New A/C & Reverse Cycle unit project.

/ shellerina
Old unit.
Details of old unit. A very common A/C reverse cycle unit in most manufactured boats / yachts for decades. (Now owned by Dometic.)
Failed circuit board.
Old unit disconnected. Electrical wiring is visible on the right. Power to unit + power to the seawater pump breaker. The low voltage wire harness hanging on the right is for the boat’s stereo system. New touch/control unit hangs from the wall at left.
One hose is seawater “IN”… one is seawater “OUT”… third is a drain hose for the FRP condensate tray on the bottom of the unit. Insulated duct is also visible in this pic. The gray flat wire goes to the wall control panel / thermostat, which also gets upgraded for this project… for newer firmware to support new features.
Same boards and many of the same components as new Dometic units.
New unit. CTM 16,000 btu from Citimarinestore.com before being plumbed and wired up aft of the salon.

It is more “FUN” putting in the new unit compared to pulling the 24 year old unit out.

New unit installed, plumbed-up, duct work done, electrical connections made. Everything tests perfectly!

Tomorrow, I must finish mounting the electrical box, and A/C unit to the deck, and finish the enclosure. It appears that the same plywood panel covering this enclosure will be able to be used.

No major changes to plumbing or electrical was necessary.

Doing this project myself, with the alternative brand new unit came in at about $2500, much less than the $5800 quote to have it done by others. Admittedly, getting the old unit OUT was more work than getting the new unit IN!

Seems strange to be putting so much work into an A/C project when tonight’s outside temp is 47°F !!! LOL

But the reverse cycle means it can heat as well.

Testing concludes that reverse cycle HEAT mode works well, and [very] accurately follows thermostat set points. However small 1500 watt space heaters are much more efficient and much less noisy!

Florida is certain to give us plenty of chances to test the A/C mode, even in late November.

A good and successful project!

Special thanks go out to:

Woody Sherrod, MTOA member. He generously provided very valuable advice and technical assistance over the phone!

Thanks also to Gene Rutkowski of Galene for referring me to Woody.

Finally, my great vendor recommended by Woody;

https://citimarinestore.com/en/. Their customer service is great.

Addendum Nov 26

The red “up” button on the new wall mounted control unit has gone “soft” and unreliable.

So a new wall unit is expected tomorrow Wed 11/27/2024.

We may likely opt for the sexy touch screen WiFi capable control unit on “Black Friday” when the price comes down.

In any case, this 16k BTU a/c unit is delivering great a/c and heat with less vibration and noise as the compressor cycles on and off.

Very happy. Citimarinestore.com has provided great customer service as we work through the issues.

WiFi APP on my smart phone gives me control over the unit.

Only works if you have a WiFi network on your vessel.

Wall mounted control panel.
Uses the same RJ-45 cable that was in place before.

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