Air Conditioning

captk · Posted: Mon Oct 04, 2004 10:18 am Post subject: Air Conditioning

Looking for info on Coleman rooftop air conditioners. Anyone have such an installation? Thanks

Chivita · Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2004 1:12 am Post subject:

CaptK,

My father put a Coleman on top of his homebuilt houseboat about four years ago, it was one of the smaller Coleman models costing around $600-$800 as I remember. The interior of the houseboat is slightly larger than a 22' cruiser and the Coleman cools it off on low with no problem. My father powers it with a 10 year old 1000 watt Honda generator which supplies just enough power for the "Low" setting on the Coleman (He lives in the Southern California area). If you had a 2000 watt generator it should supply enough for the high setting. He frequently uses the "Fan" setting instead of the "Low" setting as that works quite well too. It is mounted on the roof of the houseboat which is either 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch plywood and he has had no problems with it.

Let us know if you put one in a C-Dory as I'm sure there are several people who would like to hear how it works. Living up in the Seattle area, we don't have much need of a air conditioner, of course with all the wacky weather lately, you never know!

"Chivita" Dave

Casey · Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2004 10:38 am Post subject: Small A/C Units...

Just for grins, I did a Google search for " 9000 BTU " in an effort of see what kind of small air conditioning units may be out there.

I was amazed at the number of hits.

Here's one site that has several different units:
http://www.rewci.com/poraircon.html

Casey
C-Dory Naknek

Sea Wolf · Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2004 2:29 pm Post subject:

Casey-

These units are interesting----And it would be nice to be able to remove the unit during those times of year it's not needed. How would one of these units fit into the floor space usage?

On the other hand, a roof mounted RV style AC unit could be placed just ahead of the back door and remain there all year long and, for the most part, out of the way. That type of unit also usually has a heat strip option available which would be a nice addition during winter, particularly when using shore power.

The only major drawback would be the unit's interference with dinghy storage on the roof, but that could be accommodated. This type of type AC unit would also necessitate mounting the radar unit, if so equipped, higher.

Still and all, the major obstacle to AC usage on a CD seems to be finding a space for the generator: one that is out of the way, solidly mounted, protected from the elements, and servicable.

My inclination at the present would be to place it in the center of the boat, at the rear of the cockpit, mounted on the inner wall of the splashwell. A cooler would be posoitioned on the floor below, with the generator above it mounted on a bracket on the front of the inner wall. The inner wall of the splashwell would be filled in with a panel which would become a part of the bracket, and a perpendicularly oriented table top/ bait prep table, generator shade/splashguard could extend out over the unit. The cooler should be positioned so that it is openable under the generator, or the generator could be lowed, and two (if necessary) smaller cooler units could flank it on the sides. Liftable or hinged front and side panels / shades could be added for protection from the weather if needed.

One should be able to connect the generator unit directly to the main gas tanks. This mounting position should also keep the mass of the generator on the centerline of the boat. Further specific design will have to include dimensional considerations.

This will be an ongoing developmental project, and, if we can hit on a truly workable design, one which many C-Dory owners in hot climates would be eager to copy. Keep thinking!!! Joe.

starcrafttom · Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2004 7:59 pm Post subject:

or you could move to washington and not worry about it.

Sea Wolf · Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2004 8:22 pm Post subject:

starcraftom

Yup! Except for the winters! We recently moved from the Bay Area to Redding to help take care of my aging Mom, and I'm already tired to the cold, dark, rainy winters. And this is even though I grew up here! Happy New Year!!! Joe.

Byrdman · Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 12:27 pm Post subject:

FreeByrd has AC!! In very ruff state/prototype now...but cooling very well at night with ol yeller plugged in...... Bought a 6,000 BTU from Lowes and a dozen 1x3 x8 boards for the "structure" of the system. No new holes drilled. Built a tower stand that "bungee-cords" onto the boat very firmly.... But, after I get the work done, and some things changed a bit, I plan to build a cabinet around it so it just looks like a storage cabinet, then, drop the 3 sides when time to plug in and cool. I just wanted something that would cool the boat for sleeping at night and 1st night this seem to work fine. I will try again tonight and tomorrow night... It is 94 degrees now, and will check both humidity and temp ranges tonight. Will send pics this weekend.... I got so excited about loading the AC, saws, drills and tools for the job...I left my camera on the table... so going up to take pictures and think a bit more today. I have it mounted now on the aft starboard window, and will move it to the port aft window either this weekend, or when I disassemble it for final board cutting and waterproofing. I can not see both corners of the aft end of the boat when backing down on something or backing into the slip with it in the starboard window. A bit of neck streaching...and I can see much better with the port window clogged up...during the summer months. I "should" be able to mount/install in less than one hour at the beginning of each HOT season...or who knows... I may just leave her there. So far, $118 invested...which is WAY lower than the $600-700 for marine air... but...the verdict is still out if this will handle the vibrations. I am more concerned about it on the trailer than in the water... This TomCat is very smooth in the water...but those bye-ways and highways are not always kind. Byrdman

gljjr · Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 2:58 pm Post subject:

I've had 2 motorhomes with the Coleman Roof mounted Swamp Coolers and they boat ran on 12v. They would run about 8 hours before exhausting the house battery. I think I used them maybe 2 or 3 times each! One of these would really add a lot of weight right where you don't want it IMHO (I'm not sure how much they weigh but I'm sure they aren't light). Also they would take up about 3"-4" of headroom.

Byrdman · Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2005 8:03 pm Post subject:

Yes, looked at those... Headroom was an issue for sure, and more of a problem was the radar issue... so... I started looking about.
Making progress with the AC...and other items on my boat. Right now, I have a proto type frame that I built just to see if I could make a simple 6,000 BTU window unit work....and it does... (attempting to load pic in my folder on FreeByrd) Yes, it looks REAL ruff right now, but, I plan to remeasure all the boards, have them cut by some boat owners at our marina who are custom cabinet company, and get them to also cut some nice siding...so once complete, it will look like a storage cabinet.... For the final product, another boat owner at our marina has a custom paint and body shop and also sprays the product like "Rino-Guard" that you would spray the bed of a pick-up with... He can color match it to my boat. Once finished, the AC portion with have 3 sides that open and fold down while the AC is running, and up and closed when it is not. AND....it takes up ZERO room in the boat so I looze no storage space or have to run any duct work... and.... is set up for installation/removal so I can take it out in the cold winter months... and that process will take about 30 minutes to R&R. I will have to move it to the aft port window....I can not see both corners of the aft end of my boat from the helm....which makes for some very interesting events when backing into the slip at the marina... Right now, I have $118 invested. I figured the custom cabenit work will cost me a case of Carona, a couple of steaks....and same thing for the Rino stuff... so I should come out in the $200 ball park...

Minnow · Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2005 5:25 pm Post subject:

Here's a link to a 12 volt Air cond. http://www.dcbreeze.com/ Jeff from the factory was asked to consider it and dismissed it for all the right reasons. It pulls 48 Amps running, and the site admits that it would take 6 group 31's to power it for 8 hours. That and the fact that 5000 btu's isn't nearly enough for anything other than mild nights.

k3nlind · Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2005 1:50 pm Post subject:

at RV Camping World you can get an all metal fan for about $25.00... then go to Wally World for a stainless steal bowl. Fill the bowl with ice, mount it in front of the fan, place the on/off actuator in the on position... should run off a good battery for a week or so.

Oh, don't forget to take along someone to keep the bowl full... Laughing