I'm looking to upgrade my electrical 110 outlets to accommodate a 14,000 BTU portable air conditioning unit. Any suggestions or ideas? Can this be a dyi project?
1983 h34 electrical panel upgrade
- Thread starter Rschipman
- Start date
A few things to check:
1. The 120VAC side of our H28 used standard 15amp dual socket 125VAC outlets that were all supported by a single GFI outlet. Hunter also used standard Romex solid copper wire (12-14AWG) for the AC side. If yours is similar, and unless your portable air conditioner draws more than what your boat is equipped, what you have should be suitable while connected to shore power.
2. What does the maker of your air conditioning unit recommend in terms of electrical requirements? If it takes a standard 15A 125VAC grounded outlet, if your boat has that type of outlet and size wire mentioned above, I see no need to upgrade. Just make sure that your shore power cord and connections are in good condition with no signs of electrical degradation.
3. The AC circuit breaker on your main panel that supports the outlets should be 15A minimum. If so, keep in mind the electrical requirements stated by the maker of your air conditioner. The heat pumps on our current boat draw about ten amps each while running, but require about fifteen amps to start. I make sure that I manage shore power consumption within the capacity of the main breaker.
Whether this is a DIY project, that depends upon you and your electrical skills or experience, safety and proper tools. I do my own work knowing what I know. If in doubt, hire it out.
The 12VDC side of your boat NOT suitable nor adequate.
1. The 120VAC side of our H28 used standard 15amp dual socket 125VAC outlets that were all supported by a single GFI outlet. Hunter also used standard Romex solid copper wire (12-14AWG) for the AC side. If yours is similar, and unless your portable air conditioner draws more than what your boat is equipped, what you have should be suitable while connected to shore power.
2. What does the maker of your air conditioning unit recommend in terms of electrical requirements? If it takes a standard 15A 125VAC grounded outlet, if your boat has that type of outlet and size wire mentioned above, I see no need to upgrade. Just make sure that your shore power cord and connections are in good condition with no signs of electrical degradation.
3. The AC circuit breaker on your main panel that supports the outlets should be 15A minimum. If so, keep in mind the electrical requirements stated by the maker of your air conditioner. The heat pumps on our current boat draw about ten amps each while running, but require about fifteen amps to start. I make sure that I manage shore power consumption within the capacity of the main breaker.
Whether this is a DIY project, that depends upon you and your electrical skills or experience, safety and proper tools. I do my own work knowing what I know. If in doubt, hire it out.
The 12VDC side of your boat NOT suitable nor adequate.
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Here's just a starter course in amperage draw:
http://joeactips.blogspot.com/2013/08/current-draw-of-air-conditioners.html
http://joeactips.blogspot.com/2013/08/current-draw-of-air-conditioners.html
Thanks for the info.!!! I should have mentioned that the port and starboard side each has its own circuit breaker and either side flips after 15-20 minutes of running the ac (13,000 BTU).
Wiring should handle it, RS.. It is 10 gauge from inlet to the AC panel then 14 out to the receptacles.. Sounds like you may have some bad connections in the system.. In the winter, I sometimes run a heater that draws around 14 amperes without a problem. I plug it into the outlet by the head sink.. That kind of load is about the max continuous for 14 gauge wire.. Since voltage drop in the system will cause the unit to pull more current, Ya probably should check all the connections on the AC side from the inlet out to the receptacle where you plan to plug in the unit. I find that the screw lugs at the busses on the back of the breaker panel work loose after a few years of heating/cooling cycles. The outlets are "daisy chained" with one feeding the next in line, so it would be good to open all those and clean/tighten any wire ya see back there. It would be best to use the port side to power the unit since the wire runs are considerably shorter on that side. It would not be unusual for a breaker to go bad at this age, but I doubt both would fail together.. If correcting the connections does not help, next step would be to measure the current so you could tell if the breaker is tripping at correct amperage. If you blow this up a bit, you can read the info.
The issue you may be having may not be electrical at all, the head pressure in the unit may be rising due to lack of condenser air flow, this could occur from restricting the outlet (on the pipe that gets warm) as the temperature of this air increases so does amperage. Or to really go out of the box you could be pulling a negative pressure on your boat which could be impeding air flow if the boat is sealed up really tight.
I will give an opinion, though I am not a marine electrician. The AC should have a dedicated outlet with its own breaker or be directly wired to its own breaker. Wire used should not be less than 12 gauge. I have seen an installation that put the AC up under the chart table and ran ducts along the hull to the fore and aft cabins, using the existing cabinetry to house the vents and the chart table trim extended down a bit to mask the installation and house the air supply vent for the main cabin.
Given the amount of current and time used at the pier, I would be sure to have the shore power receptacle and galvanic isolation in good order.
Given the amount of current and time used at the pier, I would be sure to have the shore power receptacle and galvanic isolation in good order.
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Thanks to everyone who tried to help!!!! Because of my lack of knowledge on most of this and talking with knowledgable mechanic on my dock, he advised me to buy a 20amp. 10G. 50ft. Extension cord and plug in to 110 outlet my dock above shore power outlet and run it thru window to my A/C unit. It looks like hell but seems to b working so far!! The ext. cord cost me a 100 bucks. But seems to b easiest fix.