[Free shipping, actual price under 30,000 yen] Gen's "Spot Air Conditioner QL03" is a really cool chest of drawers, both in campervans and at home, and is a great choice for our summer [Quality Of Camping Life Improvement Committee #002]
Written by Saito Titoce
I'm Saito Chitose, a photographer writer. He lives in Chitose City, Hokkaido, and enjoys the outdoors, mainly traveling in a camper van, with his family of three, including his 2-year-old son, to photograph the spectacular views of Hokkaido and wildlife. OUTDOOR GEARZINE will be entitled "Quality of Camping Life (QOCL) Improvement Committee" to share your thoughts on actual use of camping gear, as well as home appliance-like items and high-tech gadgets.
The item I will be introducing in the second series is "Spot Air Conditioner QL03" from "Best No Gen."
After the second installment of the series, many people have suddenly thought, "Spot cooler? Is it an OUTDOOR GEARZINE?" However, if you are looking to improve the quality of camping life in a camper van in Hokkaido, where I live, spot coolers are an extremely important item. First, I would like to explain to you all, including the circumstances.
The "Spot Air Conditioner QL03" chest of drawers is easy to install at home and the great advantage is that you can install and move it yourself.
table of contents
- What is Chestnut Gen's "Spot Air Conditioner QL03"?
- Detailed Review - Why "spot air conditioner retrofitting" is recommended for life in Hokkaido's campervans -
- I'm sure you'll be able to install a cooler on your camper van for just 30,000 yen!
- If you have a luggage compartment that can be accessed from the inside or from the outside, you can mostly set it up.
- In fact, it was possible to install it on a camper van using only 100 yen items.
- It's colder than I expected, quieter than I expected, and very satisfied
- Summary: "Spot Air Conditioner QL03" is useful at home when not going out to camping
- Details and purchase of Chestnut Gen's "Spot Air Conditioner QL03"
What is Chestnut Gen's "Spot Air Conditioner QL03"?
The "Spot Air Conditioner QL03" from the chest of drawers arrived at our house. Shipping is generally free, but please note that additional shipping charges apply to Hokkaido, Okinawa and remote islands.
Chestnut Gen's Spot Air Conditioner QL03 is a compact spot cooler with a width of approximately 32cm, depth of 31cm, and height of 69.5cm, and weighs approximately 20kg. It can be cooled, dehumidified, and air blown, and is designed to release heat from a 15cm diameter waste heat duct on the back of the main unit. The power consumption is 650W (50Hz: East Japan)/800W (60Hz: West Japan), and the maximum supported area is 7 tatami mats for wooden buildings at 50Hz, 9 tatami mats for 60Hz, 8 tatami mats for reinforced bars and prefabricated steels at 50Hz, and 10 tatami mats for 60Hz. Incidentally, spot coolers do not have the effect of significantly lowering room temperatures, and the number of tatami mats available is only a guideline. In a sense, the Spot Air Conditioner QL03 can be called a simple cooler that can be moved, but the actual price is free and it is very reasonable at less than 30,000 yen. I actually tried using the Spot Air Conditioner QL03, thinking that even camping vans in the extremely hot summer season would be enough to get through it.
Recommended points
- Free shipping is very reasonable at under 30,000 yen
- It lowers the room temperature more than expected, so it's really comfortable
- Can be installed in your camper van or at home without any serious construction work
- It consumes up to 800W, making it easy to use in campers, etc.
- It's more compact than you would expect, with a width of about 32 x depth of about 31 x height of about 69.5 cm.
- The operating sound is ~65dB, which is not unbearable
Points that interest me
- It weighs about 20kg, and loads and unloads from a camper van for a while.
- It takes a certain amount of time for the whole room to show results
Main Specifications and ratings
| item | Chestnut Gen "Spot Air Conditioner QL03" |
|---|---|
| Size | Approx. 32cm wide x 31cm deep x 69.5cm high |
| Weight | Approximately 20kg |
| Power consumption | 650W (50Hz) / 800W (60Hz) |
| Electricity bill (per hour) | 50Hz...approx. 16.97 yen/60Hz...approx. 20.88 yen |
| Maximum dehumidification capacity | 22L/day (50Hz)/25L/day (60Hz) |
| Operating sound | ~65dB |
| Wind volume | Two stages |
| mode | Cold air, dehumidifying, air blowing, sleep |
| On/Off Timer | 1-24 hours (in 1 hour increments) |
| Cooling capacity | ★★★★☆ |
| Convenient installation | ★★★★☆ |
| Mobility convenience | ★★★☆☆ |
| Comfort | ★★★★★ |
| Satisfaction | ★★★★☆ |
| Cost Performance | ★★★★★ |
| Quietness | ★★★☆☆ |
Detailed Review - Why "spot air conditioner retrofitting" is recommended for life in Hokkaido's campervans -
I'm sure you'll be able to install a cooler on your camper van for just 30,000 yen!
My camper van does not have a cooler, but if you install the Spot Air Conditioner QL03, it should be possible to keep some camper vans in the middle of summer camping.
It sounds good to say that it's Hokkaido-style, but the camper van I usually drive does not have a cooler for the cabin space that is powered by a sub-battery. It didn't come with it since I bought it second hand, and I thought it would be a problem in Hokkaido, as it's relatively cool at night even in summer... Starting this season, my 2-year-old son has been fully involved in summer camp.
If you're a couple, you should just relax a little. However, this is not the case when he comes to his 2-year-old son. At least when it is parked at a campsite or RV park, you will need to use a cabin-side cooler to cool the room.
In Hokkaido, where I am mainly active, it is only a month or two that I seriously need an air conditioner, and in the longest spot, it takes about a few weeks in the middle of summer. I have no economical capabilities to add a dedicated cooler to my camper van just for this short period of time. I've read an article that says that the cost of installing a camper van would cost several hundred thousand yen or nearly 500,000 yen, but unfortunately this is not possible for me at all. If that's the case, install the cooler in your work room first.
With this in mind, I was checking out items for sleeping in the car on the Chestnut Gen website The price is free of charge and is approximately 30,000 yen including tax. This is less than 1/10 of the price to install a dedicated air conditioner in a camper van.
If you have a luggage compartment that can be accessed from the inside or from the outside, you can mostly set it up.
The non-drain type Spot Air Conditioner QL03, which is basically irresistible when dehumidified, can be installed as long as the heat dissipation duct can be removed outside.
The main body size of the chest of drawers Gen's "Spot Air Conditioner QL03" is approximately 32cm wide x 31cm deep x 69.5cm high. This size is important, and if it is about 30 x 30 cm, it can be placed in the aisle of the cabin part of the cabin. It is said that there is no outdoor unit and as long as it can emit hot air from a heat exhaust duct of approximately 15 cm in diameter, it is not a problem. The duct length is an extension type, ranging from approximately 24 to 150 cm.
As with my camper van, most camper vans are equipped with luggage compartments that can be accessed from inside the cabin and from outside. If you can attach a heat exhaust duct tightly to the opening and closing opening on the inside of this luggage compartment, extend the duct all the way to the opening and closing opening on the outside to remove hot air, you can basically install the Spot Air Conditioner QL03 in your camper van.
Naturally, home AC power is required to actually operate it, but if the power source is secured at an RV park or auto campsite, there is no problem. Also, although spot coolers do not have the effect of significantly lowering room temperatures, the Spot Air Conditioner QL03 is said to be compatible with prefabricated areas up to 8 tatami mats even with a 50Hz power supply, so it will be effective in a smaller camper van.
Incidentally, one of the reasons why I liked the Spot Air Conditioner QL03 for camper vans is that its cooling capacity is 2.0kW (50Hz)/2.3kW (60Hz) is sufficient to cool the camper van cabin, but its power consumption is low at 650W (50Hz)/800W (60Hz), and its 1000W class electrical capacity can be used. This is an important point in a camper van with many restrictions on electricity.
In fact, it was possible to install it on a camper van using only 100 yen items.
Only 100 yen stores have items to install in camper vans. The "compass cutter" was very useful for drilling accurate holes.
In the case of the author's camper van, Yosemite Sports, there is a luggage compartment that can be accessed from the inside and outside at the end of the car. To prevent insects from entering the inside opening and closing part, a plate with a hole of just 15 cm in diameter is attached in close contact, and hot air can be exhausted with the outside opening and closing part open through this hole.
Unfortunately, I have no skill or skill in processing wood or metal boards, so I thought about using a board made of styrofoam, which is easy to process, as a core material, and wrapping cloth duct tape around it to reinforce it, and then using fisner tape to secure it to the opening and closing door inside the luggage compartment. Most of the ingredients were available at 100 yen stores, so I went to Daiso, my neighborhood.
As a result, I purchased 9 items: one "Foaming All-Board Board A2", four "Adhesive Zipper Tape", one "Compass Cutter", two "Adhesive Cloth Tape (Yellow)" and one "Thick Wide Clearance Tape (Gray)" for a total of 990 yen including tax.
The photo below shows the "Foaming Anything Board A2" using a "compass cutter" to make a 15cm diameter hole, wrapped around it with "adhesive cloth tape (yellow), and secured it to the opening and closing part inside the luggage compartment using a "zipper tape adhesive type." I actually only used two types of "adhesive zipper tape" and the "thick wide type gap tape (gray)" I bought to fill in the gaps was so tight that I didn't need it. Therefore, the total material cost is 660 yen including tax.
I actually tried installing it and was surprised that it was so easy to install. The work itself takes less than an hour.
It has a simple structure that simply reinforces the core material with fabric tape and attaches it to the door of the luggage compartment with adhesive zipper tape.
It's colder than I expected, quieter than I expected, and very satisfied
As shown in the photo, the heat exhaust duct is attached to the luggage compartment door at the rear of the camper van, and hot air is guided outside.
I was able to install the chest of drawers Gen "Spot Air Conditioner QL03" in a camper van much easier than I thought, so I was very pleased with the author, and immediately tried out how cold it would get.
The temperature of the thermometer is measured directly every 15 minutes from a temperature inside the car at 32.2 degrees.
| Time (min) | Temperature (℃) | Humidity (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 32.2 | 56 |
| 15 | 30.7 | 50 |
| 30 | 28.7 | 50 |
| 45 | 27.7 | 53 |
| 60 | 27.0 | 54 |
As explained on the official page, "Spot coolers have no effect on significantly lowering room temperature," but even so, the room temperature will definitely drop over time. It certainly doesn't give the impression that the room temperature is dropping dramatically like a fixed household cooler with an outdoor unit. However, the inside of the camper cabin is cooler and more comfortable than the temperature indicated by the thermometer placed directly in place of cold air. I was convinced that it would definitely be usable if it would cool down the cabin of a camper van. I was worried that the operating noise would be quite loud, but as per the specs, it is not a concern at max of around 65dB, and as far as I have measured it is at 60dB, but in exchange for the heat, it is quite a level that can bear it.
And just the other day, I was blessed with the opportunity to actually use it at a campsite. Forever Camping Paradise is conveniently located about 10 minutes from New Chitose Airport, which I usually use to take photos and other activities , so I enjoyed a leisure camp with my family, which is unusual for me. It was early July, and the rainy weather was very humid and humid, yet still hot, so it was unusual for Hokkaido to be steaming and hot. "Forever Camping Paradise" allows Wi-Fi and household power supplies to be used in some parts of the facility, so I conducted a practical test of the Spot Air Conditioner QL03 in an area where the power supply is available, although there is an additional 550 yen per day.
The "Spot Air Conditioner QL03" does not cause the room temperature to drop sharply in a short period of time, so we used it in advance by running a strong cooling air operation in two stages to cool the room, lower the humidity, and keep the temperature comfortable with a mild cooling air when the temperature reaches a moderate level. Then, after playing outdoors under tarp or near a bonfire, you can get into the camper van and feel clearly cool and comfortable. From now on, I don't want to go camping in the summer without the "Spot Air Conditioner QL03." A campervan with low humidity and temperature is an extremely useful item in that it is a great place to escape, preventing physical exhaustion and allowing you to enjoy the outdoors even more. My 2-year-old son was able to enjoy outdoor activities on the large property of Forever Camping Paradise, and was in a good mood throughout the camper van, where the "Spot Air Conditioner QL03" was cold enough to sleep well, as well as taking a nap. It was reassuring to have the cold camper van inside as a measure to prevent heatstroke for children. This is a very satisfying result.
The white tube on the left side of the door to the cargo space of a campervan is a heat exhaust duct. The diameter is approximately 15cm. This is how the heat is removed from here.
Summary: "Spot Air Conditioner QL03" is useful at home when not going out to camping
When you're not going to camp, you can use the "Spot Air Conditioner QL03" chest of drawers that are located in your bedroom at home. It is also useful outside of camping.
Hokkaido, my main field, is cool even in the evenings, even in the summer, so if you install a cooler on a camper van it's difficult to get into it if you're told that it costs hundreds of thousands of yen. Also, how many times and how many days do you go camping from mid-July to mid-August, when a full-scale cooler is needed in Hokkaido? So, when you start thinking about cost performance, it can be said that it is quite a high hurdle to attach an aftermarket cooler to a camper van that didn't have a cooler when it was new.
The actual price of the "Spot Air Conditioner QL03" by Chestnut is under 30,000 yen, and it is questionable how much durability it can be, but even if I include the materials from a 100 yen store, it costs around 30,000 yen for the parts that I use to install on a camper van. It may be a few days a year, but if this will make the whole family comfortable during summer camping, it's quite cost-effective.
Moreover, the Spot Air Conditioner QL03 weighs only about 20kg, so if you don't plan on camping, you can remove it from your camper van and use it at home. With the included window panel, hot air exhaust ducts can be installed on windows that are over 65cm tall and under 226cm (excluding 66-81cm and 116-119cm), making them suitable for use in many rooms.
In fact, on nights where I can't sleep well, I use the Spot Air Conditioner QL03 in my bedroom. Loading and unloading is a bit of a hassle, but it is useful even outside of camping, so it is extremely cost-effective.
Since the sealing level is low, there are some doubts about how effective it will be, but if you feel like it, it can be used in a tent, so if you're looking for something to do with the heat of summer camping, you might want to consider it in a place other than a camper van.
Details and purchase of Chestnut Gen's "Spot Air Conditioner QL03"
For more information on the product, please see Chestnut's Gen's "Spot Air Conditioner QL03"
Photography cooperation
Photography cooperation: Forever Camping Paradise
Saito Titoce
Former monthly camera magazine editor. While pursuing the spectacular views of Hokkaido and the wildlife, I was completely hooked on the outdoor life of camper vans and sleeping in my car. While traveling the entire country with his 2-year-old son and wife, he is a photographer writer who photographs and writes everything he has experienced, not only cameras and lenses, but also outdoor camping, child-rearing, PC gadgets, cooking, and dieting. OUTDOOR GEARZINE plans to write a variety of articles, focusing on the QOCL (Quality of Camping Life) Improvement Committee, which will improve the quality of life in camping and camper vans.
