Electrosea A/C Strainer - Experience?

[JD5652]

Have only been in Florida waters for less than a year and am tired of cleaning my A/C strainer every couple weeks... or more.

Came across this product and was wondering if the claims meet the expectations in real life. It's pretty pricey at about $6850 for the just cost of the equipment for my 58LRC.

Sea Strainer System | Biofouling & Marine Growth Prevention | ElectroSea

Any experience out there?

[madhatter1]

When my pump ran 24/7 this due like substance grew in the filter basked clogging it up. Once I got my new pump controller and it cycled normally the growth went way down. Being a live aboard you end up running yours a lot. What about extra baskets you can swap out dropping the fouled one into a chlorine cleaning solution?

[Pascal]

Never heard of hit, never seen them.

Next haul out swap your intake covers for South Bay strainers. No more clogged strainers.

[JD5652]

I'm up the Manatee River and what I'm experiencing is biofouling exactly as described and shown here...

Innovative Sea Strainer | Marine Growth Prevention | ElectroSea

I hear it's a very common problem in these waters.

I don't "think" the South Bay External Strainer is going to stop the biofouling?

[JD5652]

When my pump ran 24/7 this due like substance grew in the filter basked clogging it up. Once I got my new pump controller and it cycled normally the growth went way down. Being a live aboard you end up running yours a lot. What about extra baskets you can swap out dropping the fouled one into a chlorine cleaning solution?

Madhatter -

Thanks for the suggestion... I do have spare baskets, but I still have to get into this very tight spot that's not maintenance friendly on a very frequent basis. You may have forgotten, but we don't live aboard and I keep the thermostats at around 76 degrees when not on the boat. With 5 A/C units and a single raw water pump that feeds a common header, the pump runs almost constantly as at least one of the units is always calling for cooling.

[madhatter1]

Gotcha. But the non stop fresh sea water is feeder for the growth. Wonder if a UV light and a clear tube could kill before growth. They are used in commercial AC units and we need them off before we open access panels. Dangerous stuff so may be a decent homemade option. Now that I mentioned it I may try this as in the summer I still get crap growing in the basket that sucks to clean off.

[rob71]

I swapped out the small (3/4 inch) groco Strainers with a 1 1/4 perko unit. Of course I had to adapt down to the appropriate hose sizes. But with the much larger cylinder I only have to clean every few months. Also I am a live aboard on the Fl gulf coast with plenty of fouling to deal with.

[jim rosenthal]

What about a bromine tablet in the strainer basket? Would that help?

[Cricket]

Know quite a few people that have Electrosea's Clearline systen on their boats, Electrostrainer is their newest offering.
My AC guy also told me they work great, he said "best thing for boats since the autopilot".
He did say to make sure to Barnacle Bust everything so you're stating out with a clean system.
Getting ready to pull the trigger on a unit myself.

[rsmith]

We don’t get anything like that on the east coast. Wonder if it’s related to the red tide the west coast gets. I’ve seen silt and weeds in the strainer but never algae or growth it takes light do grow plants. If you leave your er lights on maybe cover the strainer glass to cut the light.

I'm up the Manatee River and what I'm experiencing is biofouling exactly as described and shown here...

Innovative Sea Strainer | Marine Growth Prevention | ElectroSea

I hear it's a very common problem in these waters.

I don't "think" the South Bay External Strainer is going to stop the biofouling?