Was thinking of getting a portable (camping) AC unit and was interested to see if anyone has opinions or experience with these units. Would rather not install a dedicated marine unit due to the complexity and space requirements. Some of these can connect with their own batteries, plug in at dock, boat power bank or connect to a portable power station. A seperate power station could be good to charge at home and bring on board when going on an extended sail as a backup or I may be overthinking it. They seem costly but could be a decent option? Some examples below.
Peter, I want heat on my 324 “Essence”. This EcoFlow wave 3 is very interesting. At under $2000 it is very reasonable, as installing a diesel hot air heater (also designed for rv ) is $5000+. For me the AC would be a bonus. I don’t understand the exhaust? Is it air return?
No recommendations on what to buy, just a suggestion that you look carefully at how many BTUs you need. This depends a lot on the climate you’re in and how much of the boat you need to cool.
Not enough BTUs and way too many $$$. Try Homedepot, Menards, or Tractor Supply for something closer to 10k or more BTU’s, that is what we needed for our old Cape Dory 27. I think a 26b would require at least that much, a 30 ?? I have no idea if the cored hull provides any thermal insulation, but that is a lot of volume.
I think it works just like a home unit. For heat, you just use the other side. I like the idea of a separate battery, keep the house bank for refrigerator and other important things.
Good thought Bob! I have the 30 Classic so I can close off the front into it’s own cabin. Not much space especially if i keep the unit outside on deck and blow the cool air in at night.
I’m going to calculate the space this weekend. The boat is pretty well insulated with the cabin liner and sides. It is expensive, with the battery or batteries, I’m still looking and will check around at the places you mentioned. 10k btu seems like a good estimate for now.
Comfort is very important to me and SWMBO. On both my boats I use a portable R2D2 type AC unit that you can get from HD or Lowe’s for less than $500 or so. It is on rollers and I store it in the shower stall and only pull it out when I need it. In the summers on the Chesapeake I use it a lot after June 15. In New England, occasionally but man I’d rather have it available than not have it. Granted, I need to be on shore power, but if I’m on the hook then it’s probably not necessary anyways.
Somewhere between 7000BTU and 10,000BTU should work. The unit I got does not need a drain. It exhausts using a flex duct and I made an exhaust port to fit a window hatch.
Based on our infrequent use of the shower stall, it is rarely an inconvenience.
