what should replace my old HVAC?

My AC died today, and I am wondering where to go from here.

The unit is/was a Lunaire Marine LPSC-16HR. I think that means 16,000 BTU, but I'm not real sure. Up to now, it functioned as AC (12.5 amps) in the summer, and as a heater (14.5 amps) in winter. It's the only HVAC unit on my 37' trawler. It was powered from it's own shore power connection, and could also be run off the generator. It was liquid cooled, and lived in the bottom of a hanging locker. I hear the company went out of business. I know that 115 volts AC is getting to the unit, but nothing inside the unit shows any sign of life.

My questions are:

1. Am I correct that I should get rid of this dinosaur, rather than try to revive it?
2. What should replace it? (I live aboard in Norfolk VA year round)
3. Can I replace it myself, or do I need to hire someone that can legally mess with whatever exotic refrigerant they are using now?

Depends on what you mean by "died".

But if it really did die then go new.

If it does not attempt to power up at all, could be something simple and electrical. Most of these units are really quite similar, any decent hvac guy should be able to troubleshoot.

Depends.....do you spend $150 to have it assessed before diving into a $2-3K replacement.
Personally I would.

Think it would be worth checking it out I had one 36yrs old that stopped working all ot was that a bad wire on the compressor

Norfolk gets cold in the winter.

Depending on how you now heat , kero, diesel or electric should be part of the choice.

IF you pay for electric and use it for heat , tossing the "marine" unit and installing a Mini Split could be a better investment. .Mitsubishi makes one.

These work 300% to 500% more efficiently at creating heat , even in minus F outside temperatures.

They also allow EZ zone heating or cooling.

HVAC is a system , not just a component.

FF said:

Norfolk gets cold in the winter.

Depending on how you now heat , kero, diesel or electric should be part of the choice.

IF you pay for electric and use it for heat , tossing the "marine" unit and installing a Mini Split could be a better investment. .Mitsubishi makes one.

These work 300% to 500% more efficiently at creating heat , even in minus F outside temperatures.

They also allow EZ zone heating or cooling.

HVAC is a system , not just a component.

Click to expand...

You continually recommend replacing marina a/c systems with home split units. And while they are great units, for the life of me I can't figure out where you think the compressor unit on a split systems is going to be mounted on say a 37' trawler. On the fly bridge?

And then what wall would you mount the fan unit on?

Or do you envision that mounting on the ceiling?

FF said:

Norfolk gets cold in the winter.

Depending on how you now heat , kero, diesel or electric should be part of the choice.

IF you pay for electric and use it for heat , tossing the "marine" unit and installing a Mini Split could be a better investment. .Mitsubishi makes one.

These work 300% to 500% more efficiently at creating heat , even in minus F outside temperatures.

They also allow EZ zone heating or cooling.

HVAC is a system , not just a component.

Click to expand...

While the home mini-split systems may be the "Bee's knees and a bag of nuts" ( I have one in my garage at home). Those of us who actually care about the looks of our boats will most likely will find another system to provide for our climate control needs. The longevity of a system using painted sheet metal and home components subjected to salt spray will in my opinion not have a reasonable service life and early replacement cost must be factored into any energy savings.

I have looked and except for freshwater house boats I have never seen this system on a saltwater cruiser. Nuff said.

I would highly recommend (I have 2 16800btu units) the Ocean breeze company, it is building units for the US Navy and USCG as well as being used by mega yachts and commercial boats world wide.

Over the counter components (uses home type thermostat) with no computer board or proprietary circuits, any home AC service guy can work on and prices are cheaper then other units.


Made in the USA






Self-contained Marine AC Units - Ocean Breeze Mfd. by Quorum Marine & Electronics, Inc.

SCOTTEDAVIS said:

I would highly recommend (I have 2 16800btu units) the Ocean breeze company...

Click to expand...

Those look like pretty nice units. I'll check them out. My current boat is the first boat I have owned with the built-in heater and AC. Are the Ocean Breeze units something that a reasonably competent boater slob like me could install, or does this type of system require some kind of HVAC guy to come install it?

Any of the single unit A/Cs can be installed by the average handy man. All there is to do is run a little plumbing and electrical work.


If replacing and the wiring is adequate...dead simple....


If a complete new install, the pump and plumbing can be a challenge, but the theory is not complicated at all.

"I have looked and except for freshwater house boats I have never seen this system on a saltwater cruiser. Nuff said."

I respectfully suggest a trip to Euroland , ,with a visit to the North Sea or a trip to Turkey and a ride on the Bosphorus. Sea.

Many boats have a solid wall in front of their oxygen tent , might be a spot to mount the outside unit.

SCOTTEDAVIS said:

I would highly recommend (I have 2 16800btu units) the Ocean breeze company, it is building units for the US Navy and USCG as well as being used by mega yachts and commercial boats world wide.

Over the counter components (uses home type thermostat) with no computer board or proprietary circuits, any home AC service guy can work on and prices are cheaper then other units.


Made in the USA




Self-contained Marine AC Units - Ocean Breeze Mfd. by Quorum Marine & Electronics, Inc.

Click to expand...

He will also configure the new unit (if possible) to fit the old unit. Just tell him exactly what you now have and he can normally make the new unit a slip in replacement. Great service!

FF said:

"I have looked and except for freshwater house boats I have never seen this system on a saltwater cruiser. Nuff said."

I respectfully suggest a trip to Euroland , ,with a visit to the North Sea or a trip to Turkey and a ride on the Bosphorus. Sea.

Many boats have a solid wall in front of their oxygen tent , might be a spot to mount the outside unit.

Click to expand...

So in Euroland where do they install the compressor/s?

And do they run multible air handlers and put one in each room?

Do you have any pictures of these Euro common installations?

seattleboatguy said:

Those look like pretty nice units. I'll check them out. My current boat is the first boat I have owned with the built-in heater and AC. Are the Ocean Breeze units something that a reasonably competent boater slob like me could install, or does this type of system require some kind of HVAC guy to come install it?

Click to expand...

Psneeld is absolutely right, if replacing a unit, it is dead simple as long as the wiring and plumbing is up to snuff. I did both of my units in 3 days and that included splitting the raw water plumbing to include 2 pumps and separate the raw water system to make the units isolated except for the inlet strainer and sea valve. I also replaced the old company t-stats with Honeywell (Big box store) t-stats so I could control them via the internet using my cell phone app.

Hardest part was removing and replacing the units due to access and weight, hook up was three wires and some hoses and hose clamps and some duct tape. I can get my boat to 69^ on a 88^ day and even cooler at night.

FF said:

"I have looked and except for freshwater house boats I have never seen this system on a saltwater cruiser. Nuff said."

I respectfully suggest a trip to Euroland , ,with a visit to the North Sea or a trip to Turkey and a ride on the Bosphorus. Sea.

Many boats have a solid wall in front of their oxygen tent , might be a spot to mount the outside unit.

Click to expand...

I'm sure they are very happy with their choices in Euroland, however short lived and rust stained they may be (remember I have one and I know how well they hold up being just near the coast let alone being on the water) but I live here and am responding to the OP regarding his US boat.

Respectively, where do you have the components on your boat installed miny-split system, photos?

SCOTTEDAVIS said:

I would highly recommend (I have 2 16800btu units) the Ocean breeze company, it is building units for the US Navy and USCG as well as being used by mega yachts and commercial boats world wide.

Over the counter components (uses home type thermostat) with no computer board or proprietary circuits, any home AC service guy can work on and prices are cheaper then other units.


Made in the USA

Self-contained Marine AC Units - Ocean Breeze Mfd. by Quorum Marine & Electronics, Inc.

Click to expand...

+1 on the Ocean Breeze. I have 7 of their units on my boat plus 2 more on my Gulf Star 36. Made in USA and support is excellent. All stainless construction is another plus.

Edited to add: Did the installs myself. As stated above, if the electric and plumbing is already there its a matter of yanking out the old and plugging in the new. Two raw water hoses, 1 drain hose, connect the ducting, and a few wires.

FF said:

Norfolk gets cold in the winter.

Depending on how you now heat , kero, diesel or electric should be part of the choice.

IF you pay for electric and use it for heat , tossing the "marine" unit and installing a Mini Split could be a better investment. .Mitsubishi makes one.

These work 300% to 500% more efficiently at creating heat , even in minus F outside temperatures.

They also allow EZ zone heating or cooling.

HVAC is a system , not just a component.

Click to expand...

A mini split on a cruising boat?? Those things can't stand up to salt mist. We use them at the beach towns and the salt air destroys them. It would be worse on a boat.

Does the ocean breeze units have or allow a multi-zone controller?

what_barnacles said:

Does the ocean breeze units have or allow a multi-zone controller?

Click to expand...

Great question, I don't know, but the owner is an engineer and they advertise that they do custom work so I bet they would. Give them a call, I would love to hear from you regarding the answer.

SCOTTEDAVIS said:

I would highly recommend (I have 2 16800btu units) the Ocean breeze company, it is building units for the US Navy and USCG as well as being used by mega yachts and commercial boats world wide.

Click to expand...

After doing a lot of reading and studying here, I'll be going with Ocean Breeze when (and if) my 25 yr. old Mermaid ever bites the dust..

SCOTTEDAVIS said:

Great question, I don't know, but the owner is an engineer and they advertise that they do custom work so I bet they would. Give them a call, I would love to hear from you regarding the answer.

Click to expand...

I think I will, I need 3 units.

The ac's in my RV have a central display panel that controls the temp of each zone. So its definitely doable.

Although I would rather all metal (including copper) be clad with something. The clad'ed copper pipe the boat uses for steering is like night and day considering corrosion.

I put 6 units (Marineaire) in my trawler 8-16000btu (16000btu $1550 each). Working fine. Couple of hiccups over the last 3 years. The aftersales service from the company has been incredible. They always follow up to make sure problems are fixed etc. Parts are shipped same day etc. Could not praise there service enough.

update

I hired a local marine HVAC guy to look at my 30 year old Lunaire unit. He found 2 problems:

1. two scary-looking melted wires behind controller panel
2. compressor was shorting to ground

The guy basically signed the death certificate on the Lunaire. He wants to sell me a new unit by Dometic, which apparently bought out Cruisair. But, I'm impressed by what I read about Ocean Breeze. I see that you can optionally order an Ocean Breeze unit with electric heat, which would be nice here in Norfolk on those winter mornings when we get a skim of ice on the marina water. But, more expensive to use, I assume.

seattleboatguy said:

I hired a local marine HVAC guy to look at my 30 year old Lunaire unit. He found 2 problems:

1. two scary-looking melted wires behind controller panel
2. compressor was shorting to ground

The guy basically signed the death certificate on the Lunaire. He wants to sell me a new unit by Dometic, which apparently bought out Cruisair. But, I'm impressed by what I read about Ocean Breeze. I see that you can optionally order an Ocean Breeze unit with electric heat, which would be nice here in Norfolk on those winter mornings when we get a skim of ice on the marina water. But, more expensive to use, I assume.

Click to expand...

Ask your marine AC guy what the computer board cost on the Dometic unit, all the electrical components in the OB units are large relays and are available over the counter at any dirt house AC shop and no microprocessors anywhere to be found.

SCOTTEDAVIS said:

Ask your marine AC guy what the computer board cost on the Dometic unit, all the electrical components in the OB units are large relays and are available over the counter at any dirt house AC shop and no microprocessors anywhere to be found.

Click to expand...

I think I will go with the Ocean Breeze. I like what I hear about them on this forum, they were very knowledgeable and helpful when I called them on the phone yesterday, and the price was right. I was initially toying with the idea of a unit with electric heat, but after checking around, I'm thinking that reverse cycle might work out better for me, with maybe the addition of a diesel heater somewhere down the line for the colder months.