A/C flush?

[furball]

I had an error code come up yesterday on the A/C unit, high pressure fault. Did some checking on the web and talked to a couple of people today and the next step seems to be flushing the seawater side with muriatic acid to remove potential buildup and improve heat transfer. Just wanted to see if anyone has done this before? I can't decide if I want to connect at the A/C unit in the cabin or back at the pump/hose connection. The thought of spilling acid in the cabin, not fun.
I'm wondering if there is anything milder that would still work? Any other ideas for cleaning out the sea water side?
Thanks,
John

[RobS]

Here is my post on Rydlyme flushing the raw water side of the engine.
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2054&hilit=rydlyme

You could easily rig up some adapters and hoses and run this stuff through the seawater loop of your a/c. You would have to reclaim the solution and recirculate it, so you would have to setup a return hose on the discharge as well as the supply hose so you can recirculate the product, not just shoot it overboard. If you want to setup your recirculation loop in the cabin I would just take the cushions out and open the windows and hatches. This product is safe for fiberglass and painted surfaces.

Here is the link to rydlyme marine
http://www.rydlymemarine.com/applications.html

[Jack28]

Talk to Steve at Marine a/c dot com if you can not find the problem he knows it all and will post on his fourm quickly had the same problem and just unpluged and repluged some wires and all set. JACK

[jointventure]

What A/C unit do you have? Mine is an Ocean Marine (no longer in business)). I have occasionly had a high pressure fault indication and found it to be a function of the sea water pump (a misnomer as it only circulates from the thru hull inlet , it cannot build a head of pressure). The pump developes an air lock or looses prime - which I clear by removing the inlet hose,insert funnel and fill with water.

[RobS]

John, I assume you verified that water is pumping through the system?
Over time marine growth can coat the inside of those condenser coils with algae and calcium, which reduces the effectiveness of the heat transfer. You can't go wrong with flushing it.

[furball]

Thanks guys,
I seem to have good water flow but I'm going under this weekend to check the thru-hull to be sure it's clear. Stainer looks clear but I haven't opened it because I snapped off two ears with the spanner wrench I'll have a new cap tomorrow and open this weekend but the water flow out of the A/C looks as strong as ever so I don't think either is a problem. Thanks for the link to Rydlyme link. That looks like a better alternative to straight muriatic acid. I did read through a bunch of posts on marine a/c and saw a bunch on flushing but I will shot Steve a message. I have a 12K Marine Comfort Systems unit, PH series and Marine Comfort is also out of business but I think several folks sell this unit under other names. I talked to a local marine A/C guy and he said flush, if that doesn't work, call him back but if there's a chance of unplugging and re-plugging, it's worth an email.
Thanks again and I'll let you know how it turns out.
JG

[Halcyon]

There is an article in the July Motor Boating about flushing AC systems. They are discribing a system called Barnicle Buster (Trac-online.com) It uses a bucket and a pump to circulate a mild acid solution through the system. One useful tip was to compare the inlet and outlet water temps. If the difference is more than 15 degrees you may have flow issues. I bungeed a instant read thermometer on my boat hook and held it in the outlet stream, than stuck it in the sea water to campare. Good luck TD

[SeaJAlbin28]

I too have the Ocean Marine / Master system, and have gotten those high pressure fault indicators. On one occasion, I needed to replace the cacitor (the tin can shaped relay on the top of the unit)----on all other occasions it has been a blockage in the intake line, which I have been able to clear by using a bicycle pump to blow air through the line. This is the line at the top of the unit, so it is easy to access. I have also done this in a pinch just by sticking it in my mouth and blowing hard, but prefer to use a bicycle pump for obvious reasons. Have noticed this is especially a problem when in waters loaded with jellyfish!!! although I don't know what the actual source of the blockage has been.

[RobS]

There is an article in the July Motor Boating about flushing AC systems. They are discribing a system called Barnicle Buster (Trac-online.com) It uses a bucket and a pump to circulate a mild acid solution through the system. One useful tip was to compare the inlet and outlet water temps. If the difference is more than 15 degrees you may have flow issues. I bungeed a instant read thermometer on my boat hook and held it in the outlet stream, than stuck it in the sea water to campare. Good luck TD

I read that last night, here's the online version: http://www.motorboating.com/articleHtml ... 1000084039

Almost identical to my Rydlyme flush setup.

[Legacy]

If anyone has figured out how to keep jelly fish out of the A/C sea strainers let me know! PITA

[RobS]

If anyone has figured out how to keep jelly fish out of the A/C sea strainers let me know! PITA

Is you're thru-hull fitting simply a wide open hole? I used the one that supplied the head and it is a disc with a bunch of small drilled holes in it. This asks as a pre-strainer.

It's something like this...

round strainer.jpg

[SeaJAlbin28]

Mine is the cover type, with a lot of small drilled holes----the jellyfish still clog it up. In 3 years, though, I guess it is not bad....I may have done the bicycle pump thing maybe 5 times. We are going to haul the boat this fall, and I am going to carefully inspect this fitting and see what other alternatives there are. If anyone has any ideas.........

[RobS]

....I may have done the bicycle pump thing maybe 5 times. .........

Please explain..

[Legacy]

Thanks Rob. Makes sense. I'll try them when I haul again. Jellyfish so think I empty the sea strainers every day. Hope your summer is going great.
Rick

[SeaJAlbin28]

SeaJAlbin28 wrote:
....I may have done the bicycle pump thing maybe 5 times


See my post above-----I have used a bicycle pump to force air through the intake line to clear out blockages. With a little bit of duct tape to get a goood seal, I much prefer this to sticking the hose in my mouth.

P.S. In my earlier post, I replaced the "capacitor" not the cacitor.