New Built-in AC System for Our 26X :)

[vkmaynard]

Last night I wanted to finish my one year wiring upgrade/fix project, which included adding the red/white LED 12v lights in the rear bunk and head and connecting the sump for the head shower. FYI: the pressurized water system with faucets, transom shower and carbon filter works GREAT!

After drowning in humidity for about one hour (9:30 PM @ 76 deg) I thought forget this! Ran my extension cord, plugged in the shore power and vastly improved my working conditions. I worked comfortably until midnight. The water was pouring off the back of the boat not off me.

The closed boat also kept all the mega bugs out that were looking for light.

I thought to myself... wow what a luxury on this boat for a relatively small investment!

Just another benefit of the “Billy Box”.

Victor

[jcasale]

Victor

Will you be posting pics of the shower mod?

John

[vkmaynard]

I will post after it hopefully works.

Victor

[vkmaynard]

Our Billy AC Box is holding up great!

How's yours' doing Ron, Erick, James??

Victor

[Jamie79]

OK i love this mod its amazing, my question is would a honda eu1000 power this or would it require larger. 2nd is it water tight for the cabin when sealed of and underway, just in case things get nasty, and 3rd i wont be buying a 26 hopefully an X untill 3 or 4 yrs will the product/plans be available? When i get my X i need A/C for overnighting with the missus, we live in S.C. columbia, the armpit of the South lol.

[nedmiller]

A Honda E1000i will power an AC but you have to choose wisely. My E1000i runs a Haier 5,200 BTU Model HWF05XC7-2. I took several models home and tried them out before I came up with the Haier. All of the info to make this mod is here on this site. You will need to do some searching to get it all. I would do that now and copy the pics and put them in a folder on your computer since the pictures are not stored on this website.
SILK

[Jamie79]

Thanks for the info would a 5000 btu unit be good for 98 degree weather with 90% humidity, it gets hot and humid in central sc. I use a 12000 btu on our old Apache pop up camper and it works well minus the sweating on the insulated walls. I would imagine with the positive flotation on a mac much less btu's would be needed would it cut down on the sweating of interior walls? Also in case of a capsize is there a way to make the boat water tight? Thanks for the help.
Jamie

[nedmiller]

5000 BTU worked for us on Kentucky Lake in midsummer. We would sail all morning and then find a shady spot and pull on the shore in the heat of the afternoon, crank up the generator and turn on the AC. We put towels over the front windows to keep the sun out and tried to pull up under shade from a shore tree if possible. We also sleep in the V-berth, so we have the area under the cockpit sealed off with a vinyl curtain so it doesn't have to be cooled (or heated when cold out) The 5000 BTU cooled it down fairly quickly and cooled it well. We then would sail later in the evening when it was cooler. We use a windscoop and a 12V DC fan (uses only a little electricity) at night and seem to be comfortable but never sailed midsummer south of Kentucky lake. We prefer to go north in the hot summer!
If you want to go bigger than 55OO BTU, you will have to go with a Honda Eu2000i. It is a bit heavier and a bit bigger and a bit more expensive. Then you can get a bit heavier, bit bigger, and bit more expensive AC, but it will keep you cooler.

SILK

[yukonbob]

I need to move where you guys are. I hear fans and think of how to keep the boat warm not worrying about how to keep cool! More worried about how to stop things from freezing solid! Lol funny thing is i have more ice on my lakes than most of you have snow! (6ft plus) Wish I had to worry about how to keep cool it's been -30'c (-25'f)for almost two months now and no signs of ending. Spring will come someday though

[dlandersson]

Got more snow yesterday - keeping cool is not high on my Chicago "to do" list.

Last night I wanted to finish my one year wiring upgrade/fix project, which included adding the red/white LED 12v lights in the rear bunk and head and connecting the sump for the head shower. FYI: the pressurized water system with faucets, transom shower and carbon filter works GREAT!

After drowning in humidity for about one hour (9:30 PM @ 76 deg) I thought forget this! Ran my extension cord, plugged in the shore power and vastly improved my working conditions. I worked comfortably until midnight. The water was pouring off the back of the boat not off me.

The closed boat also kept all the mega bugs out that were looking for light.

I thought to myself... wow what a luxury on this boat for a relatively small investment!

Just another benefit of the “Billy Box”.

Victor

[vkmaynard]

Looks like the last production run "Billy Box" sold yesterday to one of our locals. They could hold out no longer

We stayed cool on night two in St Augustine FL at JMGT 2011.

Victor

[pmcco]

I got the last billy box. . I would let it go for $1000 . I did wait to long and now I have to order the a/c because no one is selling a/c's right now. Should still have it and installed along with my new galley for pirate fest.
patrick

[Billy]

Actually, it's just the last one I had my warehouse. Another run wouldn't be that difficult. Open the file on the computer, insert the pvc board into the CNC machine, hit start, and the magic happens.

The hard part is getting the time, prefitting, and packaging. (And the fact the shop is about 15 miles away.) I'm just glad you guys enjoy them. Thanks!

[Omar]

Hey Billy... I didn't tell no one... (am I still next? )

Erik

PS: Anyone want a slightly used Cruise Air for the Hatch ($300 obo)

Do you still have the a/c unit? How many BTU?

[vkmaynard]

I heard a few more "Billy Boxes" have recently been sold. Any feedback on this great mod?

Victor