Installed my portable ac unit yesterday

[kito]

Well I got my H30 project boat pretty much sealed up with no water being found on the floor anymore. Only water puddles were from the sweat dripping off my chin while doing my interior renovation. I decided my next project needed to be installing my Newair 10,000 btu portable ac unit. The 1979 H30 has a recessed box on the starboard settee that went into the hanging locker.....not sure what this was for. I took it out and patched in the hole to allow room for the ac unit behind the bulkhead. I cut out a hole higher on the buklhead for the units air outlet. The hot air exhaust is just temporarily riigged to a portlight for now. I got to say that this is the best $300 I spent on this project so far. It cooled the cabin from 95 degrees to 82 within 30 minutes. Not sure how cold it will get since I only ran it that long. It also ran great off my Harbor Freight 2500 watt portable generator. I would have liked a central unit but $1600-$2500 for those just wasn't in the bank. For those wanting a cheap option to cool your cabin you may want to look into these things.

 

[Pilgrimtex]

That's why I ordered my new Oceanis 37 without AC even though we will be located in Galveston Bay, TX. Will use the location where it would have gone for the water maker. Only need the AC when at dock since we'll be living aboard.

 

[Benny17441]

Try it out and see what it does for you but understand that these portable units are rather inefficient for use in boats. The hot air exhaust hose acts as a heat radiator fighting the cooling action of the unit but the main issue is that the unit takes cooled air from the cabin and exhausts it as hot air and it will be replaced by the warm humid air from the outside that the unit has been trying to cool. If the unit runs to long and does not get a chance to cycle then it will shut off the compressor to prevent overheating and by the time it comes back on the temperature will have risen inside the cabin. Much of the problem has to do with the ambient humidity, with warm, humid air being constantly drawn from the outside it is very hard to lower the humidity inside the cabin during the summer months to attain comfortable levels. If you want an idea of how much humid air you are drawing from the outside just place your hand on the exhaust hose and feel the volume of air going out. The air pressure needs to be equalized in the inside and outside and the volume of air will seep in through every nook and cranny. You have done well in getting a 10K btu unit as in these, bigger is not only better but necessary. For a 30' boat a 12K btu would have been more advisable but it is what it is. What you could do for those humid summer months is to get an additional 5K btu window unit for the companionway to act as a booster. Just make sure your shorepower ac circuits are up to the extra load. I tried it years ago and it did not work for me but maybe you'll have better luck.

 

[kito]

Thanks for your comments Benny. I know these units are not for everyone. My exhaust hose will be wrapped in insulation to help the radiant heat issue. My aft berth area is being transformed in a storage only area and will be closed off making the cooled area much smaller. It was 92 here yesterday and the cabin was very comfortable. I am one that doesn't need to "feel cold" when in ac. I keep my house at 79......it's the humidity that I find miserable. I will see how this goes. If I find it just can't do the job, I will experiment with adding an air inlet hose to feed the unit. The unit is in a hanging locker that can easily be enclosed. Maybe adding an inlet duct from the locker to outside air may cut down on a lot of sucking hot air from all the nooks and crannies.