Ranger 21 EC AC install

C

Capt’nKarl

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
624
Fluid Motion Model
C-242 C
Hull Identification Number
FMLT2330I718
Non-Fluid Motion Model
Previous R-21EC
Vessel Name
DRAGONFLY
I had a plan and made it happen. Cool nights sleeping in Florida.
 
I am still struggling to get an effective A/C system. The factory system utterly failed to do the job. Would you share your experience/details with me? thanks.
 
Tugether":32i30qri said:
I am still struggling to get an effective A/C system. The factory system utterly failed to do the job. Would you share your experience/details with me? thanks.
Click to expand...

Hello Karl,

yes please share the details of your AC installation. Brand and model number/size; water pump particulars too.
Are you pleased thus far with the AC system's performance? I've wondered how well these can work in FL where the water temps are 88-89 degrees in the summer time.

Regarding the 30A shore power switch...did you install any 120VAC outlets on the boat? Or, does only the Air Conditioning run off the AC electrical system?

Thanks

dave
 
We have installed a number of 8 k btu Marine Air units with great success . That's what is required in the South with water in the 80s and even 90s to get adequate cooling on a 21 Tug . We use a Marine Air reverse cycle and one or two outlets with 5" duct. There is also no good reason to kill your storage under the stove as the unit will tuck nicely to the wall on the port side and retain almost all the use of the cabinet under the stove/sink. There is no 12V A/C that will work without massive batteries and inverter systems are very inefficient .
Marc
 
Details of A/C install on 2009 Ranger 21 EC. When we purchased our tug it came with a “factory installed” 12 Volt A/C unit. It never worked. Living in Florida I knew it would be difficult to have comfortable sleeping conditions during the summer months. We have a 12 volt fan which works great until the temperature goes above 85 degrees and the humidity is high. So after the first sleepless night sweltering in a marina I knew it was time to look into installing a new A/C unit. Fortunately, as I said, the boat already had a raw water thru-hull , strainer and thru-hull for water discharge from the A/C unit. This ultimately made the decision to install a new unit much easier as I would have been rather apprehensive to drill holes through the boat. I started gathering information about different units, spoke with several boat A/C installers about prices to have the unit professionally installed and finally made a decision. I purchased my unit from Wright Marine Air Conditioning, Inc in Riverview Fl. The owners name is Wayne and he was very helpful before and after the purchase. Here are the details of the unit.

ECD6K-HV 410A Dometic (Marine Air) 6000 Btu, 115 Volt unit. Price: $1635.00
The unit includes a Passport I/O Display Keypad with 15 feet of cable. Additionally I purchased a MARCH LC2-115 V (Sea Water Pump) 310 GPH at a cost of $259.00. Additional expenses: Marine wiring 25 ft, 12 SS hose clamps, 2 waterproof MALE wire connectors, one “Y” electrical connector, one 4 inch flexible metal duct, one 4 inch round white air grille, Vinyl/fabric ducting 10 feet ( I only used 5ft) all cost approx. $100.00. From PANELTRONICS I purchased a 9982316B AC 30 AMP DP MAIN with reverse polarity for $ 76.48. All in all the total cost was about $2300.00.

My experience: I’m comfortable performing all the routine oil , filter, belt changes and impeller changes on the boat. Changing electrical switches, hooking up a garbage deposal and other small projects around the house, no problem. The work installing this unit is fairly simple however I am NOT an electrician so if you have any questions with the wiring please consult a professional.

Here’s how I proceeded. I wanted to keep the installation process simple but as flexible as possible. We have a HONDA generator that will power the A/C unit so I wanted the flexibility to connect the unit to either shore power or the generator. Additionally the unit can be powered by an inverter if you have the battery capacity (which at this time I do not).

The first thing I had to do was get shore power into the cabin. I used the battery cable from the old unit in the back compartment and taped the electrical cable to it and pulled everything through to the cabin. I made sure I had enough cable to run the entire length under the cabinet on the port side and then around to the wall under the sink. Once the cable was pulled I used the “Y” connector. I cut off the MALE end of the “Y” and connected that segment to the existing power input on the boat. The two FEMALE ends of the “Y” connector were left intact. The wire from the battery charger was connected to a waterproof MALE connector. The end of the electrical cable running into the cabin was also connected to a waterproof MALE connector. This gives me the flexibility to use either FEMALE “Y” connections for any device or generator. After running the wire I had to decide on how to position the A/C unit. This new unit is about the same size as the previous unit but I did not like the way the air was discharged from the 12 V unit. I wanted to make sure the sleeping area was cooled. I positioned the unit with the filter facing the cabinet opening so the air discharge, the water intake and output are all facing the port side. Once I was happy with the position I attached the base plate to the floor using the clamps provided. Next, running the duct work. I wanted the sleeping area to be the main area to be cooled. There is a cup holder on the port side of the cabin. I removed the cup holder and enlarged the hole to 4 inches to accommodate the round discharge grille. I used a flexible duct joint I purchases at Lowes and connected the ducting from the A/C unit to the grille. The thru-hull and strainer were already in place. The raw water pump was placed inside the port cabinet. The mounting plate of the pump has no cushion and I was concerned about vibration so I placed some foam material under the pump and secured it to the floor. Running the hoses was simple. Attach to the thru-hull to the pump then out of the pump to the A/C intake. Another hose from the A/C discharge to the existing thru-hull and done. I had to make one other modification for the main breaker. I wanted to use the old site of the thermostat to mount the breaker but didn’t have enough room for the duct work and the breaker. I moved the audio input device from the old site and put it where the thermostat used to be. I cut the starboard at the site of the audio input to fit the main breaker (see picture). Wiring was pretty simple. Connect black to black, white to white, green to ground. The A/C unit has a main electronic box I mounted on the wall under the sink. The thermostat plugs in like a telephone. I removed the vanes from the old A/C air discharge and put the new thermostat there. Looks fantastic I think!. All connected and ready to try. First time out? FANTASTIC!! Worked like a charm. Going out again next weekend when the water temperature is higher to see how the unit works. Please let me know if anyone has any questions.

Cheers,

Karl
 
Thanks Karl!

It's GREAT to have details like that.

Does the March raw water AC pump self prime?

Do you think the AC unit would fit into the PORT wall cabinet..like where the raw water pump is located?

Did you need to run a drain from the pan the AC unit sits in? If so, where did you run it?

Thanks again,

dave
 
Dave,

The MARCH sea water pump is NOT self-priming. You must have the pump ABOVE the raw water intake. The A/C base unit has "knock-out" plugs to connect a hose to drain the condensate. I used the exiting drain that goes into the bilge and have not had any issues so far. The unit I have would NOT fit under the port cabinet. I don't know how a 8K Btu unit would fit there either. The unit I have has one of the smallest footprints available. On our last outing I had the cabin temperature down to 68 degrees. The water temperature was about 80 at that time. We plan on going out again soon. It will be interesting to see how the unit will perform now that the water temperature is in the mid-80's.

Let me know if you need any additional info.

Cheers!

Karl
 
We are still struggling with this but here is what we have already found. The factory inverter and A/C unit were insufficient. We put in a higher capacity inverter and a higher capacity A/C. We also put in a better water pump. Two problems remain 1) we probably should have used a still stronger A/C but are now adding heat reflecting film and that should do it for capacity. and: 2) When the boat is put up on our lift the water line lost its prime every time. We tried a simple fix by adding a backflow preventer and that solved most of the problem. What remained was that if we forgot to turn the A/C off before lifting, even if it was for a second or two, the A/C sucked the input dry and the prime was lost again. We are awaiting the arrival of an appropriate self-priming pump. An appropriate capacity 110v self-priming pump that can handle salt water was hard to find but e-bay came through. If it works I'll post brand, etc.
 
Tugether":31a9t9gf said:
We are still struggling with this but here is what we have already found. The factory inverter and A/C unit were insufficient. We put in a higher capacity inverter and a higher capacity A/C. We also put in a better water pump. Two problems remain 1) we probably should have used a still stronger A/C but are now adding heat reflecting film and that should do it for capacity. and: 2) When the boat is put up on our lift the water line lost its prime every time. We tried a simple fix by adding a backflow preventer and that solved most of the problem. What remained was that if we forgot to turn the A/C off before lifting, even if it was for a second or two, the A/C sucked the input dry and the prime was lost again. We are awaiting the arrival of an appropriate self-priming pump. An appropriate capacity 110v self-priming pump that can handle salt water was hard to find but e-bay came through. If it works I'll post brand, etc.
Click to expand...

Hello Tug,

I'm glad you're getting things sorted out.

What make and capacity (how many BTU?) unit is your AC?

Are you running a 120VAC AC system off a DC to AC inverter? What wattage inverter did you upgrade to? Where is the inverter mounted? Were are the batteries it is connected to? And what does that battery bank consist of (like (2) 6V Golf cart batteries, (2) group 31 AGM, etc)?

Thanks!

dave
 
Finman1. Here’s the original post.
Karl
 
Thank you CaptnKarl for your post! P. Gilhooly-CC Tex
 
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