A/C problem

[tollycraft]

Hi guys & girls of course, I have a 1988 Sea Ray Express . I asked for some advise about a week ago re: A/C not working. You hit the problem right on the head and all I had to do was remove a hose which ran off the thru hull intake and got water coming into the line again and away I went. Did encounter a new problem though. The A/C worked great for a couple of hours then the air flow slowed down considerably and wasn't as cool. I checked and the water was still discharging and everything seemed fine. I left the dock for several hours out on the lake and when I returned, plugged in the shorepower, the air flow was great and the air was cold. I removed the cold air return filter (it was dirty) and cleaned it, while I had the filter off, still no change. My question, is it possible I may be low on freeon, or could it be something else. The surface temperature of the water where I boat was 44 degrees F. Any suggestions?

 

[Hampton]

Your evaporator (right part?) probably froze up due to lack of airflow when the unit was dirty. Now that you've cleaned it, it should be ok. Keep an eye on it for a few days.

Also, I read recently in the manual something about cold cooling water causing the unit to freeze.

 

[JVM225]

Try cleaning the strainer basket too.

 

[sbw1]

You are close to a water temp where these things don't work well. We start boating in mid April in water temps that are 40-45 degrees. The a/c and heat work ok, but are less effecient then when the water temps reach the 50s and 60s. You may well have frozen things up. Place a candy thermometer on your boat in the cabin someplace. Write down the temperature after the reading stabilizes. Then, stick it in a discharge vent and compare the two temps. The difference should be 18-20 degrees. If the unit is properly sized, you should have no problem holding the cabin at 68-70 degrees when it is 90+ degrees outside. Read your manual and find out how to pull up fault codes. There is a code for low freon.

 

[tollycraft]

Thanks guys. Now that you mentioned it I noticed frost on what I believe was the evaporator. I could see how lack of air flow would do that. I will also try the themometer and check the temps. I will look in ,my manual again but could'nt find anything last time but I could have overlooked it. I did clean the strainer basket already which I know does need to be also checked from time to time. Thanks again guys, won't be back to the boat for 2 weeks now but I will let you all know how this all unfolds.

 

[vanburen]

The first time I realized it was necessary to clean the air filter was when the system stopped working (kept tripping off), and I found the air filter covered with ice. Melted it, removed, cleaned and voila!

 

[Robski97]

Sbw... in cooling mode the unit will not care inlet water temp. would only be an issue in heat mode. Dirty filter #1 reason for ice ups

Rob

 

[Jus' Chillin]

I had cooling prob's last fall and when 90 degrees outside, the best I could get was 79-80 in the salon. Had CruisAir come diagnose it, and when installed at factory, the discharge hole near the primary register(blow hole) was not cut to spec and reducing my airflow about 30%. Had done much better, but now when about 90 outside in Florida, I've got 79-80 again. Calling Manufacturer back. They did say it should hold 20 degrees cooler than outside temp. We'll see:grin:

 

[Hampton]

Jus' Chillin (Not Freezin'),

Please let me know how this turns out. I've noticed the same and have been cleaning the unit, increasing fan speed...

 

[sbw1]

Sbw... in cooling mode the unit will not care inlet water temp. would only be an issue in heat mode. Dirty filter #1 reason for ice ups Rob

Some units revert to the reverse cycle heat to de-ice the unit when it ices up. This makes the cooling less effecient. This seems to happen when the lake water is in the low 40s vs. when the water temps are warmer.

 

[Four Suns]

I had cooling prob's last fall and when 90 degrees outside, the best I could get was 79-80 in the salon. Had CruisAir come diagnose it, and when installed at factory, the discharge hole near the primary register(blow hole) was not cut to spec and reducing my airflow about 30%. Had done much better, but now when about 90 outside in Florida, I've got 79-80 again. Calling Manufacturer back. They did say it should hold 20 degrees cooler than outside temp. We'll see:grin:

I think some others on this board also were having problems cooling their salons on a 44DB. I know for a fact that when it is 100 degrees outside, my boat can stay down in the low 70's. My wife is the Ice Queen.

 

[tollycraft]

I see how important that air fliter is and how if dirty it will restrict air flow. I also agree with the air filter clogged how the restricted air flow will cause the unit to freeze up. I'm now %100 convinced thats what happened in my case. I draw this conclusion because after being on the water for a couple of hours I returned and the A/C seemed to work okay. I believe that was enough time thaw things out untill the lack of air flow (due to the dirty filter) caused the unit to freeze up again. After cleaning the air filter out I tyrned the A/C on again only briefly and things seemed to be okay, unfortunatly I had to leave for home so did not have enough time to monitor it. I'm sure things will be fine now.

 

[sbw1]

I had cooling prob's last fall and when 90 degrees outside, the best I could get was 79-80 in the salon. Had CruisAir come diagnose it, and when installed at factory, the discharge hole near the primary register(blow hole) was not cut to spec and reducing my airflow about 30%. Had done much better, but now when about 90 outside in Florida, I've got 79-80 again. Calling Manufacturer back. They did say it should hold 20 degrees cooler than outside temp. We'll see:grin:

If the discharge hole was not cut to spec, what about the intake hole? Intake holes are sometimes covered by a clam shell cover. Could that be undersized as well?

 

[sbw1]

In order to maintain low 70's in high humidity, high 90s conditions these units need to produce very cold air. The color of the hull is a factor with white being the preferred color. My unit kicks out air that is between 49-53 degrees. When it's 95+ degrees out with dew points in the 70s, our solon is 70 degrees. The berth is 65 degrees. To achieve this perfomance we close the shades on the hatches in the heat of the day and open them up when the sun is lower in the sky.

 

[Robski97]

Guys ,
are boats are not insulated. The heat of the sun bakes the glass and heats the cabin. This is heat load. sadly i see alot undersized a/c systems. Size and electric restraints are mostly to blame. The boats built oko now we need to stick this square box in that little round hole. . U get what im saying . 15 - 20 degree difference between inlet and discharge air is all ur going to get. On my boat my cabin a/c can not keep up . The a/c unit draws air from the worst unconditioned places causing more of a load on the a/c unit. There is nothing i can do .... I installed a 16,000 btu unit in place of my 12,000 factury unit . ( its the largest I could go )

 

[Robski97]

SBW... There is no defrost cycle in cooling mode. A properly working a/c should never ice up under normal conditions. UR house a/c doesnt have defrost. Water cooled has no bearing on this issue.

Rob

 

[sbw1]

SBW... There is no defrost cycle in cooling mode. A properly working a/c should never ice up under normal conditions. UR house a/c doesnt have defrost. Water cooled has no bearing on this issue.

Rob

You are undersized at 16,000 btus on a 44 foot boat. My 37 foot SR had 18K if memory serves. My 32 foot has 16,000. I believe you may be mistaken about the heat as well. I have seen the light on my control panel switch to heat when there was ice on the filter. I believe the owner manual speaks to this issue as well. My home a/c is not a heat pump and does not have a heat mode. My boat a/c is and does. Running in the cool mode in 40 degree water, which is where this tread started, is not a condition that one would normally call normal. In the Great Lakes water temps are normally in the high 50s to the low 70s during the a/c season.

 

[AKBASSKING]

This is interesting! I think when I get the "Redneck Water Mansion" to Alaska; I will be running heat, not A/C. Same system and I have learned alot. It will be interesting to see if the heat portion can keep up.

Everyone there uses Wallas (Kerosene) heaters in their cabins. I maybe the first with A/C in Alaska.

But for those in southern zones, I can feel your pain. 102 in Raleigh the other day!

 

[JVM225]

This is interesting! I think when I get the "Redneck Water Mansion" to Alaska; I will be running heat, not A/C. Same system and I have learned alot. It will be interesting to see if the heat portion can keep up.

Everyone there uses Wallas (Kerosene) heaters in their cabins. I maybe the first with A/C in Alaska.

But for those in southern zones, I can feel your pain. 102 in Raleigh the other day!

I don't know about keeping warm in Alaska but I can tell you that the heat on our 30' Sundancer kept us nice and toastie warm on some cold October nights here on Long Island.

 

[mrsrobinson]

The first time I realized it was necessary to clean the air filter was when the system stopped working (kept tripping off), and I found the air filter covered with ice. Melted it, removed, cleaned and voila!

+1, same for us, except it cost me $150 for a ac repair man to tell me this:smt089