Air Conditioning

[jorgefife]

I have been thinking of installing a/c in the V berth: a fellow Hunter friend has one just as you go into the V berth, my question is: which one do I go for?
A while back, the owner of the salvage yard phoned me and told me I could come pick one up; a few days later, gave me another one.
One is a Cruiseair and the other is a Aqua Air
I suppose testing them first will be a good idea: I guess just plug onto current will determine that
Which one in your opinion should I install? Does anyone have one? The Cruiseair still has a price sticker of $1256.00, so I think either is good
Incidently, do you suggest any other place to instal?

 

[Bill1565]

Many A/C units are under settee's, some in cabinets. On our boat we have a hanging locker opposite the head. A/C is on the shelf above the closet pole. Using a location between the v berth and the salon lets you run cool air to both. Bear in mind you will need raw water for cooling and a drain for condensate. I used a T off the head intake for my raw water. If you do this, you have to have shutoff valves so the water flows the way you want. I have had marine air units on all my boats. Not familair with either cruiseair or aquaair

 

[Bill Roosa]

You will want to consider how you are going to run the ducting/return air vent BEFORE you go installing it and find out that you have to cut two holes in the hull to pass the 4" tubes.
These things are a bear to route as they are not stiff and fairly large in diameter and rip easily. A central location would be recommended.
Along with that you want to direct the cool air toward the deck and not have it blow out on the cabin sole. The latter results in a hot head, cold feet type environment which is not very comfortable.
Also consider the power needed to run the thing. I'd hazard a guess that your 20 amp service is not going to cut it unless you want to turn everything else off and leave it off. So you are probably looking at installing another shore power outlet (and cable and somewhere to connect it on the dock) and wiring that to the main AC panel
And let’s not forget the cooling water pump. The plumbing for that is a lot easier but you still need a place for the pump, thruhulls, strainers......

 

[Ed Schenck]

I don't see the waterpump in either picture, a major component. They are small and do not take up much space in the bilge. In the picture you can make out the red pump and filter. Like Bill I Tee'd off an existing thru-hull, in my case the engine cooling seacock. I did not run any ducts. My Mermaid blows directly into the salon under the nav table. On a really warm night I will use a fan to get more cool air into the v-berth.

 

[kloudie1]

Looked at putting one in a friend's 33. We were going to put it into the starboard settee aft and run a duct to the vee birth as well as into the main cabin. His boat is a "blister top" 33 but I think the layout is the same. There is enough room between the hull and the liner in that settee to run power and hoses.. We didn't look at the vee birth area to install the unit, but that may be a better place.. The important thing is to figure where the ducting has to run then find a place with enough space for the unit .. the pumps are not a very big problem to install if you have space to run the power and water lines.

 

[Blaise]

Midnight Sun has a 16000 BTU reverse cycle system mounted in the port shelf over the settee. I just enclosed the whole area. It is ducted to the v-berth and the aft cabin. It will take the whole boat down into the mid sixties. The raw water pump is mounted aft of the port water tank. It is tight, but works fine. The intake and discharge runs are less than three feet. The unit is made my KingAir out of St Pete.

 

[SailH37]

I inherited where my AC sits, and I've relocated it and then put it back where it was originally. It's in the aft birth in the cabinet. I had to remove the doors and frame (easy enough) and it took a shoe-horn, and it fits without any mutilation of anything. Its quieter in the aft than it could be any other place on the boat. The raw water pump is hard mounted in the bilge which keeps me from having to reprime it after heeling over when out sailing. The duck work taking the air up to the vberth was tricky, but it again, all fit, it all works, and without anything being done only half way. The thermostate is in the vberth so I can roll over and turn it up or down. This arrangement worked well while I lived aboard her for about three years. If it were located in the vberth, one would have to sleep in the aft of the boat. And, I think I have cruiseair? I got the one that uses the standard household reostate/thermostate instead of the custom electronic panel model. The custom elect. panel has gone out on everyone I know after one year. And, yea, mine went out too, after three years, but I went to home depot and bought a replacement for 19 bucks instead of having to order one for 100 bucks. There are always pluses and minuses, huh?