Valair aircondicing

[Badsanta]

I like the looks and specs of this, but I've never heard of brand.
Anyone have experience and info?

Many thanks

[a64pilot]

Velair or Valair?

[Badsanta]

Velair.

[Acadia]

Hi, I have a 16k unit. It’s been great. I can run it off my inverter on low mode. It will handle full blast but the draw is 100 amps ans I don’t like doing that to my batteries.

Super quiet, no start load and very efficient. 9 amps AC total full load including the pump

[Sailmonkey]

I’ve just been witness to a new 16k unit yesterday.

Very quiet, very low current draw (already cooled cabin), no startup surge.

Impressive!

No idea how the longevity will play out, but the components looked like good stuff.

[Badsanta]

Thats great to hear. Many thanks

[ThereAndBack]

Originally Posted by Acadia

Hi, I have a 16k unit. It’s been great. I can run it off my inverter on low mode. It will handle full blast but the draw is 100 amps ans I don’t like doing that to my batteries.

Super quiet, no start load and very efficient. 9 amps AC total full load including the pump

Would love a more detailed first hand review. How much does it draw when it is on "low mode" and how much cooling does that really generate? I'd love to install this to cool down my berth on the hot summer nights and run it off the battery bank if that is possible.

When you say 9 amps AC total, do you mean the pump you use is also an AC powered pump? Or is that some extra amps?

[CaptTom]

My Dometic 15K BTU units pull about 9A, too. So yhat sounds about normal to me.

[Sailmonkey]

The unit I was witness to had already cooled the cabin, so had slowed the compressor down. At the time it was pulling around 3 amps(not counting water pump)@ 120 volts.

For me, beyond simply consuming less power once cooled, the lack of surge on startup and the ability to maintain a tighter temperature band are big pluses.

[Coolerking]

The LRA on any AC unit is tied directly to the BTU/hr.
They will all be very close in total draw regardless who built it.

[Acadia]

Originally Posted by ThereAndBack

Would love a more detailed first hand review. How much does it draw when it is on "low mode" and how much cooling does that really generate? I'd love to install this to cool down my berth on the hot summer nights and run it off the battery bank if that is possible.

When you say 9 amps AC total, do you mean the pump you use is also an AC powered pump? Or is that some extra amps?

Hi ThereAndBack full disclosure I am one of the largest dealers of Velair for the US. I live aboard an Island Spirit 401 with my family of 5 and try to escape the dock as much as possible. So I not only sell them I understand the cruising lifestyle and the limitations traditional AC's have.

So your goals of cooling your cabin on the batteries overnight is exactly our objective and it is possible depending on your battery bank and other components on your boat.

check out our website, still working on it but functional. You will find additional information there. I also have a 24v DC 16k BTU that is 40% more efficient that the Velair (not on website yet) but it's also double the price and there is the complexity of the 24v system, unless you have it as a bank.

www.gulfnautical.com

we are cruisers like you and here to help, my number is on the site give me a call, I'd be happy to chat about AC on inverters.

Andre

[Acadia]

Originally Posted by Coolerking

The LRA on any AC unit is tied directly to the BTU/hr.
They will all be very close in total draw regardless who built it.

On traditional ON/Off systems YES.

On variable speed compressor systems they will generally be more efficient and have almost no startup load.

I just installed a 27k BTU Velair last week for a client and he didn't have any power available. So I tested the unit for operation on my Honda 2200I. It was on ECO mode and the unit started up fine and gradually ramped up to the roughly total load of 16 amps.

on my site there a guy that runs 2 x 16k BTU on a Honda 2200i

www.gulfnautical.com

[ThereAndBack]

I would like to see how it goes starting the units at ambient 90+.

[NakedCity]

Following. I'm going to replace one unit this year.

[Acadia]

Originally Posted by ThereAndBack

I would like to see how it goes starting the units at ambient 90+.

I am in Florida. So at this moment it’s a daily occurrence.