Air Conditioning in my 2004 305-gctid383723

[Guest]

Hi All-

I seem to be having an issue with the air con in our 305. I am somewhat used to marine air. We had it in our 2004 265 and now in our 305. Typically, if we set the air at too low of a temperature relative to conditions, it seems to freeze up, as indicated by a decreased air flow from the vents and the air that does come out is not as cold. I am used this and considered it to be normal. We would just set the temp high enough so that the unit could achieve the temperature and kick off. Although this did not get it as cold as I would sometimes like, it would allow it to keep running properly. This was the same on our 265 and 305.

My concern now is that the air does not seem to run as long before it stops being effective, or "freezes up" as I would call it. This weekend, the water was around 55-60 degrees, the air temp was in the low 80's. We would set the air to 71 degrees, and it would seem to only run for about 20-30 minutes properly before the airflow would slow down and the cabin temp would rise. Ultimately, the cabin temp would creep up to 73 degrees, and we would shut the unit off for about twenty minutes, let it "thaw" and then restart it again where it would work well for another twenty minutes or so.

Any thoughts on this? Any similar experiences? Thanks!

[Guest]

#1: Clean the filter at the unit and the water filter (probably located in the engine space). This needs to be done a couple times a season.

#2: If the ambient air temp shows 80 degrees, setting the air to 71 is too big a jump. We set it down 3 or 4 degrees per step. This keeps thing running without freezing up. Once the temp is reached we keep the fan moving and if cooling is needed it automatically goes on again.

One more thing, keep the cabin door closed because (as my dad always said) "you can't cool the outdoors." Having warm air continuously introduced into the atmosphere will cause the system to overwork and ice up.

[Guest]

Thanks - those are good tips. I am so used to air in a car or a house that I have to remember to be more gradual with the temp increments in the boat. I have not checked the strainers on this boat yet, and we had it all of last season. I bet that they are clogged somewhat.

[JimMc]

The above are all good tips.

With our system we also set the system to run a periodic defrost cycle to prevent the problem you mention. It is described in the operators manual for the AC.

[Guest]

wfarr wrote:
Thanks - those are good tips. I am so used to air in a car or a house that I have to remember to be more gradual with the temp increments in the boat. I have not checked the strainers on this boat yet, and we had it all of last season. I bet that they are clogged somewhat.

You're welcome.

The strainer is important but you need to check the filter (kind of acts like the filter on your home furnace) at the unit inside. It gets really cruddy but a rinse under a hose and dryout in the air will do the job.

When you do the clean outs,to avoid a blown circuit board turn the air off but do NOT turn the breaker off!! Don't know why this matters but it is about a $1,000 replace and fix. (don't ask how I know this)

Good Luck!

[captharv]

There are two things which will cause a freeze up:

Blocked air flow and/or low freon.

My marine air in my 2452 has been flawless in the 11 years we have had this boat. When we anchor out, the outside air is in the mid 80s in the early evening, and I set the air to 75. Takes it a half to an hour, but gets there w/o freeze up.

let me regress a moment. I have owned boats for over 40 years. The 2452 is the first boat which has: Air, holding tank, macerator, and water heater. So, being a technical guy, I called each of teh manufacturers and asked advice on the care and feeding of their products.

What I do for the air.

1. The foam filter on the coils disintegrated a few years back. Before tha, it got vacuumed twice a year, or whenever it looked dirty. It seems to work better w/o the foam filter.

2. The marine air customer service guy said twice a year, to backflush the water lines. This means to put a garden hose into the outlet with the unit off and the seacock open fully. Afterward, take out the basket in the water strainer and wash it down. (seacock closed if you are in-water) Be very careful in replacing it, as installing it wrong will create an air leak which will make priming it very difficult.

3. Check the hose going from the coils to the air discharge vents in the boat for being crushed.

4. If you have 2 air discharge vents, make sure they are both fully open.Restricting the flow by closing one may cause an ice up.

5. Clean the filter on the intake vent evry other trip. I use a shopvac.

If you are sure the above things are done correctly, have the freon tested by a competant air techncian. Bite the bullet and call in a pro.

Hint: in the marineair manual, it gives "warranty" stations. You gotta know they should have the knowledge and gauges for these units if the factory recommends them.

[Guest]

I have some stuff to check out!

Jim - is that defrost setting easy to setup? I am not sure that I have the AC manual.

[Guest]

captharv wrote:
There are two things which will cause a freeze up:

Blocked air flow and/or low freon.

My marine air in my 2452 has been flawless in the 11 years we have had this boat. When we anchor out, the outside air is in the mid 80s in the early evening, and I set the air to 75. Takes it a half to an hour, but gets there w/o freeze up.

let me regress a moment. I have owned boats for over 40 years. The 2452 is the first boat which has: Air, holding tank, macerator, and water heater. So, being a technical guy, I called each of teh manufacturers and asked advice on the care and feeding of their products.

What I do for the air.

1. The foam filter on the coils disintegrated a few years back. Before tha, it got vacuumed twice a year, or whenever it looked dirty. It seems to work better w/o the foam filter.

2. The marine air customer service guy said twice a year, to backflush the water lines. This means to put a garden hose into the outlet with the unit off and the seacock open fully. Afterward, take out the basket in the water strainer and wash it down. (seacock closed if you are in-water) Be very careful in replacing it, as installing it wrong will create an air leak which will make priming it very difficult.

3. Check the hose going from the coils to the air discharge vents in the boat for being crushed.

4. If you have 2 air discharge vents, make sure they are both fully open.Restricting the flow by closing one may cause an ice up.

5. Clean the filter on the intake vent evry other trip. I use a shopvac.

If you are sure the above things are done correctly, have the freon tested by a competant air techncian. Bite the bullet and call in a pro.

Hint: in the marineair manual, it gives "warranty" stations. You gotta know they should have the knowledge and gauges for these units if the factory recommends them.

Mine used to freeze up on the 2655 when I first got it. Charged freon and has been fine for four years. I know some will say where did the freon go and you have other problems, but freon and proper air flow fixed mine.

[Guest]

Did you charge the freon yourself?

[Jeffw]

My 305 froze up easily, it wasn't getting enough return/circulation air. I found if I propped up the v-berth mattress and opened the storage space where the AC unit was, it would work much better. That was summer 2010 at Lake Pleasant, AZ, daytime temps 110+...

[Guest]

Ahhh yes, I have torn out my a/c on my 3055, redone all the venting and gone threw all this. Make sure everything is clean, I removed my a/c and hit it with compressed air, you wouldnt belive how much crap was in there. Small changes are best, I feel these a/c units are a bit small for the 3055's so gradually setting them down is best practice. Also you can program a reverse cycle for a bit "thaw mode". Mine does this baout every 20 minutes or so.

As far as frying the circuit board, I have had 1st hand experience from this and it wasnt from shutting off the breaker because I simply do not do that. They have a cheap chinese relay on the board that likes to fail over time. It costed around $500 for the replacement board, with upgraded control panel and all the wiring. If I ever wanted to replace the a/c unit with a new style, I can do that without a new panel now. The old board if you order that for some reason is slightly more but nothing around 1000 bucks, thats a rip off. If you ever have issues down this road, go to www.marine-ac.com and they will help you. Very helpful fella that runs the site, he can sell you anything for great prices.

A few things I have done to attempt to "optimize" the system. I removed the 1st junction box and that useless air tube to the head. In its place I installed a fully insulated tube sealed with large clamps instead of bayliners 2-3 screws so its actually sealed now. It has helped quiet a bit with improved air flow. Just something to think about.

[Guest]

That forum is fantastic, although it says that the guy died this year - too bad. Thanks for the tips - I will be messing around with it this weekend.

[Guest]

You will need to get more air into the a/c unit, this is the biggest problem to cause freezing of the coil..... If you can double the size of air intake you should eliminate this problem

[Guest]

wfarr wrote:
That forum is fantastic, although it says that the guy died this year - too bad. Thanks for the tips - I will be messing around with it this weekend.

wow thats terrible. I just talked to him last year, man he was great and extremely helpful what a bummer!!!

[Guest]

Bayliner seems to install insufficient-size ducts in all its boats. My 2455 would freeze, my 3055 freezes...and both have smaller ducts than recommended by the AC manufacturer. Low airflow is the top cause of freezing (low Freon level is the other).

As far as the defrost cycle, that's only available with a certain revision of the AC panel firmware. Mine doesn't have it. I would hope by 2004 that they were including it. I'm guessing if the panel doesn't have it, you have to buy a new panel ($150).