Leaving Air Conditioner running on when not at boat

[smj]

Originally Posted by MultiCountryDon

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.

Also this product.

https://www.amazon.com/SunPac-Mildew.../dp/B00SZ0P1H4
Keeps mildew away for about 6 months without the need for Ac or fans.

[Palarran]

Interesting but somewhat predictable.

I leave mine on but turned up to 80. It also has a dehumidification mode and will dehumidify to a set RH rather then a set temp.

I've also not had my boat flood from a seacock or hose break but haven't spent nearly as much time as some onboard. I do wonder how many have had an A/C hose break. Can't be too many on powerboats because 99% of them leave their A/C's on all year long.

Sorry, had to go back to edit and add this. I was in Florida for about 4 months this year. It was a small marina and all the other boats were power boats. But I did get a chance to walk several other marina docks also and can say that by observation, 99% of the boats were cooling their boats. None of the boats were sunk and I didn't hear tales of them sinking either. But boy did I see a lot of sunk boats. Maybe 30??? And almost all of them were sailboats. They were the boats that anchor in Lake Worth and the surrounding waterways. I can pretty much guarantee none of them sank from running their A/C either.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by smj

What caused the water above the floorboards?

We had a capuchin monkey (not recommended crew) that had damaged a hose fitting while we were away.

I will add that, although we did not recognize this as a problem when we first had the monkey in 1969. I do not now feel that keeping monkeys as pets is ethical or humane. We provided for him as best we could, but I don't think he had the best of life.

[LittleWing77]

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.

I fall in Sean's camp. As I walk the docks during the week and hear all the A/C units going, I'm incredulous and sad. There's so little thought that goes into automatically having an A/C unit on a boat for dehumidifying/ controlling mould/ keeping air cool. It's actually very unnatural. And, of course, just another reason we're on the brink of a climate disaster. All of these sorts of unconscious practises add up.

I, too, lived aboard in much hotter climates with no A/C and no thought of A/C ever. It's amazing how your own body acclimatizes in about two weeks. Your blood thins, you drink more water, you use a wind scoop and suddenly the heat doesn't seem oppressive at all anymore.

That said, I still maintain that leaving the A/C on is not prudent seamanship - when the consequence could be a boat fire or sinking the boat - esPECially when the boat wouldn't have sunk or burned if the units hadn't been left on. Simple choice to me.

Two years ago we had a boat fire at the dock at our marina because of an electrical source and not only did the 40' power boat burn to the waterline and sink in about 45 minutes, but the 50' Beneteau next door and the boat on the opposite side were write-offs, as well as environmental mitigation due to the thousands of gallons of fuel on the power boat, plus extensive dock repair.

That was one incident.

Sean points out something I've always wondered about: The assumption by many on this thread [and on the Forum generally] that consuming ridiculous amounts of energy with things like A/C on a boat is acceptable or just "the usual course".

My contention is that people just automatically get A/C units - or buy boats that already have them - and never consider that choice and its impacts. I urge everyone to take the time to think about it now. If I had ever bought a boat that had A/C installed onboard, that would have been the first thing to be given the ol' heave-ho.

Fair winds all,
LittleWing77

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by smj

No insurance company would write of [SIC] a house because of that. On the other hand, I think it would be rare for an insurance company to not write of [SIC] a boat that has found its way to the bottom.....right?

Nonsense.

How do I know this? .

You don’t (know this). You are make no suppositions based on (mis)perceptions.

[PamlicoTraveler]

Originally Posted by Sequoyah

Sanctimonious thread hijackers salivating for opportunities to signal their virtue by lecturing others are the reason I almost never post here anymore.

Same thought here, but most of the comments have been great. Some things are just debatable issues we all deal with and should discuss like friends, and this is one I suppose many of us have considered. There is no right or wrong answer.

[smj]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

Nonsense.









You don’t (know this). You are make no suppositions based on (mis)perceptions.

Do what you think is right for you.

[Ninedotsix]

Originally Posted by PamlicoTraveler

I have always had a hang-up about leaving my air-conditioner on when leaving the boat in the summer. There is so much water flow that a small leak in a fitting or a thru hull could be disastrous.

I have noticed this year that most boats leave their AC on all the time and there is always water flowing in and out. I haven't heard of any boats sinking because of that, so I wonder if my concern is overblown. I do run a humidifier and it drains into the sink. I'm sure it gets hot in there, but I don't know of any issues caused by that.

I'm just curious what others do.

Turn it off when not on board.
A simple stoppage of strainer by jellyfish caused overheating of the hoses and subsequent sinking in my marina a few years ago.
Heeled over under the dock, flooded cabin and engine, bent mast, and fouled dock mates rig, kinking the furler in the next slip over.
$$$$$$
Not worth the worry……
9.6

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Ninedotsix

Turn it off when not on board.
A simple stoppage of strainer by jellyfish caused overheating of the hoses and subsequent sinking in my marina a few years ago.
Heeled over under the dock, flooded cabin and engine, bent mast, and fouled dock mates rig, kinking the furler in the next slip over.
$$$$$$
Not worth the worry……
9.6

That's a pretty ugly failure mode. But most modern marine A/Cs won't do that. If they lose water flow, when the system gets hot, it shuts down and turns off the pump to avoid burning that up.

[Dr. D]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

That's a pretty ugly failure mode. But most modern marine A/Cs won't do that. If they lose water flow, when the system gets hot, it shuts down and turns off the pump to avoid burning that up.

That is how my two HVAC units work. I put them into dehumidify mode when I’m away. They run for 20 minutes every 8 hours. When I return it is warm inside the cabin, but dry.

[Rohan]

It's just me, but I couldn't imagine running a/c all the time while away from the boat. Forget the environmental concerns for a moment, forget about the danger of flooding. Isn't that putting a hell of a lot of unnecessary wear and tear on your a/c system?? And that a marine a/c system especially isn't cheap to replace. If you are worried about mold, use a dehumidifier. But even in hot environments, if you keep the shades closed it won't get too bad inside.

The flip side of this are people who run space heaters all winter instead of doing the work to properly winterize their boats. There are so many potential problems with that.

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by Rohan

It's just me, but I couldn't imagine running a/c all the time while away from the boat. Forget the environmental concerns for a moment, forget about the danger of flooding. Isn't that putting a hell of a lot of unnecessary wear and tear on your a/c system?? And that a marine a/c system especially isn't cheap to replace. If you are worried about mold, use a dehumidifier. But even in hot environments, if you keep the shades closed it won't get too bad inside.

The flip side of this are people who run space heaters all winter instead of doing the work to properly winterize their boats. There are so many potential problems with that.

If you winterize your boat you cannot take it out for a sail without having to redo the engine winterization.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Rohan

It's just me, but I couldn't imagine running a/c all the time while away from the boat. Forget the environmental concerns for a moment, forget about the danger of flooding. Isn't that putting a hell of a lot of unnecessary wear and tear on your a/c system?? And that a marine a/c system especially isn't cheap to replace. If you are worried about mold, use a dehumidifier. But even in hot environments, if you keep the shades closed it won't get too bad inside.

The flip side of this are people who run space heaters all winter instead of doing the work to properly winterize their boats. There are so many potential problems with that.

It's a mixed bag. A dehumidifier will use a bit less power, but it's another piece of hardware to have on board. And in 95 degree weather and strong sun, it'll easily hit 100+ degrees in the cabin in the afternoon (plenty of windows and most of the cabin is above waterline, so the cooler water doesn't do much to keep things cool). That kind of temperature has its concerns as far as shorter shelf life for any foods in the cabinets when I'm away for a few days, etc. Plus at that temperature, the fridge is running flat out and struggling to keep up, which is more wear on the fridge.

So generally I leave just the A/C in the salon running (stateroom units off) with the temperature turned up. It runs enough to manage humidity, but it also keeps it from getting hot enough to hurt anything (80 - 85 degrees in the salon and a bit hotter in the staterooms isn't a problem, but 110 degrees is).

Now, if I were leaving the boat for a significant period of time, I'd plan to turn off the fridge, remove anything heat sensitive (handheld VHF batteries, etc.) and not worry as much about it. But when the boat is in its home slip, it's rarely unattended for more than 2 - 3 days, and it's used frequently, so keeping things a bit more ready to go makes sense.

Realistically, we're on the boat in some capacity probably 5 - 6 days a week for most of the summer, so the A/C isn't on all the time by any means. Unless I'm in the cabin and it's unpleasantly hot and humid, the A/C is typically off and windows opened up for ventilation while we're aboard. But when I'm not there, I can't just leave things open, so unless I add remote temperature monitoring and then plan to drive to the boat whenever it starts to get concerningly hot inside, leaving the A/C on seems like a better compromise.

[zstine]

Originally Posted by Panacea2183

Guess you don’t live in Florida.
Ever try to get mold out of your boat after no A/C?
Yes we live in a world where we are addicted to many things.
I for one run my A/C 24/7 at my dock. Pristine interior no mold or foul smells.
Would you not run the A/C in your house? When your gone?
Turn up the temp still removes humidity.
Safe travels and stay well!

I lived on my boat for several months in FL... No A/C and no mold. You just need good ventilation... And that doesn't hurt anyone!

[zstine]

Not only running A/C a potential to sink your boat, it is socially irresponsible. Depending on who you get info from, 10 to 100 million people lost their home to climate change in 2020, including over 1 million Americans! Culture change is needed... wish they taught social responsibility in schools here in aMerica.