AC access Mainship 2006 34 trawler

[Ken Ralston]

How do you get to the main cabin AC to clean or repair it. It seems to be fiberglassed in under the sofa? The unit is icing up (we think) and we need to clean the filter and fresh air return.

 

[BellaDonna]

We had a similar problem on Mainship 34' hardtop trawler. There is poor access to A/C unit in floor. Our unit was not cooling the main salon. The unit was unable to cool properly because the main duct sleeve had blown off and was floating free in the wall. The wall had to be cut open to access the duct and reattach it properly with a clamp. We found the duct was only taped to the elbow leading to the vents overhead. I can't imagine why a proper clamp was not used by the manufacturer. Access is poor to say the least, we covered the hole with a teak grate, it looks ok. Hope this info will help.

 

[Ken Ralston]

Thanks!

 

[Bsterk]

I know this has been dead for a couple years, but it seems to be the only reference on this forum to accessing the main salon AC. I may have the same issue as BellaDonna, my AC compressor is running, but no air is blowing from the vents. I assumed it was a fan motor, but if a joint for the duct was just taped, that could very well be the issue.

The question has not really been answered though, obviously in BD's situation access had to be made to repair the duct (kudos to whoever had the balls to diagnose the issue with enough confidence to start cutting holes in walls, and the knowledge to know where to cut the access), but how can you access the compressor under the floor? Is there an access in the floor there?

 

[BellaDonna]

A/C Access

As I remember there is a grate underneath the couch on the floor which you can remove. Be careful the grate is fragile. The main unit is under there.
The area we cut into and installed a dummy grate is immediately to the left of the sofa and to the left of the audio speaker. it is mounted on the column which extends up the wall. We accessed, with difficulty, the duct work which was not attached to the overhead ductwork. It had only been taped at the join. A fitting was made to securely connect the ducts. We now have a cooler main salon.

I hope this helps you locate your problem.

Donna

 

[Bsterk]

Thanks for the help Donna, attacking it this weekend.

 

[BellaDonna]

Please let me know what you find and how your repair is going. Good Luck, Donna

 

[Bsterk]

Got to the ac unit and found a bad blower motor. Started a new thread on replacing just that component vs the whole system. Hopefully I can repair the existing motor to save the cost of a new blower ($620 was the price I was quoted, seems very high for a $1500 system). I am going to try to pull the fan motor out of the blower assembly and replace it with a new one (not dometic branded, hopefully saving a couple hundred bucks). I also started another thread asking he model number for he salon ac, I can't see the tag on my unit. Probably should have just asked if you knew it off hand from your tinkering with this system Donna?

 

[cafesport]

Try this:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BULTKO?ref_=pe_527950_33920290


Via iPhone.

 

[Bsterk]

Cafe, thanks for the link. I will try to match up the specs from the one I pulled off my unit and if it looks like it will work that will be a great option.

 

[BellaDonna]

A/C model info

Here's the info from our Marine Air System operator manual sticker says
205311132, VCDSD7K/2-HV, SQ#157646, 115V/60/1that's all I can find without accessing the unit.

I certainly agree $650.00 for a fan replacement is high.

Looks like you have an excellent link to the fan.

Let me know what you find.

 

[Bsterk]

Donna, sounds like the same unit as in the forward berth, thanks for pulling that up. Cafe has a great link to an inexpensive fan, I just need to get dimensions to make sure it will fit in that hole we have for our AC. The fan that we have is the HV, which I think means the motor is inside the housing, which may have been because of the limited space down there. What year is your 34?

 

[BellaDonna]

A/C fan motor

BellaDonna is a 34ft. Hardtop Trawler 2008. Sounds like the same model as you have although I do not have the fly bridge.

 

[rciamaga]

I had similar issues with my 06 Mainship 34. The flexible duct detached from the plenum and air flow into the cabin was marginal. I didn't want to cut into the wood "duct" that encased the flex duct and wanted to use the wood duct to channel the air to the plenum. So, I plugged all the air leaks in the wood duct reasoning that the air then would have no place to go but into the plenum that runs along the port side ceiling. The plugging was done with wads of insulation from Home Depot. Crawl into the aft engine room while the AC is on and you'll find the leaks down there. On the upper end of the wood duct, I removed a speaker and that gave me enough room to place my arm into the wooden duct to plug leaks i felt in that area. Lastly, there was a leak in the aft upper part of the port window that I plugged. Now the air comes out more briskly from the plenum. I just did this a week ago so I can't report on the effectiveness though my wife says it is much better. BTW, I had to have my freon recharged as well. Now the air comes out at about 54 degrees.

Hope this helps.

Ron

 

[Bsterk]

Ron,

Sounds like a brilliant resolution, assuming their are no condensation issues with the wood plenum (not sure how thorough your insulating was). My issue was just a bad blower motor (which just for future knowledge can not be sourced by itself, you have to buy the whole blower assembly) but it seems like I will be dealing with a loose duct eventually.

 

[rciamaga]

I thought about the condensation possibility but as the plenum that runs along the ceiling is also wood or fiber board, I surmised that the "wood duct" was no more susceptible. Also, the flexible duct inside run almost to the top of the "wood duct" so only the upper end could possibly be effected.
The way Mainship attached the flex duct to the plenum with only foil tape makes one angry over such a sloppy methodology. The connection works for a few years and then is bound to fail.

Good luck with your blower issue.

 

[Dubs Tub]

I just bought a 2005 34T and AC started freezing up as well as fan not blowing. It turned out to be the water drain from humidifier was clogged and collected too much water in AC compartment. I hand bilged water and cleaned gravity water drain, now all is working well.

 

[rciamaga]

DUB

I'll offer another tip to keep your AC working well if you're in salt water.

Keep a bromide tablet in the intake cooling water strainer. It will minimize the sea critters from accumulating in your cooling water loop.

Best
Ron

 

[Bsterk]

+1 on the Bromide Tablet, although look through the threads, there are mixed opinions on them.

 

[rciamaga]

Interesting about the comment about mixed opinions on the use of bromide tablets. I recently had to have my cooling lines flushed as I had little flow on the forward unit. I believe the mechanic use a mild acid solution. Bromide seems a safe bet.

 

[ranger58sb]

I've read a small piece of copper (tubing? elbow?) in the strainer works well against critters. Wouldn't solve silt, sludge, seaweed or grasses, of course...

-Chris

 

[rciamaga]

How did you get the AC unit out from under the floor?