Air Cond. / Heater Maintenance?

[Boont Boater]

Our 2010 Ranger 29 came with the Dual zone Air conditioning/ Reverse cycle heater. Maybe not what I would have ordered if I had set the boat up new but some day out in the Sacramento Delta I might be very happy to have it.

I've been working my way through the different systems and now I'm trying to understand this. Does "dual zone" mean that there are two separate units on the boat? There are two separate sets of controls. I found that the main saloon system seems to work well but the berth system doesn't seem to do much. I think there is a pump by the sea strainer and inlet valve but I know that there is something up at the head of the "cave". I suspect that there is one or two impellers that need to be changed and possbly more to get the berth system going. I did have a problem with an air lock after we moved the boat but I cracked open the filter and it started pumping.

I don't see any good literature on this that came with the boat and my Tugnut searches haven't been particularly successful. I certainly could call Ranger but I thought that one of you wise and experienced tugnutters :ugeek: could start to fill me in.

Pump location and ease of impeller change would be a great start.

Thanks in advance, Jeff

 

[knotflying]

There are two separate systems. When you turn on the system that seems to not be working do you get an error code on the thermostat? Sometimes the intake needs to be primed in order to get the pump to pump water, which you seemed to have done. Have you checked the sea strainer for that A/C to make sure it is not plugged? Can you hear the pump pumping yet no water coming out of the thru hull? That could mean no prime or bad impeller for the pump. You may also be low on coolant gas and need that to be checked and possibly topped off.
So there are several things that can be the cause of no cooling and you will need to narrow it down to the specific problem. OR, you can see if there is a local tech available to do the troubleshooting and fix for you. What is the brand of A/C? If it is Dometic they are pretty good with service.
I know I gave more questions than answers, but hopefully it helps to eliminate what isn't wrong.

Let us know how things progress.

 

[Irish Mist]

It may be as simple as something in front of the air intake or the outlet behind the bed partly covered ? As well I would check under the bed that a vent hose is not flattened out from some work being done.. I always hope for easy fixes..
I know on mine 2011 they both cool about the same although the one in the bedroom is a smaller unit but smaller space
Good luck

 

[jroyle]

I had the same problem(vberth a/c not cooling) when I got the boat delivered. It trurns out the grate covering the outlet(head of vberth bed) was completely shut. Just stuck my fingers thru the grate vanes and opened them up. Vberth AC and heat work great as well as the salon.

 

[Boont Boater]

Good advice on the berth system. I'll check the grate and make sure we are pumping water.

My sales description says that it is a Marvair system. Anybody tried changing the impellers on one of these? I'm not adverse to hiring someone to service them but I am trying to get a better idea what is involved. Maybe someday my wife will let me retire and I'll do all the boat repairs myself! :lol:

By the way if anybody is looking for a slip in the Bay Area, the Richmond Marina Bay marina has nice slips. Nice single slips with a concrete dock and good power/water hookups. Quiet with a green belt around it. Very different then the 70's when I worked nearby for Matson repairing cargo containers. At that time the place looked like an industrial wasteland. Go back to WWII when Henry Kaiser was building Liberty Ships here. I believe that it was then one of the biggest shipyards in the world.

 

[bbrh842]

The water pump for the AC does not have an impeller. There is nothing to change. However, no impeller means it is not self priming. If it gets air in it, it will not pump water until the air is purged. Purging the air can be done by removing the hose from the pump or sea strainer until you see water running out. Exactly what/where to remove the hose depends on how the pump was plumbed. Since the pump is installed below the water line, you would think water would be forced into it when the boat is in the water. For some reason, this does not always happen. I have a 41' trawler with 2 AC's. The pumps are right next to each other in the engine room, about a foot below the water line. After the boat is hauled, one of the pumps primes it self and works just fine. The other pump always has to be primed by disconnecting the water hose going to the A/C and applying a vacuum to draw water thru the pump. Another thing that can happen with the Ranger Tugs, is green slimey stuff can grow in the line between the pump and the A/C, clogging the line. This can happen if the A/C is not used for a long period of time. In this case, discommect the hose from the pump outlet and use a garden hose to blow the plug out of the line.

 

[Boont Boater]

Thanks for all the good advice.

Jeff

 

[knotflying]

You may also have a build up of salt scale. You can , close the seacock, open the strainer, pour undiluted Saltaway in until it exits the discharge outlet, reinstall strainer cap. Shut the A/C let it sit a couple of hours, then open the seacock and start up the A/C and let everything flush out.