Marine Air conditioning
- Thread starter mauruuru
- Start date
The air is full of salts. I see it on my windshield if I leave the car outside at night so I assume that as salt laden air passes over the condenser fins and cools the moisture that forms carries salt with it and it gets on the coils and fins. It is not demineralized as one post suggested. It must be reall since heatpump mfgrs are starting to cost their coils for use in coastal zones!
How does all this 'salt-laden air' get pumped through your boat when you are running your A/C system? I assume you close up the boat so as not to attempt to cool/heat the entire marina. If you place a condenser coil outside a beach cottage they live in salt air. But that is not the life of a condenser buried in the saloon.
Not really. Coastal surf and/or white capping sometimes carries sea water as a Mist with the wind.
The interior walls of your boat would be "salt water" sticky too, if that was the source,
Because of the circulation fan used to move warm air from your boat cabin, across your AC coils, pulls a slight vacuum or low pressure...
your enclosure for the AC must be AIR TIGHT except for the return air grill.
So you don't...
Seal your AC enclosure!
Tip: This is the real use for DUCT TAPE!!
Jim...
PS: This works for your home central air too. Many people don't check that they are sucking outside air over their coils.
I think I have solved the mystery of the destroyed heat exchanger-or at least partly. I had a battery for the bow thruster which turned out to be a flooded cell lead acid battery-not AGM that it was specd and supposed to be. It apparently got overcharged since I never checked the water level (thinking of course its AGM like all the other batteries). The acid mist must have condensed on the fins-the original install did not have the air handler isolated from the bilge and its physically lower than the compartment where the battery was located but relatively close and an open passageway between the two spaces. New Battery-AGM and the whole area cleaned up with acid neutralizer so now hopefully the newly installed AC (properly isolated from the bilge air) will last a little longer!
Glad you found the source. That would explain the extent of corrosion in your original pictures.
But...
You will have the same problem unless you....
The only air passing over your coil should be filtered cabin air. Not outside air, not air from around any battery type, not air from under you interior liner.
_______
It appears you have wrapped you unit which may keep outside air OUT of the coil intake area. I hope so.
Jim...
PS: Thank you for the feedback!
FLA batteries are notorious for spewing acid gas vapor during the course of their recharge cycle. Something to keep in mind when you have golf-cart batteries stowed inside your boat. Put them in a container and be prepared to deal with corrosion.