What is best marine Air conditioner brand?

A friend is looking to replace all his a AC units. What brand would you all recomend? Think of these criteria;
Effiency
Durability
Ease of install
best integration to electronics
Price of unit
Availabilty of parts

 

Come on guys!, no one has a thought on this...

 

http://www.portableairshop.com/Comm...gory-pos_Commercial_Portable_Air_Conditioners

I'm thinking of using 1 or 2 of these in my build. Look at both residential and commercial. They show data on 4 different brands. Any ,I believe will run off the smallest Honda generator(quiet) but it appears it will draw down a battery pac pretty fast. Not an expert in that though. When under way they will run off your 12/120 convertor from your engine alternator.
My son, who is in the AC business, said there are very reliable and he knows of no reason they could not be used in my 30' x 9' Caramaran. It has a full cabin with bed and bath in the forward section. Main cabin is 9' x 14' I will build them in but be able to carry off if needed for service..

 

The size of the boat , depth of owners pockets and seasons used come into play.

For most small 25-55 ft boats the Cruise Air is time tested (30-40 years) and is very reliable and can be serviced by most anyone.

For thin wallet folks there is a marinized version of an RV unit , that simply mounts in a 14x14 hatch and works on 13A /120V.

Fast cheap and can be used on the next boat.

For deep pocket guys the Carrier system that circulates chilled , or in season heated water is the nicest to live with. Each cabin or space can have its own thermostat , and with 1 or 2 or 3 compressors operating only as required it is the most efficient system.

IF a compressor setup dies it is removed to be repaired , and a spare dropped in , with OUT touching refrigerant , only water hookups to the circulating coolant.

First class , priced as such.


BUT a smart guy could copy it ,,,if desired.

FF

 

I've had great luck with product from this company. Got all the bells and whistles with out all the advertising costs associated with Mermaid, Cruise Air etc.

www.oceanbreezeac.com

 

Just an idea, but my friend actually uses an automoive ac at his fishing camp. He coupled a 6.5 hp briggs to a Mopar AC compressor. I think that the entire build costs about 1200 brand new, which includes the evaporator unit. It looks nice since he put it in a small aluminum box that he fabed and painted. His unit is about a 1 1/2 tons. A great idea for off grid, but for shore power, not the best idea.

 

Interesting... Comments on each
Rasor Portable air... Boat presently on hard. I have two of those... work ok, but won't cool as predicted, Lots of hot air, not enough cool.
Fast Fred, Chiller idea is intriguing I can land based system and avoid plumbing salt water and will live longer. Using salt water is my concern since it eventually corrodes.
Kenj, those oceanbreezeac look good... will look into it.
Mudman looking for system at anchor and dock... When boat running the breeze will hopefull work.

So in summary either a chiller with cooling tower, keel cooler or raw water. I will eventually need like 6 of these. I want get like 5000-6000 btu units. One per room but only 1 or 2 would ever be used at one time. Silly to have a 20,000 unit on all day if your somewhere else.

Should say boat 50', very narrow, broken into 5 compartments.
Anyone know rule of thumb for btu to sq ft on boats? thanks

 

Best marine air conditioners

you have several ways to go:
1)Turbo Cruisair Dometic or Marine air systems, 410 refrigerant 6/ 9/ 12/ 16000 BTU on 115V /230V and 220V 50 Hz, High Velocity blower, Composite base with a special design to keep water inside to a minimum, super high efficiency with multiple capillary tubes, quiet, low vibration, very good global service network, 2 years warranty, service dealers will come to your vessel to do the repairs. several controls to choose from, Vimar bezel compatible, will retrofit most OEM units, very compact, low profile, double vibration mounts, Made in the USA smart start option will reduce the start amperage by 60%. Must be a reason why 95% of the boat builders use this unit... Negative:most expensive

2)ECD Dometic, digital control included, one year warranty, excellent dealer network, available only on 115V 60 Hz, stainless drain pan, high velocity blower, available from ebay to Westmarine.. priced 20% less than the turbo, same components. Made in the USA negative: not available in 230V

3)Webasto fcf, good construction, solid base, strong paint, reliable digital control included, very quiet, low vibration, economical price, 3 speed high velocity blower, available in 115V 60 Hz and 230/220 50/60Hz the 230V unit will work in europe, in the USA, Brazil... the only one available with this advantage,
negative:in some vessel the square shape could be difficult to retrofit, poor dealer network, we had few reliability issues with refrigerant leaks, units got replaced by West Marine. After 3 years the replacement units are doing fine. Made in China. Positive: priced about the same as the Dometic ECD.

 

Not sure if I can add more than what has already been said.

Mabruteam provided a good summation for R-410A Options.

For new designs, yachts from 34 to 65 feet, the trend for me is to address HVAC on a cabin basis with keel cooled condensers. Ventilation is a mix of open and forced air. The install could be custom, but the major components are off-the-shelf for ease of replacement. Any new system is evaluated on the bench first. This include noise and vibration.

All for now,

Mark Cat

 

Can you look at your other older thread on AC questions?
I put up some data and was wondering about your thoughts might be.

 

Using salt water is my concern since it eventually corrodes.

A good cupro nickle will, but you probably wont live long enough to notice.

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These units are super efficient weather operating one or 6 evaporators in the home.

They are air cooled , tho work as heaters about 500% better than a resistance wire.

 

I would take a look at a water to water or water to air heat pump that is normally used in geothermal applications. Climatemaster is an example.

 

I could be only 1 but new Mermaid has been a disaster last few years. There is only 1 question: "Would you buy it again?" N E V E R~!

 

Personally, I've been using Dometic for years. Whether it be Marine Air or Cruisair... very happy with their AC systems... only one repair needed over the years.

They are not the cheapest, but for the quality, they're worth it (not to mention, no need for repairs, will save you that extra money). http://citimarinestore.com has them very reasonably priced. If you look around, you may find some other affordable options as well.

 

Hmm i think you can ask a ac repair expert.Because they are expert in this field.