Looking for feedback on CTM-Marinne A/C

[Mragan]

I'm looking to replace two Dometic air conditioning units in my pilot house. CTM-Marine sales literature looks good, but most sales brochures promise the world. Customer service, efficiency, quiet operation, etc etc.

Does anyone have any experience with this company? Good, bad or indifferent?

They also offer an additional soft start device to reduce start up noise and initial start up draw. Not sure how it works, possibly an addition start cap???

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

Mike

 

[catalinajack]

Just a few days ago, I had an all-in-one, 16,000btu unit installed. I ran it on heat mode for one day before it stopped making heat. The seawater temp had dipped to below 36 degrees. The manual says 40 degrees is the limit so not a surprise. For the one day it was able to produce heat it worked quite well. I'm guessing that the water temp, even though below 40 degrees, was just on the edge and when it dropped close to 35 degrees it just said "no more heat for you".

Not much help, I know, but I can offer you this. The CTM was installed in the same space as was the Dometic air handler. The CTM, although it is both the compressor and the air handler, is far quieter than was just the the Dometic air handler, a very pleasant surprise. The CTM seems to be very well made. Time will tell.

I'm looking to replace two Dometic air conditioning units in my pilot house. CTM-Marine sales literature looks good, but most sales brochures promise the world. Customer service, efficiency, quiet operation, etc etc.

Does anyone have any experience with this company? Good, bad or indifferent?

They also offer an additional soft start device to reduce start up noise and initial start up draw. Not sure how it works, possibly an addition start cap???

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

Mike

 

[CaptainDC68]

Installed a CTM 16,000 BTU unit right before the summer, and it has run flawlessly, with heavy use. As catalinajack mentioned, it’s quiet. Much quieter than the Dometic Turbo unit I replaced (maybe because it’s new, and my Dometic had taken a beating over the years already). I run mine without the soft start, but that should make it even quieter during startup.

Bought mine from Citimarine. They were great, knowledgeable about the units and what was needed for installation. Lead time took a couple of weeks, but I was able to get it and I’m happy with the unit. Good AC unit, good company.

 

[catalinajack]

Update on the heat side of the CTM. Now that the weather has turned cold but with the water temp at 50 degrees, I can report that it produces a ton of heat.

 

[Scottwb96]

Have you looked at the Velair models yet? They've made some serious improvements over all the other brands/tech... Definitely worth taking a look!!! I plan to replace mine with this, hopefully before the summer rolls around again. I heard they may have disco'ed the 27K BTU option. But the 21K BTU can even be used on 120v...
If you have a Fisheries Supply account I think the pricing was about $2,400-ish for the 21K unit.

https://www.uflexusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Brochure-pages.pdf

 

[Bmarler]

Have you looked at the Velair models yet? They've made some serious improvements over all the other brands/tech... Definitely worth taking a look!!! I plan to replace mine with this, hopefully before the summer rolls around again. I heard they may have disco'ed the 27K BTU option. But the 21K BTU can even be used on 120v...
If you have a Fisheries Supply account I think the pricing was about $2,400-ish for the 21K unit.

https://www.uflexusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Brochure-pages.pdf

i don't see it on fisheries website. is it special order?

 

[Scottwb96]

Bmarler - I just pinged the local rep for Velair to ask about Fisheries. But to answer your question, I do believe it is a special order through them. The other distributors in Washington are Land N Sea, LFS/Redden Marine/Go2Marine, US Distributing, Englund Marine Supply or West Marine.

 

[Bmarler]

Bmarler - I just pinged the local rep for Velair to ask about Fisheries. But to answer your question, I do believe it is a special order through them. The other distributors in Washington are Land N Sea, LFS/Redden Marine/Go2Marine, US Distributing, Englund Marine Supply or West Marine.

sounds good. i get the best discounts from fisheries so they get most of my business. port supply, (west marine) changed their discount policy a while back so i only go there if i have to.
i'm not positive i'm putting ac back in the boat, i have the one that came out that still works. but a newer model will be way more efficient and the reverse cycle for heating will save diesel during the winter.

 

[Scottwb96]

Yeah, these new type of units are CRAZY EFFICIENT!!! The max "used to be" right about 16K BYU for the 120v power options. Velair with the way their motors and start-up work, they had a model (since been dico'ed) that went all the way up to 27K BTU!!!
But, I will still take the 21K BTU for about the same cost as everyone else's ~16K units. The 21K unit uses less power than my current 16K & my older 12K units...
I like the "forward thinking" ideas on these units as well. Comes with the ability to link it to wifi and thus control while away from the boat via the app. Monitor settings, etc... pretty slick!