How to cool a 25 Macgregor on the Gulf of Mexico in Florida in the Summer,,, Zero Breeze?

[patrickfarley]

I grew up on a ranch/farm in the central valley of California. I worked in the heat. The summer in Florida does not bother me. If I get hot I anchor and jump off the boat.
I open the hatches to get a breeze through the boat in the evening and have no trouble sleeping. However, I am not the only person.
Blowing air over ice will cool the area for a short time. It also adds to the amount of water in the air and on the boat.
I have one 12 volt deep cycle marine battery and two 20w solar collectors. This runs the navigation unit, radio, fish finder, navigation lights, cabin lights and tolling motor. I have a full battery at the end of each day.
The longest I have stayed out is three days and I have never drained the battery.
The trolling motor is for using if the gas motor has a problem. This has happened and the trolling motor moves me along at low speed for miles. This did not drain the battery.

I am considering getting a larger panel 100w and a Zero Breeze cooler.
I think a larger panel would allow the battery to charge over the day and cool the boat for the evening when we plan to sleep.

Has anyone used the Zero Breeze cooler or found another way to cool their cabin to sleep in at night.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Yeah. Florida’s summer heat and humidity together are quite uncomfortable for some folks, but evidently not for others. I also lived in the Central Valley from 12 to 22 years of age; eventually moved to central-west FL (Tampa Bay) for eleven years, then to Southern California. I can’t say that Valley heat (which is semi-arid) preacclimated me in any way to the FL situation.

When anchored out in summer we sometimes used a wind scoop which funneled air down the forward hatch into the V-berth. But, there had to be wind. When at a marina on power, I used a small home (A/C) window unit installed in the companionway. Also, when the nightly T-storms pass near, they cool the air significantly for much of the night remaining; but T-storms are not much fun at anchor. I recall a big one that hit us in the afternoon on a Labor Day weekend while anchored at DeSoto Point. After it was over, the air remained fairly pleasant through the evening. That all said, no- I have no experience with the battery-powered unit you describe. However, I probably would try one out if it was either that or stay home!

 

[rgranger]

I'd like to know how it works out. Please keep us posted

 

[THECUSCUS]

I have one of the low draw 12v fans from Camfro mounted in the very front of the V-berth. With the hatch open, it helps to draw air in. I also have one of the larger, rechargeable fans from H2O cool (??, bought at west marine). Screens and/or nets are a must if you keep the hatch open and hatch board out for circulation.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Screens and/or nets are a must if you keep the hatch open and hatch board out for circulation.

Infamously on the Chesapeake, but not so much in the FL anchorages along the SE coast inside the barrier islands between Clearwater and Naples if you drop a few hundred feet from shore. Just keep some repellant handy; maybe use citronella oil in lamps.

 

[rgranger]

maybe use citronella oil in lamps.

I use citronella candles ALL THE TIME on my boat. I use the kind you buy at walmart that come in a tin and then I place the entire tin in a cooking pot just to be sure it doesn't get kicked over and start a fire and leave that out in the cockpit. I also place one down in the cabin (in a pot) in the galley sink. It takes about 20 min but after about 20 min the boat fills up with the sent and I never get bit (and I'm anchoring in a shallow lake in Alabama). Before I go to bed I blow out the one that is outside but I leave the one in the sink burning.

I think one of these filled with citronella oil would be a great addition to any boat....

Beautiful Table-Top and Hanging Oil Lamps

These beautiful Solid Brass lamps are now available in two sizes: Standard (8") andLarge (10"), and will burn either standard lamp oil or kerosene equally we

www.garrettwade.com

 

[patrickfarley]

I like the oil lamps.
I anchor at least 150 feet from the nearest land or plant. It keeps most of the bugs away. I also have mosquito net for the hatch and the cabin door area. Most of the time I do not have a problem with bugs.

I have O2 cool fans from Walmart. They are older fans and move a lot of air. I hook them up to the solar panels directly and can place them where I happen to be at the moment.

I like the Gulf of Mexico for the fishing and the sights. I buy an out of state license every year and fish while sailing. The two white poles on the back of the boat hold fishing poles. I drag a canoe as a dingy.

I want to go to Florida. I want to sail, fish and relax. I don't want to rent a space, I would rather stay on the boat for a few days. I just need a nice cool evening space to let us fall asleep.

 

[David in Sandusky]

There's breeze in the Keys!

At least most of the summer that is.

 

[Benny17441]

Go big or go sweat. You can pair a 5K BTU window A/C with a Honda 2000 generator. You can run the A/C, recharge your batteries and keep the mosquitoes out, simultaneously. I have had my share of miserable nights with no breeze and they sure do not feel like any badge of honor to brag about.

 

[justsomeguy]

I want to go to Florida.

Go big or go sweat.

.

 

[patrickfarley]

Kings Gambit
Great Idea
I also:
"When at a marina on power, I used a small home (A/C) window unit installed in the companionway." It worked great ,I was watching movies and ordered pizza for dinner.
The only problem is that I am at a marina and have to store that AC unit on a small sailboat.

If I rent a condo with dock I can sleep in a nice bed and watch TV all night(Sea Club II)(Siesta Key). I am trying to stay away from people right now.

I would like to take my wife and be able to anchor or tie up at the dock at Cayo Costa State Park. I would need to make the boat cool enough for her to fall asleep. If there are no other answers I would like to find out if someone has ever tried out the Zero Breeze to cool the cabin of a Macgregor 25 or something about that size.
How long did the cooling last?
Does it work?
Will it cool the cabin?
Can I charge it with one day of charging with a 100w solar panel backing up a deep cycle battery?
I am too worried about generator on a small sailboat to run an AC unit.

 

[rgranger]

Here is another thread on the same subject from a few months ago

An Actually portable Air Conditioner?

Anyone happen to see or give this a try? seems like something that would be good to keep a vbirth or sleeping birth cool. i'm considering it for use while on the hook and driving it off the house bank with a 12-24v converter.

forums.sailboatowners.com

Some of the posters went into some detail on the power consumption and cooling volumes. It might be helpful

 

[jviss]

Can I charge it with one day of charging with a 100w solar panel backing up a deep cycle battery?

My intuition is no. But here's a simple way to calculate it. Figure out how many BTU/hr you will need throughout the course of a night to keep it cool enough. Let's say a modest AC unit of 5,000 BTU will do it. How many Watts is that? 1 Btu/hr is equal to 0.29307107 Watts. So, 5,000 BTU/hr is 1,465 Watts. That's continuous. Even at perfect conversion efficiency, you won't be able to do it with a 100W panel and 100Ah battery. (The battery won't even run it for 1/2 hour.)

The Zero Breeze unit is about 2,300 BTU, I think, and they say it can go 5 hours, but that probably assumes some duty cycle less than 1.0.

Maybe if you can contain it to one cabin on the boat....

 

[justsomeguy]

Maybe if you can contain it to one cabin on the boat....

It's a Mac 25.
Even as small as it is, I doubt it'll stay cool all night.
Sorry, OP.

 

[patrickfarley]

Ok. So I have a power problem.
I have a BF75 Honda outboard. This outboard creates power with an onboard generator. I have never used the generator. However, it may create energy that I would find useful in powering an onboard AC unit with a Zero Breeze AC unit and battery. However, will the process work.

I also do not need to have the cabin cool all night. The time frame is three days. The hot hours are from 3 PM to 10 PM. We usually go to sleep around 10 PM but it is still hot. If we could cool the cabin for an hour or two I think we would sleep well. If we are hot during the day we swim so long as the sun is shining. We do not swim in the evening.

Still wondering how well the Zero Breeze AC machine works.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Ok. So I have a power problem.
I have a BF75 Honda outboard. This outboard creates power with an onboard generator. I have never used the generator. However, it may create energy that I would find useful in powering an onboard AC unit with a Zero Breeze AC unit and battery. However, will the process work.

I also do not need to have the cabin cool all night. The time frame is three days. The hot hours are from 3 PM to 10 PM. We usually go to sleep around 10 PM but it is still hot. If we could cool the cabin for an hour or two I think we would sleep well. If we are hot during the day we swim so long as the sun is shining. We do not swim in the evening.

Still wondering how well the Zero Breeze AC machine works.

Have you actually visited southeast FL in summer for sailing? You make it sound as if you have. Discomfort from heat/humidity generally persists all night. One usually cannot go from the front door of the house to a car parked in the driveway or on the street w/o breaking into a sweat, even at mid-night. Just standing on the pouch for few minutes is often enough. So, you probably should forget about that. A “partial-night” cool down is not going to work to your satisfaction IMHO. As Benny said, “go big or go sweat.” You have to remember that the 80-deg F water that you will be floating in will quickly suck out whatever coolness you might be able to produce.

From an 11-yr veteran of southeast FL sailing. If you cannot suffer the outside summer conditions as they are, get a slip at a marina with a pool and air-conditioned rooms. Try Sarasota Bay or Tierra Verde/Gulfport area. Otherwise, bring a window unit to plug in. Do your sailing/boating between 0900 and noon, which is generally when there is some SE or E wind in summer along the Gulf coast. Then park it; the wind usually dies around then anyway. Have lunch, then jump in the pool. Later, between 1600 and 2000 go for a sail on the westerly sea breeze; 10-12 kt. Be aware of late afternoon T-storms which may be about. If near them but not too close, you can sail well on the air they push around. This requires some acute situational awareness, however. Then, park it. Sleep under the AC in your room! Maybe your wife will look forward to doing the trip again.

 

[srimes]

Ok. So I have a power problem.
I have a BF75 Honda outboard. This outboard creates power with an onboard generator. I have never used the generator. However, it may create energy that I would find useful in powering an onboard AC unit with a Zero Breeze AC unit and battery. However, will the process work.

I also do not need to have the cabin cool all night. The time frame is three days. The hot hours are from 3 PM to 10 PM. We usually go to sleep around 10 PM but it is still hot. If we could cool the cabin for an hour or two I think we would sleep well. If we are hot during the day we swim so long as the sun is shining. We do not swim in the evening.

Still wondering how well the Zero Breeze AC machine works.

The reviews say it doesn't work well.

If you want battery-powered cooling a fan is your best bet. If you want AC you'll need shore power or a generator. Even if the zero breeze does work there's no way it'll last 3 days. You're outboard doesn't have the power to charge it.

If you do buy it please post results.

 

[Lost Hannah]

Still wondering how well the Zero Breeze AC machine works.

the zero breeze uses a tiny A/C compressor so almost like a window AC unit but much smaller and not as powerfull

if you have the power their not a bad way of going.

 

[patrickfarley]

From the web site

 

[JRT]

Why Zero Breeze is Not an Efficient Tent Cooler - An Honest Review

An honest review about the acclaimed camping air conditioner, the Zero Breeze. Find out why you need to think again before you decide to buy it this summer.

campinghabits.com

I'd pass on it, it is pricey, you could get a portable generator and window AC for the same price and know it will work and have the extra option of a generator.