SERVICES...

Tempered Water systems, commonly referred to as "Chillers", are where we stand out from the competition.  These systems are much more common in recent years as boats have gotten larger and builders have realized the space saving and efficiency benefits that tempered water offer. These systems are very different than the more common direct expansion systems and require specific knowledge to properly install, maintain and troubleshoot. We have that experience.  We have built units as large as large as 12-ton capacity on a 140' Trinity and smaller 6-ton systems on a 96' Berger. We have installed entirely new chiller packs with as many as five units totaling 15 tons.

Sometimes replacement of a system is necessary, but often these well constructed units can be refurbished.  We have removed and refurbished many chiller units, allowing the savings to be invested in other parts of the whole system.   

Direct expansion air conditioning.  From the 30 ft. Sea Ray or Tierra to the 70 ft. Hatteras or Viking, DX equipment is the most common type of system in our industry.  Due to its flexability and ease of installation, builders have leaned heavily on these systems for more than forty years.  During that time there were not a lot of changes in the equipment components or design other than the conversion over to digital controls.  Veteran service guys like myself had become very comfortable with the old R-22 systems.  Though still available, R-22 systems are being phased out due to mandatory changes in the refrigerants that are being produced.  New systems, operating on 410a refrigerant, represent the biggest change in equipment design and operation that we’ve seen since the advent of digital controls in the early 1990’s.  And there has been a learning curve.  Thankfully, as a warranty representative for Dometic we were some of the first to work on a regular basis with this new equipment, as it was introduced into the market primarily on new boat construction.  We use the best available troubleshooting equipment and digital gauge sets to work with these new systems.  We have replaced numerous R22 systems with 410a systems and can advise comfortably on when it makes good sense to convert over to the systems of the future. 

Refrigeration.

            There are really two different kinds of refrigeration in our industry.  There is what I refer to as “appliance style” units, and then there is everything else.  Everything else can be nearly commercial style systems that require a trained Refrigeration mechanic to service and install, or high end units that are readily serviceable and make sense to do so.  Without going  into too much detail, units like Dometic (KRA style),  Sub Zero, Dometic (Grunert style) and a number of other units are designed to be repaired and serviced.  They are well built and initially expensive to install.  It makes sense to repair these style units.

 Going back to the first type, appliance style systems are built with little ability to service or repair (cost affectively). They are made to set in place and plug into an outlet or possibly connect to DC voltage as well.  There are times when it makes sense to repair one of these units but most of the time your money is better spent replacing them.  Best advise for an appliance style unit is if you want it to keep running, then keep running it.  Turning them on and off and on and off places a lot of stress on these small and efficient units.  Let them run till they quit.