r25 air conditioner

[starr]

92 degrees on lake champlain yesterday and noted that the out vent of air on the ac unit isn t lined up with the vent on the boat at all. in fact, most of the air shoots down and out the door vent. anyone have any comments? starr

 

[commander bill]

Yea, a poor design previously notoiced by many of us. I think someone had previously mentioned using duct tape or some other material to "build" better ductwork. A significant amount of the cool air output bypasses back to intake of AC unit. That said this unit is sized larger than expected. I have seen 36 ft GB trawlers with same single unit. My use is limited to "marginal" days or evenings when heat load is lower so I have never had an issue with cooling capacity.

 

[bbrh842]

I cut a thin strip of wood the right size to cover up the hole, and stuck some foam tape on one side. Then I used binder clips to attach it to the flanges on the blower outlet. Quicker and easier, as mentioned by previous person, just stick some duct tape over it.

 

[bbrh842]

I forgot to mention.
Older R-25's such as my 2007 model have a 12,000 BTU A.C.
About 5 minutes after Ranger built my boat, they begain installing 16,000 BTU A.C.
The 12,000 BTU unit will not cool the boat on a 92 degree day.
Other folks with the larger unit report good results.

Duct tape will not solve the problem caused by the unit being too small.
If you install larger unit youself, problem can be solved for about $2,000.00
I installed solar screens on all the windows, which was cheap, and helped a little.

 

[commander bill]

I do not know when the change from 12K BTU to 16K BTU occurred but My boat is an early 2008 (hull #67) and I have the larger 16K AC. My wife bought a couple of these fold out insulated foil car windshield things. The find that you fold out over car dash when leaving car parked in the sun. She cut out sections the correct size and stiched small borders around them (Cost<$10). I can place the sections over the hatch screens and it greatly reduces the sun that comes into the boat. My main use has been limited to when we travel & I have to use an uncovered dock. They are not normally needed underway and my permanet slip is covered.