7/1/15
Southport NC
Posted by Bill

Last week, Tricia was making some Mexican for dinner, and upon reaching in to the canned goods storage below the larger air conditioning unit, found around a gallon of water…ugh! So I pull all of the canned goods out of the storage locker and pump out the water. Next, I start to troubleshoot the source. Turns out, the condensation tray was overflowing into the locker (and had been for quite some time).

The air conditioners require water from outside the boat. Heat is transferred to this water and it is flushed overboard. Through the process, condensation forms on the cooling coils and falls into a tray to accumulate. In our installation, we have a valve called a condensator, that is installed in-line with the water lines that lead overboard. It uses the water flow to create a vacuum that sucks the water out of the condensation tray. This was the culprit…the lack of suck from the condensator. After further troubleshooting, I uninstalled the condensator and found a tiny piece of shell that was lodged inside, reducing the flow and the effectiveness of the condensator. 4 hours later, everything was back in service, and needless to say the condensator “sucks” (pun intended).

Here is a picture of the air conditioner…note the condensation tray and drain tube:

The copper fitting in line with the hose is the condensator:

Let me take this opportunity to whine about how much I hate hoses! The are never easy to get to which makes it nearly impossible to get enough leverage to pull them off of the hose fittings. Hose projects always involve sore ribs, black and blue marks, and cuts (not to mention frequent swearing!). FYI…heat them with a hair dryer. They are much easier to put on and get off.