Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Coleman ChillGrille



An upgrade to the air conditioner vent in the Winnebago Fuse is the Coleman Deluxe ChillGrille.   This is a replacement for the existing register on the air conditioner.

Coleman Improved ChillGrille


The part number is 9430D7153.  You can get it at Amazon here but it is available from other places and Ebay for less.  It comes with all the parts you would need if you were installing the air conditioner from scratch.   The only part we will be using is the register itself.

Coleman ChillGrille unboxing


It is a very easy changeout.  It is the same steps as in the earlier article on Opening the Air Conditioner:

  • Turn the Air Conditioner off
  • Remove the filters
  • Remove the two knobs.  They just pull straight off
  • There are 4 screws that hold the register on.  They are located in the 4 corners.  Unscrew them while holding the register so it does not fall.
  • The old register is now off.
  • Inspect the AC ducting.  Clean any dirt/dust and make sure all of the duct tape is still in place and stuck down.
  • Put the new ChillGrille on.   The holes for the 4 screws should line up pretty close.  
  • I used the screws that came with the ChillGrille.  There were slightly longer  than the original screws.  Do not over tighten.  Snug is good.  
  • Once the screws are in then push the knobs back on.
  • Re-install the filters.
  • Now you can test it.
The best feature of the ChillGrille is the additional vents on the bottom.   One of the issues with the standard grille is that all of the air goes along the ceiling and does not get pushed down into the living space.   The additional outlets dump a good amount of the air down.  

Coleman ChillGrille new outletsNew vs old ChillGrille


Theses new vents can be directed both horizontally and vertically.  I have them at about a 30 degree angle to the sides and a 30 degree angle down so the air coming from these vents are blowing onto the beds.  These two vents probably only divert 20% of the air, but it makes a big difference.

Coleman Deluxe ChillGrille


It also seemed to reduce some of the noise from the air conditioner.  I did some objective tests with a sound meter on the phone, but that showed no difference.   But from an subjective perspective, I was able to here the TV easier.  With the Air Conditioner on low cool, I was able to reduce the volume from 95 to 75 and still here the TV fine.

This was a very worthwhile improvement.   It was easy to do even for a mechanically challenged person like myself and well worth the $50.00 to $80.00 it is advertised at.

A video of this is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsDfiGb4AAA&t=19s

3 comments:

  1. I just installed this yesterday on our new 23T. It went every bit as easy as you said. Thanks!

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  2. Glad to hear it. Did you get any difference in the noise/sound ?

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  3. Personally, I hate dealing with mechanical stuff. I’m simply not good at it. Fortunately, my brother is a techy guy. That is why I feel very secure owning an RV (which obviously is not as nice as yours). If I have an issue with it, my brother is always more than happy to come over and fix it.

    Tommy Hopkins @ AccuTemp

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