AC strainer drain plug failure

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   This past weekend I went to our boat and first thing I did was open the seacock to our AC unit so that I could cool the cabin. Immediately water started rushing in and I quickly closed the seacock. My first thought was that the seacock was bad, but it is a TruDesign model and only 2 years old. When I opened it again I could see that water was actually rushing out the bottom of the Groco ARG 750 water strainer unit. Unbeknownst to me - because I really can't see it because of how it was mounted - there is a small drain plug at the bottom of the unit and it had gone bad. Had I had the AC running while I was not there and the $2 drain plug had failed, it could have been disastrous as I would be literally pumping water into the bilge.My AC unit was installed after the boat was delivered to the previous owner so it is not a Hanse factory-installed unit. But the Groco strainers are pretty common and the drain plug is a potential source of disaster. 
I am replacing the entire unit, but I would now advise at the very least servicing the seals on the plug and cap every year or two. Groco sells a kit for that reason. And I will no longer think about leaving the AC on for any length of time if I am not around since there are just two many places for the system to fail when I am away. 
As a footnote, I may be partially to blame because I had been advised many years ago to drop a chlorine tablet in the strainer every so often to keep algae out, etc. It may be that the chlorine played a part in the drain plug failure as it looked deteriorated. So I don't think I will do that anymore either. The Groco product is very good and this gives me an excuse to replace the assembly ($250) after 10 years with all new components. Always something to learn!

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AndyS Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Captain Joined: 14 June 2016 Location: River Dunes, NC Status: Offline Points: 206	Post Options Post Reply Quote AndyS Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: AC strainer drain plug failure Posted: 26 June 2023 at 17:30
	This past weekend I went to our boat and first thing I did was open the seacock to our AC unit so that I could cool the cabin. Immediately water started rushing in and I quickly closed the seacock. My first thought was that the seacock was bad, but it is a TruDesign model and only 2 years old. When I opened it again I could see that water was actually rushing out the bottom of the Groco ARG 750 water strainer unit. Unbeknownst to me - because I really can't see it because of how it was mounted - there is a small drain plug at the bottom of the unit and it had gone bad. Had I had the AC running while I was not there and the $2 drain plug had failed, it could have been disastrous as I would be literally pumping water into the bilge. My AC unit was installed after the boat was delivered to the previous owner so it is not a Hanse factory-installed unit. But the Groco strainers are pretty common and the drain plug is a potential source of disaster. I am replacing the entire unit, but I would now advise at the very least servicing the seals on the plug and cap every year or two. Groco sells a kit for that reason. And I will no longer think about leaving the AC on for any length of time if I am not around since there are just two many places for the system to fail when I am away. As a footnote, I may be partially to blame because I had been advised many years ago to drop a chlorine tablet in the strainer every so often to keep algae out, etc. It may be that the chlorine played a part in the drain plug failure as it looked deteriorated. So I don't think I will do that anymore either. The Groco product is very good and this gives me an excuse to replace the assembly ($250) after 10 years with all new components. Always something to learn!
	Andy Moonraker River Dunes, NC



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