Monterey 262 Air Conditioning

[four winns 214]

I sea trialed a 2000 Monterey 262 cruiser today. While at the dock, I checked the air conditioning and the volume of air delivered to the cabin seemed to be inadequate. There was one outlet in the main cabin and one in the mid cabin. The temperature of the air was fine, but the amount of air delivered was lacking.

The owner of this boat is less than mechanically skilled. He thought the ON-OFF arrow on the trailer brake master cylinder fluid fill cap indicated how one turned the brakes on and off! Of course the master cylinder was bone dry. Anyway, I'm sure routine maintenance on the air conditioning system has never been done. Are there filters or other components that can restrict airflow? If you're an owner of one of these boats, how does the A/C perform in your boat?

 

[JoLin]

Re: Monterey 262 Air Conditioning

There isn't much to restrict airflow except however Monterey configured the size and routing of the ductwork. Find the unit and brush/vacuum off the coils and air intake. Might help a little.

I have 3 registers on my boat- rear of the forward v-berth, mid cabin over the dinette, and aft berth. The aft berth register (right next to the AC unit) will blow your toupee off, the center one is so-so, and the forward register output is pretty weak. On the plus side, my 7000 BTU unit WILL cool the cabin adequately up to 90 deg outside temp with high humidity. I just need to crank it up early and keep the cabin door closed as much as possible.

OH- dumb question, but did you have the 'fan speed' control all the way up? Mine's on a variable speed rotary switch.

My .02

 

[four winns 214]

Re: Monterey 262 Air Conditioning

Fan speed was at max. On the bright side, it's not noisy!

 

[Paxdad]

Re: Monterey 262 Air Conditioning

I would check to see if the coils are clean and free of crud and other funky stuff. In additon the air make up/ intake should not be obstructed. On my last 36 Tiara I installed an inline booster fan and it made a huge difference.

 

[torombolo]

Re: Monterey 262 Air Conditioning

FW214 I have a Monterey 262 (2001) and the AC unit is not as powerfull as a home AC but you can feel it. At night gets very cold. What I do is close the Mid cabin vent so the main cabin blows more air.
Im also interested in maintenance tips on this!!
Good luck

 

[Paxdad]

Re: Monterey 262 Air Conditioning

Critical to keep filter clean if you have one but more important is to keep the coils clean. In a damp environment the condensation will accmulate on the coils and then as air passes over them to cool it brings in dust etc which sticks to the coils and obstructs air flow. They will eventually mold.