A/C Condensate leak?

[GaryG]

I have air conditioning on my US built B-40, hull # 247.  I notice water in the bilge (forward compartment) where the A/C inlet and other A/C hoses are located. I don't know if  I have a leak, or if this is condensate draining into the bilge.  Is there a outlet which collects condensate and pumps it overboard, or does it drain into the bilge.  I suspect that the B43 would be set up the same way as the B40.

[Peter Obetz]

ours was similar with a drain hose terminating into the bilge just beyond the condenser unit.  Using a double ended connector I added a length of hose so that it now terminates into the lower sump where the pump take-up fittings are.  It now keeps the water contained in that small sump as opposed to all over the relatively flat bilge.  Hope that helps.

[Mike Brown]

I did the exact same thing Peter did and am happy to report I now have a dry bilge, other than the sump area.

[GaryG]

So I took a look in the bilge area where the A/C hoses are located and found 2 hoses opening into that space.  But I only found one hole in the stringer between that compartment and the immediately aft bilge compartment where the the bilge pump and sump are located.  So how did you run a hose without using--and blocking--the one weephole between the 2 compartments?

[Mike Brown]

Can't remember hose sizes but I was able, with a little pushing and pulling, fit the second hose thorugh the weep hole. Not a lot of space left in the hole but enough to allow water to migrate to the bilge.

[Harry]

I'm curious whether the boats experiencing a/c condensation in their bilge have the EDC condensate pump setup or some other setup? I was under the impression that the EDC pump's function was to remove 100% of the condensation directly overboard and not allow any water into the bilge to be pumped out by the bilge pump. Mine is a B40 so it might be different from a B43 setup. 

Incidentally, I understand the early US built boats had their a/c's installed by the commissioning dealer so that might explain the differences.

[James Taylor]

I have B43#19 of US build and yes I have the edc condensate pumps in both forward and rear ac pans.

Boat came with 2 in-pan edc condensate pumps. Rear pump was loud so dealer replaced in-pan pump with outside pan edc condensate pump attached to overflow line of pan.The outside pan condensate pump allows bypass in the event of pump failure.

The in-pan pump is now 4 years old and is a little noisy when it operates but it works . It pumps the condensate overboard via a separate thru hull. The rear outside pan pump has its own thru hull also and is working ok. These pumps can last but you must clean the filters to avoid muck from the pans going thru the pump and you must ensure there is no condensate in them before you put the boat up for winter (freezing). I think the set up that Mike and Peter have is good for the salon unit (though by pushing that drain line thru the stringer you are reducing the amount of water that can drain thru the stringer even if you use a small line) but not quite sure what they do about the rear units condensate?

Having the automatic bilge-pump pump condensate overboard is what the older model Beneteaus were designed to do but Beneteau reacted to owners surveys by installing these condensate pumps because a lot of owners do not care for condensate draining into their bilge. I guess the choice is up to us individually. We can keep the noisy, maintenance intense pumps or have a slightly wet bilge. Your choice!  I personally have the pumps and they are a pain but we like a dry bilge.

James

B#43 "RaJean"

[Mike Brown]

To answer Jame's question on what we do with the rear AC condensation, it's not a problem. The rear pan has an external condensate pump and stays as dry as a bone. If my memory serve me well the pan only has one drain served by the pump. The unit's pan in the salon has two drains with one served by an external pump, the other drained via the hose mentioned in the above replies. The condensate pump seems capable of handling normal amounts of condensation but falls short when it's very hot and humid. Extending the hose to reach the bilge keeps the forward bilge nice and dry.

Mike