A/c in a O'Day 28
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Bob, we have an O'Day 272 and installed AC on board 4 years ago..We installed a 12,000 BTU Mermaid, but it will not cool the boat during the daylight hours in the summer...temps of 95 and above...I've fiddled with it these past four years and have finally got it to cool down pretty well with every nook and cranny covered up...all hatches/ports, etc....giving the boat a shower helps as well. finally ended up installing a 6 inch inline duct fan in the main duct as it comes out of the mermaid....I would not do 4 inch ducts. We installed the AC Compressor in the area under the v-berth cushion that previously used for storage.....Your boat has considerably more
room than a 272, so you may have options we did not have....We did the Mermaid condensator to handle the condensation water....I drew up plans for the boat and sent them to the dealer in Florida. Part of our problem is the lack of a bulkhead to close off the area under the cockpit....when the sun is shining down on a 105 dg. day, there is not a good way to get the
hot air out of the boat that builds up in areas like under the cockpit...
I wish I had spent a couple hundred extra dollars and got the 16,000 btu.
same size, same amperage draw...At night the sleeping is wonderful....Pat
Pat ........have you check your unit to see if the freon pressure level is to low or to high? To high and the compressor will not operate correctly and you will not get to proper cooling temperature. To low and unit will not cool to the proper temperature or freezer up. A good a/c mech will know how you say it, dial it in to just the right pressure for maximum cooling temperature. Same technique used for your refrigerator/freezer..... Also for extreme summer months I will place a fan down next to compressor to help cool it down ...By doing this I am able to pickup an extra 5 to 8 degrees of colder air coming out of the ducts. 12 Btu's for a 27 for should be plenty. Btw....... All my sunbella hatch covers are insulated with foil backed foam . Also foil backed foam inserted between vinyl head liner and deck. Hint.....I found the foil foam backed material .....dollar sunshades from my local dollar store.
Bob,
We're also thinking of adding ac to our 28. We haven't finalized any plans yet, but we're considering putting the unit under the port settee. The measurements we've taken suggest that that would be a close fit but may be doable. We figure it would be easier to run a duct forward from there than from under the nav station or quarter birth. We talked to a few vendors at the Annapolis boat show and the consensus was that we would need around 10K BTUs, but your plans to get something that you can run on a generator make sense too. Thanks for putting this question out there; I'll be watching it closely myself for any other tips.
Yes, that was one of the first things....there are several issues..one we made too many 90 degree turns for the 4 inch ducts...ea. 90 degree turn
results in a 13-14 percent reduction in static pressure.. Also, we don't have
a bimini or dodger to block the heat of the sun. Next, we first installed the thermostat in the head right where the sun would shine on it and keep the compressor running because the unit never would shut down. (we've moved it). I've now made foil covers for each interior hatch, and I use a large beach towel on the main hatch boards (a bit of a pain)....On a 90 degree day, our unit does okay during the daylight hours. At night we cool quickly down to the upper 50's or low 60s which is wonderful for sleeping and a great way to wake up. Kansas has been in terrible drought and the outdoor air temperature was over 100 degrees in 2011 for 48 days in a row, reaching 109 three times. This past summer we put in late may and by July had to be thinking of pulling....but again had days that reached 109 ...that is too hot for any ac to be cooling something pretty exposed....the inline fan made a huge difference....other people at our club have the same issue...with compressors running so long, the units freeze up trying....I've exchanged over 100 emails with Mermaid's President who has been fantastic in offering suggestions..our lake is now down 8 ft. and it's very doubtful anyone will be sailing a keel boat this year...thanks for your suggestions.
Our issue continues to be 4 inch ducts and too many 90 degree turns...reduces the air pressure as you say...also used flexible duct which again cuts down further on air flow. ..I'm thinking about getting rid of the flex duct and just going with the smooth...as I stated earllier, we have really hot weather here in wichita in the summer and I'm not really sure any ac can cool a boat on a 109 degree day...I'm not complaining, just wishing I had done a couple things differently....the evening and nightime cooling is really incredible...there is one other drawback....we do not go anchor/cook/out nearly so much...sort of turns us into hermits...it is either funny or sad, as we get to the club which will often have a full parking lot, but no one can be seen as everyone is below trying to keep cool...when it is like this, it is better to just go to the boat and head out sailing. .Patrick
We need to do that as well. I've laid out a dizzying array of beach towels and the like to cover hatches but that only works on a relatively calm day and there are not too many of those in Kansas....Our lake is so low right now that we might never get back in the water, but we must shop for those before going back in.. I'm considering a bimini plus dodger. Bimini is first though.
Patrick
I have a 5000 btu in a 30' hunter and cools just fine on 101 day I put beach towels over every hatch and window and one draped over the cabin hatch to act as a curtain had 10 adults and 5 kids on 4th July sitting in cabin playing cards and video games staying cool
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