Late last summer, we started to install an air conditioner in the closet; it had one in there at some point in its early life. We thought we were on the right track last summer, but we weren’t. This time I think we’ve got it right.
To catch condensation, we’ve got a small plastic litter box in the bottom of the closet with a hole and a drainage tube in it that goes through a hole in the floor to the outside. (The hole in the floor was already there.) To help it drain correctly, the bottom of the pan has a small block of wood attached to the corner opposite the drain. This causes the pan to tilt slightly towards the drain tube.
Wayne made a wooden support that rests on wood pieces that were in the closet for the previous A/C. Small “side rails” were attached to the supports to prevent the A/C unit from shifting from side to side, and then the support was screwed into place. (When testing the A/C on the supports, we seem to have the right amount of backward tilt for drainage.)
Reflectix insulation was wrapped around the back of the A/C unit to channel hot exhaust air out of the closet through the large, louvered vent on the side of the trailer. A slit was cut in the bottom edge of the Reflectix to allow condensation to drip out into the pan below.
We used metal Reflectix tape to attach all four sides of the Reflectix insulation to the back wall of the closet. With plenty of space around the side and top intake vents on the air conditioner, cool air should be drawn in through the top louvered vent on the side of the trailer.
Concerned about the “bounce” these trailers have–and the possible vertical movement of the air conditioner–we brainstormed for a bit before coming up with this plan: We put some flexible, heavy-gauge wire down one side of the A/C, under the wooden support, back up the other side and then twisted the ends of the wire together to secure it on the top of the A/C unit. We ran the wire through the narrow slits on each side of the air conditioner where window side panels are usually attached. It seems to be in there very securely now, with minimal movement in any direction.
We still need to find a good way to seal around the front of the air conditioner. A previous owner had cut an overly-wide opening in the fiberglass, so we might have to put a piece of wood on the inside on each side, and screw that to a frame on the outside. This would sandwich the narrow edges of fiberglass between the inner wood and outer frame.
However, if we have a free weekend for camping before we come up with a plan for the front frame, we’ll seal it up with Reflectix tape and take off! 🙂