On board permanently

[Mike in S Fla]

Well its official , were now homeless closed on the house and living on board.
Ill be able to take care of alot of things on the boat ive been putting off

couple of things im starting wit is changing mech controls to digetal on the criuise airs ( anyone recommend a source on the controls? ) also what size is the shaft packing (53 MY)

Thanks Mike

 

[madhat53]

Well its official , were now homeless closed on the house and living on board.
Ill be able to take care of alot of things on the boat ive been putting off

couple of things im starting wit is changing mech controls to digetal on the criuise airs ( anyone recommend a source on the controls? ) also what size is the shaft packing (53 MY)

Thanks Mike

We closed on our house last June to move onto our boat....although we have been undergoing a repower, and stayed on our motorhome during that time, we are now officially on the boat - and homeless!! Homeless is good!! (and the motorhome is being sold ) Good luck!!

 

[jim rosenthal]

Digital AC controls are great. Which one you use depends on what make of AC units you have, how new or old they are, and whether you want to do it yourself or have someone else do it. I had mine done by an AC professional; they are factory retrofits to CruiseAires. MikeP on this forum did his own- he can tell you what he used. If you decide to have an AC service shop do them, they will have opinions about which ones to use. But the digital controls are light-years ahead of the original analog ones. No question about it.

 

[davidwigler]

The 58 MY uses 3/8" packing. The 53 is probably the same but get some confirmation before buying.

Duramax Ultra X is highly recommended. I bought a box to have on hand but haven't installed it yet.

 

[fissioneng]

couple of things im starting wit is changing mech controls to digetal on the criuise airs ( anyone recommend a source on the controls? )

Many of us here have had good luck with the FX-1 retro fit from Coastal Climate controls.

X2 on the Duramax Ultra-X

 

[MikeP]

FX1 controls; Gore packing for dripless stuffing boxes without installing Dripless stuffing boxes!

 

[GJH]

My boat had mostly the Coastal Climate FX-1, but the master SR had the SMXII, which I felt was a superior and easier to use product. We found the Coastal people difficult to work with when we had an issue and repair. You can get the SMXII repaired (we never had to) by Flight Systems. If you have to have a professional tech service your system, many more certified CruiseAir techs are familiar with the SMX than the Coastal Climate.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I had good results calling Coastal for support. Also, they are so cheap that if one did crap out, you could just buy a whole new unit. I have four FX1's that are going on 6 years old and no problems.

 

[Walter P]

I have the Coastal units in my boat (2 of 4 systems) and I must say that in my experience they are great units, easy to install and use. After about 2 years, one of them crapped out and I called the company. I was treated very well and they sent me a new replacement part for such a low price, it hardly was worth the effort to write the check. By the way, the reason only 2 of 4 systems have Coastal control is because the other two are new self contained units which came with their own control.. which works well but the coastal is easier IMO to use.

Walt

 

[MikeP]

To be fair, I had a problem with an FX1 - the one controlling the bow/galley system. On two occasions it failed and had to be replaced. CC was good about the replacement, as noted, a very low price. The problem was that if you follow the instructions and mount the unit at the "logical" location - close to the forward air handler, the wiring run length is questionable for the wire gauge. I did not realize this but was advised of that by an ac expert that used to post here regularly and had a lot of experience with the digital controls. Sadly, he, passed away a few years ago. He advised that if the FX1 was moved to the engine room (where the compressors are located) the problem would disappear.

I moved the FX1 unit from the forward cabin to the engine room 6 years ago and it has been trouble free as have the other 3 since original installation - they were installed per FX1 instructions but they are all closer to the compressors than the bow unit, with a resulting shorter wire run. The difficulty is that it is EASY to install the FX1 at the point where the OEM control wiring attached to the Oem control, and that's what the FX1 instructions describe. Moving to the ER requires a lot more work on wiring. It's not technically difficult at all but it is a PITA sorting out what wires go where because the OEM wire colors at the control end of the wires - where the FX1 connects per its instructions, is different than the OEM wires colors at the trigger/circuit boxes for the same function. So you have to sort that out.

However, once done, you have a much better electrical system as far as the FX1 controls are concerned, with the important, higher current carrying wires being very short. OTOH, I haven't heard other complaints about this so maybe I just had 2 bad units. Seems unlikely but who knows...

This added - I have forgotten the details since it was so long ago but, as I recall, the main current-carrying wires are essentially doubled in length when you install the FX1 per the instructions - using the OEM wiring from the old analog switches directly to the control box.

 

[Garyd1]

How did a thread on living on board turn into an A/C thread....lol

Congrats guys hope to join you soon.

Where will your home slips be located?

garyd

 

[Mike in S Fla]

THANKS GUYS
As always I get a lot of expert advise when I need it
Thanks for all your wisdom

Mike

 

[SKYCHENEY]

To be fair, I had a problem with an FX1 - the one controlling the bow/galley system. On two occasions it failed and had to be replaced. CC was good about the replacement, as noted, a very low price. The problem was that if you follow the instructions and mount the unit at the "logical" location - close to the forward air handler, the wiring run length is questionable for the wire gauge. I did not realize this but was advised of that by an ac expert that used to post here regularly and had a lot of experience with the digital controls. Sadly, he, passed away a few years ago. He advised that if the FX1 was moved to the engine room (where the compressors are located) the problem would disappear.

I moved the FX1 unit from the forward cabin to the engine room 6 years ago and it has been trouble free as have the other 3 since original installation - they were installed per FX1 instructions but they are all closer to the compressors than the bow unit, with a resulting shorter wire run. The difficulty is that it is EASY to install the FX1 at the point where the OEM control wiring attached to the Oem control, and that's what the FX1 instructions describe. Moving to the ER requires a lot more work on wiring. It's not technically difficult at all but it is a PITA sorting out what wires go where because the OEM wire colors at the control end of the wires - where the FX1 connects per its instructions, is different than the OEM wires colors at the trigger/circuit boxes for the same function. So you have to sort that out.

However, once done, you have a much better electrical system as far as the FX1 controls are concerned, with the important, higher current carrying wires being very short. OTOH, I haven't heard other complaints about this so maybe I just had 2 bad units. Seems unlikely but who knows...

This added - I have forgotten the details since it was so long ago but, as I recall, the main current-carrying wires are essentially doubled in length when you install the FX1 per the instructions - using the OEM wiring from the old analog switches directly to the control box.

If you want to replace the PWX box, you need to put it in the ER. That is the best way to do it, IMO. No more triac and no more trigger.