Air Conditioning

[Bill R.]

I have seen many posts on A/C. I purchased a boat without A/C knowing that in NC I would need to add. Here is my take on marine a/c units.
I called the MFG and they said 18,000 would do it. I looked around and decided on a Flagship Marine 18,000. Everyone who came on the boat could not believe how loud it was. I placed it on a rubber pad and placed sound barriers in the cabinet all to no avail. After one season I realized that it was not enough so this time I ordered a Dometic Turbo Vector 10,000 for the berth. Much better design and quieter. Very easy to install.
Yes it cost more but worth it.
After about 6 years the Flagship Marine unit failed and I had an a/c technician come spending about 1 1/2 hours and said the compressor is shot. I called Flagship and the warranty is 5 years and they would help me but they never had a compressor go in 6 years.
After considering the cost of shipping to FLA and the units noise I decided to scrap it.
I purchased a Marinair and cannot believe the thought put into it and how quiet it is. It even has a removable lifting eye. I actually need to listen for when the compressor comes on. A judgement call but it is 2,000 less btu but it seems to cool better than the 18,000 Flagship unit.

 

[toocoys]

I ordered a Flagship 18Kbtu unit and had trouble with it from the day of install until the day I shipped it back. I will never do business with Flagship again. It took three months of fighting with them to take it back, and that was AFTER having a qualified professional yacht A/C tech come out. It arrived in a damaged box as if it had been dropped off a forklift, for which I photographed and notified them immediately, and I have every single piece of email correspondence with them saved on record.

See this thread.... https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s31/new-ac-new-pump-more-frost-50115.html

We shipped it back and installed a top of the line Dometic, and haven't had a second of trouble with it. Our tech whom we bought the Dometic through said Flagship is famous for these kinds of issues.

 

[HopCar]

I’m not an AC expert but I bet your newer ones have rotary compressors and the old one a piston compressor.

 

[Tyricores]

You should consult an AC expert. People are always ready to give a lot of advice, but there are few practical among them. When my air conditioner broke down, I tried to find tips on how to fix it myself. In the end, I spent a lot of time and money on unnecessary parts and didn't fix anything. Finally, I addressed the service that repairs aircon troubleshooting, and they repaired it. Now I just have to maintain it and make aircon chemical cleaning in time to keep it cool. Because it gets dirty over time, it can cause it to work less efficiently, and new problems will appear.

 

[BoatPoor]

Our M/S Mediterranean has an old MarineAire unit in the aft beth that is dead. After much research, we will be going back with a new MarineAire MSBA Integra.
These come with integral pressure gauges so you can see what's going on without having to drag a set of gauges out and try to get to the valves in a tight spot, plus they're quiet, have stainless trays and framework, etc. Besides that, it's under $2k with free shipping for a 14k BTU unit.

 

[Gdavid]

Our M/S Mediterranean has an old MarineAire unit in the aft beth that is dead. After much research, we will be going back with a new MarineAire MSBA Integra.
These come with integral pressure gauges so you can see what's going on without having to drag a set of gauges out and try to get to the valves in a tight spot, plus they're quiet, have stainless trays and framework, etc. Besides that, it's under $2k with free shipping for a 14k BTU unit.

I just installed the same Marineaire 14k BTU unit (120v) back in June and I am very happy with it. I had a question when the shipper left the box on it's side (despite of the clear markings), I assumed that setting it upright for at least 30 minutes would clear any problem but I called Marineaire to check just in case, I spoke to a human immediately and a tech within 2 minutes, that is worth a lot to me and the unit runs great.

 

[chc]

Currently using an older Cruiseair portable; in-the-hatch unit to cool the front cabin of our Californian 34. Struggles a bit, and is inconvenient to move about. Better than cooking in these summer temps, tho'. We're in the process of looking at smaller BTU units to install in a permanent fashion. Has anyone had any experience with the units made by Mermaid?
Thanks

 

[Comodave]

Currently using an older Cruiseair portable; in-the-hatch unit to cool the front cabin of our Californian 34. Struggles a bit, and is inconvenient to move about. Better than cooking in these summer temps, tho'. We're in the process of looking at smaller BTU units to install in a permanent fashion. Has anyone had any experience with the units made by Mermaid?
Thanks

I have put Mermaid units in 4 different boats. Always had good support from them.

 

[OldDan1943]

I have 2 either Marineaire/Dometic AC plants. I never hear the compressors. The noise I hear is the fans. SMILE
I have been told, there is but one manufacture of the new scroll compressor.

 

[AZ2Loop]

I never hear the compressors. The noise I hear is the fans. SMILE
I have been told, there is but one manufacture of the new scroll compressor.

Oh, I'm jealous of the quiet compressors! We have 25-year old AquaAirrrr units. The rear one (16k btu) does the main salon and the aft cabin master. The front one is smaller (9k btu) and only does the galley and bow. The rear one is louder than it should be. I don't mind the noise, but my wife hates it. I would leave it on all night, she prefers it off. So, we reached a nice compromise and have never once slept with it on.
I will replace it eventually, but it works so well I hate to replace it when it cools so effectively. So, we run both during the day, but only the small front one at night. Fortunately, even in FL all summer, the smaller 9K unit in the front has been enough to maintain a cool temperature throughout the boat over night. Then we turn the louder one back on during the day.

It's worked OK, but a quiet compressor will be a very nice upgrade when we do it.

 

[OldDan1943]

AZ2, are you sure it is the compressor and not just the fan??

 

[AZ2Loop]

AZ2, are you sure it is the compressor and not just the fan??

Yes, very good question. Definitely the compressor in my case.

 

[FF]

If room can be found for a modern mini-split, the hassle of water cooling leaves, as does the lack of ability to heat in cold weather.

They are quiet and fairly cheap , in Euro land they simply hang the compressor portion on the stern rail .

The lack of so called "marine construction" doesn't seem to harm their popularity.

 

[rgano]

VERY happy with the Dometic DTU 10K Btu unit I installed. Combined with a Micro-Air EasyStart, the thunk and clunk associated with compressor start and consequent generator loading is GONE. All very QUIET.

 

[Barking Sands]

I replaced an old Cruise Air unit with e new Marinaire 16k btu unit about 15 months ago. It has been operating flawlessly in the VERY hot Florida weather. Very very happy with it. The only knock I would give it is the symbols on the panel and remote. My old eyebulbs have a hard time differentiating them. I made a short video a while ago regarding the swap.