Four myths about the box beside the double-wide, tested against a Putnam County July
June through September on the St. Johns is a dew point in the mid-70s and an afternoon high in the low 90s. A package unit sitting in that sun all day has a harder job than any closet air handler.
The weather this equipment lives in
A package unit is the whole air conditioner in one cabinet: compressor, both coils, blower, often the heat strips or heat pump reversing valve, all outside the house with two ducts running in. On a manufactured home the ducts go down into the belly; on a block house they go through a wall; on a downtown storefront the unit sits on the roof.
Everything in that cabinet sits in Putnam County’s summer. Afternoon highs around 92, dew points that make the air feel heavier than the coast, daily thunderstorms from June into September with lightning that is a real hazard on open rural lots. The cabinet gets rained on, baked, and in a bad year flooded. The design handles it, but the installation details decide how long.
Four things people believe about package units
Myth one: a package unit is the cheap option. It is the compact option. A good package unit costs about what a comparable split system does; what makes it look cheap is that manufactured-home buyers often get quoted the bottom of the line without being shown anything else. There are efficient two-stage and heat-pump package units, and in a county where the air conditioner runs eight months, they pay off.
Myth two: they don’t last. The ones that die young were set on the dirt, never had the coil rinsed, and fed a duct system that fell apart under the house. A package unit on a platform, rinsed yearly and attached to sealed ducts, lasts as long as a split system.
Myth three: it’s all outside, so the inside of the house doesn’t matter. The inside matters more. The belly duct under a manufactured home in East Palatka or Satsuma is the weakest link in the whole system; a split seam dumps cold air into the crawlspace, pulls humid air in through the floor, and makes the unit run twice as long for half the comfort.
Myth four: you can’t do anything about humidity with a package unit. You can, with the right one. A two-stage or variable-speed package unit runs longer at low capacity and dries the air; an oversized single-stage one blasts the thermostat down and quits, leaving a cool, damp house.
The reality, and the right fit for this county
Roughly half the homes in some Putnam ZIP codes are manufactured, and most were built around a package unit. For those homes the right system is a package unit sized to the home’s actual duct capacity, raised on a platform, with the crossover duct and belly board inspected and sealed on the same visit. A heat-pump version makes sense for the freeze nights and for the Clay Electric rebate.
For a block house in Newtown with no interior space for a handler, a package unit through the wall is a reasonable answer. For a downtown commercial building, a rooftop package unit is the standard answer, and we service those too.
Where a package unit is the wrong fit: a site-built house with a good handler location and sound ducts, which should get a split system, and a frame house in the historic districts with no ducts, which should get mini-splits.
Quote a package unit and the ducts
Buying one that lasts here
Platform above the flood and splash line. Surge protection on the disconnect, because the rural grid takes lightning. A yearly coil rinse; there is no salt air inland, but pollen, mill dust and the grit off a sand road load a coil fast. A float switch on the condensate. And the ducts under the house checked every time, because the box is only as good as what it blows into.
Cook’s installs Lennox package units and services every brand from the Palm Coast headquarters, about 51 minutes from Palatka, with no after-hours charge.
Package unit questions from the county's manufactured homes
Why does the quote include raising the unit when the old one sat on the ground?
Standing water. Lots near the river, Dunns Creek and the lakes hold water after a summer storm, and the East Palatka boat ramp area stayed flooded for a week after Ian. A unit on the ground pulls in debris, rusts from below and drowns in a flood. A platform a foot or two up costs little and adds years.
The old unit cooled fine but the floors were always damp. Will a new one fix that?
Only if the ducts are fixed with it. Damp floors in a manufactured home are almost always a belly duct leaking cold air into the crawlspace and pulling moisture up through the floor. We seal or replace the trunk as part of the job; a new unit alone will not solve it.
Can I put a package unit on a site-built house?
Yes, and some of the small block houses along US 17 have them, usually where there was no room inside for an air handler. Rooftop versions serve the commercial buildings downtown. The equipment is the same idea; the duct connection is different.
Does a package unit qualify for the utility rebates?
Clay Electric’s rebate is written around replacement heat pumps and mini-splits meeting its efficiency minimum, and a heat-pump package unit can meet it; we check the model’s rating. FPL’s program in Palatka and East Palatka pays through enrolled contractors, and Cook’s enrollment is something to ask about. [[CONFIRM WITH JERRY]]
Package unit tired, floors damp?
Call for a free estimate. We quote the unit and the ducts under the house together.