Replace aircon unit for guest/vip.

[MadHatter53]

My orig ac unit has sht the bed. The Freon lines have rusted thru and ac guy says it’s time to replace. Has anyone replaced theirs? I’m thinking of a self contained unit but not sure how much of PIA it will be for a diy job. Thoughts and suggestions welcome.

 

[Pascal]

Probably the easiest way especially if like my early 53 the VIP air con is installed against the ER bulkhead. Easy to run the raw water hoses

 

[SeaEric]

IMHO this is not a DIY project.

 

[bigbill]

i put a self contained in the closet where the old air handler was. i had to enlarge the box a little bit and run water lines but that was easy since it is so close to the manifold and seachest. IIRC i went with a 10,000 btu i think

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Is the old compressor still okay? If just the lines are bad, maybe that compressor is fine. If so, someone here might take it off of your hands.

 

[MadHatter53]

Yes I assume the compressor is fine it’s the lines at the compressor unit that has a leak. I wondered if just brazing new lines would be an option.

 

[piripucha]

I just replaced my units for self contained units. I put a 18000 BTU unit on the master bedroom closet and ducted to cool both de master and the side stateroom. There is a sea chest behind the port closset walls so the instalation was prety easy. Its not a big deal to do this job.

 

[Pascal]

Off that gas lines of corroded thru. They are pretty thick. When I upgraded my 53 to chillers and ripped the old copper lines I was surprised at how good they looked. I would consider fixing the leak by brazing the line. Have you looked at it yourself?

 

[cww]

My orig ac unit has sht the bed. The Freon lines have rusted thru and ac guy says it’s time to replace. Has anyone replaced theirs? I’m thinking of a self contained unit but not sure how much of PIA it will be for a diy job. Thoughts and suggestions welcome.

You're getting an earful of sh!t. The lines are solid copper they don't rust. Get somebody else out there and lose the number of whatever a/c company told you that. If there is anything wrong with the lines, there's an off chance it's a hairline crack caused by somebody being rough when servicing a unit in the past, and there's about a 90% chance it's a valve or braze fitting that's seeping. Both easy fixes. That's if it's actually the lines. If it's the compressor, you can remove the unit and order a direct fit replacement from grainger, then have any competent a/c shop install it. I would never get rid of the original blue cruisairs if I were you. It sounds like somebody is just trying to sell you a new unit.

 

[MadHatter53]

My problem started end of last season and normal guy is a pain to get to the boat so I started calling the end of April so come July I’m back in business. NOPE. I poked around replaced both capacitors had my 220v coming into the units box. This time I used another guy (friend of a friends friend) he said zero Freon so compressor wouldn’t run and said it might be time to replace due to corrosion issues . He is getting out of business/retiring and I asked him to order unit etc etc he said I would be better off having someone else take over so money not a motive. I’m going down this weekend and plan on having a much deeper look. I would prefer to have whatever is wrong repaired so I’m back to waiting for my reg ac tech to have a look.

 

[rwaldrop13]

i put a self contained in the closet where the old air handler was. i had to enlarge the box a little bit and run water lines but that was easy since it is so close to the manifold and seachest. IIRC i went with a 10,000 btu i think

I actually did this, 3 units total, I'd recommend Mermaid Manufacturing in Ft Myers. I don't see why it can't be a DIY project. The hardest part was pulling the old air handler, running new hoses/electrical to the unit. I kept the pumps in the generator room, and used the old CrusAir boxes as junction boxes for the new units. That simplified connecting to power and ensured I was on same breaker, since I replaced 220/230V Crusair carcasses with 220/230V single-piece units. Biggest challenge was getting ductwork mated to old vents. It was time-consuming, but ultimately was a huge improvement, since new units draw lower amps and have lower electric consumption for more cooling.