Take apart window Air Cond. and converted it for Marine use?

[Pat]

Re: Take apart window Air Cond. and converted it for Marine

I had what's referred to as a suitcase AC that really cooled our O'Day 272. It too was a bit of a pain because of the hoses that had to be run outside, but I had a small port in the quarterberth that I ran them thru and bought big flat baker pans at a restaurant supply store to handle the leaking arournd the disconnect fittings but it did cool the boat...I kept it in the quarterberth as I mentioned..it also seemed noisy but keeping the boat really cool at night was my goal and the noice sort of lulled me to sleep after awhile. it worked well but also, was a little noisy, but boy did it cool th boat...esp. at night. Pat

 

[abk]

How about in the bulkhead aft of the berth under the cockpit. I'm not sure of your 26, but on my former 23.5 I had a half height wall at the aft end of the main berth. When I installed my Mermaid, I made a full height bulkhead. If you have a half height, you could make it full height and install the 5k btu unit in it and put a couple cowl vents up top.

I'll take a look at the room aft of the cockpit. Presently there are 2 doors. One side houses the battery. The other side may work. The problem is that my 1st mate sleeps there and can't stand A/C or being the least bit cold. Presently there are numerous complaints about the temperature w/ the A/C in the companionway.

I am thinking about putting it above the cabin and working a ducting set up there.

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[rgranger]

I believe my earlier initial response showed a photo of the unit installed..

Yes you did... sorry mate. I was making a reference to the series of installation photos that you had eluded to. It was supposed to be a cleaver way of saying that I'd love to see them. But it got lost in translation... (my crazy brain to english).

 

[abk]

Re: Take apart window Air Cond. and converted it for Marine

No worries mate.

 

[CCrane2299]

Old post but I had a revelation…I think. Window unit inside the boat. Anywhere. Window unit has a container around the condenser that is water tight. Don’t remove condenser or loose the refrigerant, just get a box around it.Remove condenser fan. Run water thru container. Self contained marine ac. On my Hunter 23.5, I’d put the ac behind the steps and drain the water from the diy container into the sink drain. Haven’t figured out where the water would come from yet, but the ballast tank is full of it?

 

[william24424]

I'm sure the conversion is possible....If you're on a dock & have shore power. A companionway a/c works well, it's not expensive, and you can find a quiet unit. Just tilt it slightly aft, so the condensation rolls out of cockpit drains.

 

[rgranger]

They now sell small split units ... like this one....

You could drape this one over the companionway slats without any mods needed. It comes with a drain hose so you could lead it right out of the cockpit drain w/o any mess in the cockpit.

Ivation 6,500 BTU Air Conditioner, 115V Portable AC for RV, Caravan & Motorhome | eBay

With the compressor and main unit split into two, users preserve their window view, free up space, and maintain peace and quiet throughout the night. RV living is full of fun and adventure. The only problem?.

www.ebay.com

Here is another one...

Ukoke USPC06C Caravan Window Air Conditioner White - Kiku Home

Stay cool and comfortable on your next road trip with the Ukoke USPC06C Caravan Window Air Conditioner. This 4-in-1 unit cools up to 125 sq. ft. and comes with a convenient Alexa compatibility. With its versatile features, including cool, fan, dehumidifier, and sleep modes, this white AC unit is...

kikuhome.com

 

[sailme88]

Guess I'd be going with heat pumps.. Cooling and heating. Do a search for marine heat pumps...

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Old post but I had a revelation…I think. Window unit inside the boat. Anywhere. Window unit has a container around the condenser that is water tight. Don’t remove condenser or loose the refrigerant, just get a box around it.Remove condenser fan. Run water thru container. Self contained marine ac. On my Hunter 23.5, I’d put the ac behind the steps and drain the water from the diy container into the sink drain. Haven’t figured out where the water would come from yet, but the ballast tank is full of it?

I had the same idea. Some of the fins on the condenser might need to be removed if it's copper and starts growing a heavy patina or marine growth builds up on it. Marine growth is unlikely if it's not exposed to light

 

[George Braun]

Re: Take apart window Air Cond. and converted it for Marine

I had what's referred to as a suitcase AC that really cooled our O'Day 272. It too was a bit of a pain because of the hoses that had to be run outside, but I had a small port in the quarterberth that I ran them thru and bought big flat baker pans at a restaurant supply store to handle the leaking arournd the disconnect fittings but it did cool the boat...I kept it in the quarterberth as I mentioned..it also seemed noisy but keeping the boat really cool at night was my goal and the noice sort of lulled me to sleep after awhile. it worked well but also, was a little noisy, but boy did it cool th boat...esp. at night. Pat

I also had a "suitcase" AC. Called a Kruisin Kool https://www.boats.com/reviews/kool-as-a-cucumber West Marine sold them. We bought ours second hand for $300 15 years ago. On our 1977 Islander 32, we installed the guts of it in a locker opposite the head, ran a simple duct to the main cabin side of the locker. 6K BTU, cooled the whole boat nicely. Main installation challenge was not bending the tiny thin little refrigerant tubing inside the control panel and finding a place to mount the panel. Had to drill a new thruhull above the waterline for discharge, used a vacant thruhull in the head for intake. Control panel went perfectly under the Vberth platform, just had to lift a cushion to turn on. Had to buy a new pump, some tubing and fittings. All in including the Kruisin Kool, $600. Worked a treat.