I have a 1988 Chris-Craft 422 Commander.
the birth with the bunk beds air conditioning the fan blows but it's not cold air so I'm assuming and hoping it's just low on freon.
not sure where the unit is at and what's involved with adding freon to the system as far as tools or any other information needed to see if that was the problem and I now have cold air. hoping this is fairly easy versus one of those fixes that have fun doing that.
any information is greatly appreciated.
Kent
also is there a certain type of freon that I should get as well as a certain amount of pounds that would be sufficient to get it going again
Kent
Kent, I wish I had good news for you. This issue is a little tricky. Could it be low freon? Yes it could be. The issue is, where did that freon go??? These are closed systems and in theory they do not leak. Leak is the problem. If you are low, it got out somewhere either from a broken line or leaking fitting.
Firs things first:
Find the unit. it is probably a split system and the compressor unit is somewhere in the bilge while the evaporator is in the area to be cooled. The compressor unit supplies the freon to the evaporator and air rushes over it taking the heat away.. See if the compressor is actually coming on. You will need to be near the compressor when someone turns the unit on. You will hear it if it starts. If it does not start, you may have a start capacitor bad or even the thermostat is not telling it to start. Also look for a breaker on the unit that may need to be reset. One of my units has one that trips from a high temp condition caused by lack of water flow.
Is it pumping water? with out water these systems will only run for about 1 minute max and then shut the compressor off as a safety measure. The fan however will keep running. If it is not pumping water you have a pump, supply(check your sea cock and strainer) or relay issue.
Those are the easy ones. The pressure/freon one is more difficult. There are two ports on your unit. They look like bicycle tube fittings. They are called Schrader valves. In order to charge the system properly you need gauges. High side and low side. This is best left to a registered AC tech. If you know what you are doing, it can be done but you definitely need prior knowledge or someone with you who has AC experience.
The other issue you may run into is that our older boats systems are R22. R22 is no longer sold and the techs that do have it are commanding a pretty high price and selling by the ounce. In some cases, people are just choosing to replace the system.
I am sorry for the long explanation, but it is a somewhat complicated issue. If you can get away with the first two you are golden. Bets of luck and let us know.
Scott
Scott
thank you so much for the detailed and very clearly explained
issues that could be going on.
after reading what you wrote it made it real easy to realize I just need to call an air condition technician
I'm more of a Hatteras person but I picked this 422 Commander up through a deal and we've reconditioned it and it almost looks like a Showboat now
after going through what we went through on this boat I understand
why the classic Chris crafts are so popular as the quality of workmanship and materials they use are second to nothing.
I have the tournament Edition 422 and really like the classic lines on this boat.
but again thank you for your reply and it gives me the information I need to get some cold air going
Kent
I had a problem with cooling on my 1973 410 Commander. I troubleshot it to the thermostat not calling for cooling. I went to the trouble of buying anew old stock original thermostat and installed it. Got the same problem with the new one. Turns out there is a potentiometer screw adjustment on the rear of the thermostat that instructions say don't touch. I turned it a little and the compressor kicked on. rs worked for several years. If you try it it might work. If you want a replacement you can look or one. I do have one. I bought two.
John Brock
1973 410