Maintenance regimes
These can be divided into four different types which all have their time and place.
- Preventative maintenance – carrying out checks and service as dictated by the manufacturer plus attending to systems based on historical data
- Condition based maintenance – process of monitoring and inspecting systems to a planned schedule and the service, repair and or replacement of components in poor condition
- Risk management maintenance – the maintenance of a system and its components, the carriage of tools and spares based on the judgement of what is most likely to fail
- Failure maintenance – the repair of a system or components when they fail
Preventative maintenance
First and foremost, read the manufacturer’s instruction book, it gives guidance on preventative maintenance from daily checks to annual inspections. Be methodical and keep a logbook for each system, record problems, works done and data such as pressure readings, get to know what is normal for your system.
Condition based maintenance
There are a number of pre-season refrigeration and air conditioning condition-based checks. Check the pumps are working and service parts including impeller are inspected and replaced where needed. Check refrigerant pressures in the seawater condensers, this is your best tell regards marine growth. The easiest way to do this is to have gauges installed and regularly record the readings. Systems that don’t have gauges should be checked by a refrigeration company either annually or bi-annually depending on activity and use of the yacht. The connections on the electrics of the system should be checked for loose connections and damage including saltwater and heat damage.
