Dometic Air Conditioner Flips Breaker

Confirmed Issue:

Running the Dometic Penguin II air conditioner flips the 20-amp breaker in the van.

Affected Units:

Any Vandoit van with a Dometic Penguin II air conditioner 

Background Information:

Whenever the weather is hot, the thermal air conditioner breaker will stay warmer than normal. In the event that the shore power is lost for a split second, power has to transfer to the inverter, causing a spike in power which will lead to the thermal breaker popping.

Resolution:

1. Do not run the air conditioner on high: When jumping from shore power to inverter, there is a spike in power and it is even more likely to flip the breaker.

2.  If your van has the AGM battery system, only run the air conditioner while the van is plugged into shore power.  If your van has the Mastervolt lithium battery system, you can expect approximately 3-6 hours of run time on battery power alone.  If you desire a longer run time, plug the van into shore power.

3. We recommend running the air conditioner fan on low and the temperature set in the mid-70s.

Be aware that the most you may be able to lower the internal temperature of the van is about 15 degrees lower than the air temperature outside the van.  The primary function of the air conditioner is to remove humidity from the air inside the van.

4. Avoid parking on pavement in direct sunlight when possible.

5. When coming back to a hot van, we recommend turning the vehicle on and running the Ford factory air conditioner to do the initial cooling.

6. Do not run the Penguin II while driving.

If you have questions about the Dometic air conditioner, please see the user manual or reach out to the Vandoit Customer Support team by submitting a ticket through the Customer Support portal or emailing support@vandoit.com.

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