Marineaire Rebuild? Replace?

[rgano]

"Just can't take the thought of finding space in my engine room for the second half of the equation."


No space in the engine room need be used , the compressor is mounted out side , or some times simply hung from the aft rail. The compressor etc move heat from outside in , or get rid of heat while air cond.


Mitsubishi Mini Splits | Shop Wholesale Prices and Save‎


Adwww.acwholesalers.com/Mitsubishi/Mini-Splits‎
Direct to the Public. Shop Wholesale Prices. Orders Over $199 Ship Free. Call Today! Our...

• Mitsubishi Single Zone AC
  
  Mitsubishi Single Zone Air
  Conditioners - Low Prices!
• Mitsubishi Ducted AC
  
  Mitsubishi Ducted Air Conditioners
  at the Lowest Wholesale Price!

I have a one-ton mini-split installed in one end of the house, and its outside compressor is rather large for mounting on a vessel in the 40-foot long range. I am wondering if smaller units in the one-ton capacity have been brought forward. Another issue with these units, which are intended for use ashore, might be the lack of metals suited for marine use; although mine is mounted a mere 70 feet from seawater and has survived a few hurricanes with water lapping up around its base. I could see mounting one on an upper deck of a larger vessel where it could be shielded form view and the elements.

 

[firstbase]

Do yourself a favor, replace. I replaced mine. The old saying, “penny wise and pound foolish”.

Thanks Donna, have come to agree with you. They deserve a proper burial. Getting a couple of more years out of them before other things start to happen just isn't worth it to me. Going through it all again doesn't sound very inviting.

Now on to deciding which brand and model. What did you replace with? There doesn't seem to be a single leading candidate between the major manufacturers. Take your pick, find the best price.

 

[rslifkin]

I've got 3 of the Marine Air Vector Turbo units (now sold as the Dometic Turbo) that replaced much older Marine Air units.

The original units were great for somewhere in the 20 - 25 year range until they started to fail. The new ones have been a little more trouble. 1 got replaced under warranty and that one and one other have had refrigerant leaks (currently have 1 with a leak that needs fixing).

But my experience doesn't seem typical from what I've heard. And the units do work great. They cool well, they heat well and while they're not silent, they're not overly loud either (and that's without the extra sound shield). I'm pretty sure mine don't have the soft start modules, but even the 16k BTU one starts up just fine from my 6.5kw generator regardless of whether there are other loads already on or not.

 

[firstbase]

I've got 3 of the Marine Air Vector Turbo units (now sold as the Dometic Turbo) that replaced much older Marine Air units.

The original units were great for somewhere in the 20 - 25 year range until they started to fail. The new ones have been a little more trouble. 1 got replaced under warranty and that one and one other have had refrigerant leaks (currently have 1 with a leak that needs fixing).

But my experience doesn't seem typical from what I've heard. And the units do work great. They cool well, they heat well and while they're not silent, they're not overly loud either (and that's without the extra sound shield). I'm pretty sure mine don't have the soft start modules, but even the 16k BTU one starts up just fine from my 6.5kw generator regardless of whether there are other loads already on or not.

I was paying attention to these, the Turbo's, but I keep coming across reviews that say exactly what you say. Several from "pro's" who have installed for themselves as well as customers and quickly had warranty issues just as you describe. funny but they say what you said "Not typical". Have made me back off of them... at least for now.

 

[rslifkin]

My "not typical" comes from having seen plenty of other people talk about being happy with the units, so I figured my failure rate must have been higher than normal. The one unit I currently have down for a leak is the one that hadn't had a single issue since new (IIRC they're 8-ish years old). With the other 2, the issues all showed up within the first few years and then they've been solid since.

 

[firstbase]

My "not typical" comes from having seen plenty of other people talk about being happy with the units, so I figured my failure rate must have been higher than normal. The one unit I currently have down for a leak is the one that hadn't had a single issue since new (IIRC they're 8-ish years old). With the other 2, the issues all showed up within the first few years and then they've been solid since.

Thanks for the details. Online reviews, ratings.... I don't know, have to be careful I guess. Sort of left up to the luck of the Google search and the fact that most happy users don't say a word. Just the complainers. Did you have to pull yours out for repair? My salon unit, the one with the valve issue, has to be pulled as they can't get to the valve in the back. Just curious on if yours were repaired in place and taken to a shop.

 

[bykpjfk]

Marine Air replacement

I replaced the original Marine Air units on our '97 Mainship a couple of years ago, and couldn't be more pleased. I replaced the 16K salon unit that couldn't cool the boat on a hot day with a 12K Webasto FCF unit that will freeze you out. I replaced the forepeak 12K unit initially with a 9K Webasto and then later with a 6K Mabru system, which is more than adequate.
Today's units are much more effective at cooling and distributing the air.

 

[Donna]

Thanks Donna, have come to agree with you. They deserve a proper burial. Getting a couple of more years out of them before other things start to happen just isn't worth it to me. Going through it all again doesn't sound very inviting.

Now on to deciding which brand and model. What did you replace with? There doesn't seem to be a single leading candidate between the major manufacturers. Take your pick, find the best price.

I replaced 2 16,000 btu units with MARIN air. A little pricy but exact fit to the MARINE air I had.

The above in caps is not a typo.

 

[firstbase]

Thanks for the detail bykpjfk, Donna.