Zero Breeze AC

[cfimechanic]

Has anyone had any experience with this product on a boat. Is it powerful enough to cool down a 25 boat during the mid Atlantic dog days of summer?
It looks like a cool idea and if run off of two deep cycle batteries it could be run all night.

https://www.zerobreeze.com/

[a64pilot]

Issue is the amount of electrical power required to move heat.
Anything that can be run all night off of two deep cycle batteries, unless they are Submarine batteries isn’t going to have enough oomph to cool a small boat during the dog days of summer.

That’s going to take a 5,000 BTU AC from the box store and a Honda generator. 5,000 is likely larger than necessary, but a Honda will run it easily and they don’t come much smaller or cheaper.

Even if you could find something that could be run off of batteries, what’s going to run it, and charge the batteries the next day?

[cfimechanic]

I was thinking of using for just a single Sat/Sun overnight situation. They claim there compressor is more efficient than a standard AC compressor and its peak power draw is 15aH. Evan if It cant cool down the whole boat it might be worth while to just have it blow right on me threw the hatch at night.

[Sailmonkey]

Average humans produce 300-600 BTU of body heat.

This thing is 1100 btu. It’ll keep a small cabin area cooler than without it.

[Pete17C]

For an overnight, maybe DIY?

Cooler (w/ block of ice), fan and a pvc elbow.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ITtlxjvLQis

[cpisz]

I have not used this one but I have experience with similar products. The problem is that they often put out as much heat as they do cold. Thinking about the physics of the situation, where is the heat going? That is why they put home AC compressors outside. Unless there is a way to plumb the heat outside this setup is going to be very inefficient.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Pete17C

For an overnight, maybe DIY?

Cooler (w/ block of ice), fan and a pvc elbow.

Those actually work very well. You see them often in small airplanes, idea is to stay cool until you get airborne and up to altitude where it’s cool anyway.
The better ones circulate water through what looks like a transmission cooler, that the fan blows air over.
You only get a couple of hours max out of a whole cooler full of ice though.
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catal...13-16043-6.php

[witzgall]

Read this. http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ers-28515.html

My rule was 14-17 btu per cubic foot. THe highest was if there was lots of glass, or sunlight making it's way into the cabin.

Chris

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by cfimechanic

I was thinking of using for just a single Sat/Sun overnight situation. They claim there compressor is more efficient than a standard AC compressor and its peak power draw is 15aH. Evan if It cant cool down the whole boat it might be worth while to just have it blow right on me threw the hatch at night.

Now you are changing the use, first you said cool a boat during the dog days of Summer, now it’s maybe it will cool me off a little blowing on me at night.
However I’d be very suspect of anything that reported energy draw in amp hours.
Yes, for what was it $800? I’d hope it would at least blow some cool air onto you. I suspect that is exactly what it’s intended use is, not to cool an area.
However I doubt it’s more efficient than a house AC, the newer ones that are built to be efficient are extremely efficient.

The post about it having to exhaust the hot air outside was spot on, the only difference between an dehumidifier and an airconditioner is the AC has to get rid of the heat somehow, either with water or exhausting it outside, if you don’t do that, it will actually heat up the boat slightly

[cfimechanic]

The unit has an accordion style exhaust hose to vent the heat outside similar to any portable AC unit.

I have thought about doing one of the coolers of ice "AC" things, my only hesitations is the humidity in the summer is already rely high and then ill just be adding more humidity to the cabin. Certainly alto cheaper to try out than the Zero Breeze.

One of the biggest savings I was seeing with this type of system was that the Zero breeze is a DC powered system. Converting electricity from DC to AC is very inefficient (around 25-30% loss just in converting)

[Banderson]

Well, I personally love the name. Zero Breeze.

[cfimechanic]

I thought it was an interesting choice also. Wouldn't you want to call it Lots of Breeze

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by cfimechanic

One of the biggest savings I was seeing with this type of system was that the Zero breeze is a DC powered system. Converting electricity from DC to AC is very inefficient (around 25-30% loss just in converting)

Conversion losses can be well less than 10%. I bet you money that the zero breeze is like most all other compressors, that is it’s a brushless motor and therefore actually runs off of AC power, so it coverts DC to AC.
I think most if not all our refrigerators operate that way for example, I’d say all, but the swing compressor Engle uses may be a pure DC thing?