Cruisair Monitor/alarm

[REBrueckner]

spccoolin posted in another thread:

"...Freon is what cools the compressor, and running low for any period of time can cause it to overheat & burn itself up..."

There are a lot of posts on air conditioning problems.....Is there no aftermarket gauge of reasonable cost that can be used to monitor an operating characteristic that reflects coolant charge...say pressure(s) or charge or SOMETHING? Do new a/c systems have any such feedback??

Other operating machinery has some monitor...like engines,genny...why not a/c??

Seems like one thing everybody would like to know is "am I low on refrigerant".

Based on the above quote, maybe even a simple temperature monitor/alarm sensor placed at an appropriate point would be useful to prevent compressor damage...or maybe even monitor efficiency to determine when a raw water flush is required (as discussed in another thread recently.)

 

[spcoolin]

Rob~

I posted an answer to your same question in the other thread...Guess you posted this thread before I could finish with my answer over there...

http://www.samsmarine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15167

Steve~

 

[spcoolin]

I might also add that manual low pressure protection can be added to any system, and that Cruisair units of over 24,000 BTU (even with manual controls) always had it.

I might also add that the original Hatteras Cruisair units from 7K & up also had both low & hi ps switches (Hatteras ordered their units that way, and were the only boat builder I know of to do so)....But most of those original units have been replaced by now, and the standard replacement units did not come with the low pressure switch....

The problem with the manual units is they are auto reset switches...If they open...They will reset when the pressures from the high side & low side equalize a bit...Then close again & the compressor will come back on (until the switch opens again)
This process will continue with the compressor short cycling (and if gone unnoticed) until it either trips a breaker or burns wiring, or capacitor, or itself up...

Manual reset switches are also available (where you have to push a reset button) but those can be nuisance too as sometimes a bag or grass may clear itself from a thru-hull with the cycling method...

Steve~