Question

[Mila Vera]

Hi to all!
Read the forum daily but do not write often. Today I was curious to know if any of you have ever Bought a portable AC/cooler? They are relatively cheap and small.
The two best selling and The two that have been given good ratings are Blaux and Nexfan. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Mila Vera first mate

 

[Pete Meisinger]

Ive seen them in use on boats. They take up quite a bit of room and I think they would roll around in a storm

Pete

 

[Mila Vera]

Answer to Portable AC/coolers

Pete
Thanks for your reply. The portable AC/Coolers I am talking about are no bigger than 10 inches tall by maybe 10 inches wide. They are table top and we would use it in the V-berth while at anchor.
Thanks
Mila Vera first mate

 

[Haloo]

I’m interested in this question too.

 

[DavidM]

The Blaux at least is an evaporative cooler, AKA Swamp cooler, that blows air over fiber sheets that soak up water from a basin below and reduce the air temp while increasing humidity.

They work in very dry climates, none of which you are going to find near any body of water. And they look too small to do anything but cool a closet if even that.

There is a hatch mounted compressor based A/C of about 6-7,000 btu/hr that does an ok job in a small boat or in an enclosed stateroom. I had one on a 30' boat many, many years ago. This is the current model I think- Carry on 7000 portable air conditioner - MyBoatsGear.com

David

 

[Comodave]

We lived in Tucson, AZ for 30 years. The first couple of years with evaporative cooling and no A/C. The evap coolers worked great until the relative humidity went up from the normal 7 to 10% into the 40 to 50% during June through August when they just blew hot moist air. Then it sucked and we would just shut down the water going into the cooler and go with just blowing plain air into the house. I have never tried one on a boat because on a boat the relative humidity is always in a range that evap coolers will not function effectively. But if you like hot moist air blowing on you then they will work very well. The coolers we had in the house blew huge amounts of air into the house in order to keep it cool, so much so that we had to leave multiple windows open to let the air out. So a small unit is unlikely to do much unless you are sitting right in front of it and the RH is low.

 

[Caphenning]

Pete
Thanks for your reply. The portable AC/Coolers I am talking about are no bigger than 10 inches tall by maybe 10 inches wide. They are table top and we would use it in the V-berth while at anchor.
Thanks
Mila Vera first mate

Those are crap, they aren’t AC units. The ones that are about the size of a carry on suitcase, they are AC and they work pretty good, I’ve installed them before for people in a locker with a deck vent above to run the dryer type hose out. They work okay to keep a <32’ sailboat okay in FL.