The Italian vehicle technology company Autoclima has a new United States distributor, Heatso, for its Fresco 9000 MaXX battery-powered auxiliary air-conditioning system, designed to provide cooling capacity while the truck is parked. Heatso will distribute the aftermarket system under a new brand, Climatso, to focus on climate control for heavy-duty OTR trucks and other specialty vehicles.
The system is powered by auxiliary batteries independent of the truck's starting batteries. Options include traditional lead-acid batteries mounted in an auxiliary bank along the truck's. Lithium-ion options, too are available, yet increasingly users are turning to another power source: a 300 ah Lithium Phosphate battery mounted in-cab, generally with a better safety rating than Lithium-ion, the company noted. The U.S. distributor's preferred Litihium Phosphate battery vendor DragonFly Energy and its Battle Born Batteries products are backed by a 10-year limited warranty.
All battery power configurations are designed to deliver 10-12 hours of approximate run time on a charge for cooling, the company added.
In the Lithium Phosphate power configuration, both compressor and battery for the unit are installed inside the cab beneath the bunk, as detailed in this video, with the only exterior component a condenser mounted high on the sleeper's back wall (illustrated at the top of this story).
Find more information about the components of the Fresco 9000 MaXX auxiliary AC system via this link. Shown here (top to bottom) are the evaporator, compressor and condenser.
The Fresco 9000 MaXX unit is only available in North America via distributors JJK (Canada) and Heatso dba Climatso (U.S.), and it's built with low-corrosion material, the company said. To date, it's been reliably installed across thousands of trucks in North America, but principally in Canada. The Climatso distributor is seeking new dealer/installation partners in the U.S. with an offer of a free system (end-user costs are estimated between $8,000 and $10,000) for installation with suitable heavy-duty truck service repair companies or full-service fleet operators.
Find more detail about the Fresco 9000 MaXX at Climatso.com, or contact [email protected], 859-803-1191, for a brochure and information about availability.
[Related: Custom in-cab climate control system has heat, too]
