Marine refrigeration and air conditioning in California

What it involves

Marine refrigeration techs work on refrigerators, freezers, ice makers and air conditioning or heat pump units, including the raw-water cooling that many marine systems use.

Problems on boats often come from the cooling water side (strainers, pumps, fouled condensers) or from power supply, not only from the refrigerant circuit.

Who does it: Marine refrigeration and air conditioning specialists, and some marine electricians.

How often, in California

• No rule sets a service interval. Keep raw-water strainers clear and have the system checked when cooling drops off, rather than waiting for a failure.

What affects the cost

• Diagnosis time, especially for intermittent problems.
• Refrigerant recovery and recharge.
• Parts availability for older or imported units.
• Access to the unit and its raw-water plumbing.

We haven’t found enough published rates to write a marine refrigeration and air conditioning cost guide yet. Other services are in the cost guides.

California rules that apply

• Federal rules require Section 608 certification for technicians who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that could release refrigerant, and refrigerant sellers must check that buyers are certified.^[1]
• ABYC offers an A/C and Refrigeration certification for marine technicians.^[2]

What to tell a provider

A request with these details gets a more accurate quote and fewer follow-up calls:

• Make and model of the unit, and its age
• The symptom and when it started
• Whether the raw-water pump runs and water flows overboard
• Marina, slip and whether the boat is on shore power

The free service request brief puts all of this on one page you can print or send.

Related guides and tools

• Certifications by trade
• Hiring a marine contractor
• Glossary of boating and marine service terms