New boat owner. Trying to decide whether to leave the AC on when away from the boat. The alternative seems to be to run a dehumidifier in the cabin. My brand new MarineAir 16k BTU AC unit: 16000 Btu, 110V, Self Contained Marine Air Conditioner System. Best marine air conditioner for cabin cruisers, sail boats, yachts and house boats, has an auto dehumidifier function. Can I close the seacock while using the dehumidifier feature? I checked the manual and they don't seem to indicate one way or the other. I know a regular dehumidifier does not need a water intake to work. Thanks.
Do marine a/c units with dehumidify function need raw water intake?
- Thread starter kodiak1120
- Start date
Probably. It depends on the type of AC you have. If your ac typically needs the raw water on (i.e. it expels the heat to the water) then Yes. You need the raw water on. That is only way it will work. The dehumidifying comes from the fact that you are cooling the interior and causing the water to condense out of the air. This only works in hot, humid conditions. In cold, damp conditions you would use a heater to warm the cabin to dehumidify.
No. Not on your unit.
I have the same brand.
You must still run the compressor.
The key is dump the condensate off the boat quickly.
Many threads on how to dump condensate.
Jim...
I did look at your new unit.
Wow!
It has a Titanium Coil, so no worries about Galvanic Corrosion.
Newest unit on the market.
Jim...
Wow!
It has a Titanium Coil, so no worries about Galvanic Corrosion.
Newest unit on the market.
Jim...
Thank you. The prior owner installed it as a condition of the sale.... so if the compressor is still running, what is the point of dehumidify mode? Lower power consumption?I did look at your new unit.
Wow!
It has a Titanium Coil, so no worries about Galvanic Corrosion.
Newest unit on the market.
Jim...
... but the coil can foul (not copper). I have discussed this with Dometic. In fact, they do not recommend an anode on the coil, because slow wasting of the coil prevents fouling. Galvanic corrosion will not be a problem with correct installation practices.I did look at your new unit.
Wow!
It has a Titanium Coil, so no worries about Galvanic Corrosion.
Newest unit on the market.
Jim...
I'd be glad to hear discussion.
Compressor goes On and Off , not by thermostat. Thus saving power.
It is not a temperature maintenance type operation.
Jim...
kodiak1129, you are correct that MarineAire claims "Now with Titanium Coil" on the first page on the website. On the next page they show a "3 Row Inner grooved Copper tube". Considering the cost of titanium, I would be really surprised if the "coil" were really made of it. I bet that there is some gimmick involved. It is also surprising that MarineAire states all kinds of high quality features, but fails to back them up, offering only a 1 year warranty. Webasto backs up their units with a 2 year warranty, which is why I just purchased a second replacement unit from them. I hope you have good luck with your MarineAire unit, please keep all of us informed with how it performs.
Typically, the dehumidify cycle turns on the circulating fan for a few minutes and samples air temperature.. Then the compressor turns on and runs until the air temperature drops 1 degree F or so, meaning that water is condensing out of the air, or if the temperature does not drop in some time, like 30 minutes, the compressor shuts off .. everything stays off for some time, like 4 hours or so, then the cycle repeats. The raw water must stay on or the unit will trip itself off.. I used to run a dehumidifier draining into the sink but got really tired of wrestling it off the boat when it was time to go sailing.. I check my AC raw water fittings often since one coming loose would probably sink the boat.
Reading the manual you need to have the raw water thru hull valve open to the AC unit since the raw water is required to condense the moisture in the air.