Portable battery powered fan

T

tparrent

New member
My boating season is rapidly drawing to a close unless I can find a way to cool off. Tomorrow will be nice and cool but then it's 90+ for the foreseeable future along with that lovely Carolina humidity.

I'm looking for a simple fan that I can move around while at anchor. I won't be sleeping aboard so I just need something to create enough breeze to make sitting and reading a book comfortable for a couple hours.

I do not want to hassle with wiring anything in plus I'd like to be able to move it to the cockpit (maybe some sort of clip on?)

While I'm at it, do you have any suggestions for a temporary awning or unbrella to keep the sun off? I do not have a bimini and don't really want to invest in one right now given my occasional use of the boat. Has anyone come up with something simple for some basic shade/

Thanks!
 
We use a Ryobi portable fan. It runs on the standard 18 volt battery. (We have gone to most of our portable tools off the same battery system) There is both a 12 and 110 volt charger available. The battery will last all night.

In the wired fans we like the "endless breeze"--same as "Vantastic" 3 speed. fits over the fore hatch or in the front opening window (as can the Ryobi)

There is the" O2cool" Fan, which can use rechargeable D batteries. This is a little smaller than the Ryobi, It will also run with a 110 V adaptor or off the 12 volt system.

CAFRAMO has a 4 D cell battery operated fan at West Marine (cheaper elsewhere), This is the smallest portable fan we have used--the fan is cheap enough--the rechargeable D batteries are gong to cost more. I have used this in the tropics--but prefer a 12 volt or high speed/displacement fan.
 
Hi Tom. The O2Cool fan that Dr. Bob mentioned is available at Walmart in a 5" or 10" model. We used the 10" one on the boat, and it moves plenty of air. We plugged it in with a 12v adapter, so didn't have to mess with a bunch of batteries.

In the vernacular of high school yearbooks: stay cool! 8)
 
We have three 12 volt fans on-board, and they have been all the cooling we have needed on the Great Loop! One is the Endless Breeze (we had borrowed Dr. Bob's Endless Breeze at Lake Powell) and it is terrific. We have put this on a small table aimed into the vee-berth on hot nights. The other two fans are the convertible Camfrano fans with two bases, one for permanent mounting and a suction cup for portable mounting. One is mounted under the electronics shelf and the other gets moved around wherever needed, usually in the cockpit. These guys have two large plastic blades without a cage and move a huge amount of air. The blades just stop if you get your fingers in the way. FWIW, they are made in Canada not China! So far, the air conditioner we bought and had delivered to St. Augustine has been simply dead weight, and we are currently freezing our tails off in Ontario running the heater!
 
Concur Endless Breeze 12v is high quality, low draw and quiet on low. We use 3 accross the transom seat our "Wall of Fans" and can be comfortable in the cockpit at over 90 degrees with a cold drink, and keeps all bugs away. Caframo 12v is smaller, louder, safe. Not impressed with the 02 Cool (though we have 3 of them), non replaceable rechargeable batteries fail at 36 mos, costs as much as Endless Breeze and puts out 1/3 the wind (as measured by a Davis digital wind meter).
I'd suggest try the Endless Breeze first and rig a 12v plug at the transom (with a fuse).
Not hot here yet, the pool water is only 88 degrees.
Happy Boating!
John
 
We have gone through a few models and settled recently on this one. We keep two on the boat for cooling and defogging needs.

https://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-HTF090 ... eywell+fan

Compact with good air output and low noise powered by 4AA batteries or with included USB cable. The USB power means it could even run from one of those portable phone charging power packs.

Love these little units and might buy a couple more before they change the model on me.

Greg
 
We also use the Ryobi system. We used it last at Lake Mojave on a stretch of 104* days. Works like a charm. We have two batteries aboard and use one for the fan and the other for a spotlight. We also have a small Ryobi vacuum aboard to suck up flies.midges, and sometimes errant popcorn. We charge up during the day and power through the night. We went this direction because we have all of the rest of the tools in the truck: drill,buffer, saw,ect........ and no worries about the house battery.
 
Pat Anderson":1hk1bpfo said:
... So far, the air conditioner we bought and had delivered to St. Augustine has been simply dead weight, and we are currently freezing our tails off in Ontario running the heater!
Click to expand...

I will remind you of this when you are in the midwest in August. Heck, you ran into heat BEFORE you got the a/c, when Patty was having heat distress. I'm guessing you have flares onboard that you haven't used, yet, either. And, goodness knows you've been carrying that extra jug of water around that you haven't used. When the... um... heat hits the fan (and just as sure as you'd run into chilly weather now, you will run into warm weather before long), you may find use for that a/c.

If I had known you were gonna run 1,000 miles with 2/3 of a prop, I would have suggested you do something about that sooner, too! :roll: As long as we're talking about that... if you think you dinged that prop in Florida, and have serviced the motor twice since then, did you not notice the prop? Do you check your prop regularly (like, daily, or at least as often as you check oil)?

Speaking of being cold, what did you put in for heat when you took out the Wallas? Are you using a little electric heater when you have electricity? How 'bout hot water - what are you doing for that since you removed your water heater? Showering on the boat?

Folks have graciously given you a lot of advice to make your loop traveling more comfortable and safer. You got the a/c advice from several of us... folks who have traveled in the south and midwest in the hotter months. Nobody forced you to buy the a/c, so let it go already. There will come a time, just like when people told you that not being able to get that boat up on plane was an indication that something (besides just weight) was very amiss.

Enjoy the Trent-Severn; lots of great towns to visit there, and some fun and unique locks (lifts and a railway).
 
Back
Top