Air Conditioning water pump question

Beech2000

Beech2000

Active Member
Jul 11, 2015
251
NW Georgia USA
Boat Info
1990 Sundancer 350
Engines
2020 454 gen VI
Hurth V-Drive's
7.1 KW Kohler 5ECD
We run our a/c at 70F 24/7 starting in March and Ending in October.
1) What lifespan do A/C pumps "Typically" Last? if using 24/7 during warm months
2) does the impeller have to be replaced or is there routine maintenance?
3) What size replacement pump should I consider for a 16000 BTU and a 8000BTU unit?
My pump appears to be a march unit but not sure what size.
I feel like I should be doing something besides cleaning the sea strainer and hopeful someone will chime in. Thanks
 
I pretty much do the same as you.....AC comes on in April and runs through September. Always on at the dock. I've had my boat 4 years, and all I've done is clean the strainer. Still going strong. I'll watch this thread to see what others say.

Jaybeaux
 
Mine just failed a couple weekends ago. It was original to the boat so it lasted 22 years. I knew I was on borrowed time so I had a spare one onboard which saved our weekend.
 
Mine are original to the 2007 boat. I replaced the A/C pump on my previous 2008 boat last July 4th in haste and paid and arm and a leg to save the weekend.

Now I have a spare pump on the boat just in case.
 
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These little suckers just keep on tickin'. Don't do anything but keep the strainer clean. Never had one fail, but I keep my boats 10-13 years. Your result may vary.
 
I too carry a spare AC pump and water pump. I have had a weekend go bad by not having one. Yes a lot of pumps can be rebuilt but doing that on a boating weekend is no fun. Just have a replacement and "get it working" is my way.
 
Yes, keep a spare on board. You'll need it at the worst time. I got mine from Depco Pump. I'm assuming yours is magnetic drive, so no seals to ware out and the impeller is not the usual rubber impellers we deal with. They last a long time. In 10 years of year round running, I have had 2 failures. One was the magnet cracked and came apart. I just scavenged the one on my spare and replaced. Then ordered a new part, and put it back on my spare. They other, it just quit running. I believe this was my fault for not lubing the pump bearings enough. But as boat stuff goes, March pumps are pretty good, easy to fix, and relatively inexpensive parts. I'm told these pumps are used a lot in commercial applications moving fluids.
 
Regarding #3 - Look up your AC units online as each will have a min GPH required. If your new pump doesn't meet the min GPH, the AC will most likely begin throwing error codes.
 
Just dontvuse the Cal Marine pumps, they dont last. I went thru 3 in 4 years, only running when on the boat on weekends. I switched to Marchand am much happier.
 
SCORPIO said:
Just dontvuse the Cal Marine pumps, they dont last. I went thru 3 in 4 years, only running when on the boat on weekends. I switched to Marchand am much happier.
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I agree with this. I just had a 15 month old Cal Pump (now Little Giant) develop a bad bearing. I replaced with a SeaFlo. So far so good.
 
March pumps are pretty much bullet proof, sometimes if they are not working right, just pull impeller and clean magnet and housing
 
Sounding like the A/C water pump is the only part on a boat that's reliable.
Never the less I feel I should carry a spare. A/Dry and cool cabin is so important for happy broads. Opps brides. Thanks all I got this!
 
I have had tremendous luck with the KoolAir pumps. 1/2 the price of a March (at least used to be). I have 4 of them. Always carried a spare March on the Post back in the day, because you don't want to be ANYWHERE in the Bahamas in the summer without reliable A/C. Now I see another March knock off, SeaFlo. No idea if they are worth the shipping, but at $179 for a 500 GPH, you could have 3 on board for one March.
 
BlueYonder said:
My March Pump has a couple of spots that say "oil" with arrows. I alway put a couple of drops of machine oil there at the beginning of every season.
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Good to know. We have another month of warm weather here in Georgia. Will pick up a March in March.
 
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