Dometic Penguin II impossible to find

[Larry D]

Hmm.....I didnt read through all of this, but it caught my eye because we actually have a Dutch Star in the shop that got a full solar/inverter makeover, and during testing we found the rear Penguin 2 had an internal blockage and needed replaced. We expect to receive the replacement within a week - supposed to be plug and play....we will see...
This is a Dutch Star, with heat pumps, and it has the CCC2 thermostat:

Parts we ordered - black unit.
DOMETIC AIR CONDITIONER ADAPTER KIT FOR FRESHJET 5 HEAT PUMPS
MFR # 9610008210

Dometic FreshJet 5 Low Profile ELECTRONIC RV Air Conditioner WITH HEAT PUMP 15,000 BTU - BLACK - FJX5557EHPBKCS

High amp and no flow pic as well as existing PN placard attached for ref.

Is the adapter kit for the wiring or for a retrofit of the opening?

 

[MobileRVService.com]

Is the adapter kit for the wiring or for a retrofit of the opening?

Cable adapter

 

[Chuggs]

Good Morning. It has been a few months since this update. Has anything else developed with this? My local repair facility is still not getting any support from their dometic vendor.

I haven't kept up really. We were in a time crunch last summer...one week before a 3 month trip out west. Purchased an A/C only and had to salvage my Penguin II controller. Still using that A/C wo HeatPump feature for now.

I have not seen a Physical Heat Pump Freshjet5 or seen the Rzj12-RJ45 dongles. Our 2016 isn't a touch screen controlled coach...so, that is another level of compatibility issues to hurdle.

 

[MobileRVService.com]

Hmm.....I didnt read through all of this, but it caught my eye because we actually have a Dutch Star in the shop that got a full solar/inverter makeover, and during testing we found the rear Penguin 2 had an internal blockage and needed replaced. We expect to receive the replacement within a week - supposed to be plug and play....we will see...
This is a Dutch Star, with heat pumps, and it has the CCC2 thermostat:

Parts we ordered - black unit.
DOMETIC AIR CONDITIONER ADAPTER KIT FOR FRESHJET 5 HEAT PUMPS
MFR # 9610008210

Dometic FreshJet 5 Low Profile ELECTRONIC RV Air Conditioner WITH HEAT PUMP 15,000 BTU - BLACK - FJX5557EHPBKCS

High amp and no flow pic as well as existing PN placard attached for ref.

I haven't kept up really. We were in a time crunch last summer...one week before a 3 month trip out west. Purchased an A/C only and had to salvage my Penguin II controller. Still using that A/C wo HeatPump feature for now.

I have not seen a Physical Heat Pump Freshjet5 or seen the Rzj12-RJ45 dongles. Our 2016 isn't a touch screen controlled coach...so, that is another level of compatibility issues to hurdle.

Ok, we have the closeout on this Penguin 2 --> Freshjet 5 heat pump done and tested.

With the prior mentioned parts (2 dongle/adapters) and the Freshjet 5 HP:

The new unit has the new control box installed already. You have to still add a soft start if on inverters or transfer it over.

New control box is not plug and play with old newmar (2019) Penguin adapter plug (DC, furnace, shed etc) but it is with the AC plug, and comes with pigtails. Swap old connector and splice to pigtails, add adapter dongles, test load shed and CCC2 t-stat.

We didnt get any other shots of this AC or the adapter, but there is a rear shot of it on the roof attached.

 

[Trisha]

Our front Heat Pump is overloading...and the compressor is overheating and shutting down. Wanted to find a the identical HeatPump, CCC2, 15K unit to replace it with. 1 And after a long day of searching...everyone has basically cleared out their stock and it had been discontinued months ago. They say the Freshjet 5 is a direct replacement for the Penguin II. Problem is...it's only being offered as an Air Conditioner /wo Heat Pump. It supposedly will connect to our existing CCC2 control architecture. The Heat pump version, not even available until the Fall, of the Freshjet 5 will require an entirely different thermostat...and our RJ11 (6pin x 4 conductor) wire runs will have to be swapped to RJ 45 (8 pin x 8 conductor). If you still have an operating Penguin II...supposedly it can be adapted so the RJ45 data will be converter to its RJ11 language.

So...right this minute...we have three options...maybe.

1) Penguin II Heatpump 13.5k ???
2) Penguin II A/C only 15k ???
3) Freshjet 5 A/C only 15k

Anyone going thru this right now?

Any leads???

Anyone already install one?

 

[Trisha]

Just a heads up, I had to replace my penguin 2 on my Teton homes. And was able to find the fresh jet 5 with the heat pump but it has so many issues already. It’s been on for only 4 months. One of the fan squirrel cages had to be replaced it was shaking entire Fifth wheel. And a month later the soft start that it came equipped with went out. It was blowing the breaker. Yes it has an adapter wired in. Just had that fixed. Now it’s turning on with full fan high then cutting off about 5 minutes in and then cutting right back on with the normal fan speed and ac putout. It freezes up when it’s hot outside. South Texas is home. You can find the penguin 2 on amazon still so if they are what you want grab them. Because this annoying fresh jet 5 was $2800 then $500 installation I have a two year warranty but it should not be messing up this soon. And I’m tired of calling the rv tech out. Google the issue with it and it has a ton of known issues. I wish I had just ordered the penguin 2 I found anyway though I was told it’s being phased out. Ugh