Does anyone have any experience using the "cool currents" TM 12 volt portable A/C unit? I saw it advertised in Cruising world recently. (http://www.coolcurrents.net/) It is supposed to use less than 2 amps @12v (1.7a). It says that you drop a hose with a weighted screen over the side into deeper water (up to 20 feet). Supposedly this allows a far greater heat exchange due to the water being much cooler down below the surface. I am not looking for miracles, but if it can cool down the cabin (I have a Cat 36) a little in the evening to make it a little more comfortable for sleeping on those really sticky nights, then it might be worth it. But I am concerned that I will be paying almost a grand for a relatively useless item.
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btu?
Tom, I don't have any knowledge of this unit but would also be interested in something like that! The key to your question is the correct sizing of space to btu output of the a/c unit. I woulf guess that you would need at least 12000 btu if not more on a 36 foot boat more likely 18000 btu. What is the rating of the unit?Please keep us updated as I sure there are other interested also. Thanks Pete
Tom, I don't have any knowledge of this unit but would also be interested in something like that! The key to your question is the correct sizing of space to btu output of the a/c unit. I woulf guess that you would need at least 12000 btu if not more on a 36 foot boat more likely 18000 btu. What is the rating of the unit?Please keep us updated as I sure there are other interested also. Thanks Pete
Let's see...
2 computer case fans: 2x$15 1 12v bilge pump: $25 25'feet of hose: $12.50 plastic case/box to mount it in: $10 Total: $77.50 I guess it would take about an hour, some glue and some hose clamps to assemble it vs $1195 to buy it. Hmmm.
2 computer case fans: 2x$15 1 12v bilge pump: $25 25'feet of hose: $12.50 plastic case/box to mount it in: $10 Total: $77.50 I guess it would take about an hour, some glue and some hose clamps to assemble it vs $1195 to buy it. Hmmm.
A couple of 12v oscillating fans...
Are often enough on hot nights--just moving some air through the boat can make all the difference in the world. Can be bulkhead mounted and easily wired...they don't draw much...and they're a lot quieter than portable ac units too.
Are often enough on hot nights--just moving some air through the boat can make all the difference in the world. Can be bulkhead mounted and easily wired...they don't draw much...and they're a lot quieter than portable ac units too.
Agree with Peggie...
Dec.20, 2000 Dear Tom, Sorry I don't have any experience with the unit you are referring to . The Legend came equipped with a very expensive combination heater - air conditioner that turned out to be such a power pig we tore it out and replaced it with oscillating 12 volt fans in all of the cabins as suggested by Peggie. I can tell you we have not regretted it for a minute. Not only do they keep us cool but we added a whole lot of storage space with the old unit's removal. We have a fan in the galley and I also have a computer fan mounted over the nav. station where I'm writing this that draws 0.65 amperes and makes life very comfortable. Personally given the costs involved between fans and air conditioning I think the money involved for the result obtained could be better used elsewhere. I hope this helps. Brian Pickton of BeneteauOwners.net Aboard the Legend, Rodney Bay, St. Lucia
Dec.20, 2000 Dear Tom, Sorry I don't have any experience with the unit you are referring to . The Legend came equipped with a very expensive combination heater - air conditioner that turned out to be such a power pig we tore it out and replaced it with oscillating 12 volt fans in all of the cabins as suggested by Peggie. I can tell you we have not regretted it for a minute. Not only do they keep us cool but we added a whole lot of storage space with the old unit's removal. We have a fan in the galley and I also have a computer fan mounted over the nav. station where I'm writing this that draws 0.65 amperes and makes life very comfortable. Personally given the costs involved between fans and air conditioning I think the money involved for the result obtained could be better used elsewhere. I hope this helps. Brian Pickton of BeneteauOwners.net Aboard the Legend, Rodney Bay, St. Lucia
Or maybe, to address the actual question...
Tom, It gets hotter than hot here in Dallas. I've been looking into A/C'ing our S2 to make it more of a summer boat. Over-nighting at docks doesn't appeal to me. My current research is with http://www.swampy.net/swamp.html Give their products a look. They primarily serve the RV crowd but they may have a marine application. Greg
Tom, It gets hotter than hot here in Dallas. I've been looking into A/C'ing our S2 to make it more of a summer boat. Over-nighting at docks doesn't appeal to me. My current research is with http://www.swampy.net/swamp.html Give their products a look. They primarily serve the RV crowd but they may have a marine application. Greg
Is it worth it?
Look at the economics of it. Is a couple nights sleep worth over $1K? To me - no. I would add a few fans and a nice misting squirt bottle. The number of potential mechanical problems with something like that is so great that it *probably* won't be worth it in the long run. Won't increase the value enough to justify the purchase. You'll only *need* it a couple times a year and the rest of the time you use it will only be more $$ out of your pocket for energy costs (not to mention repairs). Try the fans first. See if it works for you first and then move on to A/Cs. Stay cool! LaDonna
Look at the economics of it. Is a couple nights sleep worth over $1K? To me - no. I would add a few fans and a nice misting squirt bottle. The number of potential mechanical problems with something like that is so great that it *probably* won't be worth it in the long run. Won't increase the value enough to justify the purchase. You'll only *need* it a couple times a year and the rest of the time you use it will only be more $$ out of your pocket for energy costs (not to mention repairs). Try the fans first. See if it works for you first and then move on to A/Cs. Stay cool! LaDonna
Thanks for all the responses
I know it is a long shot that this product will produce miracles, and I wasn't expecting any, I was curious if anyone else ever tried this and would have been able to tell me whether it was a useless piece of equipment or possibly had some merit. You never know, they have very low current refrigeration coolers via "Pelletier" (sp?) effect that do a decent job of cooling inside of the cooler in respect to ambient temperature. Pete, as far as BTU this unit is NO where near a fully functional A/C unit (12,000-16,000 BTU), but the unit claimed that given 70° water and 95° cabin air, will deliver about 3600 BTU’s........maybe just enough to get a little cooling going in the salon area of my Cat 36. Tim, as far as building one myself, I thought about the same thing ! But you left out a highly efficient copper heat transfer/condensor coil...and I would expect a little better pump than $25. Not to mention the huge hassle factor involved in trying to make one.....But you are correct -- $1195 is a little outrageous for such a simple heat transfer/radiator type device. Peggy, absolutely....First thing on my boat is the Fans..(actually I have the highly efficient Hella Turbo fans)......I was wondering if this unit could add to that and I am not concerned with the noise level of this unit since it is only computer box fan's and a pump running.....not a compressor like in a fully functional A/C unit. Brian, yes a fully functional A/C unit is a power hog, I would never try and use it while anchor. That is why I am looking at this unit. BTW I do think a fully functional A/C unit does have merit when at a marina where it is typically very hot/hunid and power is provided at the dock. Greg, Yes I did look at that product from www.swampy.net .....but like I said before, you don't get something for nothing. But did you know that you need Ice or freezer packs to make those things work and ALOT of it? From thier web site they say that they use from 15 to 20 pounds (6.8 to 9 kilograms) of ice per hour....WOW. I might as well pour the ice all over myself. So as it goes to show you....we don't get something for nothing...... Ideally for me I would love to have a unit designed that has 3 modes of operation. 1) When at anchor uses only 2 amps @12v and and would operate like the "Cool Currents" product above (No compressor running but uses cool water from anchorage and just passes that over the cooling coils) ---Not much cooling but enough to help at anchor 2) A fully functional A/C unit when I am at the dock at the marina (12000-16000 BTU's) 3) Reverse Cycle heating mode for those chilly Fall afternoons. When I go to the Boat shows this year I am going to bring this up to the Marine Air Conditioner manufacturers. It shouldn't be too hard for them to put in a low current mode of operation that just pumps cooling water over the coils. Now THAT is a product I would buy and pay a little extra for (and I believe there would be a big market out there and whoever does bring it to the marine market could capture a much larger percentage of the market) Sorry for the long response ---- maybe Peggy Hall can forward this post to some Marine Contacts and see what they can do --- I'd gladly be the Guinee Pig Tom
I know it is a long shot that this product will produce miracles, and I wasn't expecting any, I was curious if anyone else ever tried this and would have been able to tell me whether it was a useless piece of equipment or possibly had some merit. You never know, they have very low current refrigeration coolers via "Pelletier" (sp?) effect that do a decent job of cooling inside of the cooler in respect to ambient temperature. Pete, as far as BTU this unit is NO where near a fully functional A/C unit (12,000-16,000 BTU), but the unit claimed that given 70° water and 95° cabin air, will deliver about 3600 BTU’s........maybe just enough to get a little cooling going in the salon area of my Cat 36. Tim, as far as building one myself, I thought about the same thing ! But you left out a highly efficient copper heat transfer/condensor coil...and I would expect a little better pump than $25. Not to mention the huge hassle factor involved in trying to make one.....But you are correct -- $1195 is a little outrageous for such a simple heat transfer/radiator type device. Peggy, absolutely....First thing on my boat is the Fans..(actually I have the highly efficient Hella Turbo fans)......I was wondering if this unit could add to that and I am not concerned with the noise level of this unit since it is only computer box fan's and a pump running.....not a compressor like in a fully functional A/C unit. Brian, yes a fully functional A/C unit is a power hog, I would never try and use it while anchor. That is why I am looking at this unit. BTW I do think a fully functional A/C unit does have merit when at a marina where it is typically very hot/hunid and power is provided at the dock. Greg, Yes I did look at that product from www.swampy.net .....but like I said before, you don't get something for nothing. But did you know that you need Ice or freezer packs to make those things work and ALOT of it? From thier web site they say that they use from 15 to 20 pounds (6.8 to 9 kilograms) of ice per hour....WOW. I might as well pour the ice all over myself. So as it goes to show you....we don't get something for nothing...... Ideally for me I would love to have a unit designed that has 3 modes of operation. 1) When at anchor uses only 2 amps @12v and and would operate like the "Cool Currents" product above (No compressor running but uses cool water from anchorage and just passes that over the cooling coils) ---Not much cooling but enough to help at anchor 2) A fully functional A/C unit when I am at the dock at the marina (12000-16000 BTU's) 3) Reverse Cycle heating mode for those chilly Fall afternoons. When I go to the Boat shows this year I am going to bring this up to the Marine Air Conditioner manufacturers. It shouldn't be too hard for them to put in a low current mode of operation that just pumps cooling water over the coils. Now THAT is a product I would buy and pay a little extra for (and I believe there would be a big market out there and whoever does bring it to the marine market could capture a much larger percentage of the market) Sorry for the long response ---- maybe Peggy Hall can forward this post to some Marine Contacts and see what they can do --- I'd gladly be the Guinee Pig Tom
Condensor Core
Tom, re: your reply to Tim; I'll bet you could simply use a large salvage automobile heater core as a condensor.... sure is fun thinking how to do it youself. Sounds like a winter speculative planning project for a couple of northeastern folks currently in hibernation.
Tom, re: your reply to Tim; I'll bet you could simply use a large salvage automobile heater core as a condensor.... sure is fun thinking how to do it youself. Sounds like a winter speculative planning project for a couple of northeastern folks currently in hibernation.
Power Consumption
A 12V fan draws about 1 amp/hr. I find it hard to believe an A/C unit of any kind can cool anything at 2 amp/hr. A very small 12V refrig. draws 3.7 amp/hrs, but it only runs 50% of the time. I would hate to have to cool a boat with a unit as small as that, but I'm open to new ideas. If it works, great. But I would tread lightly if I were you... Good Luck... Ron
A 12V fan draws about 1 amp/hr. I find it hard to believe an A/C unit of any kind can cool anything at 2 amp/hr. A very small 12V refrig. draws 3.7 amp/hrs, but it only runs 50% of the time. I would hate to have to cool a boat with a unit as small as that, but I'm open to new ideas. If it works, great. But I would tread lightly if I were you... Good Luck... Ron
Read their ad
Just read their ad and that's what they claim. $1195.00 is a lot of money, but as Greg said in his reply, it gets pretty hot down here in Texas. I think I will wait until a few of these units are out there in boats and the owners are so happy they can't control themselves... When it sounds too good to be true....... Ron
Just read their ad and that's what they claim. $1195.00 is a lot of money, but as Greg said in his reply, it gets pretty hot down here in Texas. I think I will wait until a few of these units are out there in boats and the owners are so happy they can't control themselves... When it sounds too good to be true....... Ron
One more thing
My hat is of to you living in Connecticut this time of year and thinking of A/C... You truly are a long range planner.. Ron
My hat is of to you living in Connecticut this time of year and thinking of A/C... You truly are a long range planner.. Ron
Ron, Don't give me all the credit
I was reading January's Cruising World and mentioned (Like a fool) this add I saw to my girlfriend.....And she's like --- "Wow! that looks great !! You should get that ----- Yadda, yadda, yadda"..... So for the next 20 minutes I was trying to explain to her that it really almost sounds too good to be true (I have an Engineering degree) and at what cost and it might *sound* better than it actually works..... But who knows.....Nobody ever thought those Ozone generator "Air cleaner/fresheners" would ever work either, but they do. I think I would try it for about $350 but not $1200 -- personnally I think their BTU calculation is very generous So Ron why don't you get a group of freinds down in Texas to split the cost & buy one and let us know how it works :^)
I was reading January's Cruising World and mentioned (Like a fool) this add I saw to my girlfriend.....And she's like --- "Wow! that looks great !! You should get that ----- Yadda, yadda, yadda"..... So for the next 20 minutes I was trying to explain to her that it really almost sounds too good to be true (I have an Engineering degree) and at what cost and it might *sound* better than it actually works..... But who knows.....Nobody ever thought those Ozone generator "Air cleaner/fresheners" would ever work either, but they do. I think I would try it for about $350 but not $1200 -- personnally I think their BTU calculation is very generous So Ron why don't you get a group of freinds down in Texas to split the cost & buy one and let us know how it works :^)
the primary function of A/C is to remove ...
humidity. Without a compressor that is pretty much impossible. Years ago, my dorm in TX was cooled and heated by a water-circulated system and it was always clammy. Plenty of cool air, just no humidity removal. I remember staying in a motel that used the same type of system...same problem. The evaporative coolers seen in desert climates work because there is almost no humidity in an arid climate. I bet if we used one of these new units here in Florida, we would end up with a mildew farm in our boats. Buy some quality fans and some new toys for the boat with the savings.
humidity. Without a compressor that is pretty much impossible. Years ago, my dorm in TX was cooled and heated by a water-circulated system and it was always clammy. Plenty of cool air, just no humidity removal. I remember staying in a motel that used the same type of system...same problem. The evaporative coolers seen in desert climates work because there is almost no humidity in an arid climate. I bet if we used one of these new units here in Florida, we would end up with a mildew farm in our boats. Buy some quality fans and some new toys for the boat with the savings.
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