Marine Air Conditioners

[ksanders]

Kevin-
Check out the Velair units! That's the next item(s) on my to-do list. Just finished the LFP conversion... So air will be next. I have the OLD Marine aiiiiiiire (lol, or whatever they are called) units...

The Velair ones are SUPER efficient (can run off batteries). Come standard with wifi control, not as an add-on. Really slick units!

Also, previously, the largest unit for 120v was about ~16K BTU. These ones will run a 21K BTU on 120v!

Thanks for the reference!!!! Those sounbd interesting!

 

[ksanders]

Marine a/c for me is a pain in the a__, but I do understand why most use them.
I ripped out both my units, years ago and installed 2 x RV type units which are self contained and don't need any water supply in order to function. My salon unit lives on the flybridge partially under a bench seat and the staterooms unit lives on the front as per the attached photo. They are both by Dometic and have separate wall mounted programmers. I love them, but recently a friend of mine installed 3 x mini-splits on his 53ft trawler and if I were to do it now, that's what i would install on mine. The units are by Pioneer ($700 each)and he has one compressor unit in his cockpit and 2 tucked away up on the flybridge. The interior units just hang on the walls and are extremely quiet. You do need to run some small bore piping between the compressors and wall units, but the installation is pretty easy, providing you have the wall space to hang the units.
Any replacements needed are cheap and easy to replace - for example I can change one of my units complete in less than 1 hour at a cost of about $800 for a 16k btu unit.

It's funny you mention mini splits.

I'm in La Paz right now (not on my boat) and everyone here uses mini splits.

I love them but on my boat there is no place to hang the wall units.

I have seriously considered RV type units. My only hold back is that I do not relish the idea of replacing a unit after a day of rough water sailing.
Put my boat in a 15 knot head wind and the forward sections will be pretty wet. Make that 20 knots and they will be REALLY wet.

Perhaps the answer is canvass covers for them to install if conditions dictate?

 

[SteveK]

Kevin, Do mini splits have to be on an outside wall. What about the wall above settee in PH and lose the cabinet above the fridge.

 

[Larry M]

If you bo with RV AC units check out the RecPro by Houghton.. Very efficient and quite. We put a 13.5K btu unit on our van a year ago and it’s a game changer. You can run the unit on a 15 amp outlet without a soft start and is very quite.

Technical Data:

Power supply: 115V / 60Hz
Refrigerant charged: R410A / 910g
Rated cooling capacity: 13500BTU/H
Rated heating capacity: 12000BTU/H
Running Watts for Cooling : 1550W
Running Watts for Heating : 1100W
Rated current for cooling: 14A
Rated current for heating: 10A
Maximum power input: 1700W
Maximum Amp Draw: 15.5A
Startup Amp Draw: 15.5A
Energy Efficiency Rating (EER): 9.8
Maximum design pressure: 550PSIG
Minimum design pressure: 236PSIG
Maximum airflow: 318 CFM
Recommended for space up to 650 Square Feet
Recommended wire gauge: 12 AWG or larger
Does not require the use of a soft start device

https://www.recpro.com/rv-air-condi...5k-quiet-ac-with-heat-pump-remote-non-ducted/

 

[Mako]

With mini splits you can also have one outside condenser driving two or three inside evaporators (blowers). Also the newest ones are more energy efficient than marine units and being of digital linear inverter technology, they ramp up to speed so there is no locked rotor inrush. Perfect for running from a small generator or off an inverter.

 

[Bryant]

AC

I need to aquire Marine Air Conditioners, but am a total newby to this area.

My boat will be in Mexico much of the year and I need keep it livable.

What are your recommendations?

What I have now are furnaces that will be removed, leaving the ducting in place for re-use.

What are my alternatives?
Are all of them sea water cooled?

Thanks!

I just installed a Marineaire 16,000 btu. Total cost; $2500. Has remote control. Works great. Sea water cooled.

 

[Leo Reise]

We are looking at using a smaller (8000 - 10000 BTU) air-cooled RV unit, 110v only - to cool our Island Gypsy 32. We have a diesel heater an do not need a heating element.

We realize that water cooled might be more efficient but it means less holes in the boat and easier to install. I can live under the cowling on the fly bridge.

Has anyone looked aet this or installed an AC unit in this manner?

Leo

 

[ramkay]

10K BTU on a 32 is not enough. I highly recommend at least 12K or 16K BTU. the size and price difference is irrelevant.

 

[charlesryager]

I had installed 3 Webasto BlueCool Series S reverse cycle units on my boat in 2020. Once the temperature sensors were properly located (the original contractor left the sensors with the units and never installed), the systems work very well.



However, there does not seem to be a cool only or heat only option, only automatic cool/heet. This is a problem in this area because the daytime temperatures are in the 80s or low 90s, but the nighttime temperatures can be in the 60s. So my 78 degree temperature setting starts heating the cabin when the cabin temperature goes below 78.


I have sent a query to the Webasto web site and am awaiting an answer. But do any of you know if there is a way to achieve cool only with these units. I know other Webasto units (e.g., the FCF series) have cool-dehumidify-heat-fan-auto settings. But that does not appear on my control panel.


By the way, thanks for all the great posts, everyone.

 

[CharlieO.]

Rick, the settings should be on your controller, thermostat.

 

[charlesryager]

Thanks for the reply.
I saw that controller in the FCF operations manual, but my BlueCool S Series has a controller that looks like the attached picture.

 

[CharlieO.]

Rick, interesting I don’t see that it has cool only function after looking at the manuals. Maybe the other controller is an optional upgrade?

 

[charlesryager]

I'll reach out to Webasto to see. Thanks.