Venting / cooling the salon on a DB52

[RalphD]

I wanted to reach out to see if anyone has considered adding ventilation to the salon of a DB52. A little background - during the week when we are not on the boat we usually do not leave the AC on and the temperatures in the salon can get well above 100 degrees. As the temperature increases, the refrigerator and freezer need to run more to maintain temperature and dump even more heat into the salon. Needless to say this is not good for the interior.
Next year we plan on taking the boat south for the winter and then storing it on the hard for the summer in the VA area. The refrigerator and freezer will be off but I still have the same concern about high temperatures in the salon.
Has anyone considered adding a window that opens, ducting in a vent that could connect to a solar powered blower, or something else to help vent/cool the salon.
I would be interested if anyone has come up with a creative solution for this.
Thanks in advance,
Ralph

 

[ttmott]

I can only give you my experience in central Florida. First remember when you take air out of an area then air from somewhere else must come in. I would rather introduce fresh air (OA, outside air) into the cabin rather than exhausting air out. This way the cabin always remains pressurized and gasses from the sump, drains, and bilge will not be drawn into the living spaces. If you want to introduce fresh air into the boat continuously then that air needs to be stripped of excess moisture and filtered. The issue with our boats is all of the fabrics and the propensity to grow mold and mildew which festers with moisture and stagnant air. I would introduce outside air through a filter box then into the return side of the most operated HVAC unit and only permit the OA when the HVAC compressor is operating in cooling mode. This way the air is both filtered and the moisture is stripped and disposed of as condensate.
In the area I live the sun really cooks the boat and summertime humidity is usually in the 90's; the air conditioners pretty much operate 24/7. I keep the interior temperature at 78 degrees F and all of the HVAC fans running continuously. The blinds are always closed and I have a cover over the big window across the front. This seems to be a good combination for me in this area. Still the monthly power bill is between $150 and $200
I would also like an OA system but it'd be complicated.

 

[boaterholic]

I run both ac units on our boat in the dehumidify mode which so far has done a good job at keeping the interior mold free. It does still get quite warm, but it's not humid/musty inside. Also does not run near as much as in regular cool mode.

 

[spikedaddy99]

We leave on dehumidify in the staterooms, but leave the salon AC on (not Southern hot up here) specifically to avoid taxing the fridge/freezer. M

 

[cod]

Being in Florida, I always left the salon ac on dehumidifier mode. Much better solution rather than allowing humid outside air enter through venting. You can set the parameters of how often you want it to turn on and for how long it will run. In Florida I found the original 24,000 btu unit struggled to keep the salon cool on very hot days. When the unit finally died, I had a 27,000 btu unit installed ( I don’t believe they make the 24,000 unit anymore) and it made a tremendous difference. It easily cooled the salon. The fan speed was much more powerful with the new unit.