Reengineering an air conditioning unit to “marine” use. Purists should cover their e

[MarioG]

Mario, first of all CONGRATS on a low cost solution to your A/C woes. My only concern is if you have given enough consideration to the amount of heat that will be coming off the back side of the unit. Where does it vent? Will you be able to drive drom the flybridge during the summer with the added noise and heat? Ther will be ALOT of heat coming out and you may have to drive from below even when you may want to be up top. Just a thought.

GOOD LUCK!

Thanks Byron,

As far as the heat. I too thought of it. the heat given off the back of the unit is ducted away. The duct is through the inside of the fly bridge wall leading aft. The hot air is vented out the back of the fly bridge wall facing aft and is far enough away that the warm air is not felt. infact the reverse is happening. due to the volume of fresh air entering the fly bridge through the flybridge access door under the helm you can feel the flow of fresh air around your feet at the helm station. besides the warm air volume isn't all that much and is desipatated quickly.

[MarioG]

Great Job, with a few thoughts.

1. It is probably a little too efficient. Meaning if your yacht is really tight and you crank it down to 68 and it sucks all the moisture out and your 25 uncle Marios are snoring there fool heads off they may not wake up. At least that is the theory. You can check online but there is a ratio of inside and outside air that needs to be changed over. It is also interesting reading when doing A/C design.

2. It has to survive vibrations it would never see in a house and "G" shocks that it would also not see in a house.

.

during my research I did read up on that. But I figured that our boats aren't no where air tight to begin with. my uncles should be fine.

as far as vibs and shocks I did take precautions during the mount design. But I agree, but only time will tell.

[yachtsmanbill]

i MUY BUENO PARA USTED ! I always appreciated thinking outside the box. You are to be commended, cabron!

That new unit probably has a radial compressor... way quieter than the old recips. Make sure the new units differ in that the old ones would run the lip of the exhaust fan touching the condensate, thinking the water will help in exchanging heat. Check for water spray and condensation in the helm.
I painted my top last winter and installed a pair of louvered vents on the outside also... some thing you may want to consider.
(glad your typing improved!! ;-)) )! That was quite an essay. ws









Nice powder coated window frames etc...

[Boatsb]

Since air is a better heat conductor than water and new marine units (24K BTU) are not what you wanted it probably works. Like bolting 3 outboards to the transom of a 36 foot inboard boat. I think there are other options but its your boat.

[Avenger]

The phrase "Shock and Awe" comes to mind....

Kudos for your creativity and for having the chutzpah to share it with the expurts and purists here. We'll be expecting a long-term evaluation and report some time in the future. Meanwhile, reward yourself by enjoying a frosty beverage in air conditioned comfort.

[MarioG]

exchanging heat. Check for water spray and condensation in the helm.
...

Thanks Willy! No water spray in te helm. bone dry. It's been running for over a week. No issues. So far...

[MarioG]

The phrase "Shock and Awe" comes to mind....

Kudos for your creativity and for having the chutzpah to share it with the expurts and purists here. We'll be expecting a long-term evaluation and report some time in the future. Meanwhile, reward yourself by enjoying a frosty beverage in air conditioned comfort.

Thanks! Yes this will be an on going case study and I'll report the good and the bad. It does give me the giggles when I think about it though...

Ps. thank you for thinking up the name. air to air "marine" A/C. Shock and Awe series

[Angela]

Mario...you are my air conditioning hero!!! LOL I've been waiting for this thread and the photos. Muy excellente, mi amigo!

Guess what crapped out on Sanctuary???? The blower unit for the pilothouse. Guess how we're going to fix that! It will be nice to have a nice deep cabinet in the pilothouse when I yank out the evap unit....and that spot in the ER where the compressor sits right there at the door...tool box!!!

I have a huge vacant area under the FB helm and it's directly over the entire pilothouse and then some. And if we install our AC unit up there to starboard, maybe I can cure that list to port afterall. Somewhere up there, we already have 220v power because the FB has an AC unit which I'll be removing. We never use that - it's just extra weight that can go away.

[saltshaker]

Great job and thanks for sharing. Anxious to see what the long term results are. I've thought about doing something similar in the past but never had a need for it. Your design is not too different than what I have on my boat. I have a marine AC unit but the air handler is under the Fly Bridge apron. on my boat there is a door and tons of room in there. I have one large return similar to yours and the cool air comes out of the window valances. Haven't really taxed it yet but it keeps the salon at 68 when it was in the 90's and humid in Fl.

[jim rosenthal]

This is a great idea. Isn't this similar to what buses and motor homes use? Air to air heat pumps, basically?

By the way, water is a much better absorber of heat than is air. The specific heat capacity of water is much larger than air- it both cools and heats better. Fifty degree water has a lot of heat energy in it, which is why water to air heat pumps work; fifty degree air has far less. None of this is a problem in FL where your aim is to get rid of heat, not keep it around.