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Air Conditioning Water Pick-up

Old 05-29-2006, 10:40 AM
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Default Re: Air Conditioning Water Pick-up

Originally Posted by Boomer 880
What did you use to plug the old hole? Or, did you reglass and gelcoat ?
I took mine to a fiberglass guy who really knew what he was doing. he said he slightly opened the whole up, repatched it with balsa wood, and re fiberglassed it and gelcoated it. you cannot tell on the bottom. you can tell in the engine compartment, and the only reason is the area he patched is whiter. cost was about $350.
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Old 05-30-2006, 03:34 AM
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Default Re: Air Conditioning Water Pick-up

Baja Runner, Don't forget the pic.
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Old 05-30-2006, 08:27 AM
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Default Re: Air Conditioning Water Pick-up

Originally Posted by Ratickle
Baja Runner, Don't forget the pic.
I forgot to take one before i took it over to storage. Ill get one the next time i run over there.

I copied the same spot dock holiday did on his 36. theres a pic of his here on oso somewhere.
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Old 05-30-2006, 08:46 AM
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Default Re: Air Conditioning Water Pick-up

We pulled ours off the bottom this winter and put it in the transom.

Works great.
Attached Thumbnails Air Conditioning Water Pick-up-dsc09816.jpg   Air Conditioning Water Pick-up-dsc09815.jpg   Air Conditioning Water Pick-up-dsc09789.jpg  

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Old 05-30-2006, 09:03 AM
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Default Re: Air Conditioning Water Pick-up

My A/C unit wont pull water from the lake, the valve is open and I dont think I have vapor lock......... Any ideas? There is a red deal just above the water filter that looks like a water pump/impeller, could that be bad?
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Old 05-30-2006, 09:10 AM
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Default Re: Air Conditioning Water Pick-up

Originally Posted by powerquest 380
My A/C unit wont pull water from the lake, the valve is open and I dont think I have vapor lock......... Any ideas? There is a red deal just above the water filter that looks like a water pump/impeller, could that be bad?
sunday was the first time i used mine. it wouldnt do anything at first. i kept switching the water pump and a/c on and off, and it finally started working (the water pump)

I do know there is an impeller in there that can go bad though.
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Old 05-30-2006, 10:17 AM
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Default Re: Air Conditioning Water Pick-up

Originally Posted by powerquest 380
My A/C unit wont pull water from the lake, the valve is open and I dont think I have vapor lock......... Any ideas? There is a red deal just above the water filter that looks like a water pump/impeller, could that be bad?
You have to get them primed, at least I did on mine.

If it was the first time out for the season I would open the valve and run the boat just a little to force water in the system.

When you go to pull the boat out of the water close the valve first and you will not have to prime it the next trip out.
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Old 05-30-2006, 10:35 AM
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Default Re: Air Conditioning Water Pick-up

OK, since i get about 4 of these types of calls per week let me shed some light about them.
Putting the pickup on the transom is no problem.....BUT....that's only as long as your pump and the pickup line is mounted below the water level. I'd say about 80% of the pumps on the market for marine AC systems are ours...(March Pumps) and our pumps are not self priming. So if you have a service loop in the system and have an air pocket in the line or inside the pump it wont work. One problem i see with the transom mounted pickup is when you get underway the line will bleed out the water and then you have air in the lines.....so again if your pump is mounted above the water level it will never prime itself again till you get the air out. Many boaters that cant mount the pumps below the water level put a "T" on the output side of the pump with a garden hose attachment so they can prime the system if it looses prime.
Another common call i get is in the beginning of summer when people put the boats on the water for the first time....they go to start the AC system and nothing works.....people winterize the engines just fine but forget about the AC system and what happens is the water pump usually gets the brunt of the freeze and cracks....time for a new one
Another common problem is seaweed gets sucked into the pump......get a small sea-strainer or filter to trap this stuff before it gets into the pump...
I'm sure i'll think of a few more after i post this but its what comes to mind right now. If you need any help feel free to call and ask for Walter
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Old 05-30-2006, 10:38 AM
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Default Re: Air Conditioning Water Pick-up

Originally Posted by Wally
OK, since i get about 4 of these types of calls per week let me shed some light about them.
Putting the pickup on the transom is no problem.....BUT....that's only as long as your pump and the pickup line is mounted below the water level. I'd say about 80% of the pumps on the market for marine AC systems are ours...(March Pumps) and our pumps are not self priming. So if you have a service loop in the system and have an air pocket in the line or inside the pump it wont work. One problem i see with the transom mounted pickup is when you get underway the line will bleed out the water and then you have air in the lines.....so again if your pump is mounted above the water level it will never prime itself again till you get the air out. Many boaters that cant mount the pumps below the water level put a "T" on the output side of the pump with a garden hose attachment so they can prime the system if it looses prime.
Another common call i get is in the beginning of summer when people put the boats on the water for the first time....they go to start the AC system and nothing works.....people winterize the engines just fine but forget about the AC system and what happens is the water pump usually gets the brunt of the freeze and cracks....time for a new one
Another common problem is seaweed gets sucked into the pump......get a small sea-strainer or filter to trap this stuff before it gets into the pump...
I'm sure i'll think of a few more after i post this but its what comes to mind right now. If you need any help feel free to call and ask for Walter
March Pumps-847-729-5300
Since i mounted mine on the back of the boat, what about putting in a check valve to keep it primed?

is it bad turning on the pump unprimed?
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Old 05-30-2006, 01:26 PM
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Default Re: Air Conditioning Water Pick-up

Check vales are fine....as long as they are not smaller in size I.D wise to cause a restriction......and we recommend on all our centrifugal pumps to mount any valves on the output side of the pump to lessen the chance of causing a restriction. As for turning the pump on unprimed.....depends on what pump you have......out smaller pumps like the 2C and 3C models can run for up to an hour without damage....the bigger pumps like our series7, 8, and 10 (Which don't get used in boating applications) can only run for a few minutes before damage occurs. The most common damage we see from extended dry running is melting the back side of the impeller....whats happening is with no water in the pump the impeller is being pulled against the rear pump housing by the magnets....then its plastic on plastic contact with no cooling and sooner or later the plastic will overheat and start to melt......
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