Having past experiences with retrofitting Chilled Water systems in commercial construction, I know that insulating of pipe runs is absolutely critical and very difficult to do correctly. Given the "tightness" of boat installations coupled with associated vibration levels, I've shied away from Chillers for this reason alone. While sourcing yet another split system component replacement (7 total CruisAir systems on boat), I asked a manufacturer / vendor for his thoughts on insulated piping for Chilled Water Systems. He immediately recommended a PEX Pre-Insulated pipe system from Pex-Industrial. After reviewing the technical submittals, I must admit that I'm intrigued! The PEX product "seems" to be an ideal answer to an age-old problem... Does anyone have first hand experience with the PEX product in a Chiller system? Brett
Retrofitting a chilled water system to a boat like yours would be staggering in component cost, and a complete nightmare to run all of the piping.
Not familiar with PEX, never used them. one of the best upgrade I did to my 53 Hatteras is converting to chillers 7 years ago. I would probably never own a boat with splits again. yes running the chilled loop hoses can be a pita but in some boats it can be fairly easy. On my Hatteras for instance the distance between the chillers and the air handlers is fairly short due to the ERs being amidship. Both salon AH sit almost above the ER obviously not every boat will be that easy to convert
Pex is still rather rigid vs hose. Following contours inside hull / superstructure, joints and fittings in Pex behind panels may not be ideal, when one-piece hose can be run.
I've just been reading about PEX, apparently PEX-A is more flexible than PEX-B (and maybe PEX-C). The PEX-B we had in the previous boat wouldn't make sharp turns but it was still flexible enough for the situation. And in some cases, an elbow fitting (if it actually can be installed where necessary) can solve a bend easily enough if necessary. No first-hand experience with any other kind of PEX... -Chris
Here's my path...I used Cool-Fit at the chillers and throughout the ER. From there I transitioned to reinforced hoses and insulation. I preferred the outcome of having reinforced tubes with insulation added over other options. In areas where I had limited access and straight runs, I ran Cool-Fit and then again transitioned back to the reinforced hoses. Like Pascal, I won't ever go back to traditional units.
