Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 06-20-2022, 05:48 PM   #1
Guru
 
cardude01's Avatar
 
City: Victoria TX
Vessel Name: Bijou
Vessel Model: 2008 Island Packet PY/SP
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 5,290
AC when away from the boat

What do most folks here do when in hot climates when away from the boat to keep the boat from cooking inside? I have two water cooled ACs on the boat but I never leave them running when away because I’m afraid a cooling hose will pop off and flood the boat. Do most folks run these units when away? Or, if the hose pops off or breaks or whatever will the AC unit and the pump shut down due to a lack of cooling water?

I’m wondering about a portable AC unit that I can run an exhaust duct out a porthole that’s sheltered from the elements. But I’ve heard those things will barely cool down a boat when it’s 95-100 degrees outside.

I’d love to install a mini split but don’t think I have room for the compressor, except for in the lazarette and I don’t think it would get the airflow needed down there.
cardude01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2022, 06:15 PM   #2
Guru
 
rgano's Avatar
 
City: Southport, FL near Panama City
Vessel Name: FROLIC
Vessel Model: Mainship 30 Pilot II since 2015. GB-42 1986-2015. Former Unlimited Tonnage Master
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,984
I completely agree with your rationale for not running a marine AC unit unattended. Another thing which can happen is that the strainers become clogged shutting down the unit which will then allow the boat to cook and encourage MOLD which is about as bad as anything which can happen to a boat in hot climes. My brother runs one of those portable units in his GG42 and made himself a blank plate wth exhaust hole to slip into an open saloon window to which he attaches the exit hose for one of those portable home units. My boat is in a covered slip in a lift with a tiny dehumidifier running all the time.
__________________
Rich Gano
FROLIC (2005 MainShip 30 Pilot II)
Panama City area
rgano is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2022, 06:26 PM   #3
TF Site Team
 
Larry M's Avatar
 
City: Jacksonville
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 11,682
We always ran just a separate dehumidifier that drained into the galley sink. The inside got hot but we never had any damage from the heat.

The potable AC units may work but you have to deal with the moisture that they take out of the air. Some dump the water into the discharge air others you have to dump the water manually or route it into a sink or the bilge. We had one when we were in Trinidad and the routing of the discharge air was a pia.
Larry M is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2022, 06:39 PM   #4
Guru
 
cardude01's Avatar
 
City: Victoria TX
Vessel Name: Bijou
Vessel Model: 2008 Island Packet PY/SP
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 5,290
AC when away from the boat

Yeah I really don’t want to spend $500 on one of those indoor AC units. Plus it’s another thing I will trip over.

I have a big home style dehumidifier that runs when I’m away. It is in the shower and drains into the shower sump. It keeps the humidity down really well, but it also puts out additional heat.

I haven’t had any interior heat-related damage that I know of, but just worrying about the heat I guess.

I installed a solar mini split in my garage last year, and would sure love to have that setup on the boat so I could enjoy cold AC while underway with no loud ass generator. I just don’t think I have the room on this little boat. The system will run off three big 72 cell panels and I think I have the room for those, but the compressor location is the problem. The lazarette is roomy enough I think, but I would have to rig up some pretty big vent fans for airflow in there and not sure it would ever get enough air.
cardude01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2022, 07:10 PM   #5
Guru
 
HTurner's Avatar
 
City: Corpus Christi
Vessel Model: Willard Vega Horizon
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 500
Heat will not hurt things inside as long as you keep any wood well oiled, especially if they are veneers. The humidifier is good, you do not want mold to get started within your boat. Mold is much harder to remediate than you can imagine, on a boat in will get into places that you will never be able to reach.
HTurner is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2022, 07:22 PM   #6
Guru
 
IRENE's Avatar
 
City: Sea of Cortez, Mexico
Vessel Name: Irene
Vessel Model: Nordhavn 40II
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 1,235
We have left ours on as needed for our (now departed) doggy. I understand the concern that a hose could flood the boat, but keeping the senior dog comfortable won out.

Our AC has a moisture mode we used at the dock when away. Every 4 hours, the fan circulates air for 30 minutes. The compressor then runs to lower the temperature 2 degrees or 1 hour maximum. This repeats every 4 hours. Works well. Explained in the Marine Air manual.

If it ever warms up here this year, we will “set it and forget it” when hot and on the dock as we are aboard full-time.
__________________
Jeff
MV IRENE
IRENE is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2022, 07:26 PM   #7
Guru
 
City: Rochester, NY
Vessel Name: Hour Glass
Vessel Model: Chris Craft 381 Catalina
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 7,554
I leave one AC running to limit heat and humidity when I'm away from the boat over the summer. But the boat is rarely unattended for more than a few days. Worst case if a hose failed, we're not talking about a massive volume of water. The way my units are mounted it'll drain into the engine room, make a bit of a mess and the bilge pumps will handle it.
rslifkin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2022, 07:54 PM   #8
Guru
 
cardude01's Avatar
 
City: Victoria TX
Vessel Name: Bijou
Vessel Model: 2008 Island Packet PY/SP
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 5,290
AC when away from the boat

There is an unattended boat next to me that has water circulating 24/7. I saw some workers at the boat last time I was there and they said that boat has the AC running full blast 24/7. They thought that was crazy.

I’ll ask again— if an AC cooling hose ruptured, would the system shut down and then shut down the seawater pump?

I wish there was a way for my AC system to run only from like noon to 6pm.
cardude01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2022, 08:23 PM   #9
Moderator Emeritus
 
Comodave's Avatar
 
City: Au Gres, MI
Vessel Name: Black Dog
Vessel Model: Formula 41PC
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 21,191
Quote:
Originally Posted by rslifkin View Post
I leave one AC running to limit heat and humidity when I'm away from the boat over the summer. But the boat is rarely unattended for more than a few days. Worst case if a hose failed, we're not talking about a massive volume of water. The way my units are mounted it'll drain into the engine room, make a bit of a mess and the bilge pumps will handle it.
I wonder, have you tried unhooking the output hose from the pump and see if your bilge pumps can keep up? For piece of mind I would test it to make sure.
__________________
Boat Nut:
If you are one there is no explanation necessary.
If you aren’t one, there is no explanation possible.
Comodave is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2022, 08:26 PM   #10
Moderator Emeritus
 
Comodave's Avatar
 
City: Au Gres, MI
Vessel Name: Black Dog
Vessel Model: Formula 41PC
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 21,191
Quote:
Originally Posted by cardude01 View Post
There is an unattended boat next to me that has water circulating 24/7. I saw some workers at the boat last time I was there and they said that boat has the AC running full blast 24/7. They thought that was crazy.

I’ll ask again— if an AC cooling hose ruptured, would the system shut down and then shut down the seawater pump?

I wish there was a way for my AC system to run only from like noon to 6pm.
The A/C would shutdown, whether or not the pump would shutdown is another question. It depends on how the pump is wired. In our last boat the pump was on a separate breaker so it would run until the power went away. I don’t know if the pump is wired from the A/C if it would shutdown or not.
__________________
Boat Nut:
If you are one there is no explanation necessary.
If you aren’t one, there is no explanation possible.
Comodave is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2022, 08:29 PM   #11
Guru
 
cardude01's Avatar
 
City: Victoria TX
Vessel Name: Bijou
Vessel Model: 2008 Island Packet PY/SP
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 5,290
AC when away from the boat

Quote:
Originally Posted by Comodave View Post
The A/C would shutdown, whether or not the pump would shutdown is another question. It depends on how the pump is wired. In our last boat the pump was on a separate breaker so it would run until the power went away. I don’t know if the pump is wired from the A/C if it would shutdown or not.

Suppose I could simulate that by removing a cooling hose and letting it run into the bilge. Would also be interesting to see if my one bilge pump could keep up.

As you can probably tell, I’d really like to leave my current AC running at a high temp setting (like 85), but just for a few hours of the day when it’s hottest.
cardude01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2022, 08:37 PM   #12
Moderator Emeritus
 
Comodave's Avatar
 
City: Au Gres, MI
Vessel Name: Black Dog
Vessel Model: Formula 41PC
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 21,191
Quote:
Originally Posted by cardude01 View Post
Suppose I could simulate that by removing a cooling hose and letting it run into the bilge. Would also be interesting to see if my one bilge pump could keep up.

As you can probably tell, I’d really like to leave my current AC running at a high temp setting (like 85), but just for a few hours of the day when it’s hottest.
Before I did it I would do a test and see if the pump could keep up. Let us know how it goes.
__________________
Boat Nut:
If you are one there is no explanation necessary.
If you aren’t one, there is no explanation possible.
Comodave is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2022, 08:41 PM   #13
Guru
 
HopCar's Avatar
 
City: Miami Florida
Vessel Name: Possum
Vessel Model: Ellis 28
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 5,308
Quote:
Originally Posted by cardude01 View Post
Suppose I could simulate that by removing a cooling hose and letting it run into the bilge. Would also be interesting to see if my one bilge pump could keep up.

As you can probably tell, I’d really like to leave my current AC running at a high temp setting (like 85), but just for a few hours of the day when it’s hottest.
Dude! You’ve been doing this along time. Only one bilge pump?
__________________
Parks Masterson
Retired from Hopkins-Carter Marine Supply
HopCar is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2022, 08:51 PM   #14
Guru
 
City: Rochester, NY
Vessel Name: Hour Glass
Vessel Model: Chris Craft 381 Catalina
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 7,554
On my A/Cs a loss of water flow will cause a high pressure fault which will also shut down the pump. Thinking about it, that means the only big risk would be a hose rupture near the pump (below waterline). We're only talking about a 3/4 inch thru hull (about 20 inches below waterline) and 5/8 inch hoses. I've got more than enough bilge pump capacity to keep up with that.
rslifkin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2022, 08:59 PM   #15
Guru
 
cardude01's Avatar
 
City: Victoria TX
Vessel Name: Bijou
Vessel Model: 2008 Island Packet PY/SP
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 5,290
AC when away from the boat

Quote:
Originally Posted by HopCar View Post
Dude! You’ve been doing this along time. Only one bilge pump?

Yes. Only one. [emoji15]

My boat is basically a sailboat hull and the only accessible part of the bilge is where the one lonely bilge pump resides. It’s kind of like a deep, mysterious hole down there about 24” wide and maybe 30” deep.

In don’t know where another pump could be mounted on this boat.

Do most sailboats only have one bilge pump?
cardude01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2022, 09:39 PM   #16
Senior Member
 
jimdavi's Avatar
 
City: San Francisco
Vessel Name: Couple’s Retreat
Vessel Model: 2019 North Pacific 45
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 464
We have 3ea. 16k reverse cycle units and when warmer, and away for a few days, we run in humidity mode. No water flow and circulates lots of air. Seems to work well.
jimdavi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2022, 09:49 PM   #17
Guru
 
cardude01's Avatar
 
City: Victoria TX
Vessel Name: Bijou
Vessel Model: 2008 Island Packet PY/SP
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 5,290
AC when away from the boat

No water flow in humidity mode? Didn’t realize that.

Also didn’t realize there was humidity in San Fransisco! I’m currently in New Orleans, and man, the humidity is insane.
cardude01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2022, 10:11 PM   #18
Guru
 
Flatswing's Avatar
 
City: Windmill Harbour, Hilton Head Island, SC
Vessel Name: River Girl
Vessel Model: 2004 DeFever 49 RPH
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 573
Most boats in my marina run AC all summer, many are unattended for months. Just too hot & humid here not to. AC pumps are low pressure pumps, but will not shut down if leak occurs on outlet side of water cooling circuit. Ergo, check hoses & double clamp.
__________________
Jeremy
Flatswing is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2022, 11:23 PM   #19
Guru
 
cardude01's Avatar
 
City: Victoria TX
Vessel Name: Bijou
Vessel Model: 2008 Island Packet PY/SP
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 5,290
Will do. Thanks.
cardude01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-21-2022, 05:41 AM   #20
Guru
 
O C Diver's Avatar
 
City: Fort Myers, FL... Summers in the Great Lakes
Vessel Name: Slow Hand
Vessel Model: Cherubini Independence 45
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 12,834
First of all, add more pumps. I have 4, 2 in each compartment. Second, add a security system that will notify your phone with an app or email when the water is above the minimum level in your boat.

If your boat is located in a remote location (from you), you should have someone check on it periodically and be able to get in side and determine the cause of a high water alarm.

Ted
__________________
Blog: mvslowhand.com
I'm tired of fast moves, I've got a slow groove, on my mind.....
I want to spend some time, Not come and go in a heated rush.....
"Slow Hand" by The Pointer Sisters
O C Diver is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Trawler Port Captains
Port Captains are TF volunteers who can serve as local guides or assist with local arrangements and information. Search below to locate Port Captains near your destination. To learn more about this program read here: TF Port Captain Program





All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:55 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2006 - 2012