Leaving Air Conditioner running on when not at boat

[vlathom]

Many boat air conditioners, including ours, have dehumidifier settings. We leave that on during the summer in Florida when we are back home in Md. I researched and found no issue with doing this. We also have a separate dehumidifier which drains into the sink. We found that we need this level of dehumidification on our 36 ft. trawler since it has two levels. One season of suffering with the results of mold inside was enough.

[cymeyer]

Originally Posted by smj

Leaving a marine AC unit on while away from the boat is akin to leaving the dockside water connected to your pressure water system on while away from the boat, one small failure that could lead to disaster.

Totally agree with you.

[Panacea2183]

Originally Posted by vlathom

Many boat air conditioners, including ours, have dehumidifier settings. We leave that on during the summer in Florida when we are back home in Md. I researched and found no issue with doing this. We also have a separate dehumidifier which drains into the sink. We found that we need this level of dehumidification on our 36 ft. trawler since it has two levels. One season of suffering with the results of mold inside was enough.

Yes mold is a bitch to get rid of.
I also run to fans in the boat to keep the air moving.
Does not have to be “cold” maybe 80 deg with low humidity and air circulation.
If one is paranoid about water leaks, get a remote monitoring system that will send you alerts to you cell phone.

A side note. Last boat I tried to do the fan and dehumidifier, Had to replace a lot of soft goods because of mold.
Florida heat + humidity = mold!
Run the A/C keep the systems “Ship Shape”
Also portable battery things like hand held VHF, GPS etc., the batteries will “cook”
Things warp, etc.heat is the enemy.
If you are away, get a remote monitor system.
Just one guys opinion after 30 years in Florida with 4 different boats.
Safe travels!

[mvmojo]

If you need air conditioning to keep your boat free of mold/mildew or to keep it reasonably comfortable when you come home to it, an easy solution to the possibility of a cooling water leak is to install a separate bilge float switch to normally closed relay in the air conditioning power feed. If the bilge gets more than x inches of water in it, the float switch closes which would open the normally closed relay to the air conditioner thereby shutting it and it's raw water pump down until the water is removed from the bilge. Can be done easily with a normally closed AC relay with a 12v pick coil. I'd look for a solid state relay with a 3-32v DC input pick coil and the ability to switch 25amps AC at 220v or higher. Adding a heat sink to the relay would help insure a long life. Unless you have a dry bilge, I'd mount the bilge float switch a little higher in the bilge than the float that controls your bilge pump to keep from short cycling the air conditioner every time a little water gets in the bilge.

[sail sfbay]

Off........just for the reason you have AND electrical power cost is very expensive here. Plus other than battery charger all other power consumers are OFF.

[SpillTheWine]

Well, I feel for ya.

IMO, this isn't an "Either-Or" dilemma. I don't care if it's Alaska, Florida, or Wisconsin, an enclosed capsule full of electronics, human dander, perfect micro environments for mold and bugs, and the rest simply cannot be placed onto cold water with a the Sun's radiation beating down on top without the inside of that capsule becoming a biology experiment. I know this firsthand.
So a boat owner has gotta figure out something because we have created an unnatural environment that lacks balance. Just leave a boat on the hard for a year and then come back and see how everything on the inside and out has gone to hell too. It ain't the place; it's the boats.

Addicted to AC? The same pedantic preaching could be applied to sailing and all other boating. And clearly you don't know what additions is.

My guess is someone has this figured out and it probably involves solar, an AC above the waterline, and some way to keep the drain line free of life; either a chlorine drip or a UV light or something else.

Gosh, it'd be great to know what the solution to this universal problem is! Unfortunately, that Great Idea is gonna be buried in a morass of bored unstroked egos acting like they've been asked by JPL to help out with a balky space probe a billion miles away.

Who wants to join me in a tall cold glass of STFU and some lawn chairs until the Great Idea presents itself?

[170122]

Nothing wrong with my boat, is just comfortable, clean, no mildew, dry, I like to keep it this way,
My air conditioner is running most of the time on Solar panels, I keep the temperature at 82 when I am not on the boat, I set the fan to cycle with the compressor, at night I keep it continuous, I have 4 units, only one 7000 BTU 12v DC will stay on when we are not there, batteries are 1000ah 12v, I also keep 2X DC. Refrigerators and 2 X freezers on all the time,, my dock only available power in a single GFI 15 amps,

The load for one 7000BTU 12v, Running at max speed in shore power is 3 amps 115v, through a battery charger.
Dining sunny days, not only my air is running but I am charging my batteries..
My boat is 21 years old. Looks and smells like new.

[S/V Illusion]

I wonder how some of the people here manage to risk getting out of bed in the morning.


Clearly, this one shouldn't bother:


"Air conditioners have declimatized [SIC] people so that they actually are dependent on them the same as illegal substances."

[170122]

First idea was to remove my trainers inside the boat and added large wedge speed scoops, two intakes, 4 pumps, I never clean in the inside during de season, but my diver keeps the intakes clean.

[Panacea2183]

Originally Posted by mvmojo

If you need air conditioning to keep your boat free of mold/mildew or to keep it reasonably comfortable when you come home to it, an easy solution to the possibility of a cooling water leak is to install a separate bilge float switch to normally closed relay in the air conditioning power feed. If the bilge gets more than x inches of water in it, the float switch closes which would open the normally closed relay to the air conditioner thereby shutting it and it's raw water pump down until the water is removed from the bilge. Can be done easily with a normally closed AC relay with a 12v pick coil. I'd look for a solid state relay with a 3-32v DC input pick coil and the ability to switch 25amps AC at 220v or higher. Adding a heat sink to the relay would help insure a long life. Unless you have a dry bilge, I'd mount the bilge float switch a little higher in the bilge than the float that controls your bilge pump to keep from short cycling the air conditioner every time a little water gets in the bilge.

Great idea!

[smj]

Originally Posted by Corvidae

Leaving a marine AC can be done in a marina if you have a strong bilge pump, and a run time alarm on it. Not really recommended though. The safer way to do it is a window shaker pointed through the front hatch. It will drip outside, and you can get really small ones that will get the job done with minimal power use. A good amount of solar/wind should be able to keep up with it easily.

In a perfect world of course you could just sail North until you don't need it any more.

This is what we do. We have a catamaran so have 2 small window units. The cost to replace a window unit is less than the cost of a salt water pump for a marine system and there’s no way our boat will sink from a broken hose or rusty hose clamp. Having to rely on your bilge pump, a phone notification or anything electrical to keep your boat floating is a no go for me.

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by smj

Having to rely on your bilge pump, a phone notification or anything electrical to keep your boat floating is a no go for me.

agree with you. we also live in an area that frequently clogs up AC filters and hoses. in general I just can't justify having a raw water pump moving thousands of gallons of water thru my boat while I'm not there. I do leave a dehumidifier running that drains into the sink. just a personal preference I guess

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by stormalong

Wow, such paranoia about water leakage. Doesn't anyone inspect and maintain their seacocks and hoses.

It is NOT paranoia.

It is prudent seamanship, stormalong.

You haven't discovered this yet... but you will.

LittleWing77

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

It is NOT paranoia.

It is prudent seamanship, stormalong.

You haven't discovered this yet... but you will.

LittleWing77

Well, Let's think about that. I have owned my present boat for thirty+ years, lived aboard it for 19, put over 130.000 nm on it. Do nearly all my own maintenance. Have re-wired, re-plumbed, re-rigged and re-engined it.

Never had a sea water leak. I guess I am not going to discover this.

Try living is a searing hot climate where security requires that the boat be sealed up when not there and see what you discover.

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by stormalong

Well, I have owned my present boat for thirty+ years, lived aboard it for 19, put over 130.000 nm on it. Do nearly all my own maintenance. Have re-wired, re-plumbed, re-rigged and re-engined it.

Never had a sea water leak. I guess I am not going to discover this.

Try living is a searing hot climate where security requires that the boat be sealed up when not there and see what you discover.

Fantastic! You must know every inch of your boat.

And thirty years, eh? You're truly a Salty Dawg.

Just for clarity: Neptune doesn't care how many years at sea you have, nor how many nautical miles. It only takes once. One failure, one time, and your boat sinks to the bottom.

Prudent seamanship dictates the steps taken to avoid that, not "paranoia".

Fair winds,
LittleWing77