A/C Help!!!!

[Bob Rutland]

The cooling water on my A/C unit just barely flows out the side of my boat. I attached a garden hose to the water line leading to the unit(about 40psi city water pressure)to blow it out, and water seem to flow fine. I checked the fresh water strainer and it was clean. After this process of emlimination, I assumed it was the pump. I replaced the pump with a top of the line 380gph Cal Pump.The water still just barely flows. I removed the line leading to the unit and tried to blow through it, but it had alot of back pressure. Is this normal? Could the cooling coil be restricted in some way? If so, how could I clean it? Thanks, Bob

 

[Ron]

Same Here

Does your A/C do the job?? My water flow is also very lite, but the A/C will freeze you out of the boat and it doesn't overheat and shut down soooooo, I just enjoy the cool air... Ron/KA5HZV

 

[Bob]

A/C raw water intake

Close the valve and remove the hose. Open the valve SLOWLY and check the flow. This will tell you if the thru-hull is clogged, or if you have an intake screen that's clogged. If it is clogged with growth, you can try blowing it out with the dock hose, or wrap a rag around the valve and plunge it clear with a dowel. It's best to do this with an observer onboard who can get help if required!

 

[Wayne Estabrooks]

Barnacles

Possible some marine growth (barnacles) has restricted the seawater intake or is this flowing freely? If it is blocked a diver could look at it. How old is the A/C unit? how many years has it been in operation? Perhaps some buildup of deposits (calcium?) in the passageway of the condenser. Folks at Marine Air or at Mermaid in Ft. Myers have been very helpful to me. They both have great web sites with information too. Let us know what you find out.

 

[Bob Rutland]

Re: Raw water intake

I believe the raw water intake is clean.I removed the hose from the pump and the water runs freely. I also connected a garden hose and back-flushed the intake side of the system.The more I trouble shoot, the more I think the restriction is in the condenser cooling coil.Any chemical cleaners or cleaning ideas are greatly welcome. Thanks, Bob

 

[Jim Wharton]

Try Y valve

On My Mermaid 12K unit I has the same problem. I also thought it was the pump. I was told to install a Y valve (Mermaid self priming kit) to assist with proper priming. I installed this valve just after the pump. Now once primed my systems works every time.Jim