Velit 2000R - 12V/24V/48V Rooftop Air Conditioner

We needed a solution to combat the high heat and humidity of the Guatemalan jungle. I installed the Velit AC unit a year ago and it had exceeded our expectations. I did have an issue about a month ago with the unit throwing off an error code and the compressor wouldn’t start. I contacted Ben in support and he immediately responded with the solution…a loose screw. The one complaint I have is that in fixing the loose screw I had to remove the cover AC cover. In doing so I found that the plastic cover and gasket that protects the screw terminals on the compressor was mangled and cracked. That should have been corrected at the factory. Ben did send me a replacement cover.

We upgraded the Coleman Mach Q that came from factory on a Winnebago Revel, which consumes lots of amps, you have to run the inverter, it's noisy, and all that stuff. Made some research with another 12v brands that are way more expensive than Velit, but i decided for this one because of the price, and the good reviews that it has. It didn't disappoint, arrived well packaged, and changing it was super easy. The power that uses is a joke, i can be all day running it in ECO mode with my 3/130 batteries. It's super quiet, the height is low, and the van looks way better ( with the Coleman it was having a big box on the top of the roof ) I made lots of mods to the van, but this one is one of the best.

Limited to 5000 characters here. Posted the full review with pictures and data on Sprinter Source. here is the link...
https://sprinter-source.com/forums/index.php?threads/125293/#post-1386355

AC + Solar install and test results
We use our van for trips where we might likely be off grid but would move the van (recharge via alternator) at least once every 2-3 days.

Our Sprinter 170 has an Adventure Wagon interior. All of the interior metal walls and ceilings have Hushmat Ultra foil backed dampening and then 3M Thinslate insulation on the floor, walls and ceiling. We have CRL windows behind the driver, on the sliding door and two smaller CRL windows in the rear, one on each side for ventilation by the bed. We installed 4 x 100aH of Battle Born batteries. We also went with a Victron 3000-watt inverter/charger - capable of converting 12v supply from the batteries for a 120v AC unit. The majority of the roof was free for solar panels. If we were going to add AC, we wanted an off-the-grid system (AC and Solar) which could, in a 24-hour cycle, generate enough solar power to replace the energy we consumed while the AC cooled the van to ~76 F while we slept.

Fast forward to 2023 and we decided to install air conditioning and solar into our Sprinter. The improvements and availability of 12v ACs and improvements and form factors for solar panels seemed to make off-the-grid AC (for sleeping) possible. Here’s a high-level overview of what we did.
We moved the MaxxAir fan from the back of the van to the front.
We then installed the 12v 8000 BTU AC unit from Velit in the 14” by 14” hole in the back of the Sprinter where the MaxxAir had been.
We also installed the solar system (Victron SmartSolar MPPT Charger + three Renogy 175-watt solar panels) with Rhino Rack front fairing added.

When we were looking at AC units, we were focused on efficiency, not only at full power but also at lower output levels. How many BTUs per watt could we get. The noise was also a consideration. The Velit AC uses a twin-rotor compressor which has good efficiency over a wide range while others use a scroll compressor which has similar efficiency at the high end but lower efficiency at lower RPMs.

Test 1&2: (cut out)

Test 3: 2 Cycles of Sleeping then Regen simulation: Simulating off-the-grid AC during the evening with the Sleeping Quarters curtained off then recharging with solar the next day.
When we started the project of adding AC, it was understood that our van’s layout could be utilized to optimize how much energy we used to cool our sleeping area. Our van has a queen bed elevated ~36” across the back of the van.

At 17:58 (about 6:00pm) started timed lapsed video. The Velit AC was started in Turbo or Boost mode – its highest output. An hour later it was turned to SLEEP mode. The sleeping area was kept at 75-76 all night. By 5:30am the next morning the AC was turned off with 45.6% of the battery remaining. One mistake I made was keeping the inverter powered which drew watts even though it was idle. I realized this an hour into the test and turned it off. (Data removed)

Lessons learned from Cycle 1 were applied to Cycle 2. Even though the van was quite hot from being closed, the AC cooled the sleeping quarters in 30-40 minutes. This meant that The AC could be turned on later in the evening, closer to sleeping time, thus saving some power. Due to an overcast day, the batteries recharged to 76% by 16:48 (~5pm) and actually reached 80.2% by the time the second cycle was started. You will notice that, overall, the first cycle ran net of draining the battery by 20%. Given the lessons learned from the first cycle, I was looking forward to the second cycle.

Cycle 2
Lessons learned from the second cycle. The Velit AC SLEEP mode is effective and efficient in cooling the sleeping area especially when it is dark (not fighting against the sun). The combination of mostly passive cooling the van and starting the AC later in the evening resulted in the system using 28.1% of the battery. The next day, the solar panels regenerated 39.1% of the battery. The net effect is a positive 11% of energy generated vs. consumed by the AC. If we ran the cycle for another day, the battery would be back up to 100%.

Conclusion
The above results give us confidence that we could stay stationary for three or more days and not have to worry about draining the batteries. In reality, we’ll be running other loads but those are quite small in comparison to the AC unit.

Overall, we are very pleased with this addition to our Sprinter. The system is effective at cooling the van and regenerating enough energy in a 24-hour cycle. The Velit AC was an easy install especially given it fits into the 14” x 14” hole that the MaxxAir previously occupied. It also seems to function as expected. The Velit AC and 175-watt Renogy panels are also a clean, low profile, no overhang installation on the roof. The Velit AC only rises 7” above the roof.

Replaced my nearly new Dometic Penguin A/C unit with the Velit 2000R. The Velit installation in my 2021 Sprinter was actually easier than removal of the Dometic. I am a retired mechanical/electrical/software engineer so no stranger to HVAC. I found the Velit to be well built. So the remote isn't the highest quality but it does the job. But I didn't buy it for the remote. The components are high quality; the rooftop sealing gasket was virtually a duplicate of the original Dometic and the unit occupies less rooftop real estate which helped the installation process, improved aerodynamics and increased my solar view. Once installed and connected to 400 ah LiFePo4's supported by 300 watts solar we were in business. I live in Moab, UT where we have been 100 deg or more every day for the entire month of July. (It's a dry heat!) Obviously the Velit has to work hard (Turbo mode) to cool the Sprinter down after sitting in 108 deg sun all day. But if started in the morning when temps are about 75-80 deg, Eco mode is pretty efficient with little battery drain. The reduced noise level alone makes it worth the price - a considerable improvement over the Dometic. Overall, a great product at a reasonable price!

The unit went in where my Maxaire fan was. Fit perfect and works great in the Sprinter 144. Watch for the install video on YouTube at Cyclone Custom. The crate it came in was so nice I kept the wood. Price is great, works as good as a Dometix RX20000. All install hardware is included except I made my own shroud out of all.