A/C in a Mac X

[AmyTom]

As noted in a previous message the idea of running a Yamaha 2400 gen set to power the Cruise Air A/C is a bust.

What are some other ideas for cooling?

Could I just plumb the exhaust underwater to avoid the CO issues?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

[tangentair]

Plumbing it under water might be tricky it doesn't disolve all that well, but a length of hose like is used in a service center hauled up the mast should provide sufficient dilution since it is lighter than air especially with a slight breeze or float it on a foam block over the side. Just have to deal with a large hose.

[Tahoe Jack]

You will find a fair amount of earlier postings on this topic by using 'Search'. I have a mod for a Honda Gen install (under Electrical) and another for a hatch-way AC.
http://macgregorsailors.com/cgi-bin/mod ... record=693
Lots of variations ..... Jack

[James V]

Where was the Gen at?

The exaust fumes are hot and toxic and does bad things to hoses. Might be hard to put in water. However, it might be easier to put it down wind.

[AmyTom]

The Gen was sitting in the cockpit on the helm seat. When I went to sleep it was down wind but the wind changed while the current stayed the same so we didn't swing around on anchor.
I'm liking the ideas of using the small "room A/Cs" they seem to be more efficient than the cruise air. If I could find a way to install one out of the way maybe using sea water to cool it then run the whole kit from an inverter. I would have to find out how much juice I would need for a whole night then recharge the batteries the next morning.

Has anybody else tried doing this?

[James V]

I think that it would be far to many amp hours for this. There is some real small units for dog houses and a portable one that home depo sells that you can vent the hot air outside.
http://www.seefido.com/html/dog_house_a ... tioner.htm

Curtians help as well as a boom tent.

[ZANDRAMADAS]

James, i installed the cheapo A/C found at lowes or home depot...for about $89 bucks...i used various GEN's (we had to rent them)...when we ran the A/C i set it up on deck, right behind the mast (on a rubber mat, actually a car mat, to reduce vibrations). it being that high allowed it to have breeze , we have a CO alarm combo in the boat, it never went off, neither did we smell it. Also the A/C cool'ed so much you could almost hang meat...this we used for the Florida trips....only down side is u lost about a foot of recession on the door opening and closing...(top hatch)....remember to secure the gen to the mast.

[Chip Hindes]

If I could find a way to install one out of the way maybe using sea water to cool it then run the whole kit from an inverter. I would have to find out how much juice I would need for a whole night then recharge the batteries the next morning.

This has been covered a number of times. There is no reasonable way to water cool a standard A/C. You can buy a nice Mermaid water cooled A/C which is quite efficient, specifically designed and sized for your boat for about $1500. I'm unaware that a conventional room A/C is considerably more efficient than your Cruisair, but it doesn't matter how much more efficient they are, they aren't efficient enough to consider running either off an inverter. You can't reasonably have enough batteries to power an A/C overnight; maybe a few hours at most. Even if you did, you'd have to run the outboard 2-4 hours for each hour of A/C to make up the power you used.

Absent shore power, the only reasonable way to run A/C is with a generator.

[Scott]

This has been covered a number of times. There is no reasonable way to water cool a standard A/C

I can attest to being convinced of this as I believe I was the last non engineer to raise this question.

If you're thick skinned start the debate again, if not, use the search function as this has been covered ad nauseam.

[AmyTom]

I'm loosing faith in the whole A/C idea now. What is everyone else doing in Florida for night time cooling? Does the boom tent really offer that much temp drop over just having the bimini and dodger? What about the curtains?
I'm open to all ideas and thanks for the help.

[AmyTom]

ZANDRAMADAS,

Where did you mount the A/C itself? In the hatchboards? Also what genset do you need to run it? (how many amps?)

[James V]

The curtians will add as much reduction in sun heat as the boom tent. However, when the sun is down and it does not drop below 80 until after midnight, the only cooling will be from an A/C.

From the incident that you told I think that the CO2 fumes came into the boat from the hatch and the boat did not swing because of the current. I think that you was on one of the rivers in Fl. Not been there yet. My boat always moved with the wind. So, I would suggest that you find a place to anchor that does not have any current during the summers light nightime wind. Of course, make sure that the anchor will hold with the 180 degree wind shift during the night.

One of th Fl tricks that I liked in the summer's light winds is to use a stern anchor (in addition to he bow) and put the boat beam to the wind. That way you will have a brease across the cockpit and when the wind shifts 180 degrees during the night the wind will be on the other side. If the wind picks up to much, just release the line, make sure the bitter end is tied off.

For those of you who have not been in Fl during the summer, the sun generates the wind by heating up the waters. In the moring the Atlantic is heated thus an easterly wind and the afternoon the Gulf is heated, thus a westerly wind. During the night the wind changes direction. Dead calm during the middle and bad bugs. This is not 100% but most often.