I am attempting to asertain the approximate cost of installing an AC unit into my 97 model 376. It currently has an Espar heater therefore, I believe that most of the duct work could be utilized. Any ball park costs would be appreciated. Thanks
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jim oursler
AC cost $1500
I've got a mermaid 16000 BTU heat/AC unit which I love. Cost was about $1500 from Defender. Believe me, the heat pump with both cycles is great. I live in Dallas, boat is on Texas Oklahoma border on Lake Texoma. We have many 100 days.
I've got a mermaid 16000 BTU heat/AC unit which I love. Cost was about $1500 from Defender. Believe me, the heat pump with both cycles is great. I live in Dallas, boat is on Texas Oklahoma border on Lake Texoma. We have many 100 days.
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Bob Howie
a/c installation costs
Assuming you have a location for the unit, typically under a seatee or maybe the v-berth forward, or maybe even by building a cabinet in part of a locker -- isn't hard and some reasonable cabinetry work can make it a slide-out unit for servicing depending on weight -- the hook-up is fairly straight forward; includes runnig wire from breaker panel to unit and hooking controller box to thermostat, raw water intake and outflow through an existing thru-hull or installation of same which can be a bit complicated. Assuming you are correct in using existing heating ducts for a/c use, most of the hook-up and install -- since most units are self contained -- can be done in a day with maybe another day for fine-tuning the installation. This assumes the installation remains a fairly straight-forward affair. At average shop rates of about $55/hr., x 16 hrs., you're looking at $800-$1,000 assuming the electric, inflow and outflow accessibilities permit use of existing facilities. If you can't piggyback on existing thru-hulls or if the runs from the existing thru-hulls make their use impractical, you can expect a haul-out, a day or two in the yard and the labor to install the requisite thru-hulls for inflow and outflow along with seacocks and an inflow strainer. Could maybe run as much as $1,500 in addition to previous guess. So, depending on your layout, my best guess is you're looking at $1,000 to $3,000. These prices are assuming you already have the unit. If not, add the cost of the unit to them. I would recommend you buy as much unit as you can; in your case, a 16,000btu unit with reverse cycle heat pump -- I like Mermaid units ALOT -- is a good idea. Of course, you can save some money by installing the unit yourself -- it's not that hard -- running the water lines, electrical lines, installing the controls in a handy spot and running the wiring to the unit yourself. It's not that hard to do, actually, and if you are the least bit handy and can read and follow directions, you're more than half-way there providing you have some tools and the time. I installed 3 MarineAir units in a Nautical 60 -- with help from the owner -- in a weekend and we'd never done that before and they all run fine. I installed a Mermaid unit in my Hunter 30 including the cabinet work in a weekend as well. The units are pretty much self-contained and the controls are typically prewired just requiring locating and hooking them up. If you are not familiar with your electrical panel, you might want to save that job for an electrician just to make sure you get it right. Hope this helps and good luck.
Assuming you have a location for the unit, typically under a seatee or maybe the v-berth forward, or maybe even by building a cabinet in part of a locker -- isn't hard and some reasonable cabinetry work can make it a slide-out unit for servicing depending on weight -- the hook-up is fairly straight forward; includes runnig wire from breaker panel to unit and hooking controller box to thermostat, raw water intake and outflow through an existing thru-hull or installation of same which can be a bit complicated. Assuming you are correct in using existing heating ducts for a/c use, most of the hook-up and install -- since most units are self contained -- can be done in a day with maybe another day for fine-tuning the installation. This assumes the installation remains a fairly straight-forward affair. At average shop rates of about $55/hr., x 16 hrs., you're looking at $800-$1,000 assuming the electric, inflow and outflow accessibilities permit use of existing facilities. If you can't piggyback on existing thru-hulls or if the runs from the existing thru-hulls make their use impractical, you can expect a haul-out, a day or two in the yard and the labor to install the requisite thru-hulls for inflow and outflow along with seacocks and an inflow strainer. Could maybe run as much as $1,500 in addition to previous guess. So, depending on your layout, my best guess is you're looking at $1,000 to $3,000. These prices are assuming you already have the unit. If not, add the cost of the unit to them. I would recommend you buy as much unit as you can; in your case, a 16,000btu unit with reverse cycle heat pump -- I like Mermaid units ALOT -- is a good idea. Of course, you can save some money by installing the unit yourself -- it's not that hard -- running the water lines, electrical lines, installing the controls in a handy spot and running the wiring to the unit yourself. It's not that hard to do, actually, and if you are the least bit handy and can read and follow directions, you're more than half-way there providing you have some tools and the time. I installed 3 MarineAir units in a Nautical 60 -- with help from the owner -- in a weekend and we'd never done that before and they all run fine. I installed a Mermaid unit in my Hunter 30 including the cabinet work in a weekend as well. The units are pretty much self-contained and the controls are typically prewired just requiring locating and hooking them up. If you are not familiar with your electrical panel, you might want to save that job for an electrician just to make sure you get it right. Hope this helps and good luck.
E
Ed Schenck
Bob's right, almost.
Bob Howie is right on except for the part about installing his in a weekend. He might be able to do that but don't you plan on it. My A/C took several weekends and if you pay someone else expect them to encounter similar obstacles. Just getting a shelve built to secure the unit was two weekends. Measuring, cutting, glassing the supports, moving the unit in to measure some more and drilling the bolt holes. Had to glass a support to mount the electrical box. Then you have to find ways to run wires and hoses. You'll need a new breaker at the panel. You have to at least install a thru-hull for the outlet. Then there's the mounting of the water strainer and the pump, usually in the bilge. I put a T-valve on my engine thru-hull for inlet and saved another hole in the boat. You have to mount and run wire for a thermostat. If you put the unit in a cabinet you have to vent the doors for air inlet. And this all supposes that you can get the unit attached to your current duct work. I didn't, I have one big inlet to the salon. Now your 376 has a lot more open space than my H37C so that will make things easier. Still think you are looking at the upper end of the $$$ range. I'd figure thirty-two hours minimum and hope it's less.
Bob Howie is right on except for the part about installing his in a weekend. He might be able to do that but don't you plan on it. My A/C took several weekends and if you pay someone else expect them to encounter similar obstacles. Just getting a shelve built to secure the unit was two weekends. Measuring, cutting, glassing the supports, moving the unit in to measure some more and drilling the bolt holes. Had to glass a support to mount the electrical box. Then you have to find ways to run wires and hoses. You'll need a new breaker at the panel. You have to at least install a thru-hull for the outlet. Then there's the mounting of the water strainer and the pump, usually in the bilge. I put a T-valve on my engine thru-hull for inlet and saved another hole in the boat. You have to mount and run wire for a thermostat. If you put the unit in a cabinet you have to vent the doors for air inlet. And this all supposes that you can get the unit attached to your current duct work. I didn't, I have one big inlet to the salon. Now your 376 has a lot more open space than my H37C so that will make things easier. Still think you are looking at the upper end of the $$$ range. I'd figure thirty-two hours minimum and hope it's less.
B
Bob Howie
Ed's got a point
Well, Ed has a point and a pretty valid one at that to be perfectly honest. When I installed the one in my 78h30, I had spent some time taking some measurements and thinking things through about what I needed and where it needed to go and doodled on some paper and even built some mock-ups in my shop out of scrap to figure out how everything would fit, so I spent some of that time Ed is right in talking about actually outside the boat doing what I guess you could call "homework" in figuring out how it would all fit together. I then kinda prefab'd some duct work and wiring harnesses and reduced it all down to "components" in a kind of "kit" that all the engineering, let's say, had been done on. I guess overall I spent another 8 to 10 hours doing that "off dock." So, I think Ed's estimation of 32 hours is certainly reasonable and I certainly didn't mean to mislead anyone about the time it takes to complete this little project. I apologize if I did. Let me say, tho, that doing what I do in working out the fine details before hitting the boat with saws, drills and resins is a good, practical, money-saving idea. If you take careful measurements and then prowl around behind grocery stores or retail stores in malls, you can scavange a lot of heavy-duty cardboard that you can lay out and cut up and build mock-ups for learning how to do a project that you've maybe never done before. Then, when it comes to actually putting it all together, you have some experience. Learn to make patterns, use contour gauges and stuff like that and projects like installing a/c units on boats comes pretty easy. Also, if you do decide to install your own thru-hulls, have an experienced yard do it the first time and even though most yards will tell you that "civilians" aren't allowed to work in their shops or out on the pads, most will actually let you stand around and watch and kinda help, so that's a good way to get experience or at least watch how it's done. One might even consider buying some parts like thru-hulls and properly install them in like dummied up hull sections using plywood. It's a great way to learn how to do this stuff so you can save money on the smaller items that can be spent on some things that are, actually, better left to the professionals. I appreciate Ed's comments and I think his comments enhanced mine. Hope all this helps.
Well, Ed has a point and a pretty valid one at that to be perfectly honest. When I installed the one in my 78h30, I had spent some time taking some measurements and thinking things through about what I needed and where it needed to go and doodled on some paper and even built some mock-ups in my shop out of scrap to figure out how everything would fit, so I spent some of that time Ed is right in talking about actually outside the boat doing what I guess you could call "homework" in figuring out how it would all fit together. I then kinda prefab'd some duct work and wiring harnesses and reduced it all down to "components" in a kind of "kit" that all the engineering, let's say, had been done on. I guess overall I spent another 8 to 10 hours doing that "off dock." So, I think Ed's estimation of 32 hours is certainly reasonable and I certainly didn't mean to mislead anyone about the time it takes to complete this little project. I apologize if I did. Let me say, tho, that doing what I do in working out the fine details before hitting the boat with saws, drills and resins is a good, practical, money-saving idea. If you take careful measurements and then prowl around behind grocery stores or retail stores in malls, you can scavange a lot of heavy-duty cardboard that you can lay out and cut up and build mock-ups for learning how to do a project that you've maybe never done before. Then, when it comes to actually putting it all together, you have some experience. Learn to make patterns, use contour gauges and stuff like that and projects like installing a/c units on boats comes pretty easy. Also, if you do decide to install your own thru-hulls, have an experienced yard do it the first time and even though most yards will tell you that "civilians" aren't allowed to work in their shops or out on the pads, most will actually let you stand around and watch and kinda help, so that's a good way to get experience or at least watch how it's done. One might even consider buying some parts like thru-hulls and properly install them in like dummied up hull sections using plywood. It's a great way to learn how to do this stuff so you can save money on the smaller items that can be spent on some things that are, actually, better left to the professionals. I appreciate Ed's comments and I think his comments enhanced mine. Hope all this helps.
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