fiesta vee 270 ,does it spit water all the time when a/c is running?

maxwell

Hello,
Wife and I are new to the marina life.
new( used) boat in really good shape.
Wife freaked out and does not want to run a/c,after seeing the discharge.
Can this ever end up in the bilge on intake?
thanks.

Aqua_Aura

When the pump runs yes this is normal. It could end up in the bilge if the line was broke but the mid bilge should turn on in that instance. You should not be that concerned with this there is other things you will find that require more attention 😉

Welcome to boating. 

LaRea

Tell her not to worry.  First, if the hose breaks and the pump starts pumping water into the bilge, the AC unit will overheat and shut down in less than a minute.  Second, the bilge pump can easily keep up with that much water.

To help put her mind at ease, put a garden hose in the bilge and turn it on.  Let her see how easily the bilge pump keeps up with it.  

Welcome to the forum!

TonyG13

If the water is coming out a thru-hull fitting and pouring in the water you're floating in - you are fine.

You should explore your boat and see what each thru-hull fitting discharges. That way you will know if you have potential trouble or not.

Some are for A/C, some are for bilge, one is for the shower, etc.

For example, here is a diagram I made for my boat so I know the source of each thru-hull...

maxwell

Thanks everyone...for the help.

Folks leaving the a/c on all week with no problems(not something I would do)makes us brave  against a broken line.
Having the unit  shut down before sinking the boat, is also a plus.


Question..?
does the a/c unit  pump spit water out ,on an ongoing basis?
 when a/c is on and working..? with no breaks?
or does it cycle?

Thanks..
slept on her for the first night...it was a bit warm.

great diagram  thanks!

Aqua_Aura

There is a few settings on the AC unit for how the pump works. Generally if the AC is on the water is pumping and when it shuts off it stops pumping. You can search for the manual online and it has some good info in there on settings. 

Just because you have the AC off doesn't mean that line can't break and still let water in but as others have said the bilge would keep up with it and pump it out. Those lines are thick rubber lines with reinforcement in the rubber if I recall, such as string I guess you could say. There is no reason to sweat the night away for fear of the line breaking. If you are that concerned then you need to close all your seacock valves as that stops the water right at the source. 

LaRea

Yes, the pump does cycle on and off.  That is normal.  

You can set it so that the fan runs constantly.  I think it's more comfortable for sleeping on the boat.  On MarineAir units, you can change that setting from the keypad.  

Marine AC units have been proven for decades in many thousands of boats.  The risk is extremely low.  I regularly leave mine running unattended for a weekend.  When I go on a 10-day cruise, I run the AC any time I'm connected to shore power.  I turn mine off during the week, but that's only to avoid wasting power.  

maxwell

thanks,,you guys are a treasure.!
I sleep good tonight!
this weekend.....on the boat ,WITH...the A/C running!

whoo hoo...!

Thanks guys...
max


the little lady thanks you as well!

TonyG13

maxwell said:

the little lady thanks you as well!

BTW - She's not the little lady, you're the Captain and she's the Admiral. 

maxwell

Sometimes she feels the need to be captain.
I get  to be the.... deck hand .
I am teaching her everything about the boat,just in case that captain role,is thrust upon her.
hopefully,that will never happen.

PickleRick

A couple is always the perfect amount of crew on board. This way any time something goes wrong either of the the crew immediately knows who to put the blame on. 

J3ff

I have seen two people who leave the AC on 100% of the time at the dock, I can't imagine doing that... seems like such a crazy thing to do on boats like ours where they go without any attention for a week or more. 

aero3113

J3ff said:

I have seen two people who leave the AC on 100% of the time at the dock, I can't imagine doing that... seems like such a crazy thing to do on boats like ours where they go without any attention for a week or more. 

Totally agree, we have a couple in our marina also. I just keep some Damp Rid containers in the cabin and maintain them throughout the season.

davidbrooks

There is a guy that does that at my marina also just to control the humidity.  I just add a small dehumidifier and let it drain into the sink.  Seems like a waste and a lot of extra wear on the AC to run it for that purpose.

Liberty44140

Starting this week (now that it is warmer out) I will leave the cabin AC in de-humidify mode during the week while I am not there. This means it comes on something like every 4 hours and lowers the cabin temp around 2 degrees. Takes humidity out and keeps the cabin somewhat cooler.

J3ff

So I looked this up.. just to see if my bilge pump could keep up with the AC pump...

The current ac pump is 1200 gph ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006YGLRBA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) 

The bilge pump is 1100 gph.

That wouldn't be great. Unless somehow there's a port that would allow water to go to the rear as well.

Bought this one a few weeks ago to have it ready to go to replace the current pump when it wears out (plus the current one makes a hum I don't like).. 

https://www.marinaire.com/pump-p/mfp300kt.htm

Might have to get that swapped out sooner rather than later. 

LaRea

@J3ff you should do the experiment for all of us!  Disconnect the output hose on your AC pump, and see if the bilge pump keeps up.  

Cableguy Greg

Liberty44140 said:

Starting this week (now that it is warmer out) I will leave the cabin AC in de-humidify mode during the week while I am not there. This means it comes on something like every 4 hours and lowers the cabin temp around 2 degrees. Takes humidity out and keeps the cabin somewhat cooler.

That's what I would do when my boat was slipped. That worked out great for me. 

JonnyM

I also have a 270.  My AC circulation pump cycles off and on when the AC compressor shuts off and on when it reaches desired temp (this can be changed in the settings).  As far as the bilge discharge...  It could be the condensation from the AC unit.  For some reason Rinker ran the condensation line to the engine bilge area on these boats instead of running it to the shower sump box.