Air conditioning anyone?

Hi All,

To the owners of the venerable Taiwanese Trawlers, who has air conditioning on their boat? What kind and where did you install it? Portables?

Dave

Portable A/Cs are inefficient to the point of being almost worthless. You are using inside air to cool the condenser which you then dump outside.

A permanently installed, raw water cooled A/C like Cruiseair, Mermaid, Webasto is the best way. Secondly would be a mini split system such as those made for homes. But the condensing unit won't hold up well in salt air. Finally, an RV roof type unit will work well until it rusts out like the mini split condenser.

A good marine A/C system will last for twenty or more years. You will be replacing the mini split or RV unit every five years or so. You can buy a 16,000 btu marine A/C unit and basic installation kit for about $2,500. Professional installation will add another $2K or so.

David

I have built in 16k located in the V berth closet and a 12k in the aft stateroom closet both raw water cooled.... in Fort Myers Florida with sea water temperatures over 90° not very efficient. A window shaker from Walmart casually installed works better when at the dock. When I was in New England the professionally installed system would produce heat when the water temperature was over 45° As djmarchand reports the portable AC on wheels are of little use.... I did talk to a HouseBoat owner who reports good results with a duel tube ---separated air intake and exhaust... is because he purchased it and cut holes to install....?

My 43' Tradewinds has 3 raw water Cruiseair units. These are fed from a common raw water pump in the engine room. I have been an HVAC tech for 20 years, so I plan to make a few changes to improve reliability. Some suggestions I have: Install isolation valves were each hose branches off from the pump. That way, if one unit leaks or needs to be worked on, the others can still be used. Some owners have adapted their system to be able to use dock water instead of raw water by using a Y valve. That allows the system to be run if the raw water pump were to fail. Your marina may not want you using so much water especially because the water will literally be "on" all the time. Also, city water can and will sink your boat, so it is very important to use quality fittings and hose. Ensure your heat exchangers stay clean.

Daniel

The mini split manufacturers will not warranty the condenser if installed even near salt water. Also consider that all but the smallest mini split units need 240 volt service. I am seeing more of them, particularly on houseboats.

dvarholy said:

The mini split manufacturers will not warranty the condenser if installed even near salt water. Also consider that all but the smallest mini split units need 240 volt service. I am seeing more of them, particularly on houseboats.

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Things must be different in Australia I have seen split systems on house boats 11 years old and still working well and split systems on homes on the beach front 10 years old and still working .
There is no where in the warranty (I just looked ) that stipulates how far from the water the AC must be before warranty is denied .As I said things must be different here

Have a 44 MT. I have two crusairs both mounted in aft section. One blows into aft cabin and one into main salon. I use a small fan to get air into fore cabin. Works fine for years with servicing. Did replace a compressor a couple of years ago. Rob

16K in aft and vented to main salon. 10K under Vee vented to Vee, head and galley. Works well.

We have 2 Cruiseair 16K btu units in our 41 President. They were there when we bought the boat.

Comodave, where is your unit located for your forward cabin ?
Both of my compressor units are in the engine room but the blower for the forward cabin is on the port side above the hanging locker.

Both of my units have died and need replacement. I am favoring the one piece - all inclusive unit but not sure where to place it.

Living on the hook for two years in a land where our summers hit 40c/104f and not once have we wanted a/c.

Good ventilation and large overhangs are the answer.

The forward A/C is under the aft seat in the dinette. We have a large horseshoe dinette on the port side. That unit is a self-contained unit. The unit in the aft cabin is a split system. I wish that both were the self contained type due to overcrowding in the engine room.

Simi 60 said:

Living on the hook for two years in a land where our summers hit 40c/104f and not once have we wanted a/c.

Good ventilation and large overhangs are the answer.

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In your opinion. Respectfully, how does your opnion stated here help advance the help the OP is seeking?

Not so much the heat as it is the humidity

Simi 60 said:

Living on the hook for two years in a land where our summers hit 40c/104f and not once have we wanted a/c.

Good ventilation and large overhangs are the answer.

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I think what he was trying to say

catalinajack said:

In your opinion. Respectfully, how does your opnion stated here help advance the help the OP is seeking?

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Is sell your boat and buy one exactly like his

catalinajack said:

In your opinion.

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Not opinion, it is fact.
Evidence of this fact is 100f summers and no a/c due to good ventilation and large overhangs.
Further support of this fact is those with poor ventilation and small or no overhangs needing A/c.

How it helps the op is perhaps they need to address ventilation and shading first, it will certainly help even if AC is decided on at a later stage.

Simi 60 said:

Not opinion, it is fact.
Evidence of this fact is 100f summers and no a/c due to good ventilation and large overhangs.
Further support of this fact is those with poor ventilation and small or no overhangs needing A/c.

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No, it is not a fact. It is your opinion that good ventilation IS the answer. For other folks, perhaps most folks, your environment would not be sufficient. Therefore, opinion, not fact.

Simi 60 said:

Not opinion, it is fact.
Evidence of this fact is 100f summers and no a/c due to good ventilation and large overhangs.
Further support of this fact is those with poor ventilation and small or no overhangs needing A/c.

How it helps the op is perhaps they need to address ventilation and shading first, it will certainly help even if AC is decided on at a later stage.

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And if the OP does not have good ventilation and an overhang what is your recommendation? Sell the boat I suppose.

catalinajack said:

And if the OP does not have good ventilation and an overhang what is your recommendation? Sell the boat I suppose.

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Fabric shade and opening windows/hatches, heard of them?
Anything that keeps sun off decks, roof and windows makes a huge difference

On the days where it was 40c/outside here we had 28c and coolish breeze inside.

Simi 60 said:

Fabric shade and opening windows, heard of them?

On the days where it was 40c/outside here we had 28c and coolish breeze inside.

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Simi 60, give it up. Yes, I have. If you choose no A/C, good for you. Others choose differently. Denigrating their choice is unbecoming. I ask you again, how do your observations help the OP and this forum?

catalinajack said:

Simi 60, give it up. Yes, I have. If you choose no A/C, good for you. Others choose differently. Denigrating their choice is unbecoming. I ask you again, how do your observations help the OP and this forum?

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Denigrating? What, like you are doing to me?
And please give an example where I did it to the op?

Perhaps I should have said shade and ventilation go a long way towards a solution.
Does that help your delicate nature?

Simi 60 said:

Denigrating? What, like you are doing to me?
And please give an example where I did it to the op?

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No thank you. I choose not to further engage with you.

catalinajack said:

No thank you. I choose not to further engage with you.

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Hilarious
Refuses to back up his comment and still engages with me while claiming he's not.
Thanks for the lulz

Lol after anchors and single vs twins looks like here is another delicate subject matter

L

Lou_tribal said:

Lol after anchors and single vs twins looks like here is another delicate subject matter

L

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Right up there with the pros and cons of orange juice with breakfast!

On my MT 34 I have a 16K unit in the aft stateroom, installed it myself and ran ducts, ducts, and more ducts this makes a huge difference IMHO, in the summer I close down the ducts near the floor and favor the two in the front of the salon that point straight up, in the fall the lower ducts are wide open.

Had my canvas guy build a sunshade that attaches to the Bimini on one end and the aft flybridge railing on the back, made a huge difference.

It's very easy to run large diameter duct work just beneath the decks from the rear to the front.

The biggest challenge is that the door leaks like crazy, when it gets cold I usually stuff some foam rubber in it, being an MT I'm not about to spend a boat unit on a Diamond Sea Glaze door..

Simi 60 said:

Hilarious
Refuses to back up his comment and still engages with me while claiming he's not.
Thanks for the lulz

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The OP wants to know about air conditioning. Its not a big help telling him that he doesn’t need it. You may be content in well ventilated 104 degree shade, but most of us aren’t. That’s not my idea of comfort. AC is one of the all-time great inventions and, next to a water maker, might be one of the most important upgrades in warm weather boating.

I have a/c-love it. Give me a reason to have a ginny.

guy with a boat said:

The OP wants to know about air conditioning. Its not a big help telling him that he doesn’t need it. You may be content in well ventilated 104 degree shade, but most of us aren’t. That’s not my idea of comfort. AC is one of the all-time great inventions and, next to a water maker, might be one of the most important upgrades in warm weather boating.

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The OP is from La Conner WA, with an average temperature of 60F during July, the hottest month of the year.

I would tend to agree that shading and ventilation would make it very comfortable in this situation. That may not be the case where you live, or in Florida, or where I live.

For me - if its too hot, I go for a swim.

And any thought of humidity in this recent turn of discussion?

Only makes a world of difference when factored in....