Air conditioning refill

Sep 5, 2016
23
Hunter 40 Legend Sandusky
I own a Hunter 40 Legend from 1989.
My AC is not cooling anymore. Where are located the refill valves? Do I need to remove the upper staircase?
Thanks for your help.
Regards,
Philip
 
Dec 25, 2000
5,942
Hunter Passage 42 Shelter Bay, WA
Different model than yours, but the charge valve on our 1991 MarineAir unit is located right next to the compressor. Ours takes R-22 refrigerant. No staircase involved here.
 
May 24, 2004
7,179
CC 30 South Florida
What are the symptoms besides " not cooling anymore"? Is the compressor running? Is the unit freezing up? Is the cooling pump working? When a system reaches a critical level of refrigerant the compressor is shut off to prevent undue damage. A unit freezing up could be low on refrigerant or could have blocked airflow. The coils need to cleaned periodically and the filter replaced. The cooling pump is dependent on the free flow of water. If the compressor is not cooled either by water or air flow it will shut down. An overcharged system can be damaging so properly diagnose the fault before just looking for the fill connectors.
 
Sep 5, 2016
23
Hunter 40 Legend Sandusky
Terry, thank you. Do you have a all in one unit with the compressor, condenser and evaporator all together?
 
Sep 5, 2016
23
Hunter 40 Legend Sandusky
Thank you for your input. Could it be an aftermath of the winterization. The storage facility told me that there was nothing to do besides draining the pink product. I have found that the water heater was disassembled. Could it be that the ac unit was not properly re-instated?
 
Dec 25, 2000
5,942
Hunter Passage 42 Shelter Bay, WA
Terry, thank you.
Yes Philip, all one unit. Our aft cabin system lost its charge over the years and refused to produce any heat. A local marine system guy checked it out and confirmed it was low on refrigerant. He also checked the main cabin unit, which was okay. He checked both sides, heat and cool, giving them a clean bill of health.

No need for the cool side in our region, but did use the heat side during our mid winter cruise and marveled at its usual fine job. How it can extract warm air from mid 40s water temperature seems counter intuitive.
 
Sep 5, 2016
23
Hunter 40 Legend Sandusky
Thanks Terry. Just think that 40F is still a lot compared to the absolute cold which is 0 Kelvin. This is where the heat is coming from.