cruise/air problems

[fixin-to-cruise]

I agree, but from my experience it makes sense to check the basics first, a lot of problems are from a pump that does not turn or lost prime, or an obstruction in the strainer. Things like sea life buildup or a worn out pump impeller would be more apparent operating in warmer water and would not appear suddenly. This is a 5 minute check and will find most of the problems...as Cruisair says this is "usually the result of loss of cooling water flow".

If it worked fine last season and suddenly quit it probably isn't a build up of sea life unless the boat was left sitting in the water.

If the water flow looks reasonable the next step I'd try would be to block the water to other A/C units by removing the hoses and blocking them and run all the raw water through the A/C unit with the HI/PS shutdown. If there is still raw water flowing then it would be another problem.

My HI/PS shutdowns have been from bad pump relays and strainers blocked with sea grass. A plastic bag would do the same thing.

 

[krush]

so far it looks like freon levels and very dirty filters are to blame.

Hey Pascal:

 

[Pascal]

oh yes, I've had plenty of issues like that and flow is always the first thing to check.

in this specific case though, flow out of the discharge was good and the water hoses connected to that condenser where cooler than other things in there (genny room after 10 hours run). that tells me that water was flowing thru that condenser otherwise the hoses would have been warmer.

it's not s flow problem.

plastic bags are actually more tricky because when you stop the pump, they float away a little, letting water in when you open the strainer. but since they remain stuck in the scoop as soon as there is suction, they get sucked tight against. That happens to me about once a year... going for a swim (usually at 6am on a summer sunday) is the the only cure

 

[Dan Mapes]

We have two 16K units that are serviced by one pump. Today, about 1/2 an hour ago, the aft cabin unit started in with the high pressure fault. It runs fine with the salon unit active. So when the salon unit shut down, I looked over the side, and guess what? No water. Looks like I need another relay. We leave the Bahamas tomorrow AM so this will wait a bit.

 

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

And on a related note to another thread re engine raw water maintenance...

While I was plumbing one of my motors for Barnacle Buster treatment, I pumped some solution through my AC cooling system for about 45 mins. While I had no reason to suspect a problem, the return solution did show there was at least some need. Went ahead and recycled that little bit plus lots more through the engine. Don't forget you have two exits for raw water (my 55C) or you'll pump some over. Not saying I did that...not more than a couple of gallons anyway.

Also had hi pressure shutdown of one units on heat mode only; ran a few then shutdown for a few and so on. Found filter was pretty bad. That seemed to do it.

 

[SEVEN]

Mine was cycling on and off and I thought the pump was bad. I first cleaned the intake and whala it fixed the issue. Lucky me. Vacum your intakes reply well it may help.

 

[Plan B2]

Looking for help from the xperts here. I have good water flow while on the hook and at the dock. But I seem to loose water flow while underway. It doesn't take long before the conmpressor shuts down. I have checked the sea strainer and it is clean.
I have a March TE-5.5c-MD pump to 4 compressors. All four units work great as long as I am not moving.
Could the impeller be the issue, even though I get sufficient flow while at the dock?
I'll keep searching the forum for additional input, but wanted to get the question out there.

 

[Avenger]

Sounds more like a hull scoop or external strainer issue to me.

 

[Boatsb]

Sounds more like a hull scoop or external strainer issue to me.

Agreed. Whats on the outside and whats in front of the pickup?

Is anything else sharing the water?

 

[Plan B2]

No, nothing else is on that sea strainer.

 

[Avenger]

Are you sure it's still there?

 

[svaron]

Having a similar fault now and have in the past. Most of the time it is low 'freon'. Having it charged up today. Will let you know the outcome. We have good water flow...

 

[Plan B2]

I'm not certain that intake has a scoop. As many times as I have seen the bottom of this boat you would think I would recall.
I am planning some yard work now and will add that to the list of things to check for.

 

[polarizer]

From a person who has replaced 3 units this year, it could be a ruptured coil. Is the unit newer? The newer units have a
new coil metals combination that are extreemly sensitive to over pressure of the cooling water. I was at a premier
yacht service center a few weeks ago, only to see pallets of Cruise Air boxes. I think its time for a class action lawsuit.

 

[northshoreone]

I have found when acid washing the system, like cooling water it takes the least path of resistance. Due to that one of the four units on a pump was never really getting cleaned! It would always give me problems soon after a cleaning shutting down on high pressure.....IE lack of cooling water flow in most cases. I modified the system to cycle the cleaning solution using a small 12v bilge pump in a five gallon bucket. Now I can do each unit at a time shutting the flow off and on to each unit. You cant believe what came out of the unit causing the problems after I did this!! I now have no more issues with any of the units as they are all being cleaned the same!
Sorry I could not figure out how to turn the picture right side up but you get the idea!