Marine Air 16k BTU has rust and leaking pan

[Dan the Man]

How do I deal with it? Can the pan be replaced and how? Suggestions appreciated.

 

[rgano]

The pans I have seen on any number of AC units are sheet metal (sometimes galvanized) with one or more drain holes cut into the vertical surfaces. Any welding shop could quite handily copy what you have in aluminum or stainless or carbon steel. Even better would be to have a plactic one made.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard.

 

[Dan the Man]

How is the damaged one removed. It is permanently attached to the system? Can it be separated from the rest of the system?

 

[rgano]

I will bet somebody here has the same one and can add to my attempt to help. I am sure each manufacturer varies a bit on how their pans are attached, but once you have removed the ac unit to a place you can examine it, you will see a way to unbolt or just cut it free. The pan is not an integral part of the machinery of an ac unit. Downside is that you will need to remove the whole unit to correct this. Maybe you will see a way to patch the existing pan and preserve it from further corrosion. And like RT above, welcome - I had not noticed this is one of your first posts here on TF.

 

[ranger58sb]

How do I deal with it? Can the pan be replaced and how? Suggestions appreciated.

How old is it? A bit long in the tooth by now, yes?

The Vector Turbo units Marine Airrrr introduced circa... ummm... a fair bit ago, by now... to replace the earlier Vector Compact units... had a composite drain pan and MA made a big deal about the improvement it represents. MA has now been absorbed by Dometic... and the current product is called "DTG"...

Might be adequate to use a spray-on product of some sort while your basic unit limps toward end of life? Truck bed liner?

FWIW, we replace our MA Vector Compacts (previous boat) at the 15 and 16 year old mark; they were still working, but showing signs of impending doom.

And then on this boat, the Cruisair Stowaway models, similar to the VCs, are also probably on their last legs. We've replaced one, that had actually failed, already... and have a replacement schedule in the plans for the rest of those... also with DTGs.

-Chris

 

[Dan the Man]

Thanks Chris...good stuff. Might do that, try to patch it somehow and direct the water to the drain, for now.

 

[Tomas]

I'd try pacifying the rust with phosphoric acid and patch holes with JB Weld and repaint.

 

[Dan the Man]

Good advice!

 

[Barking Sands]

Build or buy another pan slightly larger than the rusty pan, unbolt the existing pan from the floor, slide new pan underneath old pan. Remove any drain fittings from the old pan so both pans are mostly flush and see if you can line them up between the two so a new drain can be added to new pan. I would coat the old pan with something like Por-15 just to stop the mess. You might even be able to get a nice poly pan pretty cheaply.

I could see in some cases you might lift and support the old pan just above the new to aid in drainage or depending on how they fit together and drain orientation just let it sit right on top.

 

[Turtle Blues]

I'm now the old guy in the shop who disassembles and scraps old units.
I save the stainless pans that are in good condition.
If you are comfortable completely disassembling the unit and putting it back together -it is a bit of work and may involve drilling some rivets -
PM me a couple of pictures and the overall dimensions and I'll let you know if I have one.

 

[Dan the Man]

Good idea Turtle Blue, should be able to find something in polyurethane at the Container Store could set it in to stop immediate flow into the bilge, water damage potential, etc.

 

[Turtle Blues]

If you can lift it enough to get a cookie sheet under it they are easy to cut a drain plug into and covered with spray sealant last a couple of years.

 

[Duetto]

years back i bought a stainless steel exact replacement for the same unit you have. i believe it was a factory part.

i had to drill out some rivets which held the blower and condenser to the old pan. also had to unbolt the compressor from the bottom of pan. everything lined up perfectly.