Air Conditioning not keeping up

[bud37]

Now that insurance has been brought up.....does anyone know how insurance claims are dealt with for damage caused by systems when the boat has been left unattended for extended periods with everything running ?

Personally I don't know offhand but is still worth delving into imo, maybe someone has had a loss and can advise.

[Midnightsun]

I've never seen anywhere near 80PSI on dock water

I have at many marinas. The run is so long that many times they need to up the pressure to supply people down at the end of the dock. At our marina it has to be 80 if not more. This is why it is important to have a pressure regulator which is standard on all boat installed city water hook ups. I actually use a small regulator on my city water hose at the pedestal since with the heat and sun on some days it can swell or blow the hose plus it gives me added protection if the boat one were to fail. Started using this after I blew a hose connected to the pedestal at the marina in Clayton, NY. I use one of these. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08HNG ... =UTF8&th=1

That being said we ALWAYS turn off the spigot when we leave the boat. I believe I forgot 2 times in all my boating years but remembered not long after we left, simply called the marina and asked them to shut the spigot off for us.

[dtcom]

QR_BBPOST I agree. Besides, you will wear out the AC much faster by leaving it on. I had a similar issue with hot days. I bought one of those small cube type portable AC units. It really helps to keep the salon cool when running both. They are only around $40 USD, and are surprisingly effective. er

Thanks. Any recommendation for one of those units?
I purchased a portable AC which needs to be exhausted through a window which I will try out to see if 1) there is room and 2) if I can get a watertight connection through the window.

[dtcom]

QR_BBPOST A Mariner 330 has a rather large interior and boats are not insulated at all so with one unit which I must assume is a 16,000 btu, it will definitely struggle in very hot and sunny conditions. Closing the blinds and using a sunshade on the front window will help quite a bit which is what we do when we leave the boat. We have always run our 24/7 however we do up the settings a bit when we leave the boat.

Thanks. We close the blinds and rear curtain. Still struggles!

[dtcom]

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

We close the blinds and the curtain on the door. The air blowing feels cold, and the forward cabin gets comfortable, just not the salon.

I am going to try closing the forward air vent, measure the air temperature at the outlet, and clean the coils.

The water flow seems adequate, but I don't know how to measure it. I cleaned the water filter at the beginning of the season.

As far as the small cube coolers, I don't think they do much based on reviews, but I can try it.

I purchased a portable air conditioner which I will try. My problem is making a rain-proof connection for the exhaust tube to go through a window. If I can get that to work, it will probably help.

[km1125]

QR_BBPOST
The water flow seems adequate, but I don't know how to measure it.

Put some weight in a 5 Gal bucket (a couple big rocks will do) so that the bucket will sit down in the water. Put a rope on the bucket and hang it over the side where the water flow discharges and goes into the bucket. Time how many seconds it takes to pretty much fill the bucket, then empty the bucket and figure out how many gallons were in there. Then just do the math to get GPH.

QR_BBPOST My problem is making a rain-proof connection for the exhaust tube to go through a window. If I can get that to work, it will probably help.

On one former boat I had replaced an older porthole that was foggy and difficult to see though with a new one, but still had the old one. I was able to cut a hole for the portable A/C unit's hose and directly connect. I also cut off the hinges on the old porthole but could use the clamps to put it in place. Just open the new one and place the old one over the opening and put the clamps on that and it worked great. The only time I had a problem with water was when the wind was blowing the rain hard towards the boat on that side.

[dtcom]

QR_BBPOST

QR_BBPOST
The water flow seems adequate, but I don't know how to measure it.

Put some weight in a 5 Gal bucket (a couple big rocks will do) so that the bucket will sit down in the water. Put a rope on the bucket and hang it over the side where the water flow discharges and goes into the bucket. Time how many seconds it takes to pretty much fill the bucket, then empty the bucket and figure out how many gallons were in there. Then just do the math to get GPH.

What should the flow rate be?

[km1125]

QR_BBPOST
What should the flow rate be?

For up to a 16k BTU unit the absolute minimum would be 3 gal/min or 180 GPH. It will run better with higher flows. If you have a 500GPH pump you probably won't get over 400GPH due to resistances in the lines and the heat exchanger (condensor).

[dtcom]

Update:
I cleaned the filter and the coils, although they seemed pretty clean. Before doing that, I measured the air temperature coming out of the AC unit and it was between 45 and 50 degrees, so I don't think efficiency is a problem.
One thing I did which helped the salon is I closed the vent in the forward cabin. That helped a little. Then I set up a portable 8,000 BTU Portable AC unit which I put on the galley counter, vented out the window. I very inelegantly opened the window just enough for the discharge and covered the open spaces with packing tape. (I plan to make a more permanent installation in the near future). I ran the drain hose into the galley sink, since this inexpensive unit does not evaporate the condensation. It was $180 at Amazon. I plugged it in to a WiFi switch, so before I go to the boat I can turn it on and cool the salon before I get there.
I can't leave the unit where it is while underway, so I plan to put it in the shower where it will not be able to fall over.
Not the best solution, but it should make the boat more comfortable.

[km1125]

QR_BBPOST
I ran the drain hose into the galley sink, since this inexpensive unit does not evaporate the condensation.

Are you sure about that? Some have the drain regardless, but will evaporate the condensation if you don't have the drain hooked up. The drain is required if the unit supports heating mode. The evap makes a huge difference... ~8,000 BTUs for every gallon of condensate that gets evaporated!!

What is the actual model of the unit?