[C320-list] Air Conditioning Installation Question

[Wash, Steve]

Hi Larry,

I bought a piece of 'ACX' (Good one side, rough other side, exterior
glue) at Menards.  I think it was 5/8".  Painted it white and glued it
in the bottom of the locker with 5200 adhesive.  I did this because the
unit needs to be screwed down and there are a lot of wires and hoses
running under the locker and I didn't want to risk puncturing something.
I plan to use the remaining piece of the plywood to build a shelf over
the A/C unit to both recover the space and to make a better plenum for
the air return (it draws most of the air from the aft berth but some air
is drawn from the outside because the port locker doesn't have a tight
seal).   Our A/C unit had rubber feet that are supposed to reduce the
vibration.

We mounted the strainer and pump under the aft berth (I can send you
pictures if you like).  Another 320 owner in our marina (Michigan City),
put their pump under the galley sink.  Each has its advantages ... When
it is under the aft berth it was easy to run the water line aft and over
to the port locker.  We had the discharge water exit below the swim
deck, aft.  When it is under the galley sink it is probably a little
quieter.  You will need to fish the water line under the stove area, the
aft berth and then to the port locker.  On that installation, they
discharged the water out the port side.  I will tell you that the pump
is much quieter than the A/C unit.  

You are going to hear the A/C run.  Everything is just too close.  The
good news is, of course, is that you will be much more comfortable at
the end of the day.  Ours has reverse cycle heating and it has been
great at each end of the sailing season.

BTW ... The most important tool to get for this job is a 'Step Drill'.
Look for it at www.mcmaster.com .  It is the only thing to use when
making holes in fiberglass and plastic.

We have the main discharge into the salon above the storage over the
refrigerator.  The air return is at the foot of the aft berth.  We have
a small discharge there, too.  That discharge is not ideal since some of
the discharge gets sucked back into the unit.  We just didn't want to
run a hose from there around the back to starboard side (head of the aft
berth).  We did not run a discharge to the V-berth.  The salon and
v-berth are comfortable without it.

It took 2 of us about 2 days to do the job.  There was a lot of thinking
and wondering time because we wanted to be careful not to put a hole in
the wrong place. Cutting the fiberglass for the grills was tedious and
messy.  Don't rush this part because the fiberglass will chip.  I did a
lot of the cutting by hand because the sawsall was so rough.

I hope this helps.

Steve

Hull 1029


-----Original Message-----
From: c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com
[mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Larry &
Melissa
Sent: Friday, October 29, 2010 12:28 PM
To: Catalina320.com
Subject: [C320-list] Air Conditioning Installation Question

Hi All,

I'm getting ready to install an A/C unit in Easy Going (not that we need
it now of course) and had a question or two for those of you who have
your A/C units installed in the port-side cockpit locker. How is the
unit mounted? Was there any kind of foundation built or wood mounting
board installed or was it just directly affixed to the locker floor? Was
any stiffening added to reduce fan/compressor vibration?

Also, where did you end up mounting your water pump?

Thanks in advance for any input.

Larry
Easy Going
Hull #609