Portable air conditioner - looks interesting

Captain Larry-DH

Captain Larry-DH

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Jun 14, 2010
2,286
Robertson & Caine 2017 Leopard 40 CT
This is just an FYI - I have no business interest in this product, don't need it and haven't tried it. To the forum mods - I didn't know which section to post this in, and if it violates forum rules please feel free to delete it. I'm not selling anything.
I saw this portable air conditioner in a targeted ad and it looks like it might be good for some "use-cases" for boats. It's rated 5250 BTU and only weighs 22 pounds bare bones, so it might be enough to cool a 25-30-something foot boat after the sun is low. It also offers a battery option.
www.zerobreeze.com

ZERO BREEZE Battery Operated Portable Air Conditioner

ZERO BREEZE Air Conditioner can work with power supplied through a standard adapter. It can be used as a home air conditioner, also it can work as a car air conditioner, a Tent air conditioner through connecting with a power source or portable power source with 24V, 10A power supplied.
www.zerobreeze.com www.zerobreeze.com
 
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colemj

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Jul 13, 2004
466
Dolphin Catamaran Dolphin 460 Mystic, CT
This unit has been talked up a lot in boating forums for a couple of years now.

I need to point out that recently a 48' sailboat was towed into our marina and hauled out. It was completely gutted by fire and a total loss. I talked to the owner and the cause of the fire was his Zero Breeze lithium ion polymer battery suddenly going up in flames. He said it was inextinguishable. It was sitting on his saloon table at the time and he said the battery suddenly caught fire and spread so fast that there was little he could do once the fire extinguishers within his reach were empty. The boat was at another marina at the time, and he said all of the hoses on the dock, along with everyones' fire extinguishers were trained on it, but all that did was keep the fire from spreading to other boats until the battery stopped burning and they could slowly bring down and extinguish the burning boat itself.

Notably, his lithium iron phosphate house batteries were engulfed in the fire and just sat there unaffected. They likely aren't useable anymore, but they didn't contribute to the fire or cause damage in any way.


WhatsApp Image 2025-01-08 at 16.36.38.jpeg
 
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Captain Larry-DH

Captain Larry-DH

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Jun 14, 2010
2,286
Robertson & Caine 2017 Leopard 40 CT
colemj said:
This unit has been talked up a lot in boating forums for a couple of years now.

I need to point out that recently a 48' sailboat was towed into our marina and hauled out. It was completely gutted by fire and a total loss. I talked to the owner and the cause of the fire was his Zero Breeze lithium ion polymer battery suddenly going up in flames. He said it was inextinguishable. It was sitting on his saloon table at the time and he said the battery suddenly caught fire and spread so fast that there was little he could do once the fire extinguishers within his reach were empty. The boat was at another marina at the time, and he said all of the hoses on the dock, along with everyones' fire extinguishers were trained on it, but all that did was keep the fire from spreading to other boats until the battery stopped burning and they could slowly bring down and extinguish the burning boat itself.

Notably, his lithium iron phosphate house batteries were engulfed in the fire and just sat there unaffected. They likely aren't useable anymore, but they didn't contribute to the fire or cause damage in any way.


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Thanks - good info, and sad to hear about that. That wouldn’t rule out getting this unit as a base model to run off the house inverter or generator/shore power.
 
Foswick

Foswick

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Apr 25, 2024
335
Fuji 32 Bellingham
Yeah, on a boat with its own power, I don't see any advantage to using their battery. In fact, even safety considerations aside, there would be some efficiency disadvantages. So, the real question is - does the unit work?

I am fortunate to live in an area where I just don't need AC. But, if I did, I would give this unit a try.

But, that said, I am really careful about what batteries I bring on board. I have some experience with EV design and construction - enough to have a healthy respect for the hazards of Li-ion batteries. As a rule, I don't have unattended LiPo, LCO, or NMC batteries on board. And, if I do (such as a laptop) I don't allow them to charge unattended.

I really question the manufacturer's decision to use LiPo batteries for this application. I looked up their specs and they are using 21700 cells. Given the dimensions, voltages, and output specs, they are almost certainly arranged in a 14S12P or 14S13P configuration. So, the per-cell draw is still only about 1 amp. Honestly, there is nothing about that configuration that should be dangerous except that a 14S pack is surprisingly energetic, if shorted. The problem, if I had to guess, is that the low demands on those cells means the manufacturer looks for the cheapest cells possible, and that is rarely a good bargain when it comes to LiPo. So, nothing inherently dangerous about this, so long as the manufacturer doesn't cut corners with their LiPo supplier. But, buying LiPo is inherently risky because it is REALLY hard to know exactly what you are getting, despite how it it labeled.

I'm sorry, we were talking about AC ...
 
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Project_Mayhem

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Sep 24, 2018
3,271
Catalina 30 MKIII Chicago
The Mark II is rated at 2300 BTU's. A small window AC unit is rated at 4000-5000btu's put put it into perspective. If you can keep the sun off of the cabin roof, this might work well for a smaller boat
 
justsomeguy

justsomeguy

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Feb 20, 2011
8,048
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
The website isn't clear about what the unit does with the waste heat.
Is it ducted to the outside of the boat?
If so, where will the replacement air come from?
 
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JBP-PA

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Apr 29, 2022
576
Jeanneau Tonic 23 Erie, PA
A friend of mine has one of these. He calls it the Zero Cool. He let me try it on my 23 ft boat. On a very hot day, 90's, I put it in the cockpit with the cool air ducted in to the cabin through a port light. After a couple hours, it did make a difference, but not a lot. A couple degrees. If it blows directly on you it's nice, an extra cool fan. Maybe it would have done better inside the cabin and thus recirculating the cooler air but it's pretty big for my little boat.

At the end of the day we decided it wasn't really worth the hassle of setting up. My friend said "I told you so."
 
J

JBP-PA

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Apr 29, 2022
576
Jeanneau Tonic 23 Erie, PA
justsomeguy

justsomeguy

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Feb 20, 2011
8,048
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
Foswick said:
www.zerobreeze.com

Manual Download

ZERO BREEZE products manual download.Explore this section to conveniently access and download comprehensive product manuals for your reference.
www.zerobreeze.com www.zerobreeze.com
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Thanks. Yes, it needs to be vented outside the area needing cooling, so hot air will be introduced to make up for exhaust venting.
Not a good way to cool.
 
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Project_Mayhem

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Sep 24, 2018
3,271
Catalina 30 MKIII Chicago
justsomeguy said:
Thanks. Yes, it needs to be vented outside the area needing cooling, so hot air will be introduced to make up for exhaust venting.
Not a good way to cool.
Click to expand
I did see a pic with two hoses going outside so I assume that it can be setup to recirculate air inside the cabin
 
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JBP-PA

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Apr 29, 2022
576
Jeanneau Tonic 23 Erie, PA
Yep, it has inlets and outlets for both the cool side and warm side. Ducts can be attached to any of them.
1000001475.jpg
 
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