Vyper340

It was low Freon and also the main air duct for air out was partially blocked because it kinked when the boat hulls were joined. An A/C guy came out checked the whole thing out, charged the Freon and re-ran the main air outlet tube so that it would not kink. That solved the problem and no it cools like an arctic breeze.

doright

We have a fairly large RV dealership here which agreed to check mine out.

Jersey Tom

Freezing up is probably due to poor air flow back to the unit. The coil is blocked or dirty, or the return air vent is too small.

excaleagle42

is the compressor cycling on and off or running all the time ? if the compressor is constantly running, try running a higher temp set point. air conditioners in boats are only meant to lower the temperature of the air in the cabin 15-20* below the outside air, max. when your low on freon, the lines will start to frost almost immediately after the compressor has kicked on. since your unit ices after 2-3 hours, check your return air filter that is most likey behind your return duct. do you get cold air blowing out for 2-3 hours, then freezes, ? the cold air discharge is supposed to be as far away from the warm air return as possible so your not cycling cold air. that is controlled unfortunately, by your manufacturer. they may be knowledgable in boats but not AC. is your fan speed at maximum ? it should be.
about your pump; you probably have a bronze strainer before the AC water pump. i would guess the strainer was mounted too high on the wall. you can test it. try bypassing the strainer from the inlet through hull valve, directly to the pump suction. i would guess, that you won't need to run the boat across the lake to get suction on the pump anymore.
good luck

Dock Holiday

I wanted to revisit this post to hopefully help someone else to not be a TOTAL IDIOT like I was.

First of all you guys gave some very good responses. I appreciate all the good replies.

Well, my problem was something so simple. The unit was not programed right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After looking at everything you guys suggested, I found myself once again reading the instruction manuel for the 50th time and low and behold, it jumped right out at me. The unit has heat and the unit is designed to reverse and go into the heat cycle when it does not have a temperature drop or the temperature rises in a given time. It assumes it has iced up and de-Ices itself.

Well, here is the catch. There are four settings, 0, 1, 2 & 3. The factory default is 0 (Zero) which turns off the de-ice cycle. The other three represent the number of minutes it will reverse and run in the heat mode to de-ice.

After reprograming it from default to 2, I am happy to report that it is working like a champ all night long.

Hope this might help someone out.

Tinkerer

You still have a problem--- A properly running A/C will not ice up under normal cabin temps. Setting the thermostat below 70 deg. may cause it to ice up but any setting above that the unit should be able to run non stop without iceing up. All you did was make the unit have less capacity for cooling since it will now be in heat mode probably at least once an hour for a few minutes.

Dock Holiday

Well Tinker,

I was hoping to not get a post like yours, but honestly I suspected there might still be a problem.

I have checked everything in the manuel over and over.

Was in a friends Sonic weekend before last and his A/C was much colder.

The unit does not cycle a lot.

In almost five hours of operation it froze up and went into heat once.

The filter is clean, the vent is as large as any I have seen, the ducts are about seven feet from the return vents.

I have tried all temp settings from 65 degrees to 75 degrees, does not seem to make any difference.

Guess it is time to call the 800 number and get some service.

Thanks

Tinkerer

It is probably a little low on freon. If you havn't already figured it out I repair A/C's for a living. Worked on much tougher problems than yours. If you were anywhere near where I live I would repair it for a lot less than what the others would charge you.
Can you say OSO discount.
The little bugger likes to sleep on shoes.

cbeastwood

Dock,

I was looking over this old thread because I'm having the same problem you were.

Did you ever get it fixed? Did you fix it yourself?

Where and how do you program the 0,1,2,3 settings?

I'm having the same problem with freezing and I can't figure out how to fix it. And it's the only manual out of the 20 or so that came with the boat that I can't find....

HiPerf2000

iTrader: (2)

I had the same problem. Was a return air flow issue. I mounted a small electric fan in the return path to "help" the return flow. I wired it to the unit so it's on when the unit comes on. Haven't had a problem since.

I had 2 different people check my freon levels and it was good both times. chased the problem for an entire season.