Our nephew is thinking about installing a 9,000 btu A/C unit on his 1986 h34. I'm 1,200 miles away and cannot help him but perhaps I can pass on some good information. The unit is like 14"x14"x17" . Where would be the best location? He indicates he thinks under the port side sette. Where would be the best place to install the 115V water pump and place the through the hull openings? What would be the best place to route the duct work? He currently has a 5K btu carry-on which does a fair job of cooling the boat at night but I was wondering if a 9K btu unit would be adequate for the boat? On the other hand the 9K can be ran with the Honda 2000eu. Any first hand boat specific info will be appreciated.
A/C on an h34
- Thread starter Benny
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AC on H-34
Where is his boat?? My 34 has 12000 BTU and that is barely adequate in Louisiana. I’d suspect Tampa would be the same, but out west or north, 9K might be adequate. Nine Thousand will be fine in the evenings and at night, if in Tampa.. Some folks have run their 12000 BTU units with the Honda 2000. I have not tried yet. My unit is in the starboard aft settee. I had to move the hot water tank a bit outboard to get it to fit, which required slightly longer hoses to the tank from the engine. The air is run through the cabinet, under the sink, and into the starboard side storage bin with the oval cutouts. It turns up to a register under the fixed port on the starboard side. Another run will soon go forward through the head into the vee birth. I would have preferred to put it on port side to help with the weight distribution in the boat, but didn’t want to give up space on that side. I found no suitable way to get a duct into the aft cabin with my current scheme. My unit is 21 inches long, 15 inches wide, and 13.25 inches tall.
Where is his boat?? My 34 has 12000 BTU and that is barely adequate in Louisiana. I’d suspect Tampa would be the same, but out west or north, 9K might be adequate. Nine Thousand will be fine in the evenings and at night, if in Tampa.. Some folks have run their 12000 BTU units with the Honda 2000. I have not tried yet. My unit is in the starboard aft settee. I had to move the hot water tank a bit outboard to get it to fit, which required slightly longer hoses to the tank from the engine. The air is run through the cabinet, under the sink, and into the starboard side storage bin with the oval cutouts. It turns up to a register under the fixed port on the starboard side. Another run will soon go forward through the head into the vee birth. I would have preferred to put it on port side to help with the weight distribution in the boat, but didn’t want to give up space on that side. I found no suitable way to get a duct into the aft cabin with my current scheme. My unit is 21 inches long, 15 inches wide, and 13.25 inches tall.
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Ohhh, I mounted my seawater pump in the engine box.. DON'T do that!.. It gets hot enough in there to trip the thermal breaker in the motor when motoring for more than a couple of hours. You can put the strainer in there for access, but the pump would be better someplace else, like under the sink, maybe. Running power wires was an exercise in patience and dexterity! Good Luck!
Like Claude's...
my heat pump is mounted under the aft dinette seat. The raw water cooling pump and strainer are mounted there with it. Below is a pic of the installation after the raw water pump was replaced, but before the water heater replacement.
The unit is a King Air 12,000 BTU that keeps the boat comfortable in the high heat and humidity on the Cheasapeake in July and August.
my heat pump is mounted under the aft dinette seat. The raw water cooling pump and strainer are mounted there with it. Below is a pic of the installation after the raw water pump was replaced, but before the water heater replacement.
The unit is a King Air 12,000 BTU that keeps the boat comfortable in the high heat and humidity on the Cheasapeake in July and August.
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Benny,
Tell him DO NOT even think that 12K BTU is enough for Tampa heat/ Humidity.
My H-30 has had all the units you described and the 12000 BTU is really struggliing during the day so i upgraded to 16700 BTU. It is doing the job well enough for the Admiral and I. When its 96 outside we can have abt 73 in salon. Figure about 20 degress drop.
Also my unit isnt bigger than the 12K unit at all.
http://www.oceanbreezeac.com/sc_6p5-18k.php
Tell him DO NOT even think that 12K BTU is enough for Tampa heat/ Humidity.
My H-30 has had all the units you described and the 12000 BTU is really struggliing during the day so i upgraded to 16700 BTU. It is doing the job well enough for the Admiral and I. When its 96 outside we can have abt 73 in salon. Figure about 20 degress drop.
Also my unit isnt bigger than the 12K unit at all.
http://www.oceanbreezeac.com/sc_6p5-18k.php
My A/C was installed by a previous owner under the port settee. It shares the vanity sink thru hull for return water and uses a new thru hull for water intake. I think it is 12000 BTU. Their are no ducts, it exhaurst air to the rear by the chart table and forward by the bulkhead not to far from the return air. It was not an efficient installation but I compensate by closing the aft register and sliding the settee cushion and opening the hatch cover.
We live in North Florida and have survived without retrofitting a more efficient installation. I do use some passive cooling ideas such as cutting an automobile windshield screen to cover the hatches and ports. I believe that the passive cooling is good for 10 degrees temperature differential here in North Florida.
We live in North Florida and have survived without retrofitting a more efficient installation. I do use some passive cooling ideas such as cutting an automobile windshield screen to cover the hatches and ports. I believe that the passive cooling is good for 10 degrees temperature differential here in North Florida.
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Along with my fuel tank project I am adding a thru hull for ac this year too before spring launch. I can not decide between 12k or 16k Btu unit. There is not much room there under the seat next to the water heater. My other concern is the ac power to the unit. I only have a 30 amp single cord setup. If I choose the webasto 12k unit it might work with the 30 amp breaker I have. I do not know? If anything else is on it will pop the breaker on startup I am sure. My other choice is to add another 30 amp service with its own ac panel such as blue sea etc. just for the ac? What has anyone done with adding there ac system.
thanks again for your input.
jim
thanks again for your input.
jim
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Jim...
maybe this picture will help you visualize the AC installation under the aft dinette seat. It's a 12k BTU King Air unit. The white box is the old water heater. The pump in the lower right is the raw water pump for the AC unit--the blue thing in the right side of the picture. The hoses across the bottom of the picture lead to a thru-hull for the AC raw water to the right of and hidden by the water heater. The discharge is also on the starboard hull side in this same area, about a foot above the water line. The gray hose in the upper left is the ductwork leading to the main cabin's upper shelf discharge and T'd to feed the v-berth.
The installation of the AC unit by a PO isn't a very clean one, but I haven't been ambitious enough to take everything apart and redo it so it fits better. It was cut into the back of the seat bulkhead, and the lowest map tube was removed to accomodate it. It probably should be turned 180 to have the return air repositioned to draw better. As it is, it does work very well.
Of note, I can have either the AC or the water heater running on shore power at any given time. Trying to run both on the 30 amp service will pop the breaker. Everything else works fine with either one running. If you really want both at the same time, a dedicated shore power link to one or the other is probably the best way to go.
Opps! I did post the same pic earlier in the thread!
maybe this picture will help you visualize the AC installation under the aft dinette seat. It's a 12k BTU King Air unit. The white box is the old water heater. The pump in the lower right is the raw water pump for the AC unit--the blue thing in the right side of the picture. The hoses across the bottom of the picture lead to a thru-hull for the AC raw water to the right of and hidden by the water heater. The discharge is also on the starboard hull side in this same area, about a foot above the water line. The gray hose in the upper left is the ductwork leading to the main cabin's upper shelf discharge and T'd to feed the v-berth.
The installation of the AC unit by a PO isn't a very clean one, but I haven't been ambitious enough to take everything apart and redo it so it fits better. It was cut into the back of the seat bulkhead, and the lowest map tube was removed to accomodate it. It probably should be turned 180 to have the return air repositioned to draw better. As it is, it does work very well.
Of note, I can have either the AC or the water heater running on shore power at any given time. Trying to run both on the 30 amp service will pop the breaker. Everything else works fine with either one running. If you really want both at the same time, a dedicated shore power link to one or the other is probably the best way to go.
Opps! I did post the same pic earlier in the thread!
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