Understanding Your Dometic RTX 2000 Air Conditioner

Understanding Your Dometic RTX 2000 Air Conditioner

Notes
In this article, you will get to know the Dometic RTX 2000 Air Conditioner and how best to operate it.

Why does Vandoit use the Dometic RTX 2000 Air Conditioner?

The RTX 2000 is a 12V DC powered air conditioner. This means you do not need your inverter turned on to operate this air conditioner, unlike the Dometic Penguin II air conditioner. The minimum power consumption is 10 DC amps and the maximum power consumption is 60 DC amps, with an average power consumption of approximately 20 DC amps. 

How to Get Optimal Usage of the Dometic Air Conditioner:

To power on your Dometic air conditioner, locate the Dometic remote and tap the power button, or tap the power button on the control panel of the air conditioner. Please see the diagrams below for a full list of operation options and a guide to the display.




Keep the air conditioner thermostat set to the low 70s at the lowest and the fan on the "low" or "auto" setting, as opposed to setting the thermostat to the lowest possible setting in hopes of getting the van's interior into the mid 60s. The Dometic air conditioner should be operating like a house air conditioner, in that it kicks on and off as it runs. If it is running non-stop, without turning off, you are probably asking too much of it. In cases of extreme humidity and heat, even these rules of thumb may not get you there. To attempt to quickly cool your van, try turning on your van and let the van's factory air conditioner run initially. This will allow the Dometic air conditioner to only have to maintain the temperature. This can take a heavy load off the Vandoit electrical system.

Info
View this video on how to adjust the RTX2000 to the Auto setting.

Idea
Other tips for cooling the van: park on dirt, gravel, or grass as opposed to pavement, park in the shade, and/or park next to a body of water where it is cooler.

Do I have to be plugged into shore power to run the Dometic Air Conditioner? Does it have to be a 30 amp outlet?

The Dometic RTX 2000 air conditioner is only available with the Vandoit lithium battery systems. It can theoretically get about 11 hours of operation, from 100% battery capacity, before completely draining the batteries on a standard system. There should be no issues with operating the air conditioner when unplugged from shore power.

A 30 amp outlet is not required to power the air conditioner. In fact, Vandoit sets the inverter to only take in 13 amps maximum. So, even if you are plugged into a 30 amp outlet, the van would only take 13 amps at a time. An additional reason for this is that most house outlets are on a 15 amp breaker. So, if someone uses other outlets in the house connected to the same breaker, this setting prevents the breaker from accidentally flipping and the air conditioner shutting off while you are sleeping, resulting in drained Vandoit batteries. 

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See this video for more information on the Dometic RTX 2000 air conditioner.