High ambient temperatures, high humidity, and heavy rains were in the forecast for the coming night and following days. An ops check of the air conditioning system seemed like a good idea. There isn't much to it. Throw the breakers, pick the fore or aft system, select “START” for a few seconds, select “RUN”, check for water squirting out of the boat and for cold air coming out of the vents.
No water. No Cold air. Mmm...
Given that the system hasn't been run in a while a water pump airlock was the obvious culprit. First Light's system has a minor install fault in that the water pump is mounted above the water line. Opening the thru-hull doesn't guarantee water at the pump inlet. It is a simple fix. Fill the strainer and, just to be sure, pull the outlet hose and fill the pump. Deb, ensuring I don't do anything dumb that would provoke another trip to the ER, climbed into the engine room to do the deed. My job was to throw the breakers and, well, you know the rest.
Success! Water squirting out of the boat and cold air coming out of the vents. We let the system run for a minute or so. Since there was a nice cool breeze wafting fresh air through the boat it never occurred to any of us that we should leave the AC running for a good while. What did occur, but didn't really register in my rusty mechanic's mind (until later) was that the water coming out of the side of the boat wasn't really squirting, it was more flowing as it does out of the sink drain. But there was water and cold air. On with the day which involved a small improvement on the Dink Lift system, a couple of long walks, and a lot of fun music time with Grand Son Eldest and I playing uses together.
Later, an impromptu movie night (Avatar 2; The Way of the Water) had the crew heading for the berths later than normal. With storms still in the forecast, the forward AC was brought on line to keep the berths cool with the boat buttoned up. Just as I settled in to bask in the glory of an air conditioned boat the breaker popped and, just like that, Midnight Maintenance Madness. Deb, still making sure I don't do anything dumb, climbed into the engine compartment and did the airlock routine again. But this time all we got for the effort was a feeble squirt, and few dribbles, then nada. Mmm...
If the pump is running, not loading up because it can't push the water through, but not actually pushing any water? Only one thing remains; it isn't getting any water to push. A check of the strainer, after shutting the thru-hull, didn't show any blockage. Mmm...
Crack the thru-hull just a little, just a little bit of water flowed into the strainer. Okay. Open the thru-hull more. Still just a little bit of water. Open the thru-hull all the way. Still just little bit of water. Certainly not enough to quench the thirst of a running AC pump. Bummer. So, no AC until a diver can be brought in, not likely to happen on the far side of mid-night. Lucky for us the rain never showed during the night. A few open ports and a couple of fans kept things comfortable for a tired crew to collect some well deserved ZZZZZs.
We will get a diver in as soon as we can. If the rains get here before the diver can find time for us we will enjoy some hot and muggy hours and drink a lot of cold water. (I may flavor mine with a bit of rum.) Each day we seem to learn a little bit more about the systems on First Light and clear a few more cobwebs out of my lethargic mechanic's brain. Both good things, even if they occasionally lead to an episode of Midnight Maintenance Madness.
No comments:
Post a Comment