I need to replace my AC unit after many years of service, and I wondered what recommendations any members might have as far as brand. It needs to be at least a16,000 btu unit, preferably reverse cycle heat as well.
AC Recommendation
- Thread starter capshroud
- Start date
- Status
I have had flawless operation with my MarineAir 16K for 14 years. No repairs or problems at all. I also have a MarineAir 5K which has a noisy blower but otherwise has run without any other problems for the same 14 years.
If I needed to replace either one of my reverse-cycle units, I would most likely choose another MarineAir.
YMMV of course.
If I needed to replace either one of my reverse-cycle units, I would most likely choose another MarineAir.
YMMV of course.
I had 2 - 16000 BTU A/C with reverse cycle built for my boat by Rich Beers in Ft. Lauderdale. Had them built with the air handler separate to the compressor and with a digital control panel that had 5 speeds and also an away feature. They are only 13 years old and no problems. A lot of the metal was SS, never had rust on them.
I Have a Flagship Marine Air Conditioner/Heater. It is NOT reverse Cycle! On cold winter days when the Boat is on the hard, I can still use the heat. Thus, The air conditioner, pump and other items simply don't turn on when you use your heat. A large AC electric coil is mounted in the exit side on the output. I've used my fantastic unit in weather as cold as +10 degrees above zero. CHECK this out. Reverse Cycle units can only be used when your boat is in the water.
you may want to look at ocean breeze unites as well i purchased 2 of these last month 6 years ols but never installed 16.700kw with heat strips 2000w ..when i tryed one of them on the bench it would not heat ..so i found that the heating eliment was 240volts ac insted of 120v ...i called them about a replacement eliment and told them what was wrong.....go figuer they said send the 240v back and they would send me a 120v replacement at no charge...i dont think you can beat that for coustomer relations ..even if i didnt buy them direct from them ...also i could use a digital thermostat off the shelf at lowes......
regards
woody
regards
woody
I (like Rich) have had a Marine Aire unit for quite a while .. 17 years.. so far.. electronics failed from a lightning strike, and Compressor went out when corrosion perforated the compressor casing (I had not installed the pan to drain correctly; I replaced the compressor last year) .. The March magnetic drive seawater pump failed two years ago.. None of these are really Marine Aire problems and I have been very happy with the unit.. I would recommend them.. This unit runs a lot because most of the time when I am not there, it is on a "dehumidify" cycle where it turns itself on for a little while every 4 hours , all year round.
I'd look today for a unit with a polymer pan that can keep the condensate away from the compressor bottom, and copper coils .. I need dehumidification to keep the mildew away so I would want that feature in the controls..
Happy Hunting !
I'd look today for a unit with a polymer pan that can keep the condensate away from the compressor bottom, and copper coils .. I need dehumidification to keep the mildew away so I would want that feature in the controls..
Happy Hunting !
We have 2 Marine Air units. I believe they are a 12K unit and the other a 9K unit (11years old). Both units have been very reliable. My biggest complaint is the condensation pan. It rusts like crazy. For such an expensive unit I would have expected it to be made of stainless or at least aluminum. I guess they were going for planned obsolescence. If you can make sure the condensation drains properly you'll have many years of reliable use. I would buy another marine air.
Many years ago I installed a Mermaid unit in my h340 with reverse cycle heat and it continues to work great year after year. It has a stainless condensate pan. I have provided pictures of my installation to others on this forum. There are many good manufacturers or suppliers but I am partial to Mermaid. The most important issue in replacing an existing system is getting one with the air discharge going the correct way. The new digital thermoststs are nice too. Good luck!
I vote for Ocean Breeze, check to see what kind of discount you can get. They seenm to be flexiblel on price and make good units. Located in Stuart, FL.
I have had three Mermaid units on my boats in the past. I had relay problems with the first model but the others have been trouble free. One complaint I have is their optional automatic condensator that automatically removes water from the pan. My first one failed after two seasons. I called Mermaid for a replacement part and they wouldn't sell me the part I needed (the venturi valve) saying I would have to buy the complete $200.00 kit. The one also failed a short time out of warranty so I'm back to dumping the water into the bilge.
this is not what I call good service, although my Marine Airs were worse.
These reasons are why I voted with my feet and went to Flagship Marine for the last installs I made.
Condensator problems
There is nothing to "fail" in a Mermaid condensator, it is a fitting with passages, not unlike a carburetor fuel jet, take it off and clean out the small venturi jet. The thing strips down for maintenance. A condensator requires at least yearly maintenance, especially if your condensate pan has dust and bio-grown. You should also have an inline filter for a condensator - it should be checked / cleaned monthly.
There is nothing to "fail" in a Mermaid condensator, it is a fitting with passages, not unlike a carburetor fuel jet, take it off and clean out the small venturi jet. The thing strips down for maintenance. A condensator requires at least yearly maintenance, especially if your condensate pan has dust and bio-grown. You should also have an inline filter for a condensator - it should be checked / cleaned monthly.
How much room would one of these units take on average? I would love to find a place in my boat to tuck one of these away.
Also, how much would it cost to buy, install, and set up a unit in a boat where one hasn't existed before?
Also, how much would it cost to buy, install, and set up a unit in a boat where one hasn't existed before?
Ten years now and never touched the Mermaid condensator. Living right? My 12K unit almost exactly the size of a standard cardboard box with one inch off the height. That is what I used as a template. My cost in 2001 was just what came in the basic kit plus the condensator. I did not use any duct work. I was not willing to give up storage space. Mine sits in a cabinet and blows out under the nav table. Easy installation with a 'T' off the engine water, one hole in the bootstripe for outlet water, and pump and filter in the bilge.
Attachments
CapShroud I am also looking for the next unit to replace my failed MarineAir. Installed by the previous owner on a Hunter 35.5 I was waiting for the 12K btu unit to fail as it was undersized and I did not like the installation so I get to start from scratch, the challenge I am facing is where to install given the limited spacing and where I want to give up valuable storage. In my 5 months of searching I have found that Flagship was made by Ocean Breeze up until about 2 years ago. I do not know who is building the Flagship units today however if you compare both manufactures you will see they are identical. It was told to me that Flagship was a small office reselling the units where Ocean Breeze (Quorum Manufacturing) does their own manufacturing in a 60K SF factory they invited me to come down and tour.
Marine Air today is not the same company that made the the 10-15 year old units that a lot of people here have including the 12K btu that I had. Dometic purchased Marine Air and went on a buying spree purchasing *several* of the more successful brands essentially capturing the customer base. However the Marine Air units today are some of the best on the market with their non corrode poly drain pans. King Air has been around for a while and many happy customers, also Arctic Marine Air which looks to be virtually identical to the King Air. There was a post on the Cruiser's forum a boater with a King Air unit replaced it with an Arctic Marine air unit and could not tell the units apart except for the color, King Air is a bit pricey over many of the others. I looked at Mermaid and liked their warranty, after speaking with the sales rep at the factory their units like Marine Air there units are what you see is what you get with no customization. There are a few on the Hunter Owners forum with 35.5's that have gone to Arctic Marine Air and had custom work done for the unit to fit where they wanted it. There are essentially 2 dominant compressor manufactures these AC manufactures are using today, Panasonic (Matsushita) or Tecumseh. Panasonic being a Japanese company I had the Mermaid factory look at their compressor to see where it was made, to his astonishment it was made in Malaysia. Someone told me the Tecumseh compressor they had was made in Brazil, granted these are made to the manufactures specs you can flip a coin and pick your quality the Japanese standards are probably higher. There is also Webasto, a colleague has one of these he is disappointed with plus some nuisances I have found looking at his unit thus they are off my short list.
Most of the manufactures use many of the same components, my choice comes down to the dimensions I need the unit to fit (will one of the out of the box units work for my application), Do I like the design, does the position of the air discharge work for my application (this is a biggie), flexibility of the company to work with me, current demand starting and operating, noise level, is the fan speed variable, does the fan run continuously as long as power is applied or does it shut off when the compressor cycles off (this is the problem with the Webasto my colleague has) and the customer service others have had. For my application I have narrowed my shortlist down to Ocean Breeze 18K Low Profile, 18.5K or their 20K or Arctic Marine Air 19K leaning towards Ocean Breeze. A colleague with a 16K Flagship on a 35' boat wishes he would have gone a little higher on the btu's so I am aiming a little higher, Ocean Breeze will also make a reverse cycle unit if you want which gets you away from the heat strip. The colleague with the Flagship 16K feels the heat strips just knock the edge off when it is cold, he wishes they would output more heat, the heat strips will also mean higher current demand (may require larger breaker) than heating with a reverse cycle system, the flip side of that coin is heat strips do not have a reversing valve to fail. Many considerations, not a one size fits all answer for which unit is best, rather which unit/manufacture is best for your application.
Marine Air today is not the same company that made the the 10-15 year old units that a lot of people here have including the 12K btu that I had. Dometic purchased Marine Air and went on a buying spree purchasing *several* of the more successful brands essentially capturing the customer base. However the Marine Air units today are some of the best on the market with their non corrode poly drain pans. King Air has been around for a while and many happy customers, also Arctic Marine Air which looks to be virtually identical to the King Air. There was a post on the Cruiser's forum a boater with a King Air unit replaced it with an Arctic Marine air unit and could not tell the units apart except for the color, King Air is a bit pricey over many of the others. I looked at Mermaid and liked their warranty, after speaking with the sales rep at the factory their units like Marine Air there units are what you see is what you get with no customization. There are a few on the Hunter Owners forum with 35.5's that have gone to Arctic Marine Air and had custom work done for the unit to fit where they wanted it. There are essentially 2 dominant compressor manufactures these AC manufactures are using today, Panasonic (Matsushita) or Tecumseh. Panasonic being a Japanese company I had the Mermaid factory look at their compressor to see where it was made, to his astonishment it was made in Malaysia. Someone told me the Tecumseh compressor they had was made in Brazil, granted these are made to the manufactures specs you can flip a coin and pick your quality the Japanese standards are probably higher. There is also Webasto, a colleague has one of these he is disappointed with plus some nuisances I have found looking at his unit thus they are off my short list.
Most of the manufactures use many of the same components, my choice comes down to the dimensions I need the unit to fit (will one of the out of the box units work for my application), Do I like the design, does the position of the air discharge work for my application (this is a biggie), flexibility of the company to work with me, current demand starting and operating, noise level, is the fan speed variable, does the fan run continuously as long as power is applied or does it shut off when the compressor cycles off (this is the problem with the Webasto my colleague has) and the customer service others have had. For my application I have narrowed my shortlist down to Ocean Breeze 18K Low Profile, 18.5K or their 20K or Arctic Marine Air 19K leaning towards Ocean Breeze. A colleague with a 16K Flagship on a 35' boat wishes he would have gone a little higher on the btu's so I am aiming a little higher, Ocean Breeze will also make a reverse cycle unit if you want which gets you away from the heat strip. The colleague with the Flagship 16K feels the heat strips just knock the edge off when it is cold, he wishes they would output more heat, the heat strips will also mean higher current demand (may require larger breaker) than heating with a reverse cycle system, the flip side of that coin is heat strips do not have a reversing valve to fail. Many considerations, not a one size fits all answer for which unit is best, rather which unit/manufacture is best for your application.
I'd also like to cast my vote for Ocean Breeze. I got a used Ocean Breeze 16.5k unit from a friend and went and bought one of their installation kits. I had to sacrifice a hanging locker for the installation, but the company stayed with me every step of the way and helped resolve problems as they arose. The unit has worked flawlessly for the last two years, and its all-stainless construction is one reason. It uses a heating element which seems to work pretty well, but it's no match for really cold weather (less than 20 degrees F). Aside from that, I've been very pleased with both the product and the company.
i have to agree with ocean breeze. I had a high temp switch go out. I called them and they patiently walked me through every test until I repaired it. It's a 2007 model, very compact, 16,700 btu. it's not reverse cycle but puts out more than enough heat. I like that it's not a reverse cycle for reasons mentioned above plus you don't get a dirty water filter with heat on and compressor doesn't have to run.
- Status