I originally posted this project along with others in the spring. I thought that I would break it out separately for easy reference when doing a search on this topic. This is my final update as I have now had a chance to evaluate it.
The short of it is that I'm not happy with the performance of these portable units. I originally purchased the unit in a 9000 btu configuration . After using it for several months, I didn't feel that it cooled very well so I returned it hoping it was a defective unit. They made the same basic unit in a 10,000 btu version for just a little more money so I ordered that one since I figured it was worth a try. Unfortunately, this unit didn't work any better. While a Lowes today I got the employee to plug in a display model (8000 btu)of another brand that was AC only to see if it was just the manufacture that I had. It didn't cool very well either. The employee was interested in this little experiment so he and I took a 5000 btu window unit store display and plugged that in. Sure enough, it cooled much better and you could really tell the difference. I've also since checked on Consumer Reports reviews on these portable units and they had nothing good to say about them. It's a shame as I felt that the portable fit the boat well and the instal was not too distructive to the areas involved and it could be reversed if needed. In general, the unit cools to about 10 to maybe 13 degrees lower, if your lucky, than the outside temperature. That's with the unit running full time without the compressor cycling off at all. I'm going to live with it for probably several years at this point. My recommendation to others would be to just install a marine system. That is now my plan. I will make it part of a multi part project of adding 30A shore power and a battery charger. I hope this helps others.
The short of it is that I'm not happy with the performance of these portable units. I originally purchased the unit in a 9000 btu configuration . After using it for several months, I didn't feel that it cooled very well so I returned it hoping it was a defective unit. They made the same basic unit in a 10,000 btu version for just a little more money so I ordered that one since I figured it was worth a try. Unfortunately, this unit didn't work any better. While a Lowes today I got the employee to plug in a display model (8000 btu)of another brand that was AC only to see if it was just the manufacture that I had. It didn't cool very well either. The employee was interested in this little experiment so he and I took a 5000 btu window unit store display and plugged that in. Sure enough, it cooled much better and you could really tell the difference. I've also since checked on Consumer Reports reviews on these portable units and they had nothing good to say about them. It's a shame as I felt that the portable fit the boat well and the instal was not too distructive to the areas involved and it could be reversed if needed. In general, the unit cools to about 10 to maybe 13 degrees lower, if your lucky, than the outside temperature. That's with the unit running full time without the compressor cycling off at all. I'm going to live with it for probably several years at this point. My recommendation to others would be to just install a marine system. That is now my plan. I will make it part of a multi part project of adding 30A shore power and a battery charger. I hope this helps others.
