New Citimarine AC Is this OK?

[carterchapman]

My 5 CruiseAir units are 16 years old and running well...I know I'm running "on borrowed time"!

 

[dtfeld]

I finally got the. Second Citi unit installed. Arrived via FedEx, and looked ok on the outside, but again there was a little deformation on the high side pipe, but I elected to go with it, it was pretty minor. They need to reroute to better protect in shipping or do a better packaging job.

As far as being a "perfect drop in replacement" I disagree. It's as if this is a mirror image of the Dometic unit. The unit has 2 drains, but they are on the same side and opposite side compared to the old unit. How about 1 on each side? They include another drains fitting that can be glued on somewhere, but I didn't have the tools to get this done.

The raw water is also on the other side. Easiest option for me after placing it about 6 way to Sunday was to spin it 180*.

I had to extend the raw water lines, and buy some 6" flex duct to extend that.

I hooked up both drains to a tee to let both drains operate, since its hard to tell which way the water will drain (floor isn't flat or level, but that's a Sea Ray issue).

Got everything hooked up and the flex duct stuffed under the settee.

Electrical was strait forward, and I found the a PO had swapped the neutrals of the pump relay, so I corrected that.

The Good news is it pumps a lot of cold air and is pretty quiet. I like the new thermostat, as it's easily programmed, instead of the three finger salute on the old SMXII. Also the unit has a nice filter and is now easy to clean or replace.

Hopefully this outlasts me and my ownership.

A couple clean up items are to try and replace all the ducting (need to get the cabinet plate under the electrical cabinet off) and install new stainless dripless thru hull discharge.

 

[Blueone]

Just got a call today my marinaire unit is shipping back to me today. Thankfully it hasn’t been too hot so getting by with the salon unit and a fan…. Still not impressed….. they said they would send me an email explaining the cause and correction but got nothing yet

 

[dtfeld]

Just got a call today my marinaire unit is shipping back to me today. Thankfully it hasn’t been too hot so getting by with the salon unit and a fan…. Still not impressed….. they said they would send me an email explaining the cause and correction but got nothing yet

I’m not 100% impressed with Citi, mostly due to damage in shipping. If the fixed that, I’d have a much better feeling about it.

Still contemplating how tho clean up the old SMXII hole…

 

[Blueone]

Still contemplating how tho clean up the old SMXII hole…

Yes that’s not good….. and what’s up with the wires?…. Can’t you go behind?
I think your only option is a cover plate or find matching vinyl and cover the plate

 

[firecadet613]

MarinAire wasn't a plug and play install for me either. Thankfully I had planned on replacing the water hose already so I had that on hand....and had a friend make me an aluminum transition plate to go from the square blower exit on the Dometic to the 6" round on the MarinAire...

 

[dtfeld]

Yes that’s not good….. and what’s up with the wires?…. Can’t you go behind?
I think your only option is a cover plate or find matching vinyl and cover the plate

Getting the wires pulled is a litttle more difficult than it would seem…they gotta go up over and around…no direct route strait down.

I like the vinyl idea, need to find something close. But a basic plate may have to suffice.

 

[Windjammer]

My 5 CruiseAir units are 16 years old and running well...I know I'm running "on borrowed time"!

Ouch..that's gonna hurt when it comes time to replace. On mine, the compressor failed along with the expansion valve and it would have cost more to try to fix than it was worth.

 

[Southern Pirate]

So far they have stepped up. Originally, I asked if they could ship UPS, but they said that UPS damaged their AC units in shipping. I went with the standard and free Fed Ex.

I think the issue is how they have the units packed...there is no protection on that pipe, so if it gets turned over on shipment, it will bend/smash that pipe. I think its more of a packaging issue. They need to add some support around that pipe, then I don't think it would matter. That pipe is the one damaged, and it right were the packaging stops.

View attachment 127435

However, still looking forward to getting it installed with the new touch screen thermostat. No more 3 fingered double secret handshake to change setting on the old SMX II. However, still have to work out how to mount the remote...requires a hole to be cut. I prefer a mounting plate of some kind. Otherwise I'll run out of places to cut holes.

Drill a small hole for the wire, then build a box and mount it on the box

 

[dtfeld]

Haven't had a chance to pull the wire to the new thermostat, but I did get it connected locally on my network, and like a lot of things the app adds control from a smart device. Works well enough on android phone and/or an ipad.

I spoke with their tech support and they are working on a cloud based solution that should make it accessible from anywhere if you have a connected boat. If they get that working, I'll switch out all my SMXII's.

A couple screen shots

IPad

Android Phone