requires an electrical controller that I could not find anywhere and I returned it. Plus, it would double the cost if we did. A good $35 120V floor model does the trick. Our propane heater rarely comes on.

this product is meant for the Brisk series AC units. It is very easy to install using a phillips screwdriver. About 15 min at most. The thermostat and control needs to be checked prior to insure it has a 3 pin female receptical for the power to the heater element. If not, you will need to replace the control unit and thermostat. In my case, the single unit digital thermostat did not have one. I used the "furnace" relay to control a 15 amp relay which I provided power from the 110V mains. In this case the heater acts like a "furnace" and will only operate when the fan is in the low or high position, not in "auto". If run in the auto position there will be no fan and the element will shut down when the heater safety switch kicks in. This is an acceptable work around to avoid purchasing another thermostat control unit. We have two AC units, one operates the furnace and the other the heating element. It works great and distributes the heat throughout the coach, I run it on LOW fan and provides a comfortable temperature. This is only recommended for the knowledgeable DIY owner.