- Joined
- Jul 16, 2002
- RO Number
- 9357
- Messages
- 533
Just returned from a nice, VERY HOT, fun-filled boating weekend. MSibley and I met at the Treasure Island Resort, Casino & Marina on the Mississippi, we had a great time. Although I ran into a small issue with my air conditioning. First of all, it was 97 degrees, the dew point was about 70 (sticky) and there was a sustained 30 mph wind. So air conditioning was very important.
The marina is situated in a backwater area that has a great deal of weeds and other strainer clogging debris. The first night, I awoke at 3am to my air conditioner making a louder than normal noise. Upon checking the strainer, I found it was clogged solid with river gunk. After removing the strainer and cleaning it out, some air got into the line and essentially air locked the system. In the past, I have found that a wet/dry vac works great for purging the air out of an air locked line, from the outside of the boat. Unfortunately I did not have my wet/dry vac, plus it was 3:30 in the morning so a loud wet/dry vac at a quiet marina would not have been smart! So I was forced to sweat it out the rest of the night.
Needless to say I didn't get any sleep that night!
The next morning, I made a great discovery. I have a siphon hose on my boat that I use to fill my fresh water tank from my 7 gallon water jug. The siphon hose is nearly the same inside diameter as the discharge through hull. I pushed the hose against the discharge and "sucked" until some water came out. I flipped the breaker on, turned the A/C on, and PRESTO! I had purged the air from the line. I thought for sure the only other way to fix that problem was to take the boat for a cruise.
So if your A/C ever gets air locked, give that a try.
By the way, Mike (MSibley) took a picture of me siphoning.......um, ahem........."sucking" the hose. But I am 100% certain he won't post it here!
Anyway, it was still an awesome weekend. So nice to walk the docks at the marina and see al of the different boats. Makes me think about upgrading again!!
Summer has begun, and it feels great.
The marina is situated in a backwater area that has a great deal of weeds and other strainer clogging debris. The first night, I awoke at 3am to my air conditioner making a louder than normal noise. Upon checking the strainer, I found it was clogged solid with river gunk. After removing the strainer and cleaning it out, some air got into the line and essentially air locked the system. In the past, I have found that a wet/dry vac works great for purging the air out of an air locked line, from the outside of the boat. Unfortunately I did not have my wet/dry vac, plus it was 3:30 in the morning so a loud wet/dry vac at a quiet marina would not have been smart! So I was forced to sweat it out the rest of the night.
Needless to say I didn't get any sleep that night!
The next morning, I made a great discovery. I have a siphon hose on my boat that I use to fill my fresh water tank from my 7 gallon water jug. The siphon hose is nearly the same inside diameter as the discharge through hull. I pushed the hose against the discharge and "sucked" until some water came out. I flipped the breaker on, turned the A/C on, and PRESTO! I had purged the air from the line. I thought for sure the only other way to fix that problem was to take the boat for a cruise.
So if your A/C ever gets air locked, give that a try.
By the way, Mike (MSibley) took a picture of me siphoning.......um, ahem........."sucking" the hose. But I am 100% certain he won't post it here!
Anyway, it was still an awesome weekend. So nice to walk the docks at the marina and see al of the different boats. Makes me think about upgrading again!!
Summer has begun, and it feels great.