Homemade air conditioner

[BUTCH1]

Pretty nifty idea, this would be great for camping or you could leave it running in your car while you shopping and come back to a cool car. If you were camping at a place that had a free ice machine this would be ideal..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_NmRaEbB18

 

[DCal430]

Seems like a lot of work.

 

[lxskllr]

Seems like a lot of work.

Looks like almost no work to me if you want a remote ac unit. Clever. I'm not sure I'd have a use for it, but I'll file it away for future reference.

 

[DCal430]

Instead of ice, I wonder if it would last longer if you used dry ice?

 

[lxskllr]

Doesn't dry ice react with water? It makes fog. I don't know what the ramifications of keeping it in a semi-sealed box would be.

 

[Doppel]

I liked it.

Water does react with dry ice and would dissolve quickly plus create pressure that you don't want.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Ironicly my portable air conditioner right now is on and is very loud so I can't hear anything in the video, but is this basically just ice water being circulated? If yes then it does not really work because the process of producing the ice probably generates more heat than this can remove. It does look really cool though, and I suppose it could work to "transport" cool air somewhere. For example you could produce the ice in an air conditioned space or a freezer that is outside then transport this to a building that has no AC.

 

[Doppel]

Ironicly my portable air conditioner right now is on and is very loud so I can't hear anything in the video, but is this basically just ice water being circulated? If yes then it does not really work because the process of producing the ice probably generates more heat than this can remove. It does look really cool though, and I suppose it could work to "transport" cool air somewhere. For example you could produce the ice in an air conditioned space or a freezer that is outside then transport this to a building that has no AC.

You are correct it would not really produce a net cold, anymore than regular ac does but unlike regular ac it isn't exhausting the heat anywhere. It seems it could work well when camping and run the fan and pump on some batteries.

 

[clamum]

Doesn't dry ice react with water? It makes fog. I don't know what the ramifications of keeping it in a semi-sealed box would be.

I thought it reacted too. I heard somewhere that you can make a big boom by throwing a big chunk of dry ice in water. Dunno if that's true though.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I thought it reacted too. I heard somewhere that you can make a big boom by throwing a big chunk of dry ice in water. Dunno if that's true though.

Would make sense, probably equivalent to throwing an ice cube in a deep fryer. Would be fun to play with some dry ice, never really got the chance to play with that stuff before. Did play with liquid nitrogen once though. We made ice cream with it. :biggrin:

 

[lxskllr]

I thought it reacted too. I heard somewhere that you can make a big boom by throwing a big chunk of dry ice in water. Dunno if that's true though.

I think that's in something like a bottle. Gas expands and pops the bottle.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yeah dry ice definitely wants to expand so you would not want to keep it in a sealed spot. Also don't want to just put it on your front seat with the windows up while driving with it, considering it's giving off CO2 gas. Like the fire guys at a place I worked say: CO2 is not poison, it's just going to kill you. A small piece in a large room wont produce enough though. But in a tight place like a car, yeah, it will displace all the oxygen.

 

[DrPizza]

Great idea for something like a tent if you're camping, or perhaps for inside a car if you want to leave a pet in the car on a hot sunny day (without harming the pet) while freaking people out.

But, for your house, it's kind of stupid. It's the equivalent of cooling your kitchen by leaving the refrigerator door open. The net effect is that it actually will heat your kitchen. Given the cost of ice from the store, it'd be far more economical to just purchase one of those cheap 5000 btu air conditioners - saw one for $119 this weekend. Considered getting it for the dogs' room.

 

[slag]

I wonder if there is anything to be gained by making it a closed loop system and using RV antifreeze or something in the coil and just using ice in the chest and not have it dump the warm water back onto the ice. I'd probably also bend the flex tubing on the bottom of the chest as well and put a few more loops around the outside with it.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Camping with AC?

That's kind of like camping with the RV........doesn't make any sense to me.

Just park you RV in the driveway of your house and live in it, same shit.

Camping is about roughing it out a bit (at least)

 

[lxskllr]

Camping with AC?

That's kind of like camping with the RV........doesn't make any sense to me.

Just park you RV in the driveway of your house and live in it, same shit.

Camping is about roughing it out a bit (at least)

Think of it as more like a rustic hotel ;^)

There's value in the idea, but my problem with it is ac makes the heat more unbearable when you get in it. I think I'd rather be 100% hot because you get used to it. This is from someone who despises heat, and starts bitching when the temperature gets to 70F.

 

[Fritzo]

Air conditioning when camping is missing the whole point. Stay in a crappy hotel room if you're going to do that.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Think of it as more like a rustic hotel ;^)

There's value in the idea, but my problem with it is ac makes the heat more unbearable when you get in it. I think I'd rather be 100% hot because you get used to it. This is from someone who despises heat, and starts bitching when the temperature gets to 70F.

I agree and the reason why I try not to put the ACs in as long as possible. Once you get used to it, ANYTHING is hot.

As for camping, I've been to one campsite where dozens of people pulled up with their HUGE campers/pick up trucks and basically spent their entire time in the big camper.

I ask myself, why not just park it in your drive way and hang out there.

:biggrin:

 

[Scarpozzi]

Problem is he could have taken the $40-50 he spent on the pump and fan....sold the fuel line, transmission cooler, and cooler itself on craigslist and bought a cheap air conditioner.

 

[lxskllr]

Problem is he could have taken the $40-50 he spent on the pump and fan....sold the fuel line, transmission cooler, and cooler itself on craigslist and bought a cheap air conditioner.

Uses too much power. This setup can run off of a battery without turning on the car motor.

 

[KeypoX]

I thought it reacted too. I heard somewhere that you can make a big boom by throwing a big chunk of dry ice in water. Dunno if that's true though.

not true unless in seal container

 

[DrPizza]

Uses too much power. This setup can run off of a battery without turning on the car motor.

Where you going to get the ice though? From your freezer?

 

[lxskllr]

Where you going to get the ice though? From your freezer?

Butch used the example of free campground ice. Or it could be bought from a store. Expensive, but it depends on how much you value cool air. It's also quieter than an ac unit, and a generator to power it.

 

[slag]

I'd sure use it in a tent with it blowing right on me. It should last a good few hours to get through the heat of the evening/night. I'd probably use a timer with it though so it doesn't run all night and drain a battery. Make it run 3-4 hours and then shut off.

 

[Broheim]

he's way overcomplicating it, he could just make it cold with solution...