311 Air Conditioning
 

My 311 is getting air conditioning.... I picked up the unit that used to be in the boat, but it was semi-permanently mounted and ducted out the fridge door. I'm planning on having it installed permanently in the space where the fridge was or maybe under the berth.

My initial thought was to do the fridge area, and duct the outlet to the top of cabinet facing toward the bow. I may want to duct to the berth (not sure of where the outlet would be. The unit is a 5000 btu water-cooled set-up. It blows super cold and can probably cool the cabin just from one outlet; I'm open to suggestions.

Does anyone here have experience with AC in a 311?

Thanks!

No useful input, but I'm interested in the results. Im waiting for the zero breeze for mine.

No updates on the AC. I just got back into town... I was away for a family emergency.

I've seen some pictures of where to run the ducts, and I'll probably stick to what I was thinking with the cabinet wall.

One other piece I'm trying to figure out is the water pump. I need a low volume pump for this set up if I don't have access to dock water. For cooling of the condenser, I only need to crack open the hose bib. I'll need to measure, but I'm guessing no more than 150-200 gallons per hour. Anything higher defeats moisture removal. The pump could be 12v or 110v, ignition protected or able to prime from a longer distance. I could regulate flow with a valve, but not sure of pump tollerance to run under pressure.

I plan to have both options available (raw water and tap water) because some marinas do not have water at the slip. I just need to figure out what pump to get.

Hey redneckcustoms13 did you get the zero breeze AC unit? Saw it advertised but wondered if it really works.

Hah, you, me, all 5,000 other people that have ordered them and haven't received it yet. Lol.

Tom, do you actually use your potable water tank? If not couldn't you plumb into it and basically let it be a reservoir for your condenser cooling water?

I thought of that, but it only holds 19 gallons. It would be emptied rather quickly.

Recirculate it. It shouldn't get too hot with that much of it to cool.

That's an idea... but at some point the water has to have a way of cooling. When running the compressor on the garden hose at low water volume, the inlet water temp was about 70 degrees while the outflow was at 101 degrees. That's a 30 some-odd-degree increase in temperature from running through a 6-foot length of heat exchanger. I'd think the water temperature would rise quite a bit after running through the heat exchanger a few times.

This is true. Well, there went that idea.

How long have you been waiting for this unit? Just looked it up and seems great...is this a scam? Website shows that cost is $600+....seems priced nicely if they actually get it to you and it works...Curious how this turns out for you and how effective it is..