Renogy Portable Air Conditioner 1700 BTU

Short Product Summary

The Renogy Portable Air Conditioner is a genuine compressor-driven air conditioner, not an evaporative cooler. It delivers 1,706 BTU/h (500 W) of real cooling using a Panasonic rotary compressor and R134a refrigerant, draws just 235 W while cooling, and comes with its own 36 Ah battery base that runs it for four to six hours without any other power source. It is designed to be carried to where you need it, which is exactly what a caravan, rooftop tent or camping trailer usually needs.

Why This Product

Most portable cooling sold for camping in South Africa is an evaporative cooler with a fan and a water tank. Those work in dry air and do very little on a humid night in Zululand or on the KZN coast. This is a proper refrigerant air conditioner with a compressor, so it actually removes heat and moisture from the air the way the unit in your house does.

The second problem it solves is power. A rooftop caravan air conditioner typically needs shore power or a very large inverter and battery bank. This one runs on 24 V DC from its own dedicated 36 Ah battery base, so you can use it at a bush camp with no power point at all, then recharge the base from any 100 to 240 V mains supply in five to six hours. At 235 W of running draw it is in a completely different league to a rooftop unit, and it is quiet enough to sleep next to at 44 dB on the medium setting.

Key Features

• Real compressor cooling, 1,706 BTU/h – a Panasonic rotary compressor and R134a refrigerant, not an evaporative fan that only works in dry air.
• Only 235 W cooling power – a fraction of what a rooftop caravan air conditioner demands, which is what makes off-grid use realistic.
• Integrated 36 Ah / 25.2 V battery base – four to six hours of runtime with no mains, no generator and no separate inverter.
• Recharges from any mains supply – the supplied adapter accepts 100 to 240 V, so it works on South African 230 V without a converter. Five to six hours to full.
• Quiet enough to sleep beside – 44 dB(A) on medium, 50 dB(A) on high.
• Four operating modes – strong cooling, refrigeration, sleep and air supply, with high, medium and low fan speeds.
• Precise temperature control – set anywhere from 16 to 32 °C on the LED touch display, in Celsius or Fahrenheit.
• Timer, sleep mode and power-off memory – set it running and leave it; it remembers your settings after a power cut.
• Mosquito repellent function – a genuinely useful extra on a summer night in the bushveld.
• Water-full indicator and direct drain – condensate can be run away continuously through the supplied drain pipe rather than emptying a tray.
• Fault self-diagnosis and defrost – tells you what is wrong instead of simply stopping.
• 7.5 kg with a proper carry handle – genuinely portable between the caravan, the tent and the gazebo.

Ideal For

• Caravans and camping trailers without a rooftop air conditioner, or without the power to run one.
• Rooftop tents and ground tents on hot Kalahari, Karoo and Lowveld nights.
• Bush camps and remote sites with no power point at all.
• Anyone who wants real refrigerated cooling rather than an evaporative cooler that struggles in humidity.
• Load shedding at home, where a small room needs cooling and the grid is down.

Local Support from 4Matt Campers

4Matt Campers is a Renogy dealer in Cape Town, supporting customers throughout the Western Cape and delivering across South Africa. We can talk you through how long the battery base will realistically last for your conditions, how to duct the exhaust properly out of a tent or caravan window, and whether it makes sense to recharge the base from your existing solar setup. Come and see it in the showroom before you commit.

Technical Specifications

• Model: B001
• SKU: RCAC017-G1-SA
• Cooling capacity: 500 W (1,706 BTU/h)
• Cooling power draw: 235 W
• EER: 2.09
• Operating voltage: 24 V, 50/60 Hz
• Compressor: Panasonic 6MD030ZDA21-A2 rotary
• Refrigerant: R134a, 80 g charge
• Air volume: 140 m³/h
• Noise level: 50 dB(A) high / 44 dB(A) medium
• Temperature setting range: 16 to 32 °C, Celsius or Fahrenheit
• Modes: strong cooling, refrigeration, sleep, air supply
• Fan speeds: high, medium, low
• Display: LED with touch buttons
• Standby consumption: 8 W
• Unit dimensions (W×H×D): 523 × 242 × 317 mm
• Unit net weight: 7.5 kg
• Exhaust pipe: ø110 mm outer, 1,200 mm long, left-handed
• Drain pipe: 1,000 mm long, 11 mm inner diameter
• Housing: ABS with flame-retardant ABS electrical box
• Battery base rated capacity: 36 Ah
• Battery base nominal voltage: 25.2 V
• Battery base rated power: 378 W
• Battery base runtime: 4 to 6 hours
• Battery base charging time: 5 to 6 hours with the standard adapter
• Battery base dimensions: 510 × 222 × 63 mm
• Battery base weight: 5.2 kg
• Mains adapter: AC 100–240 V, 50/60 Hz, 10 A
• Adapter cable: 1.2 m power cord plus 0.5 m connecting cable

What's Included

• 1 × Renogy portable air conditioner unit
• 1 × 36 Ah battery base
• 1 × mains adapter with 1.2 m power cord and 0.5 m connecting cable
• 1 × exhaust pipe and window or tent exhaust connector
• 1 × drain pipe
• 1 × user manual

Optional Fitment & Upgrade Notes

• The exhaust must go outside. Like any compressor air conditioner, it moves heat out of the space rather than destroying it. Route the 110 mm exhaust pipe through a window, tent port or vent, or you will simply warm the room.
• Runtime is four to six hours per charge on the battery base. For a full night, plan to recharge from mains, or ask us about running it from a larger 24 V supply.
• The adapter is a universal 100 to 240 V unit, so it charges from standard South African 230 V mains without a converter.
• There is no remote control and no child lock on this model.
• Use the direct drain pipe for continuous running in humid coastal conditions; the water-full indicator will otherwise stop the unit.
• Talk to us about recharging the base from your caravan's solar system rather than only from mains.

Complete Your Setup

• Lithium Batteries – expand the stored power behind your camp.
• Solar Panels – recharge while you are off-grid.
• Solar Charge Controllers – MPPT regulators for your array.
• Inverters & Inverter Chargers – 230 V power anywhere.
• Renogy Range – the full Renogy line-up at 4Matt Campers.

FAQ

Is this a real air conditioner or an evaporative cooler?
A real air conditioner. It uses a Panasonic rotary compressor and R134a refrigerant to genuinely remove heat and humidity, which is why it still works on a humid coastal night when an evaporative cooler does not.

How long will it run without mains power?
Four to six hours on the supplied 36 Ah battery base, depending on the mode and how hot it is. Recharging takes five to six hours from any 230 V plug.

Will it cool a whole caravan?
At 1,706 BTU/h it is sized for a tent, a rooftop tent or a small caravan or single sleeping area, not a large motorhome. It is best thought of as cooling the space you are actually sleeping in.

Does the exhaust really need to go outside?
Yes. All compressor air conditioners move heat from inside to outside. The 110 mm exhaust pipe and connector are supplied for exactly this, and the unit will not cool properly if the hot air is left in the room.

How noisy is it to sleep next to?
44 dB(A) on medium, which is comparable to a quiet fridge, and 50 dB(A) on high. There is also a dedicated sleep mode.

Can I run it from my caravan's existing battery bank?
It operates at 24 V. Speak to us with your system details and we will tell you honestly whether your setup can support it or whether the supplied battery base is the better route.