Compressor for sail boat

[rleslie]

My wife and I are looking for an air compressor for our 42' sailboat. We have a 24 x 36 x 36 area in our engine room that can be utilized to house the compressor. I'm hoping to limit the weight to around 250 lbs. I have been researching the diesel units - we carry 180 gal onboard. Can anyone offer pros & cons to these units and recommend specific manufactures?

Thanks

 

[mike_s]

If you already have a diesel genset, why not run your compressor off it instead of adding a second diesel engine that would be hard to maintenance in a tight spot?

You wouldn't be able to run it most likely with the A/C units on in the cabins, but you could suffer w/o them for an hour or so a day while the compressor runs.


Or, if you don't have a genset, then buy one that will run an electrical compressor and also buy the compressor. You should be able to use a single-phase compressor that will run on 220v at 30amps (or under). The good thing about this is that it will power anything you need on your boat also. Also, when you're at the dockside, you can run your compressor off the shore power.

A 180gal of gas it a good bit for a sailboat and should more than be able to handle that amount for just about any reasonable amount of sailing trip.

 

[rleslie]

I have considered a diesel genset. One would go a long way towards supplying our electrical (dc) needs. Our problem is space. If we get a genset = no room for a compressor and vise versa.

We're leaning towards the diesel compressor because we have other sources for our dc power.

 

[nwdiver2]

Get a RIX SA6 and set up a belt (I use a hydraulic take off) to your primary engine. While to fill tanks you can charge your batteries, run the freezer compressor and make fresh water.

I have a hydraulic pump on the main and all the things I need powered as listed above, even my 180 amp alternator is driven hydraulically it made it easier to put the systems where I can work on them. I looked at multiply engine type systems and decided I didn’t want another one aboard. If you are doing a larger compressor 9-12 cfm you can belt it directly to your engine.

 

[mike_s]

I have considered a diesel genset. One would go a long way towards supplying our electrical (dc) needs. Our problem is space. If we get a genset = no room for a compressor and vise versa.

Oh there is a simple solution for this space problem. Tell your wife you have a justification now for needing a bigger boat. ;-)

 

[rleslie]

nwdiver2

Adding a compressor to the main engine is an excellent idea. We used to have a freezer compressor run off of the engine but we have converted to a DC system, so we have a free pulley to run a dive compressor. If you have any pictures of your system, I would love to see them. My e-mail address is below.

Thanks
Roger
rleslie@carolina.rr.com

 

[SubMariner]

What type of sail boat do you have? We had a 42' Hunter & mounted an 8.4cfm Bauer forward of the mast on the deck. With a double whip setup we could fill 2 tanks in about 10 minutes. The compressor was gas powered.

PM me if you want more details.

Bonne chance,