#DIY

[@AlbertKopp]

After the day I've had today, it's nice & refreshing to see that smart people still actually exist in the world. Thank you.

[@solarpoweredge]

@AlbertKopp You're too kind :) but I hear ya... I'm glad you enjoyed this project, hope to post more related work

[@subhobroto]

Congratulations on kicking off a phenomenal series on 3 Ph AC motors ("BLDC") and refrigeration!

[@solarpoweredge]

@subhobroto Thank you sir :) :D

[@GregNTech]

I love seeing people's uses of solar. I built a 1.1kw that feeds my shed and powers my Robot lawnmower. I like your idea of solar AC. I paused your video and hopped on Amazon and found 24v peltier modules. (My solar system voltage) I can't wait to see how your testing turns out.

[@solarpoweredge]

@FJRyder A solar powered robot mower is pure awesome! Have fun with those peltiers. I think they can do more and are worth looking into. Several peltier experiments running in the shop at the moment...

[@rogermurphy1548]

I love to see when people experiment with things that's over their head. That's the best way to learn. Also I'm very interested in some of the same things you are so I am subscribing and will be following you.

[@solarpoweredge]

@rogermurphy1548 Thank you for subscribing, welcome... being in over ones head makes for good video - at least sometimes!

[@Nova-m8d]

The noise from the fan can be reduced by insulating the coil box and placing the fan inside the box towards the back and then building an air manifold like a "ducted" mini split. Sort of like the air vents on a car dashboard with hidden air ducts. This is also done on air ducts in homes where a fan is placed inline of the air duct to boost airflow on long stretches of air duct.

[@solarpoweredge]

@Nova-m8d This is great information... thanks a lot!

[@kostric7]

Nice job, as usual. Congrats on 10,000 subs and keep up the good work

[@solarpoweredge]

@kostric7 Mucho gracias :) yeah finally hitting that 10k mark after 4 yrs, thank God! :D

[@stormellis9925]

you could look into scrap ac units or refrigerators for more affordable parts like compressors or cooling coils?

[@solarpoweredge]

@stormellis9925 Good idea.... I will try to find a condenser and other stuff from a damaged machine, working on that now

[@errolfoster1101]

I feel that peltiers are better for enclosed spaces they shift a lot of heat but they will slowly cool an enclosed space

[@solarpoweredge]

@errolfoster1101 I love peltiers, just trying to figure out how to use them. Hopefully I can cool the shop

[@ShafaqIftikhar-pw9ld]

Very nice project thankyou for a lovely insight!!!!!

[@solarpoweredge]

@ShafaqIftikhar-pw9ld Welcome!!! Thank you for your kind feedback :)

[@Deveak]

Awesome, a suggestion for a project. I don’t have the time to do it but if you ever do, convert a DC ceiling fan (BLDC fan) to battery or solar power. Very hard to find DC ceiling fans these days.

[@solarpoweredge]

@Deveak Good idea, wrote it down! maybe I'll find a ceiling fan somewhere to give that a try

[@marcfruchtman9473]

It is a cool idea, tho I think you will have to deal with the frost on the coils over time. I would drill a hole, and put a grommet for your wires to enter.

[@solarpoweredge]

@marcfruchtman9473 Yes good idea - need to get rid of the frost, it will turn into a block of ice

[@marcfruchtman9473]

@@solarpoweredge Yea, perhaps a short defrost cycle if you can't control the coil temps enough (if you can, get them to be warmer so frost does not form) and a "drain pan" to divert the water into the outside... (and an emergency drain) in case the first overflows.

[@marcfruchtman9473]

One idea, put a Temp switch on the coil to detect when it gets too cold, and just run the fan but not the compressor until it warms up... add a small amount of deadband gap, so it doesn't rapid cycle

[@solarpoweredge]

@marcfruchtman9473 Yes that would work... planning to make some kind of condensate drip tray and a drain pipe to collect all the moisture. Hope I can find something at the dollar store to make the tray

[@Nico-vh1qp]

I would add a water catch setup for the condensation drip that is basically clean drinking water from the air. Great stuff...thanks for sharing👍

[@solarpoweredge]

@Nico-vh1qp Welcome :) I am waiting for some dollar store plastic trays to make a drip pan and collect all the water... unfortunately until I do that it just pours out the bottom, but I knew that would happen

[@subhobroto]

Smart idea!

[@playlist5455]

It's not clean water line after running for a couple weeks.

[@Matt-c5f9o]

Great videos, 👍

[@solarpoweredge]

@user-ib9gk4xw5m Thank you :) :D

[@TheFreeman0417]

FYI Keep in mind that if he system has been exposed to open air you will need to evacuate (purge ) the air & moisture out

[@solarpoweredge]

@TheFreeman0417 Yes, I bought the vacuum pump to do that, hopefully it's enough

[@wpgenlighten4truth2]

This is Next Level Epic, I want to Build This, But I Am not ready for This yet, Maybe One day ... Thank you For sharing such a EPIC Project ....!

[@solarpoweredge]

@wpgenlighten4truth2 Welcome! I want to build everything, more projects on the way I hope!

[@mr.makeit4037]

The other day, I wanted to get your opinion regarding the circulation of cold icy water thru two radiator coils. It involved a cooler, a boat or motorcycle 12v cooling fan, hose and a 12v water pump. But now, you have gone to a whole new level.

[@solarpoweredge]

@mr.makeit4037 You can build an AC with a radiator cooler and big block of ice, water pump, and fan. I've seen them and they look amazing. There are too many projects...

[@ww321]

Thanks for the videos. I'm setting up 2 solar systems at my house. 1 to try to run the house on and a second 1 to play with. I bought a MakeSkyBlue solar charger to charge my old Chevy Volt batteries. I'm doing a capacity test on 1 of them with a 150 watt tester. Lol .

[@solarpoweredge]

@ww321 Welcome, thanks for taking the time to watch :) a great idea to have more than one system, easier to experiment and learn without endangering power supply. Good going!

[@DOCGENIUSWILSON]

Solar Power Edge amazing job....Peace

[@solarpoweredge]

@DOCGENIUSWILSON Thank you :)

[@bostonmountain]

Hero! Fantastic work. Why buy it when you can build it from scratch. #Salute

[@solarpoweredge]

@bostonmountain Thanks a lot! :) I love building machines, if I can just figure it out!

[@ShaneOsborne]

I like it. Let's try it over here !

[@solarpoweredge]

@ShaneOsborne :) :D 👍

[@Silver-N-Black]

Awesome, I’ll be waiting thank you…

[@solarpoweredge]

@Silver-N-Black Glad you're here! I'll post updates asap on the split setup asap, it takes time and a lot of work

[@james10739]

I don't know how much the self sealing cans ad to cost but i prefer the $5 a can like 3 years ago to the $10 a can these days

[@solarpoweredge]

@james10739 True... price on everything is going sky high

[@mr.makeit4037]

Great job.

[@solarpoweredge]

@mr.makeit4037 TY sir :) 👍

[@WhatDadIsUpTo]

I think I would run the condenser against water, not only to increase efficiency (water has the highest specific heat around [540 kcal/mole] ),but also to have some free hot water as a byproduct. I've tinkerer with the idea of using waste heat to power a phase-change reaction from liquid to gas to generate electricity. Wally Minto built the "Minto Wheel" circa 1966-ish, but it produced near-zero results. Like you, I'll keep at it.

[@solarpoweredge]

@WhatDadIsUpTo Good idea, I thought about using it to pre-heat for a hot water heater

[@USA-GreedyMenOfNoIntegrity]

Stop by your local heating and air guy and ask them for some scrap coils, especially the ones off of American Standard and Trane called “spine fin” coil. You just need to learn how to solder or braze aluminum and aluminum to copper. To increase heat transfer and prevent freezing, you need to direct the air over the spine fin or plate fin area. Use shrouds or ducting as needed. Ask questions to us hvac guys. We don’t mind helping. I’m learning electronics to enable pcb repairs in my hvac business.

[@solarpoweredge]

@USA-GreedyMenOfNoIntegrity Thanks for this... I'll see what I can get! Our regular HVAC tech is a nice fellow, sometimes I get to ask him a few questions and I've learned some good stuff. He offered to sell an old mini split, hope to get some cool parts out of it for projects

[@USA-GreedyMenOfNoIntegrity]

@@solarpoweredge oh yeah, there are many good parts in these old scrap units. Offer to buy them at scrap prices. The coils are the only parts worth much. He may make you a good deal instead having to spend time separating and hauling to scrap dealer. It depends on how much free time he has.

[@solarpoweredge]

@USA-GreedyMenOfNoIntegrity I can't wait to see what kind of parts are inside, especially interested in the outdoor unit fan

[@aznick102]

Oh my gosh, was going to ask you about solar AC, specifically the EG4 and Airspool units and then I saw this. If you could perfect that, oh my...

[@solarpoweredge]

@aznick102 Yeah would be amazing :D it needs some more upgrades and work....

[@vladimus9749]

I think Hvac is going through a Renaissance and it couldn't come soon enough. The rates contractors want for outdated architectures is obscene. I could buy and DIY install 5 mini split systems for less than half what the contractors want for a replacement central AC system. This will give me 5 independent zones including my garage for incredible efficiency and redundancy. The central system will give me no redundancy and won't cover my garage. The research you're doing will empower people to make their own custom off grid systems from scratch. Legacy Hvac contractors see the writing on the wall that they will be obsolete soon and are driving up prices to cash in while they can. Subscribed and will be following your work closely.

[@solarpoweredge]

@vladimus9749 Thanks for subscribing and your support! I believe DIY'ers need more options and flexibility. Plus the option to build their own Air Conditioning and Freezer/Fridges. I figure there will always be work for HVAC contractors because not everyone is DIY oriented. But new DIY systems, especially that consume DC solar power directly with battery backup, are high on the list. I am testing large scale peltier setups as a potential DIY solar air conditioning solution for small spaces. As well as a peltier freezer. Peltiers are finicky and not well understood, but I hope to unlock more potential if there is any. Will post more on this as soon as possible...

[@ferencszabo3504]

What can I say, I'm surely not disappointed with this video! You're doing things what we all dreamed about! Keep up the good work! 🎉🎉Somehow your projects keep intersecting with our interests! This is like a tribe thing, we're in the same shoebox in the simulation 😊😊

[@solarpoweredge]

@ferencszabo3504 Relieved to hear that! :D I'll keep chipping away at this!

[@onelinkrecords]

Use a 12v electric ac compressor from a 2021 Honda accord hybrid are insist I got one laying around am Planning on building a fully ac system with all with a window ac unit am estimating it will pull 800 watts max at 12 am not sure if it’s variable but I see some modules online for control the motor

[@solarpoweredge]

@onelinkrecords I'd like to get one to test. Seen them on an auction site. Although my efforts are going into "no BLDC" research right now, to eliminate the controller electronics

[@onelinkrecords]

@@solarpoweredge ACTECMAX Universal AC Electric Compressor 20cc/r Air Conditioner Compressor for 12V Auto Compressor for R134a listed for 350$ usd

[@onelinkrecords]

Option one use oem connectors and piping and condenser probably most diy but big Option 2 solder line and use coper lines for small build

[@mr.makeit4037]

I would only add with this project is that it might not be cost effective at the component level as now there is a 12v dc mini split available for around 1200

[@solarpoweredge]

@mr.makeit4037 I scrounged the parts for the window AC under $140. The larger split system will be extremely robust, use direct drive solar or 12v (hybrid), no SMPS, no inverter, no BLDCs. Around $750 in parts not counting tools and supplies. I have never seen a configuration to match it anywhere.

[@mr.makeit4037]

My thinking is due to the complexity of the system, and even though I don't have some of these parts, it seems like it would be prudent to purchase a small system. Once the warranty period is up, use it, modify it, make it more efficient until it fails completely, then utilize all parts to repurpose into something new. I do this quite regularly and have accumulated so many parts that projects abound here. And sometimes with so many projects, I simply have to buy something complete because the build time is just not there. One example would be the recent purchase of my fat tire etrike. Once the warranty period is over, the modifications begin, like the addition of a diy cart and hitch. And ofcourse I won't have to build a trike from the ground up as time won't permit. Perhaps this is a result of me being now in my 60s and cherish time more. But I do appreciate the diy spirit. Great job! Once I see additional videos detailing the specifics of your ac, I may pursue one of my own.

[@solarpoweredge]

@mr.makeit4037 Right on... I also mod a lot of stuff. Waiting for a broken AC to modify :) I'm trying to do several half finished AC projects at once - really need to finish at least one...

[@mr.makeit4037]

​@solarpoweredge yes I had time to think about this. Facebook market place may be a reasonable outlet for sourcing a cheap or broken ac window unit. The condenser and evaporative coils in such a salvaged unit would be a better and more efficient choice over the coiled soft copper. Also the unit would have to have carried R134 refrigerant, so that you won't have to internally clean those coils. P.S. I am intrigued by the use of bldc conversion of the direct drive ac 3 phase compressor. Good job.

[@solarpoweredge]

@mr.makeit4037 Ty, hope to do more work on the bldc stuff. PS I found a couple of ACs that aren't working but they aren't free. I did get a nice condenser coil recently - hope it doesn't leak

[@RussellHank-t3t]

Yeah. No part of that is too loud. If you want it to be EVEN quieter, you can use larger fans with similar air flow.

[@solarpoweredge]

@user-un9lx4kp6u True... looking for better fans - a small car radiator fan running at low voltage might work better (less high-pitched sound)

[@cuseikan]

Thank you for being so detailed with all of your information. I've been extremely interested in solar panel direct to components. Have you looked into a company called Natural Current? I purchased a 1hp DC pool pump running off of 2× 550w panels. No inverters in-between. Thank you again for sharing all of this information.

[@solarpoweredge]

@cuseikan Hi, you are welcome :) I have not heard of that company, but a solar pump that powerful would be awesome for a lot of different uses!

[@SentienD]

It could be worth trying to bury a coil of tubing (or simulating ground temperature) and testing whether a heat exchanger and pump would improve efficiency.

[@solarpoweredge]

@SentienD I want to try that, If I could get 100ft of half inch copper pipe for cheap, I'd be burying it

[@jmr]

I've given up on solid state cooling unless they can find more efficient designs but I'd love to know how your more traditional AC project goes long term. My understanding is the compressor motors don't fair well because of the fluctuations in power.

[@solarpoweredge]

#jmr Hi, definitely hope to post an update on this work... it's been getting a bit too cool here for AC work lately. I spent months and a lot of money trying to boost peltier cooling performance, and made some breakthroughs. In one test I dropped the power consumption by 50% for the same freezing temps. I started building a small refrigerator to test the ideas. Had to ignore the peltier stuff on yt and just concentrate on my own work. It paid off! Hope to produce a video as soon as I can. Peltiers are a bit of a mystery and very frustrating to figure out. Also working on solid state air conditioning, which is extremely difficult. In fact there are already commercial peltier air conditioners available but I want to improve the design and cool my shop. Compressors are very easy to cool with due to the gas cycle. In this particular solar AC, the compressor was able to run on a very wide voltage range. First time ever building something like this so I really want to go for version 2 and make some improvements.

[@jmr]

@@solarpoweredge Very COOL. 😆

[@solarpoweredge]

@jmr I see what you did there :) :D hahah

[@anomamos9095]

A use for solar power that is not a complete virtue signalling waste of resources 👍 A more efficient and environmentally friendly alternative would be to use heat instead of light as the solar power source and a sterling engine or three to run the pump and fans and an alcohol water mix as the refrigerant. Look up passive cooling towers that use water evaporation as the cooling agent for the base design but enclose the evaporator to prevent fluid loss. A construction like this will be very quiet, very very efficient but extremely large compared to a window box ac unit that will probably reach cooler temperatures but won’t move as much heat. If you live in an area that doesn’t get below freezing you could probably reverse the cycle to get heating as well.

[@solarpoweredge]

@anomamos9095 Glad you liked this project :) Lot's of good ideas, misting and cooling towers in particular are something I have been investigating. Like you said they are huge... I haven't been able to decide exactly how far to go as we have limits on space. But I like the idea of cooling with no refrigerant and also quiet. If I can get something like that working I will post the results for sure!

[@anomamos9095]

​@@solarpoweredge The towers I've seen are usually about 3 to four feet square at the base and extend about six to ten feet past the roof line of the building they're cooling. This is usually to ensure sufficient passive air flow and area for the misting screens . If you build it like an aircon unit with fans a sealed evap chamber and an ordinary water pump to move the coolant to a reservoir at the top you could probably compact the foot print a bit , the height is the important factor

[@solarpoweredge]

@anomamos9095 Right, thanks for the information. I plan to use a large fan, if I can find the right one that is DC powered. I keep collecting parts for each project as funds permit and setting them aside. The largest fan I have might be enough already, guess we'll see. The structure itself needs to be cheaply built the first time around... maybe I can find something plastic