Cutwater Air Conditioner; removing air bubbles in pump

[afjag]

I recently purchased a 2012 C-26 and brought it home for over a month before putting it on the water. When I started the A/C no water was coming out although the pump was working. Tried opening the intake sea strainer to release the air but to no avail. Looked on line and found a sailboat owner who had a similar issue. He suggested to push water thru the discharge hose outlet on the port side because in these cases the air on the outlet side of the pump will block the water from going thru. I tried that and it work almost immediately. First I move the boat so I could easily reach the port side outlet from the dock. I put the garden hose in the outlet and let it run for a few minutes. I then started the A/C and the water started to flow right away. Lesson learned; close your intake seacock before taking the boat out of the water. Hope this helps. afjag; Go Air Force!

 

[markkiefaber]

That is SOOO helpful. I keep my (new to me) C28 on a lift so this would happen every time I used the boat in the summer. Now all have to do is remember to close the seacock at the end of a trip. Got a solution for that?

Mark

 

[Matty]

Depending on where your seacocks are they can be difficult to open and close. There are a number of wrenches and extensions that can be found through an internet search.

 

[PanaSeaAh]

Have the same issue with my '09 RT. Solve it the same way (with the hose), or by starting and stopping the AC pump numerous times, IF I FORGET to close seacock before loading on the trailer 🙁 . To be sure to remember seacocks, I have made a tag about 2" square that has the word "SEACOCKS" on it in bright red. When loading, after I close the valves, I hang it on a small cup-hook that puts it right over the ignition key. When launching, I open valves and move it to a similar hook on the dash. An alternative is to put such a tag on each of your ignition keys. If you trailer or lift, not closing the valves coming out can be a pain. I am motivated remembering there are things you may forget or get out of order when launching, but few as potentially expensive as forgetting to open the seacocks.

 

[BB marine]

The reason for this issue is the installation. The water pump is not self priming. The manufacture Dometic requires the pump installation below the water line. The reason for this is to eliminate air being trapped in the line while cruising or during commissioning the unit after a haul out. Fluid motion installs the pumps above the water line which causes issues while using the air unit during high speed cruising or after a haul out. One fix is to close your seacock before lifting the boat out of the water. I prefer not to do this especially in salt water applications because I don't want sea water laying in the system for any length of time while not in use. I keep the seacock open and let the water drain out and periodically flush with fresh water. When I launch the boat I have a small cup that I fill with water. I remove the lid to the stainer, inspect for debris, clean if needed, and pour the cup of water into the stainer and turn the air unit on. System primed and operating until the next haul out or flushing of fresh water. I flush the system with fresh water any time the boat will be sitting for a while and not used. I do the same to the raw water engine cooling and raw water wash down system.