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Rohan · 06-04-2023, 09:57

I have a 2006 Dometic Marine Aire 16,000 btu reverse cycle heater/air conditioner. A fairly standard unit on sailboats.

It was working fine back in December when I winterized the boat. Now de-winterizing it, and it's not blowing out any heat. It's not blowing out AC either.

The strainers are clear. The water is pumping through like normal. Everything seems normal. It makes the same clicking sound when it turns on, and the same noise as it did before. While it's running it sounds the same as before. It looks normal too. No leaks, no icing on the coils or anything. But no heat comes out. I tried running it for about an hour. On air conditioning mode, no cold air is blowing out either. It's just air, like I'm just running the fan.

It's supposed to work as long as the water temp is above 40 degrees. I'm positive it's above that. Even at a record low the water here (on the Potomac river) never gets that cold in April. Besides, its hit the 80s all week outside.

Googling about this problem, some people have reported that the reversing valve can get stuck. Maybe - but since I was last using it for heat, then it should have been stuck in the heat position.

I know the unit sounds old, it's 17 years old, but the truth is it was lightly used. So it should have more life. Anyway, I'm stumped. And asking here for any ideas to fix before I take the major step of replacing it.