Air Conditioning Options

dollarbill · Post by **dollarbill** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 2:56 pm

On my 78 Express 30 I have a factory AC unit which was original on the boat. Although it does a pretty good job on maintaining 78 degrees on some pretty warm days.. I am counting the days until it quits.

2 Questions.

Can the Freon be recharged on these units or should I just leave it alone?

Has anybody considered an installation with one of the "new" generation portable room air conditioning units? I have a space under the V berth that has 30" of clearance which will handle some of the types of new AC Units. A problem is an exhaust hose. Still thinking about that one. The ones I have seen are 9 to 10K BTU and run right at $300.00 vs a 5k BTU Marine Air replacement unit for $1800 maybe less.

Just thinking ahead...

ready123 · Post by **ready123** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 3:10 pm

I believe the problem with conventional home AC's in marine use is that boat installations tend to have poor airflow around the evaporator..... when compared to a unit designed for marine use. Also do you just let the condensate run into the bilge??
There are others here who have gone the on marine route.... maybe they can talk about some of those inefficiencies.

Why count the days till it goes... it may well last longer than you think, marine use is much lighter than a home generally unless you are liveaboard.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 6:25 pm

Most marine a/c systems can be charged , what system do you have ?Also cleaning the raw water size of the system can help rydlyme is a great cleaner . I would also and make sure you have good water flow .

The home a/c units your talking about with the exhust hose work pretty well ,but remember when your blowing ho air out it is being replaced with out side air so they are not super efecent And the take up a lot of room

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 11:20 pm

My marine air unit gave up the ghost and instead of plunking down $2500 I bought a portable room unit for $300 that is 10,000btu and cools my tri-cabin well. The new units take the condensate and evaporate it in the hot air stream leaving the boat so no need to worry about the water. My unit is as tall as an end table and about 12" wide so it sits right between the two easy chairs in the salon.

Not sure what Paul is referring to with the outside air replacing the hot air that is expelled. Mine recirculates only the inside air.

Until I get the money to fix the factory unit, this will do just fine.

turtlem1969 · Post by **turtlem1969** » Sat Jun 12, 2010 1:34 am

k9th- what unit are you using?

RWS · Post by **RWS** » Sat Jun 12, 2010 7:20 am

My factory 16,000 btu unit was had to be charges every season and was having numerous problems.

Replaced it with a new cruise air when we did the refit. Got it off the engine room floor by building marine plastic/plywood shelves for the HVAC, waste pump, macerator pump and fresh water pump.

Easier to service and more room to move around in the engine room.

Advances in compressor technology and having reverse cycle heat is a wonderful thing.

She really blows cold now!

RWS

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Sat Jun 12, 2010 8:11 am

The brand is Soleusair and mine is model PE2-10R-32. Bought mine at Menards last year when it was on sale. They make larger and smaller units also.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Sat Jun 12, 2010 9:37 am

k9th wrote:
Not sure what Paul is referring to with the outside air replacing the hot air that is expelled. Mine recirculates only the inside air.

Until I get the money to fix the factory unit, this will do just fine.

You have a hose that blows hot air out correct ? that air needs to replace by some.thing or you would be in a vacuum .

with that said those units seem to work well , and you don't have to worry about jelly fish plugging the system

dollarbill · Post by **dollarbill** » Sat Jun 12, 2010 5:16 pm

K9th - Where/How did you run the exhaust hose?

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Sun Jun 13, 2010 7:13 am

Paul - thanks for the clarification - and yes make-up air does have to indeed come in from somewhere to replace the air that is expelled - and no I don't have to worry about jellyfish clogging the inlet. That would be a first for Lake Michigan for sure.

My tri-cabin has a large, long (11ft+) salon window on both port & starboard sides which both contain two smaller sliding windows with screens. The unit comes with a window kit that fits perfectly into one of my starboard side sliders. The window kit uses an insert that is about 4 inches wide and can be trimmed for length to fit the window. It connects directly to the included exhaust ducting. The unit comes with a remote and has a timer included.

The unit evaporates the condensate but has an emergency condensate tank for days when the humidity is very high. In that case you can empty the tank or do what Paul suggested and what I have done and that is just run a small hose (which is included with the AC unit) through the floor into the bilge.

It was 90 here Friday with high humidity and my cabin stayed at 72. We are very happy with its performance.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Sun Jun 13, 2010 7:30 am

dollarbill if you replace it I would go with larger then 5000 BTU , as thats just a little small for your boat. It that the size you have now ?

what unit do you have now ? is it the built in type ? or is it the one that looks like a window unit but is water cooled ? ( seen them in early F28-Thu F31s) although most Trojans I have seen below the F32 did not come with A/C , at least in this area , My F30 did have one and I put in a 6000 BTU unit ,( should used a 7000) , I got lucky on my F36 not only did it come with A/C it came with 2 12000 BTU units

dollarbill · Post by **dollarbill** » Sun Jun 13, 2010 3:26 pm

Correct it is the self contained unit with a "sea" water pump in the back. It works ok .. kind of warm today - but it is 94 outside even in the shade.

I cannot help but think there are other options short of going full tilt with the "full" system like in a F32. And space is kind of a premium too on a 30 Express.

I did find this though... but it is a European product... 6500BTU - would be a perfect option... kind of the same set up as what I have now...

http://www.hflgen.com/framehfl.html

captainmaniac · Post by **captainmaniac** » Sun Jun 13, 2010 5:25 pm

Dometic makes a 'carry-on' model, that mounts through a deck hatch. http://www.dometic.com/enus/Americas/US ... taid=85437
I saw a price from a place in Canada at $1100, so the US price is probably about $600

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Sun Jun 13, 2010 8:49 pm

Actually the exchange rate between US and Canadian is almost even. As of Friday 1.00 US = 1.0308 Canadian.

ready123 · Post by **ready123** » Sun Jun 13, 2010 10:19 pm

k9th wrote:Actually the exchange rate between US and Canadian is almost even. As of Friday 1.00 US = 1.0308 Canadian.

That is not what Captain means... that is the normal ratio of penalty we pay for living in Canada.... we pay the conversion plus

Maybe it's because of our healthcare.

I just bought a windlass out of the US @ $645US best price I could get in Canada was $800..... 17% penalty to do business at home

Shipping was only another $47US

Trojan Boat Forum

Air Conditioning Options

Air Conditioning Options

Exhaust Hose

Yes - self conatiend Cabin Comfort