Air Conditioning Blues - Part 2

When you think you have seen everything, you are in for a surprise.

Last week I was up in NC looking at boats. In the process I spent some time with Doug. Doug has many years in the boat manufacturing, refurbishing and service areas. You can read about Doug at the liveaboard boats links web site. I told him about my recent air conditioning issue and asked if he knew of anything I had forgotten.

He immediately asked if I had checked the intake hoses, upstream from the water pump. Of course I said, referring to the purging with the garden hose, but just a little debris and mud came out.

No, "Have you physically looked into the hose for blockage"? "I have seen many boats that had the hoses plugged with grass allowing just a trickle of water to flow".

Well on Saturday, I checked the hoses. I could not believe it!

The salon hose was the worst. Picture a doughnut for illustration purposes. The inside diameter of the hose is the diameter of the doughnut. The grass growing inside the hose reduced the opening to the size of the doughnut hole, roughly 1/2 the original opening. The hoses on the upstream side of the pump were clear.

As the hose was on the suction side of the pump, I needed reinforced hose for a replacement. A quick trip to West Marine and about 1/2 hour later brought water flow that was incredible. The air conditioning was cooling now much better than before.

So, adding to the earlier post about air conditioning issues, be sure to visually check your intake hoses for partial blockage if you suspect a water flow issue. Purging with the water hose will not remove the grass that may be there.

And for Doug, anyone in the eastern NC that needs some help diagnosing a problem, give Doug a call, he'll probably have the answer. If you are out of his area, call him anyway. He'll likely be glad to help a fellow boater.