New Temps in the Air; cabin air that is…
Coming upon 14 wonderful years together with today marking our 10th wedding anniversary, we followed tradition when choosing an anniversary gift. Over the years we have no longer purchased individual gifts for each other, but rather have picked out something together that follows the traditional gift suggestion list and not the modern list. According to the Internet (it must be fact) the 10 year traditional anniversary gift is tin or aluminum, so we purchased a lot of stainless, brass, aluminum and a little freon.
What we mean is we decided on a new marine air conditioning and heating system for Monomoy.
Our previous built-in unit was a 20 year old Marine Airrr (yep, that’s how they spell Air on the unit) 16k btu reverse cycle (means it cools in the summer and acts like a heat pump to warm the air in the winter) unit with a Passport IO thermostat. The unit was a workhorse and got us through the hot/humid summer at the dock, but wouldn’t run on our generator due to the amperage requirement to get the compressor running; we even tried the Supco Boost Capacitor with only a 5 amp reduction in draw (not enough).
Away from the dock we used a different configuration. Running off our Honda eu2000i generator, we started with a 5,000 btu window unit which we placed in the companionway; it just wasn’t large enough to even take the edge off of our entire cabin, so we moved it to the forward hatch and all tried to cram into Blake’s v-berth on those really hot nights, since the window unit cooled that space just fine.
We didn’t make it long on the window unit before we upgraded to a 9,000 btu portable unit. The portable unit was bulky, so we had to find a place to store it when not in use. When in use, we would put it in the salon and vent it out of the hatch above the dining table. That unit actually did well to take the edge off the heat, but it certainly didn’t cool it down to dock comfort levels. The other downside is that we had to run our generator with eco throttle off in order for it to kick over the compressor on the a/c; this was bothersome because of the increased noise level and fuel consumption.
The new unit we chose is a Mermaid Marine Air 16,500 btu reverse cycle air conditioner/heater with an FX-1 thermostat. The FX-1 is a digital thermostat designed to stagger the fan, pump and compressor start times, so that the start surge doesn’t hit all at once. While we were at it, we ordered/installed a Dometic SmartStart advertised to reduce compressor start surge by 65%. The SmartStart takes 5 to 10 starts (according to Dometic literature) for it to learn the requirements of the particular unit it is installed and to fully optimize. We optimized on shore power before the moment of truth… Our new configuration runs on our Honda eu2000i with eco throttle on!!! We’re so ready for this summer!
For those who may be reading this post and are they themselves interested in our setup (lots of forum posts of boaters trying to achieve what we finally have), then feel free to email us with any questions.
The wiring diagram’s noted wire colors for our new FX-1 control box didn’t match the actual wires used in the control box, so we had to trace the wires to determine which was which when installing the SmartStart. Dometic makes the SmartStart and FX-1 controller. A phone call to Dometic’s 800 number tech support for a little guidance was useless. After 10 minutes waiting for the next available tech support, the tech who answered said they don’t have a marine tech division, but if we had an RV they could help us all day long. They did ask what we were trying to do to see if their personal knowledge could help, but when explained, they responded that they had never even heard of the SmartStart; remember, this is Dometic’s tech support responding about a Dometic device. The tech did provide another 800 number, which we were told was to their marine sales division, but only received a fax tone when dialing that number and gave up. Had we not already purchased/received the SmartStart before calling Dometic directly, I think we would have been put off by the experience and had a change of mind on the purchase; though we are now pleased that we did make the purchase. In the end it just required a little studying of the wires and wasn’t a big deal to install the SmartStart.
We purchased our SmartStart from Mid-Atlantic Marine; their website is at www.mamtstore.com. They were prompt with processing our order and shipping the device, plus had the best price we could find anywhere online or local.
Our new unit with FX-1 shipped directly from Mermaid after being ordered through a retailer. Prior to purchase, we contacted Mermaid via email to discuss their discharge vent location, since they offer it in left, right, and top. Mermaid was prompt to reply with the exact info we needed. Mermaid also has the best warranty in the business from the research we performed prior to purchase. The retailer www.marinewholesales.com was the best price we could find after lots of Internet research; don’t expect a tracking number from them, but do expect a lead time in the 10-14 day range and to be charged straight away for the purchase.
There is very little information on the Internet regarding the SmartStart, so anyone emailing us with questions, we’ll be happy to reply with our personal experience.
