'Marine Air' A/C compressor

[Roc]

After only 6 seasons of use, the compressor on my Vector Compact is done.  Has anyone experienced this in such a short time and have they been able to salvage the unit by installing a new compressor.  The marina tells me the cost of replacing the compressor is right up there with the cost of a new unit, so might as well get the new unit, complete with warranty.  Would welcome any suggestions before I plunge into buying a new AC unit.

Thanks!!

[Jim Price]

Everybody gets different results but I have a Mermaid unit (16,500 BTU) that was installed in 1993 that has run winter and summer year round (depending on the temp)  since I bought the boat in 2001.  Keeps boat warmer and dry in winter (set about 50 degrees when not on board) and never any mildew problems in summer (set about 78 - 80 degrees).  Obviously the unit could die today but so far it has run like the Energizer Bunny - just keeps on going.   

Yes I know I am violating all the rules for continuous shore power but I am a "rocks throw" from the marina office so I feel a little better. 

[jmnpe]

Hi Roc,

One thing you may want to check that can have a negative effect on the life of your A/C compressor is the line voltage of your 120v AC power feed. If the voltage gets fairly low ( <105 v or so ) the compressor will run much hotter and will experience premature failure. The telltale signs are the normal push-on spade connectors used to connect power to the compressor unit itself: if you have been experiencing significant low line voltage, the spade terminals on the compressor will be discolored and/or charred looking. In bad cases the wire may also be discolored for an inch or so away from the rear of the terminals. Your Vector unit may be new and smart enough that it has automatic shutdown for low voltage, but units like the Mermaid units won't have such a shutdown feature.

For a couple of years on our previous C34, we were on the end of an old dock with lots of power users between us and the shore, and in the summer months it was not uncommon to have line voltage drop to 100 v or even lower when our unit kicked on. I replaced spade terminals and feed wire at the compressor twice before the whole compressor finally failed. Shortly after that we moved to a new, better wired dock and had no more problems.

I would hate to see you replace a compressor only to have it happen again.

Good luck.

John

[Roc]

As I dug into this further, I found out it was my main breaker that went bad during a lightning storm.  Power surge on the dock must have compromised it.  It still worked, but kept tripping when the AC attempted to go on.  Marina was wrong, unit was ok.

[Franky]

It is hard to say without doing some on site troubleshooting so a AC tech is going to be needed. But my best guess is that the compressor is toast and will need to be replaced. I urge you to not keep trying to reset the breaker till you determine the problem.Furnace Replacement Unless you have the equipment to diagnose the issue it will be hard to determine.