Leaving Air Conditioner running on when not at boat

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

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

Fair winds,
LittleWing77

Prudent seamanship is useless unless the ‘seaman’ routinely does periodic preventive maintenance which, if done correctly, eliminates the paranoia.

Wonder how many of the folks here who are worried about this keep their clothes washer hose pressurized when they leave the house - a far greater risk, both statistically and financially.

[bootneck]

We've been using Sunpac Mildewcide for the last couple of years when storing the boat in Florida and Guatemala from June to November. 5 packs with all interior doors and cupboards open, close up the boat and that it. Everytime we've come back we've seen no insects and no mould. Apparently Sunpac kills the oxygen in the boat so much that not even mould can survive.

[smj]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

Prudent seamanship is useless unless the ‘seaman’ routinely does periodic preventive maintenance which, if done correctly, eliminates the paranoia.

Wonder how many of the folks here who are worried about this keep their clothes washer hose pressurized when they leave the house - a far greater risk, both statistically and financially.

Sorry brother, the houses I’ve built never had the ability to sink. But to answer your question, yes we turn the water of to the entire house if gone for more than a day or so.

[billgewater]

Stationary, moist, warm air is, I understand, best environment for mould. Different types of surfaces also affect mould growth. Think about mushroom farms. So, on our boat we have three places where this air can be naturally removed. They are all covered hatches and they are at the highest places on the ceiling in three different areas of the boat. Rain can't ingress, but air can escape. The warm moist air has a lower density than the cooler dryer air and so it rises and naturally escapes. It has worked for 40 years in the tropics with the boat being left during both wet and dry seasons. For a short time in Darwin we tried using an A/C but stepping out of the boat into humid hot wet season air in Darwin was a body shock, so we always cut back on its use where possible.
One partly opened hatch is covered by a dinghy and the others are lids with an all round lip of about 5 cm. These two hatch lids are held very slightly ajar to allow the air to flow up and out. We usually get some mould on the underside of these two hatch lids where a small amount of air is trapped. This tells us that the system is working. Trapped moist air= mould. Moving moist air=no mould.
The worst thing you can do is to seal up the boat. Natural ventilation, if possible, is the best answer. Maybe a simple oscillating fan on a timed switch along with highest point ventilation may work as well.
We also have a few of those dome deck mounted vents that can be closed from the inside and have SS covers on the deck. They are placed above where heat is produced such as a freezer and a 'fridge. They can be left open unless the deck is awash with waves. Dorade vents may also work but I have no long term experience with them as they tend to be an obstacle on the deck when sailing.
We wipe down internal smooth surfaces with diluted vinegar once every year or two.

[Hudson Force]

In 1972, after sailing our first liveaboard boat down to Florida from the Chesapeake, I walked my wife down to the end of a dock. I told her that I wanted to show her what our boat might look like in the future. She was expecting me to show her a boat far nicer and larger than our 30' Whitney, but I showed her the top of a mast sticking out of the water and the vague shape of the sunken boat below.

Well, I got that over with! I made sure that we accepted the risk. For the following 45 years we kept well maintained boats and dealt with some problems and risk, but remained accepting of the potential loss. There was one time when we had water above our floorboards, but we recovered. There were a couple of small fires aboard caused by a crew member that was unable to learn how to preheat an alcohol stove, but we were quick to put them out.

We lived in Florida with work ashore for 190 days each year for 30 years and always left our AC running while we were at work during the many Florida warmer days. We had our AC automatically cut off when the water flow was clogged. I kept the system well, with double hose clamps and scheduled inspections.

We were never paranoid because we accepted the loss back in '72, .... never happened!

[smj]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

In 1972, after sailing our first liveaboard boat down to Florida from the Chesapeake, I walked my wife down to the end of a dock. I told her that I wanted to show her what our boat might look like in the future. She was expecting me to show her a boat far nicer and larger than our 30' Whitney, but I showed her the top of a mast sticking out of the water and the vague shape of the sunken boat below.

Well, I got that over with! I made sure that we accepted the risk. For the following 45 years we kept well maintained boats and dealt with some problems and risk, but remained accepting of the potential loss. There was one time when we had water above our floorboards, but we recovered. There were a couple of small fires aboard caused by a crew member that was unable to learn how to preheat an alcohol stove, but we were quick to put them out.

We lived in Florida with work ashore for 190 days each year for 30 years and always left our AC running while we were at work during the many Florida warmer days. We had our AC automatically cut off when the water flow was clogged. I kept the system well, with double hose clamps and scheduled inspections.

We were never paranoid because we accepted the loss back in '72, .... never happened!

What caused the water above the floorboards?

[wingssail]

When we have left our boat for short periods we turned off the AC. For longer periods we put it on a timer, two periods of one hour each every day the AC would come on and this kept the boat dry and mildew away.

HOWEVER, our AC is not water cooled.

We avoid leaving any thru hulls open.

[Russ]

R134a was the replacement for Freon but it too was replaced in cars by R152a with a warming factor of 120. The article he’s quoting was in the NYT in December of 2007
Kudos Sequoyah

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by smj

Sorry brother, the houses I’ve built never had the ability to sink. But to answer your question, yes we turn the water of to the entire house if gone for more than a day or so.

Sorry brother but most homes can suffer far greater damage than the average boat

[seandepagnier]

I am answering the original question with my own opinion. Not sure what is strange about this. We all have our own opinions.

Originally Posted by Panacea2183

Guess you don’t live in Florida.

I lived aboard in malaysia and indonesia which is a hotter and more humid than florida.

Ever try to get mold out of your boat after no A/C?

yes

Yes we live in a world where we are addicted to many things.

we can agree at least that AC is an addiction, after all, people die if the power goes out for lack of it.

I for one run my A/C 24/7 at my dock. Pristine interior no mold or foul smells.

The environmental cost of A/C is huge and affects everyone. It is unjust for you to decide to use it. Just because a broken society allows it does nothing to change the fact it is immoral. Lots of other ways to remove mold without A/C

Would you not run the A/C in your house? When your gone?

If I had a house it would not have A/C.

[smj]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

Sorry brother but most homes can suffer far greater damage than the average boat

I guess if your dumb enough to put your washer dryer in the attic....
Having built homes for 35 years I don’t see anyway that a flood caused by a washing machine would be more expensive to fix than the sinking of my boat. But then again a lot has to do with the value of your boat and the finish of your house.

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by smj

I guess if your dumb enough to put your washer dryer in the attic....
Having built homes for 35 years I don’t see anyway that a flood caused by a washing machine would be more expensive to fix than the sinking of my boat. But then again a lot has to do with the value of your boat and the finish of your house.

Try leaving a house for a short time with water pouring through it, soaking the drywall, floors, rugs, furniture, basement flooding, etc while the humidity grows mold on the entire contents and the get back to me. And, by the way, I’m not your ‘brother’.

[seandepagnier]

"Less than a third of households worldwide own an A/C unit." -- So most of us don't have A/C in our lives. Only 8% of people living in the tropics have A/C. florida isn't even in the tropics.

It seems to be an entitlement issue, not an issue of if the boat sinks or not. Consuming ridiculous amounts of energy just to avoid tiny amount of labor of spraying vinegar. The assumption by many on this thread that this is in any way acceptable is astounding.

[smj]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

Try leaving a house for a short time with water pouring through it, soaking the drywall, floors, rugs, furniture, basement flooding, etc while the humidity grows mold on the entire contents and the get back to me. And, by the way, I’m not your ‘brother’.

No insurance company would write of a house because of that. On the other hand, I think it would be rare for an insurance company to not write of a boat that has found its way to the bottom.....right?
Back to the topic of conversation. If you don’t run a marine ac or leave the hose attached to the pressure water system then you don’t have to worry about the consequences? Seems like a pretty basic concept to me?
On top of that we have zero thru hulls in the boat, is that a safety advantage or disadvantage? I’m sure your getting the point. Those who do leave their marine ac units running and their dockside water hooked up while away stand a much better chance of sinking their boat at the dock. How do I know this? Seen it happen more than a handful of times.

[MultiCountryDon]

Originally Posted by seandepagnier

"Less than a third of households worldwide own an A/C unit." -- So most of us don't have A/C in our lives. Only 8% of people living in the tropics have A/C. florida isn't even in the tropics.

It seems to be an entitlement issue, not an issue of if the boat sinks or not. Consuming ridiculous amounts of energy just to avoid tiny amount of labor of spraying vinegar. The assumption by many on this thread that this is in any way acceptable is astounding.

Some people wake up in the morning angry and its downhill from there.
Keeps them happy I guess.

To the actual question starting the thread:
Several boats in SW Florida and Thailand- 1 Dehumidifier draining into the sink with 2 or 3 fans on timers spaced thru out the boat for circulation. Works great with no mold or mildew ever.
Boats do have aircon and I use it when I am on board and need it.