Fresh Air

REPLACING AN OLD, INEFFICIENT, OR OBSOLETE SELF-CONTAINED AIR-CONDITIONING UNIT IS EASY—ALL YOU NEED IS A FEW SIMPLE TOOLS, A LITTLE FORETHOUGHT, AND A COMPREHENSIBLE SET OF INSTRUCTIONS.

- Capt. Bill Pike

It’s no secret that marine air-conditioning units, especially those of the self-contained variety, are reliable and long-lasting. Perform a few maintenance chores regularly and you’ll be rewarded with years and years of trouble-free service. But it’s also no secret that almost all technology improves over the years—machinery, whether air-conditioning related or not, typically evolves, ultimately becoming more efficient with the passage of time, as well as easier to use, maintain, and install, and less intrusive in terms of size and weight. So, it stands to reason, I’d say, that the average boat owner will, at some point in the future if not now, need or want to replace an older, self-contained air-conditioning unit with a new one, either because the old one no longer works well (or at all) or because it cries out for a serious up-to-the-minute update.