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Enhanced AC Package Worth it?

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#23 ·
Yes. It does provide better cooling when the van is idling. I'm not sure why the equation would be different in the presence of families or a conversion van. If you sit idling for long time periods, it makes sense. Otherwise, no.

In Yiddish we have a phrase to describe you, I think. Roughly translated, you are meditating on whether or not a fly has a belly button.
 
#24 ·
I think you don't find value in the feature because you don't need it or want it. Would it not be better to say there is an advantage to anyone that lives in a hot location such as families with small kids and conversions where cooling off a parked van is often required? I think you said it really is intended for livery services, but so many situations are the same use case for families and recreational needs in hot places or for anyone that just wants to ensure they have the horsepower. I'd say its worth it esp if you like a black van.

Maven?
 
#25 · (Edited)
I think you are not fundementally seeing the point: the item has value, but not in the way you think it does.

What you are talking about, the circumstances you describe it’s benefit, IT DOES NOT DO THIS. It does things, it has value, but it does not increase the cooling performance of the vehicle while it is moving; the efficiency of the single heat exchanger is sufficient to handle the entirety of the systems needs.

Except at idle. Where your second heat exchanger starts serving a purpose. This is simple a/c physics here.

I’m not a maven. I’m a polymath with an eidetic memory and a mind palace filled with mostly useless data.
 
#26 ·
I think GML is both right and wrong. Right when he mentions the compressor and blower limitations, wrong when only considering the second heat exchanger useful at idle.


An added heat exchanger would help a faser heat transfer making the fluid cooler hence increasing the whole system cooling capacity, unless the fluid is already getting at ambient temperature (Which is the lowest it can get with a heat exchanger) with just one heat exchanger you will always notice a difference, being more obvious at idle when you don't have any airflow to help the heat exchange.
 
#30 ·
Greenmanedlion said:
Actually, the climate isn’t particularly relavent, since your interest in the package means you will use your AC for more than defrosting.

What the package does is add a high-volume condenser that allows the A/C to function properly when the van is idling for extended periods of time. The standard A/C system is excellent when the van is being driven, it’ll blow ice cubes at you in 105 degree heat.

However if you idle for extended periods of time, say 15 minutes of pure idle, or 35 or so of bumper to bumper, the condenser begins to lose its ability to cool, and the A/C will eventually become pretty weak. This is because air is not being driven over the condenser to cool it. Likewise, the car will not cool down on a hot day until you start driving it- although a few minutes in it will be blowing ice cold.

The enhanced A/C has the ability to to generate cold air when the car is not moving, and thus will cool down in a parking lot, and will stay cool in extended idle situations.

If you do not find yourself sitting still in your car for extended periods on hot days, the enhancement is literally useless to you- remember, remote starts are not compatible with MB vehicles. It really is intended for livery services, who leave the car idling to cool down for customers.
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Is the enhanced condenser something that can be added aftermarket? I would like this feature as I travel with pets and would like the option of cooling the car while at idle. Thanks!
 
#31 ·
The rear AC is, I think, standard on the passenger model and unlikely to be an easy install afterwards on Cargo ones; though I have seen cargo models with an aftermarket refrigeration uplift, via a rooftop AC.
 
#32 ·
icerabbit said:
The rear AC is, I think, standard on the passenger model and unlikely to be an easy install afterwards on Cargo ones; though I have seen cargo models with an aftermarket refrigeration uplift, via a rooftop AC.
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Thanks! I have the rear AC on a 2021 passenger (Getaway) model. I was curious about the enhanced condenser. It's different than having rear air, correct?
 
#33 ·
peacefish said:
Thanks! I have the rear AC on a 2021 passenger (Getaway) model. I was curious about the enhanced condenser. It's different than having rear air, correct?
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Correct. The cargo van comes with a single heat exchanger and a single compressor in the front of the van. The passenger van uses a slightly larger heat exchanger, I think, and two compressors- one in the front and one in the rear. The enhanced A/C package includes the climatronic three-zone system, the two compressors, and two Heat exchangers. The second Heat exchanver is located in such a way that it allows effective operation of the air-conditioning while the vehicle is motionless on a hot day.

Without the enhanced feature, the A/C will eventually lose its effectiveness when the van is motionless on a hot day in the sun, and will not regain it without it moving at sufficient speed to provide for cooling the heat exchanger. Which @icerabbit should have known if he had bothered to read the earlier comments in this thread. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but it isn’t helpful when you inject incorrect information to a posters question.

It is probably possible to add the enhanced A/C system’s Extra heat exchanger to a van that does not have it. (Everything is possible except for skiing through a revolving door) However, I do not know whether it can be done in a cost-effective manner.
 
#34 ·
Interesting. I was under the impression that the compressor was belt driven from the engine (so there's probably only one) and that the poor cooling when stopped was due to the low RPMs. Have you tried a little pedal to see if it helps cooling? I seem to remember doing this back in the 60s. Maybe the enhanced AC compressor has a different pulley ratio (or is just different).
 
#35 ·
There is a second evaporator in the rear of the passenger van along with a second hydronic heater core. There is no compressor in the rear of the van. There is a different compressor for vans with rear ac.
 
#36 ·
No need to roast me.
Yes, I misunderstood the question, was on my phone, perused new posts, did not see a whole thread attached and just hit a quick reply … on what I thought was the question.
Mea Culpa.

Oh, and revolving door skiing is fine, you just need a commercial door.
 
#38 ·
icerabbit said:
No need to roast me.
Yes, I misunderstood the question, was on my phone, perused new posts, did not see a whole thread attached and just hit a quick reply … on what I thought was the question.
Mea Culpa.

Oh, and revolving door skiing is fine, you just need a commercial door.
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I don’t understand a lot of questions that get asked here, often I have nothing useful to contribute. Some times That Manifests as an obvious joke if I think of one; more often it manifests as my not participating in the thread. If I just have an opinion, I try to make it clear that my opinion is just that- an opinion. I only attempt to provide a factual answer if I am pretty confident I have a factual answer to the exact question asked.

I think people around here tend to think I know what I’m talking about. I don’t want to risk that by going off half cocked about something I don’t understand.
 
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icerabbit
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