running my ac on the hard

[broadreach-can]

Hi I have and Endeavour 40 and am on the hard now while we do some repairs. can I run the a/c without being in the water to cool the units? I am new to the sailing world and need all the advice and wisdom that is out there.
Thanks Paul

[SSgtPitt]

Paul, if your ac is water cooled, you'll need to rig something up to remove the heat. Most probably you can't run the ac unless you're in the water.

[Sailmonkey]

Without the water being pumped through the units the heat absorbed from the air will not be rejected.

There is no practical way to do this on the hard.

[DeepFrz]

Some people buy a cheap window unit and mount it in a hatch or in the passageway while they are on the hard.

[SailingFan]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

Some people buy a cheap window unit and mount it in a hatch or in the passageway while they are on the hard.

Yep, works just fine! Cheap window unit cools with excellence and keeps the cabin drier in Florida. It also keeps the garden from growing inside the hull and on all your stored stuff (like clothing, towels, fabric, etc.) if you end up stuck there longer than anticipated...

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, broadreach.

[jhulmer]

I have given this some thought but have yet to test it.

I currently do as mention above and have a board cut for the companionway that holds a 6000 BTU window unit and it makes it bearable. Although, I hate climbing over the thing and the condensate drips in the cockpit and after a while it starts to form slime monsters.

However, I believe that if you set a 55gal plastic drum, full of water, under your through hull and force a hose into the through-hull and feed from the drum this will be sufficient to keep your Aircon working. You will have to fit a hose in the overboard through-hull as well and return the water back to the drum. I would expect that given enough time the water would be heated. But the question then is will it be too much heat to prevent the aircon from preforming adequately?

I suspect that this would work and, if necessary, one could use a long water hose, laid in the shade of the hull, for the return hose to the drum as additional heat exchange.

I plan to give this a try in the not so distant future - just to say I did.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by jhulmer

I have given this some thought but have yet to test it.

I currently do as mention above and have a board cut for the companionway that holds a 6000 BTU window unit and it makes it bearable. Although, I hate climbing over the thing and the condensate drips in the cockpit and after a while it starts to form slime monsters.

However, I believe that if you set a 55gal plastic drum, full of water, under your through hull and force a hose into the through-hull and feed from the drum this will be sufficient to keep your Aircon working. You will have to fit a hose in the overboard through-hull as well and return the water back to the drum. I would expect that given enough time the water would be heated. But the question then is will it be too much heat to prevent the aircon from preforming adequately?

I suspect that this would work and, if necessary, one could use a long water hose, laid in the shade of the hull, for the return hose to the drum as additional heat exchange.

I plan to give this a try in the not so distant future - just to say I did.

I suspect the AC's water pump will not be able to draw water from much more than the height of the thru hull. It's not made for that. The water in the drum will heat up (assuming you find a way to pump the water to the AC system) and the AC's efficiency will suffer.

Try it if you want. Let us know how it turns out.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

Some people buy a cheap window unit and mount it in a hatch or in the passageway while they are on the hard.

I stayed at a marina in northern FL not too long ago and noticed that several sailboats had this arrangement. It seems to me this makes getting in and out of the cabin pretty difficult.

[Tingum]

Large yachts do it all the time; they use either a small above ground pool or a water tower. Now this will not be practical for a smaller yacht. The cheapest way is as stated above. Just buy a cheap window shaker and rig it into a hatch or the companionway.

[LLizzard]

What about one of those stand alone portable units? I refer to them as R2D2 units that use a venting hose you can run out a window or hatch. You can put it wherever the cooling is needed most and they're around $300, depending on the size and your location.
A lot of my friends who don't have central AC in their homes us them when it gets unbearable inside.

[Cabo Jim]

Originally Posted by LLizzard

What about one of those stand alone portable units? I refer to them as R2D2 units that use a venting hose you can run out a window or hatch. You can put it wherever the cooling is needed most and they're around $300, depending on the size and your location.
A lot of my friends who don't have central AC in their homes us them when it gets unbearable inside.

I am also interested in a stand alone AC powered unit that I can drain into the bilge. Can anyone recommend one of these?

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by LLizzard

What about one of those stand alone portable units? I refer to them as R2D2 units that use a venting hose you can run out a window or hatch. You can put it wherever the cooling is needed most and they're around $300, depending on the size and your location.
A lot of my friends who don't have central AC in their homes us them when it gets unbearable inside.

My experience with those has been that unless you have one with two hoses you're wasting your time.

You need one to draw in outside air over the condenser and another to exhaust the hot air from the condenser.

The units with a single hose use the cabin air to blow over the condenser. The problem here is that the air that is vented out of the cabin must come from somewhere.....outside....so you pulling in hot wet air and attempting to cool it.

[Colin A]

Originally Posted by rwidman

I suspect the AC's water pump will not be able to draw water from much more than the height of the thru hull. It's not made for that. The water in the drum will heat up (assuming you find a way to pump the water to the AC system) and the AC's efficiency will suffer.

Try it if you want. Let us know how it turns out.

Large yachts us cooling towers for this.
Home - Mediterranean Cooling Towers

I once a number of years ago saw a guy make his own for his grand banks. Had a 55 gallon drum top cut off the return water sprinkled into the top thu PVC pipe with many holes and then over a screen, to slow the flow while in the airstream above the bucket. If I recall It had a pump on the bottom sending it up to the thru hull. I think it might work but would be tricky.

[jhulmer]

Originally Posted by Colin A

Large yachts us cooling towers for this.
Home - Mediterranean Cooling Towers

I once a number of years ago saw a guy make his own for his grand banks. Had a 55 gallon drum top cut off the return water sprinkled into the top thu PVC pipe with many holes and then over a screen, to slow the flow while in the airstream above the bucket. If I recall It had a pump on the bottom sending it up to the thru hull. I think it might work but would be tricky.

yes. This is something like I have in mind. This setup would use evaporative cooling so the water level would have to be maintained with regular checks or a float valve. I believe it would suffice long enough to complete haul out projects.

plus benefit is that you can use this opportunity to clean the cooling system of marine growth with a chemical cleaner.