Cleaning Boat AC Salt Pump Circulation Systems

Seawater Flow Issues in Boat Air Conditioning Circulation Pump Systems

If your marine air conditioner isn't working properly, one of the most common problems is restricted flow of seawater through your ac unit. Before doing any sophisticated or more involved work on your salt pump or your boat's air conditioning system, remove and clean all the filters and do the same with your strainer (MAKE SURE YOU CLOSE YOUR SEA COCK FIRST).

Check out our Marine Air Conditioner Troubleshooting page for these and other recommendations on determining why your boat ac isn't working properly.

Once you get through those, if your thru-hull discharge still seems to be discharging less water than previously or isn't flowing smoothly, your marine heat pump or marine air condition system won't be able to pull heat from or dump heat into seawater quickly enough for optimal performance.

We see more water flow issues on boats that are moved less often, boats that are stored in well-protected marinas or harbors, boats that often travel in shallower, muddier water and boats with older marine ac systems. Most water flow issues stem from obstructions in the cooling water system - usually mud, algae and/or debris.

Here are some examples of error codes that can be caused by insufficient saltwater flow and/or high water pressure in your marine air conditioner.

Marinaire: error code E4 or error code E7

Webasto Marine: error code A01, error code A02, error code A15, error code A20, error code A23, error code A28

Mermaid Marine: error code P-6, error code P-9

Dometic Marine: Hi-PS, HPF (High Pressure Fault), Lo-Ps

Determining the Water Flow Rate in Marine AC

To check water flow, you can use "the bucket test"

Thanks to Marinaire for providing the tables below for calculations. Low salt water pump flow is a common issue and will result in an E4 code on Marinaire units. In order to test whether your boat's ac pump is circulating enough water, you can use the following "bucket test":

1. Turn on your circulation pump (i.e. March Pump) - may require turning on AC unit - and open your seacock
2. Grab a 5 gallon bucket with a line attached to it. NOTE: most 5 gallon buckets are actually more than 5 gallons if filled to the rim. Generally they will have a ring inside the bucket that shows the true 5 gallon mark - usually about 2 inches from the top
3. Grab a stopwatch that measures seconds (iPhone or Android timer, for example)
4. Begin filling the 5 gallon bucket and start your stopwatch
5. When the bucket is filled to the 5 gallon mark, stop the stopwatch. Note the time (in seconds) and refer to the table below to determine if your flow rate is sufficient. If you have multiple ac units using the same pump, add the GPH requirement for each and adjust time by the same % (i.e. twice the GPH means the bucket should fill in half the time)

 

For current Marinaire models, these are the recommended minimum water flow rates