Cooling system for a marine vessel

1 . A cooling system for a marine vessel, the cooling system comprising:

a cooling loop for providing raw cooling water to a device to be cooled, the cooling loop comprising:

an upstream inlet for receiving raw cooling water from a body of water in which the marine vessel is situated, wherein the upstream inlet is switchable between an open position in which the raw cooling water can flow into the cooling loop and a closed position in which the upstream inlet is sealed;

a pump configured to pump the raw cooling water through the cooling loop;

a heat exchanger configured to transfer heat to the raw cooling water; and

a downstream outlet for discharging the raw cooling water back to the body of water;

a first switching valve downstream from the upstream inlet and upstream from the pump and a second switching valve downstream from the heat exchanger and upstream from the downstream outlet; and

a reservoir configured to hold a cleaning solution and including a reservoir outlet in fluid communication with the first switching valve and a reservoir inlet in fluid communication with the second switching valve, the reservoir outlet being upstream from the first switching valve and the reservoir inlet being downstream from the second switching valve;

wherein the first switching valve is switchable between a first position in which the reservoir outlet is disconnected from the cooling loop and a second position in which the reservoir outlet is in fluid communication with the cooling loop via the first switching valve;

wherein the second switching valve is switchable between a first position in which the reservoir inlet is disconnected from the cooling loop and the raw cooling water is permitted to flow from the heat exchanger to the downstream outlet and a second position in which the reservoir inlet is in fluid communication with the cooling loop via the second switching valve and the downstream outlet is disconnected from the cooling loop; and

wherein the pump is configured to circulate the cleaning solution through the cooling loop when the first switching valve and the second switching valve are in the second position.

2 . The cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the reservoir includes a fill port for adding cleaning solution to the reservoir.

3 . The cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the cleaning solution is a descaling solution.

4 . The cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the first switching valve and the second switching valve are located in a bilge of the marine vessel.

5 . The cooling system of claim 1 , further comprising a controller configured to selectively control the first switching valve, the second switching valve, and the pump.

6 . The cooling system of claim 5 , further comprising at least one flow sensor for measuring a flow rate of the raw cooling water through the cooling loop;

wherein the controller is configured to control the first and second switching valves and the pump to run a cleaning cycle based on flow rate measurements from the flow sensor.

7 . The cooling system of claim 5 , wherein the controller is configured to control the first and second switching valves and the pump to run a cleaning cycle according to a programmed cleaning schedule.

8 . The cooling system of claim 5 , further comprising a serial bus configured to connect the controller to at least one of the pump, the first switching valve, and the second switching valve.

9 . The cooling system of claim 5 , wherein the controller is configured to determine if a cleaning cycle is required and to generate a maintenance alert in response to determining that a cleaning cycle is required.

10 . The cooling system of claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to transmit the maintenance alert to a remote device.

11 . The cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the downstream outlet comprises a check valve configured to allow the raw cooling water to exit the cooling loop while preventing the raw cooling water from entering the cooling loop via the downstream outlet.

12 . The cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the cooling loop further comprises a strainer in the flow path between the upstream inlet and the pump.

13 . A method for cleaning a cooling loop of a marine vessel, the cooling loop including an upstream inlet for receiving raw cooling water from a body of water in which the marine vessel is situated, a pump for circulating the raw cooling water through the cooling loop, a heat exchanger configured to transfer heat to the raw cooling water, and a downstream outlet for discharging the raw cooling water back to the body of water, the method comprising:

running a cleaning cycle, the cleaning cycle comprising:

switching the upstream inlet from an open position in which the raw cooling water can flow into the cooling loop to a closed position to seal the upstream inlet;

connecting a maintenance loop including a reservoir containing cleaning solution to the cooling loop by:

switching a first switching valve that is downstream from the upstream inlet and upstream from the pump from a first position in which a reservoir outlet that is upstream from the first switching valve is disconnected from the cooling loop to a second position in which the reservoir outlet is in fluid communication with the cooling loop via the first switching valve; and

switching a second switching valve that is downstream from the heat exchanger and upstream from the downstream outlet from a first position in which a reservoir inlet that is downstream from the second switching valve is disconnected from the cooling loop and the raw cooling water is permitted to flow from the heat exchanger to the downstream outlet to a second position in which the reservoir inlet is in fluid communication with the cooling loop via the second switching valve and the downstream outlet is disconnected from the cooling loop;

circulating, with the pump, the cleaning solution from the reservoir through the cooling loop while the first switching valve and the second switching valve are in the second position, thereby cleaning the cooling loop; and

disconnecting the maintenance loop from the cooling loop by switching the first switching valve and the second switching valve back to the first position.

14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising measuring, with a cooling loop sensor, a parameter of the cooling loop indicative of a status of the cooling loop; and

determining, with a controller, that the cooling loop requires cleaning based on the parameter of the cooling loop measured by the cooling loop sensor.

15 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising measuring, with a controller, an elapsed time since the cleaning cycle was last run; and

determining, with the controller, that the cooling loop requires cleaning when the elapsed time exceeds a programmed time threshold.

16 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

determining, with a controller, that the cooling loop requires cleaning;

generating a maintenance alert indicating that the cooling loop requires cleaning; and

running a cleaning cycle in response to a user input.

17 . A marine vessel comprising:

an enclosed cabin;

an air conditioning system configured to cool the enclosed cabin;

a cooling loop for providing raw cooling water from a body of water to the air conditioning system to cool the air conditioning system, the cooling loop comprising:

an upstream inlet extending through a hull of the marine vessel below a waterline of the body of water, wherein the raw cooling water from the body of water is received into the cooling loop via the upstream inlet;

a pump configured to pump the raw cooling water through the cooling loop;

a heat exchanger configured to transfer heat from the air conditioning system to the raw cooling water; and

a downstream outlet extending through the hull below the waterline of the body of water, wherein the raw cooling water from the heat exchanger is discharged back to the body of water via the downstream outlet;

a first switching valve downstream from the upstream inlet and upstream from the pump and a second switching valve downstream from the heat exchanger and upstream from the downstream outlet; and

a reservoir configured to hold a cleaning solution and including a reservoir outlet in fluid communication with the first switching valve and a reservoir inlet in fluid communication with the second switching valve, the reservoir outlet being upstream from the first switching valve and the reservoir inlet being downstream from the second switching valve;

wherein the first switching valve is switchable between a first position in which the reservoir outlet is disconnected from the cooling loop and a second position in which the reservoir outlet is in fluid communication with the cooling loop via the first switching valve;

wherein the second switching valve is switchable between a first position in which the reservoir inlet is disconnected from the cooling loop and a second position in which the reservoir inlet is in fluid communication with the cooling loop via the second switching valve; and

wherein the pump is configured to circulate the cleaning solution through the cooling loop when the first switching valve and the second switching valve are in the second position.

18 . The marine vessel according to claim 17 , further comprising at least one of a marine drive and a battery pack;

wherein the heat exchanger is a first heat exchanger, and the cooling loop comprises a second heat exchanger configured to transfer heat from the at least one of the marine drive and the battery pack to the raw cooling water.

19 . The marine vessel according to claim 17 , further comprising a controller configured to selectively control the first switching valve, the second switching valve, and the pump to run a cleaning cycle according to a programmed cleaning schedule.