Marine Air Conditioning Problem?
 

This is driving me nuts. The A/C in my 2002 Baja 36 Outlaw works, but after two to three hours it is frosted over and not doing anything.

I have had two dealers look at it and it's still no better.

The warranty runs out next month, but frankly I don't know any dealers that really know anything about the A/C.

A buddy suggested that it is probably low on freon (spelling?).

Can a good heat and a/c man work on these?

I was actually thinking of buying a hose hook up like they use to flush an inboard ski boat so I could run it on the trailer and have someone come to the house and check it out.

To a point now where I would just as well pay someone that knows what they are doing and get it fixed once and for all.

Any suggestions or comments are appreciated.

It does sound like low freon level, icing is common when pressures drop too low for a while and condensation freezes to the evap coils. The unit is very similar to a window unit but you will need to find an AC guy that can work on it. There aren't usually pressure fittings on marine units but they can be added. A top off on freon is probably all you need. What you could do is go to Boat US and get a garden hose to 3/4" hose adapter , pull the hose from the thru hull and attach the garden hose-instant lake:D

Dock,

While a freon top off might fix it temporarily, there is still a problem. Freon doesn't leak (much) from a sealed unit. Your A/C is probably a marineaire or cruiseair which is the same as most on any pleasure boat, EG: Hatteras, Sea Ray etc.
If you check the web for either Cruise Air (cruisair.com) or Marineaire (not certain of their WWW) you can probably pull up their service list. Cruisair can be reached via phone at 804-746-1313, they are based in Richmond VA. I'm not sure where you are in NC, but they have some good folks in the Elizabeth City area, Jacksonville NC and Raleigh. Alternatively call the Sea Ray dealer in your area and they can steer you well.

Inspect gave a good recommendation for a trailer run if you can't find a marine service person. In that event, any A/C service person from a reputable Trane/ Carrier/ etc. dealer can repair it for you. The only major difference is yours is water cooled VS air cooled for most residential units.

Good luck!

Ted & Steve,

Thank you both for the good information.

That helps me to get moving in the right direction.

Much appreciated.

Mark

This sounds simple and stupid, but is evaporator clean? I have to clear mine out with a brush and compressed air a couple times a year. Even a little restriction of the airflow will cause it to ice up.
Gary

If you want to run the AC system on the trailer, just make sure you get water to your cooling pump.....i maufacture them for Marine air and Cruise Air and our pumps are not self priming. Thats why they are mounted below the waterline. Also the pumps are lake water cooled. The pump will run dry but it doesnt like it for long periods of time. Just do what insptech advised :D

Gary,

When it comes to the A/C I know very little. What is the evaporator? I probably need to take a good look at that.

Wally,

You are right about the pump, I have to open the valve and run the boat down the lake a short distance to get it primed.

Thanks guys

Dock, you shouldnt have to run it to get it primed......if installed correctly as soon as you open the valve the water should feed its way through the pump......is the pump above the water line of the boat? If it is then i would re-mount it lower...one of the reasons its not a self priming pump is that the impeller is plastic and has alot of tollerance in the pump cavity to allow for possible debirs to pass through incase it sucks anything inside.....the pump is magneticly coupled so in the event you do jam the pump the motor will freewheel and not burn out....in the feed line going from you through hull to the pump, is anyplace along that hose higher then the pump or water line? maybe thats why you need to run the boat and prime the pump like that?

If the A/C (condenser) doesn't get any water the A/C will not freeze up- the unit will over heat and shut down. I would suggest that You call the manufacturer to see who they recomend to repair it. Having someone not athorized repair it -( or try to repair it) will void any warranty. An A/C freezes up for only two main reasons.
1- low on freon
2- poor or no air flow acrost the evaporator ( coil with fan )
their are other reasons but they don't happen very often.

Vyper340 has this same problem. I think he was low on Freon. I forward this post to him and maybe he has the answer.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

Re: Marine Air Conditioning Problem?
 

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....

Re: Marine Air Conditioning Problem?
 

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.

Re: Marine Air Conditioning Problem?
 

Guys....here's another common problem i've been running into as of late.....not related to this thread directly but it still may help someone in the future. Ive gotten a few calls about replacement pumps...and it turns out a few guys have bought the wrong size pump for their A/C units......with A/C units up to 6000 BTU's you need a pump that will supply at least 250 Gallons per hour.......A/C units up to 24,000 BUT's you need a pump that will do 500 Gallons per hour....and with units that output 45,000 - 48,000 BTU's you need a pump that will do 900-1000 Gallons per hour. I've had 3 guys yesterday alone that called me and had the wrong size pumps for their applications. And if you have multiple A/C units.....its better to have separate pumps for each unit but if you must use one pump make sure its able to supply enough water for both BTU outputs combined in case they ever run at the same time!!! Nothing like angry customers calling cause their A/C is not working! :D