Portable A/C units for van

[BroncoHauler]

Here's one of the newer ice chest (swamp cooler) ones.

https://www.icybreeze.com/


Herb

[dogsandcats]

Thanks I’ll look at it.

[CarlParr]

We have a Zero Breeze 2. Runs off its own batteries (we have 2), the house batteries, generator or shore power. It is a real air conditioner, although only 2,300 btu, so it will not freeze you out sitting in the desert sun, but it does fine for cooling down the van for sleeping. It will run all night on its own batteries. We went this route for its portability to move over into the trailer's RTT when travelling with the grandkids. Basically, I added a shelf that it sits on and run the hoses (for some reason it has 2 exhaust hoses) through a foam tile with the 2 cutouts. The hightop window is only open enough to exhaust the air. We are still considering the Dometic 12v air conditioning unit, but I am a little hesitant as I am already at 9 and a half feet tall.

[gcvt]

I'm doing a cross country trip right now and bought the cheapest portable unit Lowes had - $300. It's working perfectly, fits right between the two front seats, and uses the outlet right behind the driver's seat (thanks SMB). I cut a little plywood piece, put a little foam around the edges, and stick it in the driver window. It's obviously a single-hoser...I don't think the smaller ones come with two hoses. This one is 5000BTU rated for 150 square feet.

[dogsandcats]

Thanks for the pics and telling how you did the venting.

[dogsandcats]

Thanks. Great to get details on how these things perform.

[Twoxentrix]

Originally Posted by CarlParr

We have a Zero Breeze 2. Runs off its own batteries (we have 2), the house batteries, generator or shore power. It is a real air conditioner, although only 2,300 btu, so it will not freeze you out sitting in the desert sun, but it does fine for cooling down the van for sleeping.

Very interesting Carl, I looked at the Zero Breeze about two years ago. Not something I would use often, but compact enough to warrant room in the van just for the few occasions it would come in handy.
You are the only one I know with actual practical experience so I'd like to impose with two questions:
1. Is it annoying loud as I've read from some user comments?
2. With your application, what would you determine it's effectiveness to be - will it bring down the ambient temp in the Van 10 degrees?, 15 degrees?
Thanks!

[CarlParr]

1. It is very quiet. No annoying cycling like the StarCools.
2. I would say 10 degrees during the day. 15 degrees at night. Although, and they will admit it, it will not cool down a metal box sitting in the direct sun. But it still will cool you off blowing directly on you. It has been great for sleeping and does remove the moisture as well.

Let me know if you want to see it in action.

[marret]

Originally Posted by CarlParr

1. It is very quiet. No annoying cycling like the StarCools.
2. I would say 10 degrees during the day. 15 degrees at night. Although, and they will admit it, it will not cool down a metal box sitting in the direct sun. But it still will cool you off blowing directly on you. It has been great for sleeping and does remove the moisture as well.

Let me know if you want to see it in action.

Thanks Carl. My Danhard works fine, but I would like an option for sleeping that doesn't require a generator or shore power. Cooling the bed area/person only is ok.

How is charging the batteries? Have to use AC or is there a DC option? If using an inverter, any issues charging while driving?

I thought I read Zero Breeze is 24 volts so it wouldn't work on house batteries without a converter..

Thanks, Chris

[CarlParr]

Hey Chris,
That is why it works for us, cooling the bed area at nighttime. Not usually in the vehicle during the day unless we are driving anyway.
When "off grid" we charge it using AC through the inverter/solar/house batteries. Charging it while driving seems to work fine. I bought their adapter so you can run the unit and charge the batteries at the same time, although there is no need to run it while driving, it is useful when on shore power.
It is 24 volts, but the AC adapter takes care of converting it. I did see some "hard wire" options that convert your 12v to 24v, but, for us, it is not necessary at this time.
Overall, we are satisfied with its ability to keep the van cool enough to sleep comfortably off grid overnight. In our van, it is mounted out of the way, requiring minimal setup, so we keep it with us for those trips when the temperature could get uncomfortable.