How Cold is Cold? (A/C question)

We can hold 65 degrees at the t-stat on the entrance to the solon in high humidity and 95 degree to 100 degree sunshine. This means the berth is more like 58-60 degrees which is good for sleeping. That goes south quickly by running the exhaust fans in the galley and head, or by leaving the door open too long. Pulling the shades on the hatches and turning the fans off gets you right back to 65 degrees in 20 minutes. We can also keep our helm in the mid 70s in hot humid weather, sort of like what you get in a car. In my view, the a/c needs to perform at this level to be acceptable.
 
Perhaps ?

Hi Goblue... we;ve not met here I don't believe.

Would be so kind as to complete the memeber profile and give us all some idea the boat you have make, Yr., model, engines, genny etc. its helps walk in your shoes so to speak.
 
Rob, my 38DA has 18,000 BTU's in the cockpit, it was barely effective 90 degrees outside, 83 in the cockpit... although my cockpit is tiny compared to the 44DA... I had a custom sunscreen mesh made 80% light blockage 20% visibility... attached on the outer edge of hard top to avoid touching eisenglass... this past few weeks we've had 90plus days and the highest temp inthe cockpit was 78 :smt038 , dry without the humidity... DA cockpit is like a sedan salon :thumbsup: ...
 
Tim (Prodigalson,) I took the 44 on an overnight last weekend. I already noted to the dealer about the cabin not getting very cold. Looks like I'm not the only one experiencing this. It drives me nuts that they've had this class of boat, starting with the 400DB, for at least five to six years, but they can't figure out where to stick a 144 square inch air inlet. That's just one square foot :smt017
 
Larry- My buddy's 400DB gets nice and cold with the same A/C. They put it under the steps where our washer/dryer is located. Last weekend, I left the inlet area opened (by disassembling the lower cabinet) and the took outlet grille off, at the recommendation of the CruisAir tech, and it still couldn't keep up.

I am now focused on the fact that, even with improved air flow, the outlet air is in the mid-upper 50's while the air coming out up front is 50. The air coming from my buddy's A/C is 49.

The dealer at least agrees with me that it is not acceptable, but I have transitioned our discussions about this to e-mail for documentation purposes.

Larry- other than being too warm in the salon, how was the overnighter?
 
Tim, the overnighter was great other than a couple of little things.

We went up to Alexandria City Dock and had dinner at the Chart House. Here's a question - I think Seinfeld did a bit on this - why make reservations at a restaurant if they just put you in line with every other non-reservation maker? That was kind of frustrating. Anyway, the other quirk in the trip was that there was no water on the dock they assigned. The nearest water was about 150 feet away. The water in my tank had probably been sitting there for a while and there was still a trace of pink stuff in it. That basically meant we couldn't use the shower so we used the marina facilities. I was looking forward to showering in my boat, but oh well.

It was while chillin' (actually, NOT chillin') on the dock that we first noticed the AC wasn't exactly getting the job done. It was OK overnight, but couldn't keep up when the sun started beating down on those side windows. Definitely following up on that.

All in all, still a little "shocked" at the purchase, but generally very happy with the boat and looking forward to exploring new horizons.
 
Tim, one more thing. I was looking at the spec sheet for the 44DB and it lists a 32000 BTU A/C system. That's a lot of cooling power! Something is definitely out of whack, here.
 
Larry
The sunscreen mesh is the same on your 44SB forward salon windshield, it would make a huge difference on the side windows... I almost made a jump a couple weeks ago to a 44SB '06 demo, very clean... I too noticed the AC issues in the salon... I walked away from a very good deal... I'm a DA guy at heart, maybe a 48DA in the future...
 
Oct,
Who made it up for u ? Im trying to figure out where to put the blower of a an additioanl a/c unit other then under the seat where the current one is located . I store all my drink there and would hate to give it up. Ill keep ya posted. ITs been in the low 90's and i cant even get the salon below 74.... its a sad joke. I have the cure for that just waiting for the equipment.


All the best

Rob
 
This might be totally off the mark, but I have a similiar issue. The two suggestions the ac manufacturer made before they would send in a warranty service were A) Make sure you have good waterflow- 1 gallon in 10 seconds is sufficient. I am assuming they want me to hold a container to the hull discharge and see how long it takes to spit out a gallon. B) Make sure that every one of the vents is open, a restriction in airflow is enough to cause the unit to ice up lightly and under perform. Check the vent in the head first, this was the biggest culprit. The third thing they suggested was to acid wash the water lines, but since I'm in fresh water, I didn't bother.

Hope this helps...and let us know the outcome and more important how you solved it!

Dan
 
The Cruise Air guy has been there twice and took a bunch of measurements. His call is that the unit is operating properly but has an airflow issue. The ball is now in Sea Ray's court.

At least no one is telling me that it's not a problem.

Stand by.... this may take a while.
 
hey guys. I've been dealing with the same thing in South Louisiana except my salon gets to about 79-80 on a 90+ degree day. Here's what I wanted to share. Last October, after screwing with the idiot dealer i have in Madisonville, La, I contacted SeaRay who flew the Cruisair guy down here and he spent all day on the boat. Results: the exhaust port for the register near the salon door(above the entertainment center) was choked down about 40% from the factory. Remember I bought this new 6/2007. He corrected that. He also did some reprogramming/mapping to my thermostat and said some settings were off of spec. He also increased the fan speed settings which at "max setting" gave me additional air flow in addition to what I'd pick up by him openning the hole in the register. He also said actually the variance from outside to inside should be actually 20-25 degrees. We agreed October was not the hottest part of Louisiana's year so we'd see what happened this summer. His work did make "some" difference, but no where near enough in the heat of the summer. Currently (3-4 wks ago) he is hunting down another '07 44 DB which is cooling "properly" so as to see what differences exist in the two setups and then come back down here and make adjustments. Nice part is this guy is COMMITTED to making sure my boat works properly. Regarding the screens and all that, I used to have "black out" front screen on my old boat, but both wife and I like to be able to see out the front window now, but what about "tinting" the windows? I've done this several times on cars and it cuts heat down 50% easy! I'm a little concerned (and searching locally) for someone that can do a good job so as not to get a shitty tint job and will bubble,etc. Any one else done the tint?
 
In order to tell if the AC is working correctly, you need to know the inlet air temperature and humidity as well as the discharge temp. Then you can get a rough estimate. The system can only remove so much heat. Water vapor in the air (humidity) is latent heat, which the system also has to remove. Therefore, more humidity, results in a lesser temperature drop between intake and discharge.

To know if it is working as well as it possibly can, you also need to know the sea water temperature, and the suction and head pressures of the refrigerant gas. Most "professionals" don't like to get the humidity number, because it's a pain and they don't want to get the actual temperatures, because it takes a few minutes to get the thermometer to stabilize, so they estimate. Your system could be off a bit, but you'll never know unless you can find someone who actually cares enough to do the work the right way.

I know how it should be done and I've watched professional do the short cuts on my home's system and on the boat's system. Like a lot of service guys, they figure "close enough, this bastard (little b) doesn't know the difference." There are a few guys who care enough to do the job right. I've just never found around here.

Best regards,
Frank
 
Frank well said, but the issues these guys are having are off the chart. UNDERESTIMATED heat load is the magic word. Sun goes down boat i bet cools great. Sun shines and things go down the crapper. To clarify someones post best case scenario for a properly sized unit is 15-20 degree difference between SUPPLY AIR and RETURN AIR . EXTREME outside air temp or in our case water temp will lower these #'s.

Also an east test to see if ur moving enough water on the condesnor side is simply feel the water exiting the boat. how are u going to measure 10 gallons ?? simply feel the water . low water flow will make for hot water. Also u would be able to see a decline in water flow .

Rob
 
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I said this in another post but I think some have skipped over it. I'll bet you a beer your salon AC is sucking outside air from the side hull vent... Is your AC unit under the sofa on the edge of the boat? Take a peek up from the air filter on the thing one night with someone standing outside shining a flashlight on the hull vent...

I have no issue keeping my cabin at 72 when it's 100 degrees outside... Heck... My bridge stays at 72 when it's 100 degrees outside and it's not the most air tight area.

Someone needs to ask Sea Ray why outside hot air is being drawn into the system and if it can be closed off/diverted.
 
festivus44 said:
Larry- My buddy's 400DB gets nice and cold with the same A/C. They put it under the steps where our washer/dryer is located. Last weekend, I left the inlet area opened (by disassembling the lower cabinet) and the took outlet grille off, at the recommendation of the CruisAir tech, and it still couldn't keep up.

I am now focused on the fact that, even with improved air flow, the outlet air is in the mid-upper 50's while the air coming out up front is 50. The air coming from my buddy's A/C is 49.

The dealer at least agrees with me that it is not acceptable, but I have transitioned our discussions about this to e-mail for documentation purposes.

Larry- other than being too warm in the salon, how was the overnighter?
Click to expand...

Rob

I'm guessing that the unit's charge might be off based on this posting from Tim. But if his friends boat has an interior air temperature of 70 and Tim's boat has an interior air temp of 85, then that the explanation for the difference in discharge temps. On the other hand, if both are 75, then there might be a problem with the unit. The only way to rule it out completely, is to know that superheat was properly calculated. I know you know more about this than I, but seem like the same units in the same boats should have the same results.

Best regards,
Frank C
 
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