Air conditioner -full time hard wired Marine grade

[Matt19020]

I am considering installing a full time AC unit under one of the seats of my M...
Similar to this:

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... Id=2424174
or
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... &id=207731

Has anyone done this?..

I know it is over kill but I am considering a slip two hours from home and AC is a must! Not a option......
I currently use a carry on unit but do not want to deal with hauling that in and out and do not like the space it takes up when under sail...

[Russ]

If A/C was a must, I'd probably do the same thing. You will be tethered to the dock, but at least you will sleep.

The only consideration is the source of water to cool it. That means 2 through hull fittings. One for raw water in and another for exhaust. And of course you'll need a strainer to keep out the seaweed and junk from clogging it up. A friend of mine has his all fouled with jellyfish. Of course he keeps it running all summer long.

[Divecoz]

Matt we are outside of Chicago.. similar weather as you..we got by with a Cruise-air A/C half the price of a built in and we bought it used for less than half the price of new. Ours sits in the dock box when we sail.
Ours are small boats boats so yes 9000 BTUs is a bit over kill ......$1400.00 is a bit steep as well .......and its takes considerable knowledge or luck to install one of these units and.... Not Have.... Sound issues.. and vibration issues...do your research..

[TAW02]

Installed one of these room air conditioners. They are self-contained and can be wheeled around from room to room. The exhaust duct tubing was run under the rear berth locker area and exits through a dryer type duct flapper above where the steering shaft exits.

9K BTU



A drip tube was tee-ed into the sink drain and the units castors removed and replaced with 3/8ths bolts (4) to mount the entire unit over the left part of the sink locker area.



The unit will blast good air circulation, however since the entire unit is inside the area to be cooled, heat from the machinery and condenser are cooled within the unit with split duct designwork and that heat is carried off in the duct tubing which gets quite warm, so it is important to stow the ductwork under the bunk boards with insulation blanketing. (I use supermarket heat bags I cut and wrapped the pipe with) works real good. I think the trade-off in heat transfer reduces the actual 9K advertised BTU to somewhere around 5-6K BTU's The picture below shows the unit in the process of being installed with the ductwork rolled and stashed behind the unit. The init power cord can be seen however not seen is a built-in GFI that comes already installed on the power cord which I mounted on the sink cabinet side closest to the unit. I ran the rest of the cord to my shorepower outlet connectors.



In the Florida summer heat (97 degrees by noon) the unit will pull the cabin temps down (usually around 110 degrees with cabin closed up) ... to approximately 78-81 degrees inside of an hours time. At night 72-74 degrees.

Runs on 117VAC 60HZ and requires 900Watts to operate. At the dock or tethered to a generator, she runs well. At anchor I use a Honda eu2000i generator. It handles 1600 watts with a 2000 surge rating. I also use 2 CO detectors inside the cabin. Will run the unit by itelf continuosly for about 4.5 hours.

Purchased this unit at Target for about 360 bucks. An identical model sells for over 400 bucks but is a reverse heat pump and will heat the cabin nicely I am told.

Good luck.

[Divecoz]

TAW02: I like everything about your unit better than my Cruise-air EXCEPT! Your exhaust! How about adding a water proof round port cover on that?
My Cruise -air is for sale because of storage issues when sailing, if I dont leave it at the dock.. In Florida you have No Less Than 900,000 reasons to overnight "out there" .... here on lake Michigan not so much .. But if.. this @#$%^&* house ever sells we are heading to Port Charlotte and we'll be doing a lot of multi day trips and A/C on the hook would be very nice.. That said I have been in Big Seas a few times.. a couple up here and a couple down there. a dryer vent is really just a 4" open hole in the motor well. Crossing BocaGrande Pass from Pelican Bay to Gasparilla I had water in the motor well and at times no less than calf deep in the cockpit.. I shipped water thru the existing holes ....and would have had REAL issues if I had a 4" hole .. I do have 3 automatic bilge pumps but who da heck wants.....to test them????? and... 3 x 3/4 does not = 4
You could (and I will steal your A/C idea ) have added that Water Proof Port.. when not at anchor I/U could have it screwed in place and when in use I will have the cap dangling from a S.S. ball chain.

[DaveB]

I installed the Mermaid 5200 on my Bayliner 25ft with flybridge (lots of glass and larger air volume than a Mac.X/M) back in 1996 and could easy handle a Mac. The key is it draws 4.4 amps and a honda 1000 will run it.
You may need a fresh air duck intake for the bildge area but that may not be nessesary due to so many loose opening hatches below deck. ( I didn't have any out side vent except the vent for I/O engine).
In SW Florida during summer was able to keep temps to 78 degrees in 90 degree temps and you will need a way to get rid of the mosture thru a pan that collects it . With the builtin thermostate it makes it easy for a non touch automatic system.
Adding a outside cooling seacock will greatly improve performance and elect. drain.
This also is the same for builtin refigeration such as the Adler Barber, south of Jacksonville,FL I would put in water cooled units. North of that air cooled.
Here is unit I installed for AC. (add heat for around $100 more)

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... 7&id=49449

Dave

I am considering installing a full time AC unit under one of the seats of my M...
Similar to this:

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... Id=2424174
or
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... &id=207731

Has anyone done this?..

I know it is over kill but I am considering a slip two hours from home and AC is a must! Not a option......
I currently use a carry on unit but do not want to deal with hauling that in and out and do not like the space it takes up when under sail...

[DaveB]

Continued:

I haven't installed a built in AC unit on my Mac.X and have a 5100 portable unit that goes at the companionway hatch with my acrilic board fitted around the unit. This unit does the same as the builtin with no thruhull fittings. I use it now on longer trips were a Marina with hookups to get the AC power.
I use Fans over berths and just came back from a 4 day trip to Cayo Costa were temps were 90 plus degrees in day and 72 at night and we have been comfort enough to sleep. I also have a Sunbrella cover over the Boom for shade and rain cover while at anchor.
We have been doing this for past 3 years on our Mac. and like it.
In a Marina we will always have the AC in companionway during Spring,Summer and Fall.
Dave

[TAW02]

Continued:

I haven't installed a built in AC unit on my Mac.X and have a 5100 portable unit that goes at the companionway hatch with my acrilic board fitted around the unit. This unit does the same as the builtin with no thruhull fittings. In a Marina we will always have the AC in companionway during Spring,Summer and Fall.
Dave

This was my second option, however for an it is really a good solution because of the larger companionway. In my , a window unit would make it hard to traverse in and out of the cockpit. So I went with the interior unit.

What makes the window unit option a number one choice is the fact that it is inexpensive, light and easy to stow, and it is pretty much self contained and easy to setup and break down.

A small genset can run a 5K BTU unit because it only draws 650 watts of power or thereabouts depending on the unit. Using a small lightweight window unit makes swinging on a hook in a remote island cove (that can be sticky hot and buggy) at night, a paradise of night time slumber!

[Matt19020]

Taew02
I actually have the same setup as you do now but do not like the space it takes up or lugging it on and off the boat...setting up fans, connecting drain, etc,...
I am looking for something I can just hit the switch and presto! instant air!

I used the stand alone unit last year and on a very humid 92 degree day it ran continuously and never went below 86 until the sun went down..... Even then the temp went to 76 at best when outside air was 80...Not a bad temp but it seemed like a lot of work to get there...
I know it is not a bad unit but it had to run 9 hours continuosly to get to those modest gains....once the sun came up so did the interior temp The unit could not keep up with it and it is a new unit.
It did a good job to dehumidify the air which was nice and made it feel cooler
Also.... it did give off considerable amounts of heat while running

I put my exhaust port just aft of the spreaders in the window and placed my unit on the forward end of the sink and used fans to circulate:

[Divecoz]

I guess I will keep looking and reading as there is NO WAY I am at the moment willing to spend in or around $1500.00 for A/C on a Macgregor ...
We seem to have a few conflicts of opinion going on....TAW02 says he HAS one and its working well yet another member says , he does too and its not really working or hardly at all..
If this was a Seaward I would have No Doubt The cash for a built in A/C and Radar and Auto Pilot and Stainless Steel Anchors.. I must be running in the wrong pack..

[Matt19020]

Divecoz..Don't get me wrong, It is not that I want to put in the time and money but if I want the admiral on board and that kind of convenience then it will cost me a boat buck....the slip is a little cheaper where we are going so that will defer some cost plus. If I had to buy a new carry on type I would need to drop more money so I was thinking just bite the bullet and be done with it

[TAW02]

Mr. Divecoz and Mr Matt, I can relate to what both of you fellahs have posted regarding the interior ac unit. All except having excessive water in the motor well. Hope I don't experience that, but with that being said the exhaust outlet is over four inches above the motor well deck.

Mr. Matt, the unit is best installed in place. Plumbed into waste water and electric. Points that make things work very well are exhaust placement and insulation. I suppose the shortest run is the better. Such would be directly behind the unit. I have pondered that many times. Water levels would never climb that high

As to getting the best results from this unit (as with any unit whether it is keel-cooled, or window mounted, outside air leaks no matter how small will labor the ac unit dramatically). Such is the case with the companionway board. The Standard factory companionway board allows and inch or so open space to the outside air!!!

Run you ac and then wet your hand. Now hold it up to the open topped space between the companionway door and the upper hatch closer meet. You will be blown away at the amount of air rushes in from the outside. This air is being sucked in by the interior ac unit! And on a hot day it will tell you you need to seal that opening.

I use a pool noodle that I have cut to fit and split to fit the companionway board, so that when I draw the hatch cover over it , it will seal against the foam noodle. One coud use a piece of foam rubber pipe insulation I suppose. But a foam noodle seems to hold up better and comes in a host of colors. Available in toys and sporting goods at Walmart.

So sealing off this air-gap will effectively allow AC cooling to maximize expotenially. At least I was quite supprised

[Divecoz]

TAW 02 You offered, Some great Ideas and several I will steal : )
I am not one of those , who digs for danger danger Will Robinson scenarios .. I just related 2 of my personal experiences. The Weather issue was my choice.. The 2 Morons..in 2 - 40'+ Go Fast boats coming in HOT and shutting down , right at the imaginary No Wake Line, almost swamped several smaller boats, with all of us coming into a protected harbor.. 3 of us signed "formal" complaints.. sad to say IMHO... only verbal warnings were made..it took up much of the afternoon and almost came to blows ... 2 young hot shots with a lot of money $$$$$$$$$$$$ who felt because their "rich".... we were all just a nuisance..as you can imagine. That .. didn't sit well with any, of the 3 of us.. It is a negative issue that you can, have to deal with , when the average boat in a 1000 boat Marina is running well over $100,0000.00 . Lots of Million and multimillion dollar boats and with a "FEW" owners with attitudes to match..
My 3rd issue as reported here before, was a Hulk Hogan Wanna Be in Florida.. Coming through a Marked Dredged No Wake Entrance Channel "he" hit WOT and out of control in that narrow channel.. his wake SLAMMED .. me onto a piling and caused actual damage to my combing / above the rub rail..Needless to say he got way and I had 2 days of repairs ..

[Matt19020]

Taw02
Nice post ...I never really considered the air gap at the companionway....now that I think about it ...it is only common sense....
Consider your idea using a pool noodle stolen
Thanks for the input
If I decide to do the Mod I will post the install pics...

[jschrade]

FYI, Hulk Hogan typically ran around in one of those SeaDoo jet boats with his family before things went crazy.

Jim