Dragos Filimon wrote:The AC page is here http://www.marinaire.com/Marine-air-con ... aQod4VAPtg
Is 500 W and the pump will be another 100 W. But keep in mind that I have about 300 Ah installed, which is unusual for an x.
Now talking about the water ballast, that is what I am afraid of- tiny space between inside and outside that will interfere with good insulation. That is why I want to know if anybody did it before.
Since the unit runs on 110 AC you also need to figure in the efficiency losses of the inverter which might be another 10%-30% depending on the inverter and of course the expense of the inverter and the wiring to handle over 55 amps going to it. I think if you don't want to draw the batteries under 50% you will only have about 2 3/45 hours of run time and that is if the batteries are topped off to 100% before use which might be unlikely and this is the only load on them. Most likely you will have other loads on the batteries.
For the few times you might actually be able to use it for 2 hours while underway I wonder if all the additional cost over a lower cost window unit would justify spending the money for it, the inverter and associated wiring? Only you know the answer to that
I have 560 watts of solar on the Mac and over 400 amp/hr with the batteries and even with that I wouldn't do it.
Yes, the Billy Box at the companionway entrance would be the way to go--see Victor's post below, and do a search for more elaborate explanation--in case you still deem an A/C unit all that necessary. It's cheaper, much easier to install, though it may not be as quiet as the Micra. Unless you have a Honda generator or something, you will be confined to the marinas anyways. Room is at a premium on a Mac: I personally think that adding a generator and an A/C unit is simply not worth the hassle, as compared to solar panels that would keep your batteries topped off for common consumers--as long as you have no power-greedy devices
Don't disregard the advantages of small portable fans, either. Found them very helpful below deck, but what works even better is spending most time in the cockpit--even sleeping there, once you have a bimini and a mosquito net in place, not to mention a full enclosure
Noroc bun!
We constantly use our AC and generator. Fantastic improvment in comfort on hot humid nights. Not to mention how many times we would have suffocated with hatches close while raining, like the last trip in Charleston.
I have been refurbishing my 26X for some time now and where I live 115* is normal at this time of the year. With temp like that it is impossible to work inside the cabin, so I installed a small window type a/c. At first I put in the doorway like the Billy Box, but found it impractical to be continuously climbing over it.
So I closed in the doorway, squaring the entrance, made a new door and mounted the a.c on it. The door swings to port. The a/c is mounted on the door high enough to to clear the port cockpit seat and cushion when it is open. You do end up with a slightly narrower entrance aprox. 4", but no more climbing over the a/c carrying tools and stuff in and out of the cabin.
I didn't change the original door panel in any way so it can be easily replaced. The new a/c door can be uninstalled in about 15 mins.
The a/c takes the cabin temp of 120* + to around 80* in about 20 mins.
If you search the mods you will find others who have done this.
Also being an older guy, being able to get in and out of the cabin quickly in an emergency was an other consideration.
Hope this helps.
Bob
I did the swinging door about 3 years ago ,and just did it "temporarily" out of left over scrap wood and hinges and painted it white ,just got though redoing it this week with the p.v.c white synthetic wood and stainless steel hardware and a new 5k unit with digital thermostat .my Honda 1000 pulls it on the low idle eco mode .they all have pros and cons ,the unit is so small it is only like 5 or 6 inches on either side of the door ,and when open its out of the way .have some of the nice white plastic holders screwed to the inside to hold the stuff I need to be accessible,like hand held vhf ,air horn ,have holders for winch handle .
@ Bahama bound,
Could you please post some pics of your swing-door installation?
I'm still torn between the window-AC solution and a movable in-room AC unit.
Instead of doing an inverter, you should consider a Honda EU2000 generator. One gallon of gasoline will cool the boat with an AC window unit for 8-hours. You can put the unit atop the outboard to keep the noise, vibration, and CO out of the boat while using it. And you've already got plenty of gas aboard.
Supposed to be $415 including freight according to their add in "cruising world". I did a quick calculation on the example numbers they used and came up with about 4,000 btu/hr when the air temp in the cabin is 30C and the water temp at 16' depth is 14C. Won't work as well for those shallow bays and anchorages.
Starscream wrote:... Won't work as well for those shallow bays and anchorages.
Then if you do have the depth and cold water at it you are going to need to put out a lot of rode. Say the 16 feet, plus a 3 foot tide and 3 feet from the water to the deck and you have over 150 of rode out to maintain a 7:1,
I calculated the cross-section of the device being a little less than .5 square foot. To get the advertised flow of 134 cfm, and with the device being about 5.5" long, the air needs to travel at 268'/min for a total duration of 1.2sec inside the unit. I doubt, there will be that much cooling of the moving air. How did you come up with the 4000btu/hr?
