Velit 2000R Air Conditioner | Comprehensive Review, Testing, Comparison & More

[@MoserMakes]

Hi all! I want to chime in with some more notes on the performance of this air conditioner. 1. I think my test created a more difficult cooling scenario than a built out van with an emphasis on keeping sun out of the cab area. I think a built out van would perform better as the interior volume that needs to get cooled would be effectively reduced. Also blocking out as much heat from the cab area using blackout window shades (or maybe an insulated divider curtain as well as others have commented they use) would help performance. I think it would be interesting to re-perform these tests after the van is built out. 2. I should have commented on humidity in the video but didn’t cover it. One of my sensors (the one of the floor) did log a humidity chart as well that I just pulled back up to look at. Over the course of that run it dropped the humidity from about 70% to about 40%. That large a drop in the humidity will make a big difference to the perceived hotness. Most of that humidity drop happened in the first hour of the unit running as well. If you add in a couple extra fans near your seating areas in the van I think you could stay reasonable comfortable. 3. You have to set expectations accordingly for a unit of this BTU output. If you want more cooling capacity you need more BTUs which means increased power consumption as well. I picked this unit based on having a reasonable power usage (something I could run on an electrical system that probably won’t exceed 600Ah) and that I would get whatever level of cooling I’m able to out of it. With the unit located above the bed area, I think you could sleep comfortable under this unit (the stream of cold air coming out the vents is quite cold with good fan power) even if the average interior temperature in the rest of the van isn’t the same as what it would be in a house. There is always going to be trade offs in a camper vs a home. A camper (especially a van) just can’t be insulated to the same level. While being a smaller space means less space to cool, a metal can sitting in the sun is going to get hot inside and be tough work for an A/C to combat. Thanks for watching!!

[@KismetBP]

The Detail on these videos are amazing. Best AC overview I’ve ever seen. Keep it up! ❤

[@ShadowDanStudios]

This is the best structured review of roof top AC i have seen. Most Others have been underwhelming, I especially liked the total Amp/hour throughout the day 11am-6pm and 6pm-11pm. Great Job. Saved this video for reference in the future. And subbed

[@WTFwuzdat]

I love how detailed and thorough your videos are, Sam. Your van build is awesome!

[@MoserMakes]

Thanks so much!

[@Blztrls]

I have this unit and if you angle the airflow to point at where you’re sitting it can feel a lot cooler and more comfortable much quicker and at a lower setting. So far I’m pretty happy with it. Also, by running the van AC and the Maxxair fan in the beginning you can get the hot van to cool down much faster within minutes, so in practice you can get a hot van pretty comfortable within just a few minutes.

[@MoserMakes]

This is great info thanks for adding!

[@MashNozzle]

Insanely good video. I love your attention to detail. Thanks to you, I can size my battery needs adequately! Thank you :)

[@dougle03]

Great video. In practice there are steps that we take with our van to increase the performance of the AC unit we have. We have a thermal blanket that covers the windscreen and cab side windows; this helps hugely. We tend to close blinds when the AC is running too. The cab area gets the hottest, even with the thermal cover, so we also have a heavy curtain that is mostly used in winter that blocks off the whole cab area, the difference in temps in the cab and the habitation area is huge. So, knowing that these units are not very powerful, and helping them out as much as possible really does improve things.

[@MoserMakes]

Totally agree with this - great response! My test conditions were definitely a much harder to cool scenario with having minimal protection from the cab area which can get so hot. Beyond everything you said I think the A/C would perform better once the van was built out as there would effectively be less interior volume getting cooled.

[@dougle03]

@@MoserMakes Meant to say the cab thermal blanket goes on the outside. We tried the internal covers but the cab still got far too hot. In the UK we bought a silverscreen wrap. they are about £90 ($120) money well spent both for the winter and summer...

[@MoserMakes]

@dougle03 right on! I’ve seen those. Makes sense that they would be more effective than the internal shades.

[@jameswest9792]

Very informative. In Texas, heat is significant.

[@thisoldrv]

This is the best AC review video I've ever seen. I love your data. The only missing piece of data is decibels. I'd like to see how much noise the AC is making. It looks like this AC is underpowered for your camper though.

[@richardpeatman7260]

Very good video! I have one and my cooling results were the about the same as yours - 18 degree drop in fully insulated van, full sun with no front shades in Fresno CA @ 107 degrees. While driving, I can run the unit on Turbo without draining my 400 amp/hr battery bank. Keep up the excellent work..

[@jeffersongerwig5341]

Huge fan of your videos!! Your real world insight, first hand experiences, and honest overviews are extremely helpful to those of us mid build on our vans! When researching units, did you consider Velit's Under Bench Air Conditioner model? Do you see any pros/cons of the Under Bench vs. the Roof Top Unit? I'm in a 130" Transit and am considering the Under Bench model with a curtain separating the living area from the cargo area to help the Under Bench model stay more efficient.

[@sammiller8237]

I'm in the same boat as you - thinking that the under bench could be a touch more efficient, since its drawing cool(er) air from beneath the van (so long as you're not in black surface parking lot), and keeping the unit out of the sun, in a conditioned space. That should (in theory) make the compressor run more efficiently, but how much, I am not sure.

[@MoserMakes]

I think the under bench option could be a good option! I looked at it but decided there wasn't a good spot for me to place it with the layout I'm planning for this van and that's why I went with the rooftop model. I believe A/Cs operate more efficiently if the evaporator is not in an area where it is getting hot; I have heard this in the context of why split-systems are more efficient so I think it should apply to the under bench unit as well. The additional pro is being able to fit more solar on the roof. So all in all I think the under bench unit seems like a good option (good price and easy to install) but I don't have any hands on experience with it.

[@fadingfast8346]

Good job. Underwhelming is kind of what I was thinking for the daytime cooling when you showed the graphs. However, thinking about the 3 months I spent traveling in NM & AZ during the summer....yeah, at least at night I wouldn't have been lying there completely dying from the heat and buying boxes of ice cream cones just for SOME relief, lol. Convinced me that for the price vs battery consumption vs the comfort, it would be worth it.

[@MoserMakes]

Yeah I think expectations are important for a unit like this. I think if it is located above the sleeping area you would be able to comfortable sleep under the stream of cold air even if the average interior temperature of the rest of the van isn't as cool as it would be in a house. Generally units with more BTUs just mean you need more power as well which more expensive to build and trickier to keep charged day to day if you don't want to be reliant on shore power or a generator.

[@jackswiatek5221]

Very informative. Thanks for your work.

[@riskybusiness5]

Great detailed video. Have you considered 48V AC units? The manuf specs claim they are more efficient and actually produce more BTU! Look at Velit 2000R site yourself it shows in the chart 12V / 24V / 48V and BTU 8000/9000/10000 respectively. This seems like a way to get more cooling power out of the unit. Nomadic also makes similar claims on their site for X2 and X3. If you pair these units with the EcoFlow Power Kit which uses native 48V batteries you can now power these 48V AC units with direct connect cables. At least a few van builders out there are moving toward the new EcoFlow Power Kit for use with 48V AC units. However, I have not found any detailed information that explains the pros/cons of 48V AC unit in detail. Curious your thoughts?

[@therealCellblock1138]

Great review thanks.

[@kenryan1815]

Really good video. I wish you had tested sleep mode for 8 hours. An insulated bulkhead would make a big difference. Again, great video.

[@MoserMakes]

I’ll try and do some follow-up tests once the van is fully built out

[@JonHiggins2112]

Thanks for the detailed video, I am currently in the design and engineering stage of my build and am looking for ideas for HVAC. I still have lots of research to do as one of my priorities is going to be a sunset roof top cocktail area along with ac, solar, and starlink.

[@bravobursado5974]

ey man. better audio here. :) I re-watched the video because I felt that there were a lot of views the first time you uploaded. :)

[@MoserMakes]

Thank you! I appreciated the constructive feedback on the original audio

[@MarcPugh]

Best Camper van A/C video I have seen. Thanks for all the work you put into this. What is the humidity level where you are located? That makes the biggest difference when trying to stay comfortable in a campervan. Is there anything you would do differently? 24/48 volt or maybe the larger unit. I have the Houghton 110 13,500 unit and we currently run it on a generator, and it is barely adequate. I think insulation is probably just as important. We have a dog and keeping him cool while we are away the most important factor for us.

[@MoserMakes]

That is very useful context to say that you use a 13,500 BTU unit and find it barely adequate. For a unit rated at 8000 BTU I think expectations are very important in that you are getting some cooling but not as much capacity as a larger unit but while using less power than a larger unit. I think the average humidity in my area is about 60% or so. I should have commented on humidity in the video. One of my sensors (the one of the floor) did log a humidity chart as well that I just pulled back up and over the course of that run it dropped the humidity from about 70% to about 40% which is a large drop and makes a difference in not feeling as hot. Most of that humidity drop happened in the first hour of the unit running as well. In terms of if there is anything I would do different. Yes and no. No, in that for this build I picked the unit more off of power consumption as I was trying to have something that could have decent runtime with a battery bank in the 400-600Ah range. For future builds I would consider a larger unit though, but I think a lot of it also depends on where you play to travel/use the van.

[@jskibba]

Great video. Ty.

[@shawnbsc]

You lave alot of time on ur hands to have so much data..good job

[@obr170]

Having it running while driving will assist in cooling the van down prior to camp stops. Also a good Solar and DCDC Charge system should help also with keeping amp hours charged

[@TheDeepsilver]

Can you please, please please test the RTX 2000 with the same settings?

[@sammiller8237]

Hey Sam - Im in the process of selecting AC for my build, and have been heavily considering this unit, but came across the velit 2000U on their site - which is the under-seat mounted unit. It requires larger holes, but also keeps the whole unit out of the sun, and can draw cooler air from beneath the van. What are your thoughts on the under-bench unit? Thanks again for making all these videos! You're the #1 van builder I watch on youtube - your attention to detail and forward thinking is something so many miss.

[@MoserMakes]

I don't have any hands on experience but I think it's a good option to consider. I considered it for my build as well I just didn't feel like I had a good place I could locate it with the layout I have planned (adding a backseat in a non-extended transit makes floorspace pretty tight). Since the unit isn't sitting up on the roof in the sun I hope it would perform a little more efficiently but don't have a good guess on how much of a difference this may or may not make. Having more room of the roof for solar is always a plus though.

[@tornadofire82]

You need an exhaust fan somewhere to suck the heat out as well as run the AC.

[@MoserMakes]

I think that when initially trying to cool that van (if it's been sitting out in the sun) it is good to get the hot air out (in practicing opening all the doors and letting a breeze through for a bit would probably be the fastest way to do that rather than relying on the roof vent) but after that it is best to not run the roof vent as an exhaust as it would be letting the cool air out as well.

[@tornadofire82]

@MoserMakes that's not true the warmer air will always be higher due to buoyancy plus the unit only cools it doesn't exchange air add in the additional radiant heat throughout the day and that small area won't be as cool as it could be. I used a tornado high velocity fan 12v connected to an exhaust hose to the window with it attached near the ceiling to pull warm air out and I was only using my vans AC in 100°+ in Laredo because I didn't have an external AC unit. It's all About airflow including fresh/old and heat exchange.

[@MoserMakes]

I see what you mean - I'll keep it in mind and give it a try

[@TheBigBangChannel]

Do you know why mine is pulsing? I ran to positive to the battery and the negative to a regular ground 🫣. Is that ok?

[@MoserMakes]

Hmmmm what do you mean by pulsing?

[@marcoknight4154]

I have a question! Can you run the AC while you're driving your van? Will it shut off?

[@MoserMakes]

You can run it while driving - I have done it with mine without a problem.

[@feo2229]

So how many watts of solar do you think you can fit on your transit after installing this unit? ~600W or so?

[@MoserMakes]

Good question! I haven't mapped it out yet but 600W would probably be a stretch since I have a roof vent toward the front of the roof.

[@christianlords1340]

i want to run a roof top system but just run it without a battery bank but from a alternator. what size alternator would I need to run this ?

[@velitcamping]

Any regular 150A+ alternators would be sufficient to run the AC. You do not need to upgrade the alternator.

[@theboston3386]

First video and didn’t have high hopes. This won’t be my last.

[@christianlords1340]

is it really 66lbs? just seems like it is being moved around easlily like it is lighter than 66lbs

[@MoserMakes]

No it really is. I was able to carry it onto the roof myself but it was pretty tricky.

[@bikeninja956]

am I missing something? 5 hrs to cool it 14 degrees from ambient...? what's the point. And during the day time, 6.5hrs to cool it to 90F? This is not effective at all as a cooling solution.

[@dougle03]

The humidity would have also come down inside, that would be a great benefit even if the overall temp was not as low. Also, a heavy curtain blocking off the cab area really helps a lot as the cab windows really soak up the heat and bring it into the van. We also have an external thermal blanket over the windscreen and cab side windows we use in winter and summer to help keep the heat in or the heat out...

[@MoserMakes]

The points in this reply are all great especially about reducing humidity. I think the A/C would perform better once the van is built out which effectively reduces the interior volume being cooled. Blocking out more sun/heat from the cab with a divider or insulated blackout window shades would also help. Expectations do have to be set accordingly for an AC of this size. If the bed area is located right below the air conditioner I think you could comfortable sleep under the output of the cool air even when the average interior temperature isn't as low as you may be used to. It's all a tradeoff in a campervan. If you want more BTU output you need a larger more expensive power system and it gets even harder to find ways to keep your batteries recharged everyday.

[@donerickson7155]

Moral of the story….you need 13,000 BTU

[@MoserMakes]

More BTUs will always help with cooling but at the expense of more power usage.

[@donerickson7155]

Yes thats how it works

[@pilarona68]

@@MoserMakescuánta batería y cuántas placas solares serán necesarias para alimentar 13500BTU? Gracias un vídeo perfecto. Quizá el más completo y claro de los que he visto.

[@vanlivingjoe]

So basically, it wasn't really worth it in the end if you're in the deep south. Definitely not a full-time vanlife unit. Especially if you're working remote.

[@MoserMakes]

Yeah for really high temps an A/C with more BTUs would be better. To be fair to this A/C though, I will also say though that my testing conditions were a pretty hard scenario. I plan to perform the test again once the van is fully built out and there is less actual volume inside that needs to be cooled. Using insulated window shades in all the front windows should also make a significant difference.

[@vanlivingjoe]

@MoserMakes I need to make some decisions for the E150 in New Orleans come the summer. Will have plenty of power for a 6/8k btu small window unit. Will be rocking 560Ah on 600 watts solar and boondocking at office for that sweet AV shore juice.