Ocean Breeze A/C issues

A

airdvr1227

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Joined
May 29, 2014
RO Number
33641
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System blows cold but shuts off unexpectedly after ~30 minutes. Sometimes just the compressor and pump shut down while the fan stays on and other times everything quits. No popped breakers. Water output from discharge looked a bit weak. On other boats I've seen the discharge looks like a garden hose on full. This looks to be 3/4. I pulled the strainer. Wasn't all that dirty but I cleaned it and re-installed...no change.
 
Is the discharge hose partially blocked? Try blowing air through the discharge to clear it out.

Another possibility is that the AC pump is going bad. I have a similar issue with my AC pump going bad. I ordered a new one and will install it when I get back to the boat.
 
Is the unit freezing up and causing it to shutdown?

Along eric_b thinking I had trouble once when the hose between the through hull and the pump inlet was collapsing from the suction. Replaced with strong (new) hose and has been fine ever since.

Good luck
Niles
 
quote:
Originally posted by Capt. Bill1

When was the last time the units raw water lines/coils acid flushed?

Click to expand...
That's probably it. I have seen guys install new units that never tried flushing Acid through the AC units. After an acid flush I recommend adding some baking soda to the strainer to neutralize the acid. But just running sea water through it will work as well. I have done this twice since 2008 when I installed the new units. My old ones were shot (1993).
Bill
 
What kind of controls do you have. Digital or the old 3 rotaries. If digital, which are really worth upgrading btw, any message.

Some faults will cause both the compressor and the blower to shut down, others just the compressor. Check the compressor temperature she it shuts down, is hot. I had one that was running hot and would trip its internal thermal safety and then restarts after a while, even thought the high pressures would not trigger,

But as bill said! cleaning the coils is a good place to start if it hasn't been done in a couple of years.
 
Boat is new to me this season so I have no idea when they were flushed. I asked this question in another forum and was told it needed to be flushed with acid. This unit is under the v-berth and I'm not comfortable messing with acid in there. Could I just shut of the intake valve, hook up some sort of plumbing, and pump the acid in that way using the sea water pump?....maybe run it for 30 seconds or so or until the gallon jug of acid is near empty? The wait a few and reconnect to the sea water inlet and fire her up again.

What do you think?
 
I wouldntl run the acid mix thru the pump, and since the pump is not self priming, it s going to be hard to get it to pump the mix from a bucket.

The best way to do it is to use a 5 gal pail with a small bilge pump. Hook up the pump outlet to the coil , and run a hose back into the bucket from the discharge size.

If the boat is new to you, it may be worth getting it done and having to the guy check the gas pressure as well.
 
The simple way to flush AC systems is to back flush briefly from the outside . Clean the filter then use a small tapered nozzle that fits into the hull side outlet and back flush each outlet while the pump is running. When you stop junk will probably flow out and water flow be improved. Bromine tabs in the filter seem to help kill off growing junk in the plumbing.
Acid washing and mechanical cleaning is the best but often overkill when simple back flushing may work
 
If the boats a 1989 chances are acid back washing is needed. It's rarely done but it's easy to do. Follow Pascals suggestions although I have seen it done from the ER strainer without damaging the AC water circulation pump.
Bill
 
Back flushing can only help if you disconnect the hose at the pump outlet or at the manifold and put it in a bucket to catch debris otherwise all you re doing is pushing bits around. Yes some will come out, others may get stuck even more with the pressure.

Flushing with water will move a little of the growth but not much.

And many thru hull (at least the quality bronze ones) don't let a nozzle fit in tight enough anyway.
 
All I can say is that in the real world it has worked for me and several friends. You don't get a tremendous amount of pressure, don't need a really tight fit, and maybe a just a little stirring up is sufficient to get sand and grass moving. Next time you are away from home and your ac slows down you might want to try it rather than sweating.
 
Just flushing with a hose is definitely worth a try. Especially when you don't have an acid flush set up available at the time. And it can be good preventative maintenance if done once a month or so to flush out grass and/or dirt and other junk that can get caught in the water lines and coils.

But it does little or nothing to remove what ends up coating the coils on the A/C unit over time. The coils need to be acid flushed anywhere from say twice a year to every couple of years depending on where you live and how often you are running you A/C.
 
ran out of time today but i9t was obvious my master plan was a total flub. I did notice that the discharge hose has a connector in it that looks like it's designed to be taken apart...possibly for acid washing. As much as I don't like acid in the berth it looks like I've no other choice.
 
That's cool, spend hundred of $$ for something that you could have and should be doing yourself. Do as Pascal instructed, down here in warm waters it pays of to do it twice a year.
 
Sabre...you don't know squat about my situation. Part of the deal last fall was the a/c better work in the spring. The a/c guy is being paid by the dealer. Thanks for your support.
 
Seems the previous owner changed out the seawater pump. Installed a unit with an incorrect GPM rating. I thought the discharge stream looked weak. Anyways, new correct pump on order. Hope that takes care of it.
 
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