Air-con

[Courageous]

What about rippin the guts out of a portable aircon unit and mounting them in a spare locker? I'm investigating this tack at the moment as I'm only likely to require AC when on shore power. Anyone else explored this route already?

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[pvb]

Loss of power...

I'm sure you'll understand that I'm naturally hesitant to query your post, but I'm genuinely intrigued by this loss of power scenario. Assuming we're talking about a diesel engine, in the circumstances you describe - where the engine is running at cruising revs and at about half its power capability - wouldn't adding an extra load just cause the governor to increase the fuel supply so as to maintain the cruising revs?

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[steve_cronin]

Re: Loss of power...

Yes with a Yanmar this is true since they have two governors (one rev regulated, the other by torque/load) but if you've ever experienced an overloaded small diesel (for example when a rope is around the prop) you will be aware how sluggishly they respond to upward throttle movements and how quickly they shut off when you reduce throttle by even the slightest amount.

Most vehicle manufacturers don't offer A/C on their smaller engined models.

Anyway, forget it. this is just a talking point. I doubt if anyone is actually going to fit such a system.

Steve cronin



Steve Cronin

<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion

 

[steve_cronin]

We had a portable A/C lying around at the ofice for two or three years. The idea DID occur but the scouts got it for a rummage sale instead. Glad they did!

Steve Cronin


<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion

 

[pvb]

You\'re right...

You're right, it doesn't make any sense to have an engine-powered AC system on most boats. Reckon your suggestion of fans is appropriate for many Med areas.

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[pvb]

Scouts...

So Vikings pillage and rummage???

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[steve_cronin]

Re: You\'re right...

Not to worried about being "right" but that is what we do.

Havn't you got a good malt bottle to go home to at this time of night!

Stevev Cronin

<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion

 

[pvb]

Strictly the grape...

Strictly the grape for me; gave up the grain many years ago. Though I got pleasantly re-acquainted with ouzo over the last 2 weeks on hols in Corfu - but did not go near Gouvia!

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[Avocet]

Re: Strictly the grape...

Just a quick thought and probably of no real consequence but all these power consumption figures relate, (I think) to the compressor running flat-out. Typically, older compressors just have displacements proportional to the speed at which they are being turned. More modern ones can, I think, alter their outputs to give a greater displacement at low revs (useful when the car is ticking over in traffic). When you start an aircon system, it will draw a lot of power for a few minutes until the evaporator starts to freeze up and then the anti-icing switch will cut the compressor off until the airflow over the evaporator warms it up enough for the icing switch to cut back out again - and so it goes on. When you think about it, most vehicle aircon systems will work quite well at idle and you need a pretty damned huge car engine before you can loose 8kW at idle without noticing! I think the overall power consumption will be rather less over a period of time.

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[jfkal]

Re: Air-con - why bother

Well fundamentally I agree. However close to the equator with 95 % humidity and 35 degrees whilst working in the bilge with heavy tools is a different story.
So the aircon is not for comfort or convenience but at times a necessity to prevent a heat stroke, to dehumidify the boat and convince the wife that it is save to bring the 3 month old.

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[jfm]

On a 33 footer you would want a 16000btu aircon unit for reasonable performance, and 2x 16k btu or 1x24 for really decent performance. These are a bit bigger than car aircon btu ratings

That will need a 4.5kw approx generator to run it all, or if you were doing direct power take off from the engine it would consume I suppose 4hp or so.

Aircon needs to run the whole time in hot climates. I mean it's not like you could run it for 10mins every hour and expect the boat to stay cool for the intervening 50mins. So taking power off engine isn't necessarily a great idea, because of noise. A silenced generator would be better

The engine heating idea would be pretty straightdforward, again assuming engine was running constantly. But if you were using scrap vehicle parts why not just buy an eberspacher out of a lorry? Virtually all lorries have them. £150 on ebay praps. But most lorries have the 24v, and it's a big job to convert a 24 eber to 12v, so you'd have to look out for a 12v unit(unless you have a 24v system anyway?)

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