How to Make Air Conditioning Systems Flushing and Descaling Easy

Carpediem44DB said:
I was about to embark on installing fittings in my six systems to attach my circulating system to the 506 but the sytem is so spread out and difficult to reach I like the idea of just filling the system thru the strainer and pumping until the system is full and letting it sit. Ill try that this today as a matter of fact. Wife left in a frump this morning so I get the day to myself:)
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Happy for you. Had to look it up. Lol

frump
/frəmp/
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noun
  1. an unattractive woman who wears dowdy old-fashioned clothes.
 
I use this on the strainers with a 5 gallon bucket and and a hose with quick connector. Works for barnacle buster and salt away. Engines and ac.
SmartSelect_20220806-165357_Google.jpg
 
Since flushing is something that needs doing on the regular on raw water systems to maintain them properly. Why not add a bronze T connector to the line between the pump and the strainer. Add a ball valve and a garden hose fitting to the middle of the T and then all you have to do is hook up the hose from the dock and before you close the sea cock turn on the water. The pressure will back flush the strainer. Then close the sea cock and run the system. To add barnacle buster or whatever cleaner to the system use a salt away dispenser on the hose or keep a short length of hose to go into a bucket with your solution made up to be sucked in by the systems pump when the sea cock is closed.

I did this to my engines raw water intake and now I can fresh water flush the engine while it sits in the ocean. It works just fine.
 
Hoplite808 said:
Since flushing is something that needs doing on the regular on raw water systems to maintain them properly. Why not add a bronze T connector to the line between the pump and the strainer. Add a ball valve and a garden hose fitting to the middle of the T and then all you have to do is hook up the hose from the dock and before you close the sea cock turn on the water. The pressure will back flush the strainer. Then close the sea cock and run the system. To add barnacle buster or whatever cleaner to the system use a salt away dispenser on the hose or keep a short length of hose to go into a bucket with your solution made up to be sucked in by the systems pump when the sea cock is closed.

I did this to my engines raw water intake and now I can fresh water flush the engine while it sits in the ocean. It works just fine.
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Well…. Yes the T is a way to do this but in Salt water we deal with growth that fresh water will not do much. We have to do barnacle buster to eat through all the crap the grows in the lines. So you have to circulate that stuff for awhile to make it work properly.
 
Carpediem44DB said:
I was about to embark on installing fittings in my six systems to attach my circulating system to the 506 but the sytem is so spread out and difficult to reach I like the idea of just filling the system thru the strainer and pumping until the system is full and letting it sit. Ill try that this today as a matter of fact. Wife left in a frump this morning so I get the day to myself:)
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The "fill and sit" method may work, but it is likely to have some drawbacks too.

The Barnacle Buster is going to be "neutralized" when it contacts growth and become ineffective. So if you have growth in your lines the BB that's sitting there is going to stop working pretty quickly. The reason for a cycling through with a pump is to get fresh, active BB in contact with the growth to flush it out.

I saw this effect when I was descaling my generator's heat exchanger. It bubbled up when I tossed it in the bucket of BB, but stopped within minutes. If I agitated the HE in the bucket to get fresh BB in the tubes it would bubble up again then stop.
 
ttmott said:
Some says no rinse required but I always rinse the coil down with fresh water afterwards. More lint and dirt always seems to come out with the rinse.
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Sorry for the late response, but have been traveling for 3 months.

I would always rinse. The problem is access and the whole area gets wet. But with a shopvac and a towel or 2, the entire storage compartment gets a good cleaning.

Regards,

D
 
I saw someone say to have the intake hose from the BB pump bucket between the A/C water pump and the A/C unit.

Will BB hurt the boat's A/C water pump?

The system on my 1990 310 comes through from the hull, to the seacock, up through the strainer, to the A/C water pump, and then to the A/C Unit ....

Just don't want to damage my pump, if that would happen, since it is a new pump.
 
ttmott said:
Barnacle Buster - It's at our local WM....
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ZZ13 said:
Barnacle Buster active ingredient is Phosphoric Acid. The premixed jug has about a 20% concentration of the acid. The concentrate is 85% and when you follow their 4:1 water mixing instructions it gets it down to the 20% working concentration. This info is available on the company's data sheet for the products.
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Just wondering if anyone has used a diluted mixture of "Phosphoric Acid" instead of the BB product for cleaning out the A/C units we have on board? Much like the "Poopy Powder" chemistry that was discovered for the holding tanks!
 
DB360 said:
Just wondering if anyone has used a diluted mixture of "Phosphoric Acid" instead of the BB product for cleaning out the A/C units we have on board? Much like the "Poopy Powder" chemistry that was discovered for the holding tanks!
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Why not just use Barnacle Buster...its about the same price and known to work well, not ruin parts. I bought a 5 gal bucket for less that $100 off amazon and still have a few gallons for various jobs. works good last long!
 
dtfeld said:
Why not just use Barnacle Bustextraer...its about the same price and known to work well, not ruin parts. I bought a 5 gal bucket for less that $100 off amazon and still have a few gallons for various jobs. works good last long!
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Figured I would ask, cause you never know what our extremely knowledgeable group might have come up with!
 
dtfeld said:
Why not just use Barnacle Buster...its about the same price and known to work well, not ruin parts. I bought a 5 gal bucket for less that $100 off amazon and still have a few gallons for various jobs. works good last long!
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Dave "Kleen Strip" for concrete is the same phosphoric acid that is in BB and can be diluted at the same strength as BB but is only $20 a gallon.

Concrete & Metal Prep - Klean Strip

kleanstrip.com kleanstrip.com
 
And those great minds just keep on pumping!


Was at Ft. Myers Beach Pink Shell Marina last week and noticed a/c was not discharging very well. So today I fresh water flushed the entire system from the strainer to the discharge for about a half an hour. Lots of mucky water came out but cleared up fairly quickly. No chemicals used this time as system is pumping normally. But will keep in mind the suggestions above if necessary.
Thanks to all for the input!
 
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