Trojan Boat Forum

New guy with my first question. I have a 1984 10 meter express ( no aft cabin ) My a/c finnaly gave up and died. So I ripped it out and I am looking for a replacement.Due to its location I would like to get this right the first time. mermaid offers a 5 year warranty , but the discharge is dead center. This will make the install a bit of a challange. ocean breeze sells a unit with the discharge in the same position as the old unit, however only a one year warranty. Anyone with a 10 meter express that has installed a new a/c unit? If so what brand , any problems with the install.The warranty facor is not a deal breaker . Thanks in advance GREAT FORUM

Welcome to the forum

I know cruse air makes a great A/C that will last for years I know of many uinits 30 plus years old still going strong ,Heard good things about mermaid . I have not heard anything about ocean breeze .


What do you have now ?

CruiseAir 16,000 BTU reverse cycle AC/Heat with the SMX electronic panel.

RWS

RWS you have a system with a remote evaporator(s) like I do ( split system ). The units He is talking about sounds like a unit with the condenser ,evaporator and blower built in ( self contained ). May not be a OEM unit .

I second RWS, installed the same unit in my 11 Meter and it works great, quiet too.


http://www.collegefair.org/11_meter_progress_page.htm

walt wrote:New guy with my first question. I have a 1984 10 meter express ( no aft cabin ) My a/c finnaly gave up and died. So I ripped it out and I am looking for a replacement.Due to its location I would like to get this right the first time. mermaid offers a 5 year warranty , but the discharge is dead center. This will make the install a bit of a challange. ocean breeze sells a unit with the discharge in the same position as the old unit, however only a one year warranty. Anyone with a 10 meter express that has installed a new a/c unit? If so what brand , any problems with the install.The warranty facor is not a deal breaker . Thanks in advance GREAT FORUM

The unit was origional,all in one style. RWS has changed his to a remote condensor style unit' I am trying to find a unit as close as possible to the oem
AQUA TEMP a company long gone.

walt wrote:

walt wrote:New guy with my first question. I have a 1984 10 meter express ( no aft cabin ) My a/c finnaly gave up and died. So I ripped it out and I am looking for a replacement.Due to its location I would like to get this right the first time. mermaid offers a 5 year warranty , but the discharge is dead center. This will make the install a bit of a challange. ocean breeze sells a unit with the discharge in the same position as the old unit, however only a one year warranty. Anyone with a 10 meter express that has installed a new a/c unit? If so what brand , any problems with the install.The warranty facor is not a deal breaker . Thanks in advance GREAT FORUM

The unit was origional,all in one style. RWS has changed his to a remote condensor style unit' I am trying to find a unit as close as possible to the oem
AQUA TEMP a company long gone.

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Incorrect - The factory unit was virtually the same. We merely moved the compressor section onto a shelf, farther starboard than the factory setup, allowing for far better access to the engines and other mechanical systems.

RWS

I belive trojan went with the all in one unit in 1984 . There is a 1983 10 meter in my maria and he has the remote evap. model as does RWS. Last year I ordered the origional paper work on my boat through this site. It listed factory options available for the 1984 10 meter express , aqua air was the only a/c option.

I just bought an 86' 10 meter express. My AC was dead and I just pulled it out. Looked all around and just ordered (today) the Mermaid 16500 M-16CHP-T unit. My AC is installed between the engines but forward of them in a nitch. When installed it's flush with the bulk head. Was told that Mermaid is a little behind with orders and that I should get it by late next week. Can't wait to install. Hey, the thermostat was still working for the old Lunaire if you know of anyone who needs one.

Lumpy

LUMPY Thanks for the reply , I am also going to go with a mermaid . Did you go with the center discharge ? The origional discharge is more to the starboard side , I am just not sure how much work it will take to match up the a/c discharge to theboats plenum.

Yes, I went with the top discharge. I need to really get up in there to investigate the duck work coming down. My original unit "Lunaire" had a 6x12 rubber boot connecting the unit to the "ceiling" which really isn't the ceiling but the top of the area it's in. I'm thinking I might be able to just drop flex duck work right down on it. I"ll let you know what happens. I'll try to take some pics so you can compare.

Chris

Can you guys let me know how the Mermaid units install on a mid cabin? I have an original Luneair which works great but it's pretty noisy, not helped by the fact that eveything is installed in the v berth.

I'm trying to get the FX-1 control panel to work but have been unsuccessful so far. If I can get it working, I can correct three major issues with the Luneair:

1) lower the "LOW" fan speed which is like a jet engine...not low at all
2) program so the pump shuts off when the compressor isn't running
3) program so the whole system shuts down when it reaches the correct temp just like every other A/C unit in the world.

By default, the pump and fan run continuously.

Then I was going to insulate the walls on the inside with sound deadening material and see how that works.

But, I have also been looking into new replacement units too. Is a 12k unit enough for a boat in the northeast? I'm going to use a Honda 2k generator and would have a shot of working A/C if I went from a 16k to a 12k. I'm sure even a new 16k draws less than my old unit.

Bob

The start up voltage very well may over load the genset .

I said it before but I will say it again . A portable gen set has NO place on a boat . It belongs at home.

prowlersfish wrote:The start up voltage very well may over load the genset .

I said it before but I will say it again . A portable gen set has NO place on a boat . It belongs at home.

+1

This is a safety issue, with potentially deadly results.

RWS

Personally, I think the fear factor of running a portable generator is a little overblown. People have been using them for years and they work just fine. You are hard pressed to find a story of people dying from use on on a boat. I'm sure it's happened, just like I'm sure it's happened with a built in generator gone bad as well.

You need to be smart about it, have it in the right location and have working C0 detectors.

Just my .02