53MY/58YF Galley A/C Duct from Fwd S/R?

[ThirdHatt]

Has anyone added an A/C duct to the galley from the air handler in the forward stateroom? It seems that some of the air could be directed into the galley to help keep the galley comfortable. I was speaking with a member of this forum and he mentioned seeing a/c ducts high on the fwd stbd galley wall of some boats. Has anyone done this mod??

 

[yachtsmanbill]

The AC unit in the forward berth is on the port side and there is an air mover in the dinnete on the stbd side.It also feeds aft to the lower salon, with another in the salon aft of that. I'm rippen' all that junk out -- its way too confusing. ws

 

[ThirdHatt]

Bill, the 58 Triple Cabin that you have has a different setup than the 53MY/58YF. I believe (hope?) that with relatively minor mods a new small A/C duct can be cut into the upper stbd galley wall to utilize some of the air from the fwd s/r air handler to condition the galley air. Maybe someone here has done it or knows about the possibility.

The galley is the one area in these boats that could use some extra cooling in the summer, especially while cruising b/c the mains heat up that hallway nicely. Throw in a little cooking and the trickle of air coming from the fwd salon A/C seems like a cruel joke. I have considered adding a small, self-contained unit to the cabinet above the fridge but then thinking of a pump trying to get water all the way up there not to mention the extra electrical problems that arise, I have decided to look for an easier solution.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I have a split system fwd. One set of coils under the fwd bunk and one set of coils under the dinette seat. There is only one thermostat in the fwd stateroom and one compressor, but separate air handlers. If yours is not like this, you could possibly retro it to a split systems or add another complete unit for the galley. Other than that, I see no way to duct the air from the bow unit to the galley.

 

[ThirdHatt]

Hmmm, very interesting, Sky. Your boat is much newer than mine (1972) and must have benefitted from an updated design. I guess Hatteras heard the early model owners pleas for more cooling in the galley and split the system on the newer boats. The air handler in my fwd cabin is above the washer/dryer in the top of the closet. The only thing between it and the galley is a thin wood wall. Interesting idea about another split system, but I'd rather just take some of the air from the one that is there if possible.

 

[yachtsmanbill]

Whats more confusing than a HATTERAS electrical system?? The air conditioning system. There are 7 controls throughout the boat, 4 120vac compressors and either 1 or 2-220 vac compressors. There is more hoses run through that boat than a colonic irrigation therapy lounge in L.A.
I think that since I'm gonna change the thru-hull arraingement for the heads etc., I will keep one open aft for a rear system and one forward for another system. 2-16000btu units should handle the boat along with zonal air movers.
Het Byron, the one pic is of the Louisiana air conditioner for you The other is the V berth unit, which I think is just an air handler, no? The other side of the locker is the galley. ws

 

[Pascal]

one of the 4 16k compressor is shared by air handlers in the VIP and fwd SR. the only air i have coming into the galley is from the fwd salon air handler (port side of helm) which has a 4" duct diverting some air over the fridge.

at some point, my boat had a 5th compressor and a air handler above the fridge for the galley. it's not original (not on the blueprints) and i'm not sure when it was removed but i think it was when the previous owner replaced all the compressors 4 or 5 years ago. He even left an extra brand new 9k btu condensor on board, which i suspect was meant for the galley but never installed.... i see evidence of another shelf in the ER for the extr compressor and various holes plugged in the cabinetry in the galley.

while i'm tempted to reinstall an extra one, power is the big issue. the current AC loads bring me to the limit of the 220/50 panel. adding an extra compressor means adding a 30amp shore power and panel....

 

[shvldis]

We also found galley AC to need help. We installed several Muffin fans in the AC duct from the fwd salon, they pull cold air from the duct and also circulate the air back to the salon. In future will add some more in end and face of cabinet..

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Byron,
If your unit is above the W/D then I don't see why you couldn't duct it through the bulkhead above the dinette. That is where my duct terminates as well.

 

[Capt K]

My fwd air handler is in the overhead in the forward cabin where most of you have a larger w/d cabinet. It is ducted to the dinette and boy, you can hang meat in the galley when it's on.

I have a 1965 50' MY.

Capt K

 

[Nonchalant1]

My 1978 53MY has two galley heat/cool vents. One is from an A/C in the port side of the salon helm station that has an air outlet in the salon and one in the galley, so if you turn off the air vent at the helm all the cooling (or heating) air goes to the galley. Plus there is a remote evaporator and fan from the mid stateroom A/C that cools or heats the galley from a vent above the washer/dryer on the wall just inside the door to the forward stateroom. There's a completely separate A/C in that same space above the washer/dryer for the forward stateroom.

Our galley gets enough heat/cool that way and the mid stateroom A/C is on a different leg of 110V than the salon and aft deck A/Cs so it helps with power management. We're frequently heating or cooling our mid stateroom when we don't really need to.

Doug Shuman

 

[Diver Down]

Has anyone added an A/C duct to the galley from the air handler in the forward stateroom? It seems that some of the air could be directed into the galley to help keep the galley comfortable. I was speaking with a member of this forum and he mentioned seeing a/c ducts high on the fwd stbd galley wall of some boats. Has anyone done this mod??

This is a fairly easy mod. If you take the grill off the duct above the washer/dryer closet (forward stateroom), you will see that the plenum is large enough for a galley-side vent. Cut a hole through the bulkhead above the forward dinette seat (it's 1/2 inch ply) and then cut through the sheet metal plenum for whatever size register you choose. You may want to seal the register to the AC plenum with duct or aluminum tape.

Funny thing is that I just closed up this particular duct with sheet metal because I didn't like the noise in the galley! Mine sounded like a wind tunnel.

 

[Nonchalant1]

Here's a picture of the two A/Cs in the space above the washer/dryer. The one on the left is the remote coil and blower for the mid stateroom A/C. The one on the right is a complete compact A/C unit with compressor, evap and blower in that space. It has one cold air outlet to the galley and one to the forward stateroom. It all fits nicely. They also installed a separate "ship/off/shore" switch for this A/C only so it can run without tripping the main panel breakers (it'll still trip the dock breakers though).

Doug Shuman

 

[ThirdHatt]

WOW Doug! I was wondering about that extra unit. Thanks for the pic. Now I see, someone did an excellent job with that install! A separate self-contained unit is probably the best solution, although getting water to/from and enough electricity to run it are the biggest challenges.

Diver Down, that is what I was looking for. Is the opening a factory Hatteras mod or something that you or a previous owner did? Any pics? I'd really like to have this done before the spring heat arrives.

 

[Diver Down]

I'll try to get a couple of pics posted this week. On my setup, if you remove the grill above the washer-dryer closet you see a sheet metal box about 12" wide, 9" tall and 16" deep. The back of this 'box' is open to the coils on the condenser which is mounted outboard of this plenum. An vent opening (4" x 12") had been cut on the galley side of this box and then a grill installed on the bulkhead above the forward cushion of the dinette. Based on the quality of the cut in the sheet metal, I suspect the mod had been done by the PO, not Hatteras. Hope this description helps.

 

[Nonchalant1]

There is an original Afromosia panel covering this space on mine. It has a small vent in it where you see the vent hose. The Cruiseair controls are on the aft wall above the top bunk in the fed stateroom. This one and my aft deck A/C (also self contained unit) have separate raw water pumps and pipes because they're not tied into the big pump in the ER. That makes 6 A/Cs on the boat in total.

Doug

 

[bigbill]

hey byron, my 1972 58 yf is set up with the compact unit above the w/d cabinet, it runs on the w/d breaker, [i dont have a w/d], but it should work if you wired it to the w/d breaker, just dont use the a/c and the w/d at the same time. my pump is under the fwd stateroom hatch, and the overboard diicharge goes through the port fwd seachest. bigbill

 

[ThirdHatt]

Doug, 6 A/C's?? That is amazing. What size is your generator?

BigBill, I think you have just solved the power-problem with adding a separate A/C! Just buy a 220v unit and power it from the dryer power supply which is right there. That way I would not overload either 110V side of the boat panel. NICE!!!! Do you happen to know what size unit fits in there Bill?

THANKS Guys!!!

 

[bigbill]

byron, i can't see the spec plate on mine, if i can find some paperwork on mine i will write back, i think i remember seeing a booklet from cruisair with 5000 btu's on it, my unit does not have the heat mode on it. bigbill