Well I called the guy and he said that if it is low on Freon he will have to fix the leak. He told me that it is not just a good idea but he is required to by law. Being that it is R-22 I do not doubt that. I hope it can be fixed and does not cost me an arm and a legg. I think if I have to replace it i will go with the option that he talked to me about. it is a DC powered AC unit. He uses 2 Odysee batteries and said that I could get 10 hrs of run time out of those 2 batteries. That would serve me ok since I rarely stay the night on the hook. I will update you with what the outcome is once he comes out and lets me know what the damage is.

Thanks for your help. Great site.

-Ray

Post edited 2:14 pm – May 22, 2009 by Steve Pooler

Sorry for the late reply & bad news Ray…I've been kinda busy here.

Yes…You should be able to replace the unit yourself…but depending on what you buy/find there may be some wiring changes to the control…Your's has a plug that likely will not plug into whatever you buy…Unless it's another Zepher…

Did your tech give you any indication of what he thought may have made the compressor fail ?

As I stated in another post…It is kinda hard to tell without a running compressor to determine what made it go bad, but a trained guy might see something like ductwork restrictions or pump plumbing problems…We don't want to hook up a new (or used) unit to a problem installation without first correcting any problems…

One thing that could have caused it was…The mud thing…If I remember correctly the Zepher unit did not have a High Pressure switch (could be wrong though…I haven't seen a unit that small in a few years) to cut the compressor off when it looses water flow…But I do remember them cutting all corners to save on price for that unit…Cooling only (no reversing valve & resultingly cheaper t-stat) 2 knob control (no fan speed control)…Plus no High Pessure protection switch.

The price he gave you seems ok with me…I see there is a replacement for the Zepher called Envirocool that I was not aware of yet (Cruisair has changed the price book around this year) the ECM5KC-HV retails for $1545.00 and has the HV (high velocity) blower which should get you a bit more performance out of the same size unit…Plus it will help with any minor duct restrictions from the original installation.

It should also plug into your control…I can find that out for sure if you want but since it is a Zepher replacement unit I assume it will…It also uses the new 417A “Green Gas” refrigerant…

The DC unit…Keep in mind…That system starts at $2555.00 and it's only 3500 btu…So you loose 1500 btu…Plus need to add batteries and possibly a larger alternator/s that won't get overloaded either when keeping up with the A/C, or charging batteries back up that are really low.

Good Luck with your decision…Let me know if I can be of help…

Steve~ 

Steve,

The guy stated that the windings were burnt. He did some checks and said it was locked up. He said that in his opinion he thinks that when the strainer filled with mud it ran with out water for an extended period of time and that is what burnt the compressor. He said the same thing about the Zephyr and the lack of a saftey system to shut down the compressor when there is no water. So I guess that is the worst case for me. I am going to look on Ebay to see if I can find something cheaper that I can make work until I upgrade in a couple of years. I need something due to the fact that I have a new baby that needs to be cooled off on hot days. Even if it is a used unit that will work until I get a new boat. If you happen to run across a used unit that will work give me a shout. Or if you have an option for an inexpensive unit that would work. I need about a 5-7000 btu unit that will fit in the space that the 5000 zephyr does. I would like to find a boat that has been totaled but still has a good AC unit on it.  If not I am going to have to figure something out to keep this guy cool during the hot days of summer.

Thanks again for your help.

Ray

I think I found one. It is a Dometic MODEL CLM5KC I think it is in my price range and from what I can tell it will fit in the same space as the zephyr. I am not sure about the wireing. Any suggestions about it? I figured it would work since it is also a 2 knob controller. what do you know about this unit?

-Ray

Post edited 12:05 pm – June 4, 2009 by Steve Pooler

raymillsus said:

I think I found one. It is a Dometic MODEL CLM5KC I think it is in my price range and from what I can tell it will fit in the same space as the zephyr. I am not sure about the wireing. Any suggestions about it? I figured it would work since it is also a 2 knob controller. what do you know about this unit?

-Ray

Ray…I was just using my 16,000 as an example of used units….Really…I wasn't trying to sell it to you or anyone else…

I'm not familiar (I usually don't deal with 5000 btu stuff) with the model you mention…But as I think it may have heat also if it is the “standard” line….It also seems to be a “Marine Air” model…Not that it matters at all…Just I'm not familiar with the model…

Cruisair (in their “standard” line)  usually always went with 5 (not often) 7, 10, 12 & 16 thousand btu models.

Marine Air (in their “standard line) went with…6, 9, 12 & 16 thousand btu models.

The units offered for market at West Marine/Boat US…I never really fooled with…

Though I have worked on a bunch of each of the “standard” line…1000 btu either way as a model never really mattered much as far as making it work right….

All that said…I think you may be considering a unit that has “Reverse Cycle” and is a “Heat Pump”….If so…That's All Good because it is a unit that is not in the “Bargain” line  and may have the protection that the Zepher did not….

You might also ask if it has a High Pressure cut off switch….That's likely what happened to your Zepher with the mud thing….It kept running with no water flow, and you had no way of knowing that…If it had had the switch…It either would have been cycling on & off enough for you to think something is wrong…Or…It would have tripped the breaker if the breaker was sized correctly.

Another thing or two…Please be sure to look for black, or dark spots at any solder joints (places that look like tubing is joined together) go for it if all seems good….But If it looks like the unit was re-painted…be apprehensive and ask about it…No foul…if the seller is honest he will tell you it was low on freon and he fixed a leak….Again no foul…But you always need to wonder how long it ran low…

Steve~