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AC Installation on PSC 31

4K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  jubliado61 
#1 ·
I am entertaining having a reverse air system installed on my 1989 PSC 31. A couple of questions: 1. for those of you that have one where is your raw water intake, is it T ed off the engine intake or does it have its on thru hull? 2. is the system placed under the galley drawers under the chopping block? 3. WHere is the discharge thru hull located? 4. How many BTUs?
The 90 plus weather here is St. Augustine has me thinking about this.

The Island Lady #56 PSC 31
 
#2 · (Edited)
McGray--

We have a 1996 era KingAir 16,000 BTU A/C unit aboard our 1986 Beneteau First 42. The unit is mounted amidships, in the main salon, under a seatee return. We do not have ducting. The exhaust fan blows cool air through a wedge shaped vent near deck level and fans blow the cooled air into the fore- and port quarter cabins. For our boat, in the Tampa Bay area, 16,000 Btu's makes the boat as "cold as a meat locker", even in the Summer, according to my [much] better half. Our raw water intake is a dedicated through-hull below the sink in the galley that feeds a 500 +/- gph air-cooled March pump through a Groco raw water strainer with the discharge in the transome about a foot above the waterline. We also have a Mermaid "Condensator" to extract and discharge condensate into the raw-water discharge line but it works only intermittently and I would not make an investment in one again.

On your yacht I suspect that a 9,000-10,000 BTU unit would be quite adaquate. We dispensed with the duct-work as we have more important things to store in the backs of our lockers and I suspect you may as well.

Good luck!

s/v HyLyte

PS: Our unit is a reverse cycle system and in winter here in Florida, it WILL drive you out of the yacht, even in 30 deg. weather. While I dislike the people at KingAir somewhat, the equipment is first rate if you're trying to decide on the equipment.
 
#3 ·
AC installation

Hello, McGray;

I looked at a 1989 PS31 a few years ago that had A/C installed but I don't remember the brand. The unit was installed in the locker aft of the head and accessed through the wooden louvered door above and behind the toilet. The cooling water was in fact t-ed off of the engine raw water intake and the discharge was stbd abeam the unit just above the boot stripe. The cool air outlet was on the shelf over the cabinet located between the chart table and the head. The outlet itself was a wooden box about 10" x 10" x 10" with metal louvers. A very nice installation and it cooled the cabin down in minutes.

Bill Arkins
 
#4 ·
I have a PSC 31 but no A/C but always some opinions...

I didn't like the idea of Tee-ing off engine thru hull so I added a new one under the sink. My aft berth is essentially a garage and that's where I'd put it if I could - perhaps in that stern locker on port side if I needed the berth.

There's too much weight already on the starboard side.
 
#5 ·
We have PSC 31 #26 in Daytona Beach, recently moved from Texas. Our A/c system compressor is installed on starboard side of the aft lazarette. The air handler is in the locker next to the chart table. One vent in main salon and one in head. No problem keeping cool in summer and warm in winter.

There isa separate thru hull with strainer in area near raw water intake. The exit is on starboard side well above waterline near the compressor.

Our boat " Patty Ann" is not far from yours in S/A. Let me know if you want any further info since we are nearly neighbors.
 
#6 ·
The previous owner of our PSC 31 had a Marine Air 16000 BTU reverse cycle unit installed.The raw water intake is just aft of the engine intake and also serves the washdown pump. The system is installed in the wet locker aft of the head. The discharge thruhull is in the same locker between the electric bilge pump thruhull and the propane locker drain thruhull.
I always considered AC on a boat to be a luxury, but have been converted.:)
Good luck!
Bernd
PSC 31 #83
 
#8 ·
I can answer that as it is Asylum. The air intake is on the stbd bulkhead of the aft berth. The discharge is a duct that runsoutbd the head into the hanging locker fwd of the head. Then a grill was installed on the top of that and blows out into the main cabin. It puts out more than enough air to cool the whole boat. A wood elongated box was installed in the cabin hanging locker to act as the duct and it did remove some of the locker capacity, but only inboard. The outbd portion of the locker was unaffected. This was a factory install and nicely done.
Larry
 
#12 ·
I think Larry is right on that. When installing our cabin heater, I ran the propane line back through there and it seemed to me there was a fair bit of dead space outboard/under the drawers and under the counter behind the sink. I think it would be feasible to put a flexible duct through there.

P.S. A prior post indicated it was a 16000 btu unit.
 
#13 ·
Mine was a Marine Air 16,0000. Nice unit all self contained. The seawater pump was mounted on the floor of the wet locker. There was a problem with those pumps, intenal leakage and failure, about 10 years ago. However, the replacement was still going strong when I sold the boat.
Larry
 
#16 ·
Thanks for your input

As usual this group as been very helpful. I think I will go with a dedicated thru hull located near the exisitng main raw water intake for the engine, place the unit in the wet locker behind the head, discharge to starboard out of that locker. There is plenty of room for duct work thru the bottom of the head cabinet and to an output around the hanging locker.

The yard here quoated a price of 7400 for the install and a Dometic Cruisair 12K BTU, but I think i can go chepaer than that with local talent and getting a less expensive unit.

Where is Patty Ann in Daytona?
 
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