Sale of Air Conditioners Pumps
The catalog in this section presents efficient pumps for yachts that have air conditioning systems installed. We have selected marine air conditioning pumps for your boats from the world's best manufacturers of marine equipment.
If choosing a pump for a boat is difficult for you, experts from the topRik marketplace are ready to advise you on any issue for free right now. You can contact our experienced seafarer consultants by phone (number listed on the page), through instant online communication, or send questions to this address: [email protected].
The principle of operation of any pump is that when it operates, a vacuum is created in the suction pipeline, and excess pressure is created in the discharge pipeline. As a result, liquid under atmospheric pressure rushes into the vacuum cavity and further to the working parts of the pump, and then through the pressure cavity through pipelines into the pumped container or overboard.
For stable operation of ship's air conditioners, it is important to have a steady flow of sea water in order to properly cool the condenser and thereby avoid high excess pressures in the air conditioning unit, so that the entire air conditioning system on the boat or yacht as a whole does not fail. The seawater pump must provide this water flow through the A/C unit on the boat.
Types of Pumps for Air Conditioners
According to their design (principle of operation), all pumps are divided into:
- Volumetric - piston, rotary (gear, plate, screw, liquid ring, axial and radial piston).
- Blade - centrifugal, axial and vortex.
- Jet - ejectors and injectors.
- Membrane.
- Magnetic pumps.
Magnetic drive pumps are the same centrifugal models that are used for pumping aggressive or toxic liquids. These innovative pumps provide a high level of safety and efficiency in the handling of hazardous materials.
There are also double- and single-flow pumps that can provide variable and constant flow of liquid - these are models with fixed and variable volume.
Models for yacht air conditioners are centrifugal pumps with fixed and variable volume for fresh and sea water, which, in turn, are divided into self-priming and non-self-priming pumps.
Sea water circulation pumps are designed for pumping ship condensers and heat exchangers, including air conditioners and air conditioning systems, with sea water. Electrically driven centrifugal pumps are mainly used.
Fresh water circulation pumps are designed to pump fresh water through cooled components and parts of ship machinery and equipment. These are autonomous electric centrifugal pumps with an electric drive with a head of 18-50 mm of water column.
A non-self-priming pump is one that does not have dry suction capability, i.e., is not capable of independently removing air from the suction pipe and housing and creating the necessary vacuum for water to flow. A self-priming pump is one that has dry suction capability.
Pumps themselves with only centrifugal wheels do not have dry suction. Therefore, additional devices are mounted on the same shaft with the centrifugal wheel or driven from this shaft to create the necessary vacuum in the pump during startup. These devices include liquid ring pumps and ejector devices. When combined with a vacuum device, the centrifugal pump is self-priming. Such pumps are installed both above and below the level of the pumped liquid.
Non-self-priming pumps are installed below the level of the pumped liquid, i.e. they operate with support. Sometimes they can be installed above the level of the pumped liquid, but in this case it is necessary to fill the pump with water before starting, or the pump is connected by its suction pipe or housing to a separate independent vacuum device.
The advantages of centrifugal pumps for use in yacht air conditioning systems include the following features:
- continuous, without pulsation, liquid supply;
- relatively small weight and dimensions;
- possibility of direct connection with high-speed motors;
- simplicity of design, simplifying the operation and repair of the pump;
- low sensitivity to liquid contamination.
The disadvantages of centrifugal pumps for yacht air conditioning systems include, with great reservations, the impossibility of dry suction, sensitivity to air entering the suction pipe (air leakage) and the dependence of water pressure on supply.
How to Choose Air Conditioners Pump
Each pump is characterized by the following basic parameters:
- volumetric productivity of the pump - the volume of liquid pumped by the pump per unit of time;
- pressure, created by the pump, expressed in meters of water column or in kgf/cm² (pressure);
- vacuum suction head - the ability of the pump to lift liquid through the suction pipeline, also expressed in meters of water column or in kgf/cm², characterizes the sum of the height of the water column and the pressure loss to overcome resistance in the suction line;
- power - the energy supplied to the pump by the drive motor, expressed in kilowatts or horsepower;
- efficiency factor - the ratio of useful power to pump power;
- the number of revolutions per minute or the number of piston strokes is a parameter on which the performance, pressure and power of a yacht pump depends.
The seawater pump is usually not included with the air conditioner and must be purchased separately, depending on the system. When it comes to boat air conditioners, choosing the right pump can be as important as choosing the right air conditioner itself. The purpose of the pump is to circulate sea water through the air conditioner condenser to remove heat from the refrigerant. In practice, non-self-priming pumps are usually used.
For this reason, the pump is always installed below the waterline. This is not an ideal solution, since the pump motor can be powered from a 220V network, and the bilge water level is often close to the floor. Since most pumps are made of metal, and hose connections are also metal, they are susceptible to chemical and electrical corrosion.
Seawater pumps, the housings of which are made of PVC, are not subject to chemical corrosion or electrolysis, but the problem can arise as a result of improper installation, when microcracks appear in an overtightened threaded connection, increasing in size over time, which can lead to a dramatic ending. There are known cases when, due to a crack in the pump, the air conditioning system took on water and sank to the bottom. Therefore, if you leave the boat on the water unattended, be sure to shut off the seawater inlet to the system.
Self-priming seawater pumps that can be located outside the bilge, usually of the centrifugal type. Previously, they did not have a long service life, although this indicator has now been significantly improved. In addition, due to the specifics of the design itself, such pumps are still noisy.
In principle, self-priming pumps are suitable for yachts that can be heeled for a long time, as a result of which air enters the pump through the water intake fitting protruding from the water. For a pump with automatic priming there will be no problems. But for a number of reasons, preference is still given to the non-self-priming type.
To cool the condenser of each air conditioner, at least 950 liters of sea water per hour, or 16 l/min, are required. In each system, the seawater hose is laid with a rise, so there is a rise height and a horizontal length of the hose. When choosing a pump, keep in mind that every 3 m of horizontal hose length is equal to 30 cm of its vertical rise.
Using the graph or table of pump characteristics, select the one that will provide the minimum requirement for water supply to the air conditioner condenser, depending on the cooling capacity of the system and the required lift height.
The question is often asked: if the system consists of several air conditioners, then how many pumps should there be - one with a relay unit or is it necessary to install a separate pump for each air conditioner? The answer is: both options are possible, but the second one is more expensive. However, since the seawater pump is the most vulnerable component of the system in terms of corrosion and failures for other reasons, it is safer to use a separate pump for each air conditioner if no more than three air conditioners are installed in the system (the seawater filter is common).
If there are more air conditioners, then preference is given to one high-capacity pump with a relay box. In this case, the owner will have to store a backup pump with a relay box on board in case the standard pump fails. It should be noted that in practice, most often they use one pump of a reliable and proven brand and a relay unit.
If the boat is lifted out of the water for storage, then to facilitate the subsequent priming of the pump after the boat is launched into the water, you can install a bleed valve at the pump discharge, which can be used to eliminate the back pressure.
Before choosing a model, determine its required performance based on the power of your air conditioner and the volume of rooms you plan to cool.
The energy efficiency of the pump depends on the electrical load on the entire yacht and energy sources, taking into account the conditions of autonomous navigation. Choose a pump with optimal energy consumption.
Typical Operating Problems and Malfunctions
It is better to delegate the troubleshooting of the pump to a specialist, preferably a certified service center. This is guaranteed to provide the required technologies used by the manufacturer, as well as original spare parts.
But the yacht owner/skipper must be aware of the signs of pump failure in order to ensure that they are repaired or replaced in a timely manner.
Before using the pump, you must check:
- presence and reliability of fastening of the protective casing of the coupling half of the pump and electric motor;
- presence and serviceability of grounding;
- serviceability of conductive electrical wires;
- insulation resistance of the drive motor;
- the presence of a rug and a wooden stand at the electric motor starting remote control;
- availability and serviceability of control devices;
- water level in the tank;
- reliability of fastenings of all installation elements;
- absence of foreign objects on the installation elements.
You should follow the operating procedure of the pumping unit, study the installation, as well as the purpose of each of its elements. Before starting, fully open the suction valve and fully close the discharge valve. After starting the pump, you need to let it run for 1-1.5 minutes before setting the desired mode.
After this, the discharge valve must be opened until the liquid begins to move, which is determined by the meter.
When the discharge valve is fully open, the maximum pump performance is determined.
The most likely causes of malfunctions in the operation of centrifugal pumps are: air entering the system and the pump, deterioration of suction conditions, wear and mechanical failure of moving parts of the pump, malfunction of the pump drive.
The entry of air into the system and the pump leads to failure of the pump - it either does not supply liquid at all, or its supply is less than nominal, the pump operates with noise.
Deterioration of suction conditions leads to a decrease in flow, cavitation and failure of the pump. Absorption conditions worsen as a result of:
- clogging of the receiving grid (or filters) at the pump suction;
- foreign objects (rags, dirt) getting into the suction pipeline;
- operation of the pump with the foot valve not fully open;
- pumping liquid with a temperature above the specification or heavily contaminated liquid;
- reducing the static head at the suction below the specification for a given pump.
A deterioration in suction conditions is primarily signaled by an increase in the vacuum suction height of the pump. The pump should be stopped immediately.
Wear and mechanical breakdowns of the moving parts of the pump can lead to various malfunctions: increased vibration during pump operation, overheating of individual pump components, increased power consumption, and failure of the pump.
Malfunctions of the pump drive (usually electric) can prevent the pump from starting normally and lead to its failure.