[novacancy]

When I'm not using my 2013 3600 Coronet, should I keep the a/c on or just the dehumidifier mode in the lower cabin? Thanks for any advice.

[DavidB]

I keep my boat in Islamorada and leave the A/C on set to 78 to 80 degrees when I am not there. I don't feel the dehumidify cycle is really good enough for the heat and humidity of South Florida. I shopped last year for my boat and saw a vast difference in those boats when the a/c was left on vs off. I saw boats with mildew and rust from the heat and humidity. Plus if the interior structure stays hot, it really takes a while for the a/c to be effective once you get to the boat. You spent good money for the boat, a/c is cheap.

[trit21]

I agree with David but then again, it really is going to depend on your area. My boat is in Ft Pierce FL and we leave the AC the entire year except maybe for a month or 2 when it is 'cold' below 70, and we then turn the dehumid mode on for those 2 months. You are in Ft Lauderdale I assume from your signature, just make sure you check your strainer every couple of weeks for build up. Replace the water supply and exit lines, thru hull to strainer, strainer to pump, pump to ac and finally ac to output on side of boat. New hose will let you sleep at night when you are away from the boat.

Tom

[Chris Burkard]

There is no issue with leaving the Air-Conditioning running all the time as long as there is someone there to check on the boat on a regular basis. I would also make sure that you have high water bilge alarm. If you do not, have one installed. If there is no one to check on the boat for more than 24 hours, I would not run the Air-Conditioner. If a raw water cooling line were to spring a leak, it could easily sink the boat. The 110V Air-conditioning pump most likely can overwhelm the 12V DC bilge pumps after a while.

Running the Air-Conditioning keeps the cooling pump running for much longer and this is going to require that the sea-strainer be cleaned more often and most likely you are going to have to clean the raw water cooling lines at least yearly. Using the Dehumidify mode drops the water pump usage to something like 20%, but as mentioned above, it does not actually cool the cabin. What it does is it turns on and drops the temperature 2 degrees and shuts off on a schedule. You can ready your Air-Conditioning manual to figure it out. Some actually have different schedules you can set - HU1; HU2; HU3. You still have to clean the strainer, just not as often.

[trit21]

There is no issue with leaving the Air-Conditioning running all the time as long as there is someone there to check on the boat on a regular basis. I would also make sure that you have high water bilge alarm. If you do not, have one installed. If there is no one to check on the boat for more than 24 hours, I would not run the Air-Conditioner. If a raw water cooling line were to spring a leak, it could easily sink the boat. The 110V Air-conditioning pump most likely can overwhelm the 12V DC bilge pumps after a while.

Running the Air-Conditioning keeps the cooling pump running for much longer and this is going to require that the sea-strainer be cleaned more often and most likely you are going to have to clean the raw water cooling lines at least yearly. Using the Dehumidify mode drops the water pump usage to something like 20%, but as mentioned above, it does not actually cool the cabin. What it does is it turns on and drops the temperature 2 degrees and shuts off on a schedule. You can ready your Air-Conditioning manual to figure it out. Some actually have different schedules you can set - HU1; HU2; HU3. You still have to clean the strainer, just not as often.

Check your AC pump but on my boat the AC pump is 500 GPH, while my bilge pumps are 2000GPH mid, 2000 GPH aft, and a 500 GPH in the forward section. SO, even if the line was to break and the AC pump could flow into the bilge, the first mid bilge pump will more than take care of the influx of water, along with my aft most pump at another 2000 GPH, should not be a problem. I also leave the battery charger on all the time so the batts will be charged. So I would check the ratings to make sure you are protected at least in the this scenario. 

[Chris Burkard]

There is no issue with leaving the Air-Conditioning running all the time as long as there is someone there to check on the boat on a regular basis. I would also make sure that you have high water bilge alarm. If you do not, have one installed. If there is no one to check on the boat for more than 24 hours, I would not run the Air-Conditioner. If a raw water cooling line were to spring a leak, it could easily sink the boat. The 110V Air-conditioning pump most likely can overwhelm the 12V DC bilge pumps after a while.

Running the Air-Conditioning keeps the cooling pump running for much longer and this is going to require that the sea-strainer be cleaned more often and most likely you are going to have to clean the raw water cooling lines at least yearly. Using the Dehumidify mode drops the water pump usage to something like 20%, but as mentioned above, it does not actually cool the cabin. What it does is it turns on and drops the temperature 2 degrees and shuts off on a schedule. You can ready your Air-Conditioning manual to figure it out. Some actually have different schedules you can set - HU1; HU2; HU3. You still have to clean the strainer, just not as often.

Check your AC pump but on my boat the AC pump is 500 GPH, while my bilge pumps are 2000GPH mid, 2000 GPH aft, and a 500 GPH in the forward section. SO, even if the line was to break and the AC pump could flow into the bilge, the first mid bilge pump will more than take care of the influx of water, along with my aft most pump at another 2000 GPH, should not be a problem. I also leave the battery charger on all the time so the batts will be charged. So I would check the ratings to make sure you are protected at least in the this scenario. 

The only issue there is the bilge pumps require batteries to keep operating. Once your batteries run down (faulty charger, or the battery charger breaker trips), your Air-conditioning pump will continue to run as long as the boat has 110V. I personally don't like the idea of a 110V pump running when there is nobody checking on it. If the boat is in a marina with a dockmaster, then you should be just fine. I still like the idea of a high water alarm to alert everyone if there is a problem.