A/C issues

[They call me Tim]

This is my water strainer. I guess I can just pull those hose clamps off and hook up to the dock line.

 

[They call me Tim]

Sorry, the last photo was small.

 

[Shaps]

I get the bromine from a local pool supply store.

 

[CaptRonn]

This is my water strainer. I guess I can just pull those hose clamps off and hook up to the dock line.

No follow the output line of the strainer to the AC pump. The line that comes off the AC pump to the AC unit is the one you want to flush.

 

[Belleview3]

You can get bromine tablets at any hot tub or pool supply, even Walmart carries it.

 

[sbw1]

I'd be very surprised if you have algae in your water lines. That is a warm water issue that we do not face as Lake Michigan boaters. In more than 45 years of boating on Lake Michigan I have never seen or heard of that as an issue. Our boat sat in Spring Lake which can get pretty warm and it never had an algae problem in the ac line. The water line on the hull could become pretty scummy but not the ac. You may have crude in the lines and a bromine tablet could help clear that up. More likely if you have reduced water flow you could have zebra mussels which bromine would also address. What does the inside of the strainer have in it? Little shells? Weeds? Sand? When was the last time you checked the refrigerant level in the compressor? Is the coil icing up on a hot humid day? Are the returns in your ducts obstructed? Make sure you have good airflow and proper refrigerant levels. Also you can see if there is a cooling line blockage by looking at the water discharge. If the stream of water coming out the side of the boat is the same diameter as the discharge fitting and and runs sideways an inch or two before falling into the lake you have good flow. Don't start pulling hoses off fittings if you have that as you may break something. If it dribbles down the side of the hull, then there is some sort of blockage that is worth looking into. Do the easy stuff first. I'll post a pic of what good flow looks like.

 

[sbw1]

This is what a properly functioning ac pump produces for water flow when the compressor is running.

 

[370Dancer]

A word... If you put chemicals into your strainer (which I do), make sure your system is running. you don't want to do that to a dormant system (turned off for days or weeks). they will attack the strainer, or worse.

 

[MonacoMike]

View attachment 90353
I'd be very surprised if you have algae in your water lines. That is a warm water issue that we do not face as Lake Michigan boaters. In more than 45 years of boating on Lake Michigan I have never seen or heard of that as an issue.

Please don’t claim to speak for the entire lake. I for sure if I fight biological issues on the south end. If you get the furry stripe down the side of your boat that crap is probably growing inside your air conditioning system.

 

[sbw1]

Please don’t claim to speak for the entire lake. I for sure if I fight biological issues on the south end. If you get the furry stripe down the side of your boat that crap is probably growing inside your air conditioning system.

It may be there but not in enough volume to impede water flow. He boats north of Grand Haven so likely has less of an issue than we do in Spring Lake. The pic I posted was of our SR in late July so the boat had been in warm water for 4 months and was still putting out a good stream of water with no chemicals added to the strainer. It's just not necessary. Maybe in South Haven but not Grand Haven. We lived in Chicago for 7 years and never treated our AC there either. Absolutely no problems. We lived on our boat in Harbor Springs for a number of seasons. No problems there either. I have seen weeds and zebra mussels. That's about it. Does your AC clog with algae Mike?

 

[They call me Tim]

I actually boat on the far south end of the lake out of Portage. I'm not sure if that would make any difference, but there was some slimy stuff in the strainer which I rinsed out.

I also just tried the garden hose adapter trick on the line coming out of the pump and into the system. I turned it on full blast and let it run for a few minutes. I didn't really notice any gunk coming out, but I'm running the a/c now and it is cooling the cabin.

It has started the countdown again, so that didn't fix it, but it is cooling better than before. I'll bet I need an a/c pro to come out and give it an acid rinse and really clean it better.

 

[CaptRonn]

I actually boat on the far south end of the lake out of Portage. I'm not sure if that would make any difference, but there was some slimy stuff in the strainer which I rinsed out.

I also just tried the garden hose adapter trick on the line coming out of the pump and into the system. I turned it on full blast and let it run for a few minutes. I didn't really notice any gunk coming out, but I'm running the a/c now and it is cooling the cabin.

It has started the countdown again, so that didn't fix it, but it is cooling better than before. I'll bet I need an a/c pro to come out and give it an acid rinse and really clean it better.

Yep, that coating of "slim" is inside of those tubes, and it will decrease the ability of the unit to shed heat and cool. Just by the initial blow out you proved that because the unit is now trying to operate correctly.

Probably wouldn't hurt to have an AC guy check it out. Check the coolant quantity in the system, as that will also kick the same fault. And a good cleaning, plus regular cleaning will keep your unit running for a long time to come.

 

[They call me Tim]

I wonder if the bromine tablets would get rid of the slime? I'm not ready to give up and call in the pros just yet!

 

[CaptRonn]

I wonder if the bromine tablets would get rid of the slime? I'm not ready to give up and call in the pros just yet!

You could take a 5 gallon bucket, put a gallon of chlorine bleach and the rest water, take a hose and attach to the input side of the water pump and in the bucket, start the system, let it pump about half the bucket into it, then stop. Let it sit a bit, then restart it and pump the rest through.

I've done that before to clean the lines. Maybe someone else here who's tried Bromine could give their input. I wouldn't want that bromine tablet just sitting in the strainer with no water flow, as that could end up pretty corrosive.

 

[370Dancer]

I use the prep and etch from Home Depot. 1:1 with water. I put it in a Campco reservoir that is used typically for winterizing a boat. Gravity/pump feed until I see it coming out the overboard thru hulls, and then shut it off and let it sit for a half an hour. I also use Bromide tablets in the strainer (I have a plastic one), but the A/C is running all the time anyways. Just don't let those tablets or chlorine tablets is in a metal strainer basket without the system running. They will eat it up. I am in SW Florida, home of the fastest growing algae and barnacles I've ever seen.

Also, be mindful when blowing the lines out with a dockside hose. There are no knurls on the inlet and outlet lines of the Condenser. I have blown a hose off the end of an a/c unit before just back flushing. A dock mate in Huntsville sank his boat doing that, and not realizing the hose had come off. Left the A/C on and went home. Came back to a total loss.

 

[firecadet613]

I'm with @sbw1 and I'd be SHOCKED if you had any growth in your system. I was speaking to @MonacoMike last week and he told me about his bromine tablets...I realized it's been a while since I checked my A/C strainer. I took a peek this past weekend - nothing in it. No debris, no slime, no growth. Water temps aren't that warm on Lake Michigan...I'm just up the coast from you. I used to slip in Portage, no growth issues there either.

Solid flow out of my thru hull discharge (stick a small piece of clear plastic tubing in there to prevent the drips).

Did you buy the boat locally or out of a warm climate?

 

[They call me Tim]

I'm with @sbw1 and I'd be SHOCKED if you had any growth in your system. I was speaking to @MonacoMike last week and he told me about his bromine tablets...I realized it's been a while since I checked my A/C strainer. I took a peek this past weekend - nothing in it. No debris, no slime, no growth. Water temps aren't that warm on Lake Michigan...I'm just up the coast from you. I used to slip in Portage, no growth issues there either.

Solid flow out of my thru hull discharge (stick a small piece of clear plastic tubing in there to prevent the drips).

Did you buy the boat locally or out of a warm climate?

I purchased the boat in Milwaukee. I think the boat has been there its whole life. There was definitely a slimy substance in the strainer when i cleaned it out, but there was a good flow through the system before and after I did the cleaning and blowout of the system with the hose.

It seems to be operating a little better after the garden hose treatment, but that could be my imagination.

I got this off of the web for the type of a/c I have on the boat. It indicates a water flow issue. Again, strange to me as I see plenty of water pumping out of the side of the boat. That's why I think it has to be a coating of some kind of slime or algae on the inside of the tubing in the system.

 

[They call me Tim]

 

[sbw1]

I purchased the boat in Milwaukee. I think the boat has been there its whole life. There was definitely a slimy substance in the strainer when i cleaned it out, but there was a good flow through the system before and after I did the cleaning and blowout of the system with the hose.

It seems to be operating a little better after the garden hose treatment, but that could be my imagination.

I got this off of the web for the type of a/c I have on the boat. It indicates a water flow issue. Again, strange to me as I see plenty of water pumping out of the side of the boat. That's why I think it has to be a coating of some kind of slime or algae on the inside of the tubing in the system. View attachment 90559

I used to get that error code on hot humid days occasionally. It was caused by the compressor icing up and reducing the airflow over the compressor fins. The fix was to set the defrost cycle in the software. That would cycle a little warm air over the fins for a brief spell and prevent ice formation. We typically had the icing problem from people going in and out of the salon and letting lots of hot humid air into the cabin.

 

[firecadet613]

If you have good water flow, check airflow. Filters cleaned? Are you in and out of the cabin a lot? What temp is it set to?

I had a 26' boat and it was a pain to try and keep cool. Moved up to a 33' and no issues. Have a 37' now and it can be an icebox.