any info on mermaid condensator?

[Jim D]

Does anyone have any pros or cons about the mermaid condensator? This unit claims to work by venturi principle on the output of the ac water pump thus eliminating the need to drain the ac condensation in the bilge etc. I like the idea but no one at the marina I am at has one to ask questions.
Any comments would be appreciated. Jim

 

[kloudie1]

I haven't seen one, Jim but I have worked with eductors a lot .. You know the pros, and they are good.. . The only cons I could think of are that it will decrease the flow of cooling water from the AC water pump.. not a whole lot, and you probably have a lot of extra in the pump output.. the flow will decreasse slightly.. The other one is a very remote possibility of plugging the discharge line .. could be with trash/algae from the condensate pan or something stopping the outlet thru-hull.. That would cause most of the AC water pump discharge to try to get into the condensate pan.. The check valve that I see right above the eductor should stop that. The unit would then have no cooling water, which should then shut down the compressor on high temp or high pressure depending on what sensors are there. .. I'd be interested in its performance..

 

[Bill Roosa]

Where does the water go

Once you turn off the AC the line is still plumbed to the thru hull. The only thing keeping it from leaking into the boat is the check valve. This would require you to turn off (and on) the thru hull every time the unit is left unattended or off. An option is to put the venturi above the waterline but I don't know how much head it can maintain so that may be problematical
Yes they work but don't let the maintenance on the bilge pump slip.

 

[David Knauer]

Condensator

Jim,
I installed a complete A/C system in my boat from Mermaid this spring. The condensator (even from Defender) was expensive. That said, the condensator works exactly as it was intended. There is a steady exhaust of water from the pan. Another concern is the attitude of the pan under the A/C unit. Should it not be level you could still get some water in the pan depending on which side is lower. You MUST install the condensator above the water line.
David

 

[Velero49]

David - does it make a lot of noise?

 

[Marc14857]

Condensator

Installed one on my H36 and worked fine. No additional noise but you will note that the seawater discharge has air in it as you would expect. Other than the price it is a great piece of equipment. I've read that some sailors have installed a similar venturi unit that is normally used to drain water beds. It is much much cheaper but can not comment on the quality.

 

[Jerry Clark H356 SV Persi]

Another option

Drill a hole in the drain pan, put a plastic barbed fitting in the hole in the pan, connect it to the shower sump pump and pump your pan dry. This is a failsafe system and works just fine. I installed this system about five years ago and it keeps all the water from AC out of the bilge.

 

[David Knauer]

noise

David - does it make a lot of noise?

No noise that I can report.
David

 

[Velero49]

I went the water bed venturi route ($30 for 3 plus tubing and clamps) and it was very noisy. I could hear the suction on my cabins unit when one of the other 2 A/Cs were on. I did not have the check valve, but I dont know if that makes a diffrence. Maybe if the tubing is reduce to 1/4" from 5/8" the noise would be less. I did connected 2 of the 3 units to a shower pump but the A/C in the main saloon is too low, so I have to go to the water bed venturi for that one. Another boat project, 100 more to go......

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

I went the water bed venturi route ($30 for 3 plus tubing and clamps) and it was very noisy. I could hear the suction on my cabins unit when one of the other 2 A/Cs were on. I did not have the check valve, but I dont know if that makes a diffrence. Maybe if the tubing is reduce to 1/4" from 5/8" the noise would be less. I did connected 2 of the 3 units to a shower pump but the A/C in the main saloon is too low, so I have to go to the water bed venturi for that one. Another boat project, 100 more to go......

The converse would be true - that is, the larger the diameter hose, the less noise.

 

[jk kudera]

I have the unit installed for 10 years, it works fine, yes, some noise if there is very little condensate in the pan, but a dry bilge is better! Water flow is not a problem either.