Mini A/C systems

[ydeardorff]

I have been internet digging and haven't found much in the way to make the sterling cool.

But I did have a thought. You know those coolers you can buy from wally world? they are like a mini fridge, and barely big enough for a 6 pack to fit in. Why couldn't these be modified to suit our purpose? they are 12volts, small, and can be a heater or A /C unit.
I would think just arranging the parts under the dash in the right way would possibly work.

Wagan Mini Fridge 6 Liter 12 Volt Travel Cooler/Warmer - eBay (item 200368672809 end time Aug-29-09 18:06:51 PDT)

It might not make your ears and nose turn blue, but it may work.



Any thoughts?

 

[ydeardorff]

Now this is not what I was hoping for, but given the space restrictions in these cars, this might be just the ticket, if a stock system couldnt be sourced up.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PwplxoJSDw&feature=related"]YouTube - DIY: Make your own Air Conditioner[/ame]

Its simple, and would work if one were to make the cold section within a custom box under the dash. It wouldn't be very cool looking while your loading ice into your car, but cold is cold right? Perhaps maybe even a small VW oil cooler could be used as a heat exchanger.

 

[ydeardorff]

worlds smallest air conditioning unit

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSqySCv2JpM&feature=related"]YouTube - ICEqube to introduce world's smallest air-conditioner[/ame]

• Right or Left Side Heat Discharge​
• Two BTU Options - 1000 & 1300 BTU​
• Lightweight​
• Dimensions - 15.00"H x 5.98"W x 6.29"D​

Ice Qube Cooling | Smallest Air Conditioner

 

[chazz]

I put one in my car a few months ago. It works OK, not a good substitute for a real ac system though. Can't possibly keep up with the 100 degree days we have!

Got a cheap marine high flow fan from ebay, have it ducted to the 2 vents I have mounted next to the pods on the dash sides. And it all fits under the spare!

 

[Brastic]

Cars need between 5k and 10k BTUs to cool. I really cannot see any reason to go less than 10k BTUs. For one trip, I just used a micro spray bottle and we were able to drive in 114 degree weather though Redding, CA pretty well.

I also have one of the little 12v coolers. They almost work. If you cool them the night before and keep a little ice in and the temperature stays below 80 degrees, they work.

 

[Nic]

HI Chazz,

How well does that marine fan do-hickey work? Does it put enough air into the cabin?

 

[chazz]

HI Chazz,

How well does that marine fan do-hickey work? Does it put enough air into the cabin?

Its the 3" size rated at 175 cfm, works pretty good.

The only problem is the way I have it set up the passenger side gets most of the air! I need to do some more tweaking of the splitters for the hoses. It's just been so hot lately that I drive with the t-tops off, so I haven't bothered yet.

 

[Nic]

Ah... do you have the vent coming into the passenger side of the dash then?

I found some 12V bilge fans that are reported to put out 250 cfm, and are about $30 on the e-bay. Or 2 for $50. I was thinking about 2, one for the passenger and one for the driver. not sure if I would have room to mount the under the dash though, or if I could mount both in the front and have hoses into each side of the car.

Hm... rethinking that.... since I have eyeball vents I could just close which ever one I don't want to use. Yeah, I think I'll go that route.

 

[chazz]

Ah... do you have the vent coming into the passenger side of the dash then?

I found some 12V bilge fans that are reported to put out 250 cfm, and are about $30 on the e-bay. Or 2 for $50. I was thinking about 2, one for the passenger and one for the driver. not sure if I would have room to mount the under the dash though, or if I could mount both in the front and have hoses into each side of the car.

Hm... rethinking that.... since I have eyeball vents I could just close which ever one I don't want to use. Yeah, I think I'll go that route.

I do have a vent on each side, the problem is the hose comes in from the trunk on the passenger side so it gets most of the air. I just need to rework it all so it splits in the middle.

Just kind of a pain since to work down there properly I have to remove the seats.

I previously had a pretty funky setup that blew the air through a cooler where I would put 5 frozen bottled water containers. that actually worked really good, just a bit inconvienient replacing the bottles all the time. I think I'll add the cooler back so it can draw in cold air to help with the electric cooler.

102 today........geesh

 

[ydeardorff]

Would this work using a small oil cooler as the heat exchanger? If I had one Id try to mock it up myself

I have one of these blowers that would work quite nicely as the fan. I just need copper tubing and a small oil cooler to mock this up.

They don't work as an engine electric turbo, but would work quite well as a heater/ A/C blower.

 

[chazz]

Would this work using a small oil cooler as the heat exchanger? If I had one Id try to mock it up myself

I have one of these blowers that would work quite nicely as the fan. I just need copper tubing and a small oil cooler to mock this up.

They don't work as an engine electric turbo, but would work quite well as a heater/ A/C blower.

I have one of those, it blows REAL good but mine is way too loud. I took it all apart to see if I could lube it up and fix it, but it appears to just be loud by nature. I also have a smaller version like that one which is completely quiet, but only puts out half the air.