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Air Conditioning Seacock

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alaska_av8r

Contributing Member
I am installing heat/air on my

I am installing heat/air on my 29 foot cruisers. I would rather not put another hole in the hull to install a separate seacock for the water input.

Can I install a "Tee" in the line going to my head and draw water from there or will that not work......?

thanks
tim
 
"Tim, The A/C seacock on our 3

"Tim, The A/C seacock on our 34 Silverton is for a 16k btu unit and uses a flow rate of about 500 gallons /hr to cool the unit. A GUESS will be whether or not the diameter of the fitting will accomodate the need. Additionally, the location of the seacock on our boat is towards the bow. Everytime she planes, it breaks the "suction seal" and looses prime. These cooling pumps require water at the impeller and do not self prime. This season we replaced the mushroom 3/4" ID thru hull with a scoop style thru hull to provide the needed water input to the pump by the scoop action of the new fitting"
 
"Tim,
as Al stated "thes

"Tim,
as Al stated "these units do not self prime", if you get any air in the line you may or may not be able to regenerate suction. I had this problem on my 35' Silverton until the dealer installed a tee fitting for me and fixed it.

Richie"
 
"Guys, a quick question. My bo

"Guys, a quick question. My boat has an a/c unit. I winterized it, and the boat is going in the water Friday mid afternoon. Is there a certain way I need to prime the pump? or will having the seacock open just feed water to the pump therefore priming the pump and then the system? Thanks!"
 
"Ted, You may be lucky enough

"Ted, You may be lucky enough to have that actually happen . It has happened to me a few times out of 20???. TYPICALLY, you will need to draw a bit of water to the head of the pump to have it start running water thru the system.

Hey, Turn it on...if it is splashing on the outside, it is working. IF NOT, Shut it down and find a convenient place to loosen a clamp and draw some water into the pump.

The nice thing about the scoop thru hull is that slight forward movement of the vessel provides water to the pump impeller and that is it. It is like putting your flattened hand outside the car window at 50 mph and feeling the force of the air..."
 
"If the system is installed pr

"If the system is installed properly the pump will flood when the boat is splashed. Some systems, such as Richie's need a bleeder valve installed to help purge the air out.

Tim, I would definitely not tee off of a separate fitting. It will not supply enough water and it is also possible for the pump to draw water, and or air, back through the toilet when you flush it. You should install a 1" (3/4" min. w/single AC unit) thru-hull fitting with a forward facing high speed scoop connected to a basket type sea strainer."
 
"Guys thanks for the informati

"Guys thanks for the information, looks like I will install a separate seacock for it. It came with one but I haven't opened the box yet to see if it is the high speed scoop model."
 
I added a 16k BTU A/C unit and

I added a 16k BTU A/C unit and Teed off the 3/4" raw water intake for the head. It works great. There was an existing check valve in the hose to the head. Even when I am running the A/C the head flushes as usual. I replaced the round intake screen with a forward facing scoop. I mounted the A/C water pump below the waterline so it never needs priming. If your head intake seacock is an old gate valve replace it with a full bore ball valve.
 
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