July 16, 2013 - Homebrew Air Conditioning (Version 2.0)

My 1987 Dodge Daytona EV will be attending the Electric Vehicle Converter's Convention (EVCCON) out in Cape Girardeau, Missouri very shortly, during the first full week of August in one of the hottest summers of recent memory.
The ice chest based automotive air conditioner concept test run from the previous video, using the nearly empty engine compartment of an old 1988 Dodge Daytona Pacifica, was more-or-less successful.
Unfortunately, with all of the batteries and other components crammed into the engine compartment of my current Daytona EV, there is just not enough space to fit even a modest sized ice chest in there as well. So, I started looking for a way to make this fascinating air conditioning setup actually work in that vehicle as well, somehow...
Ironically, what I came up with was a completely portable ice chest solution that I can theoretically place in the rear hatch area of the Daytona (on top of the rear battery box) which ended up being more-or-less identical to the unit built by the Instructables user "CameronSS" from which I got the whole idea from in the first place:
www.instructabl...
This video covers my particular take on this rather clever concept. Here is a list of the parts/cost of each component that I ended up using:
1x - Portable Ice Chest (~$20)
1x - 1200 GPH Bilge Pump (~$38)
2x - 1985 Chevy S10 Heater Core (~$30 ea)
1x - 5' PVC Reinforced Braided Vinyl Tubing (~$1 per foot)
5x - Hose Clamps (~$1 ea)
3x - Plastic Dryer Vent Covers (~$13 ea)
3x - 120mm PC Cooling Fans (~$15 ea)
1x - Automotive Mini-Fuse Holder (~$3)
1x - 12v DC Vehicle Adapter Plug (~$6)
So all of that works out to about $225, plus some other incidentals, such as a couple of used Molex connectors, a few zip ties, some screws, etc. I already had the computer fans kicking around, so the total cost for me personally on this project was closer to $180.

[@Alpha-ms9nj]

Man I keep running into so many different configurations of these things. I think I settled on a very similar version of the Franken-cooler design. A separate air box with a 220 CFM bildge pump and a single heater core inside of that and use a 50qt. cooler as the ice/water storage. I am trying to keep the water flow and fan speed a bit on the slower side to preserve the ice/water. I have a 7.5" x 7.5" single heater core and a 63 GPM water pump and will see how that works out. I love these ideas, thanks for sharing yours.

[@raulcepero4810]

the best one I seen yet!! thanks The only difference I would do is use one core, one strong flow fan to push air in cooler.Since the cooler is seal cold air will automatic blow out.Nice instructions Thank you!!

[@brussell639]

I think you'll end up needing a more powerful fan. Maybe. I've seen a version very similar to this, but they had a third radiator that really dropped the temperature. Theirs drew the air in thru one intake, with a cooling radiator, then out thru two vents which were also plumbed with cold water radiators. It ran on an 18v rechargeable li-on tool battery.

[@SanchoGracie]

It's called a Frankencooler. The maker lives in the same Hell Fire part of AZ as me.

[@Epidage]

Thanks for putting this video up (seriously). It doesn't look like its worth my time or money, thanks for saving me the time and trouble. Been wondering about similar ideas.

[@xadam2dudex]

I'd run a tube from the radiator drain down to the bottom of the ice chest to keep it from melting the ice .... the drain water will be mixed with the cold water and help to maintain the ice

[@duleyrocha]

Very Germantly build, I like it!!

[@firstnamelastname6605]

also wanted to mention that hair dryers are available at many thrift stores for three or $4 they don't have to be fancy, they all use the exact same DC motor. the only differences are in the diameter of the cases which surrounds the motor.

[@DaytonaEV]

Hello there, My apologies for taking so long to get back to you, it has been very hectic around these parts lately and this is the first opportunity I have had to catch up on KZbin comments. Using an intercooler type setup and using a hair drier motor to push/pull air through one that happens to be submerged in ice water is an interesting idea. In theory, it should slightly cool the air being pushed through it, and would not melt the ice as quickly as it does in my setup. However it seems unlikely that the amount of heat extracted from that air would be any nearly as much as air flowing through water cooled heater cores is. I could be wrong, and would be very interested in seeing what types of test results you come up with when you end up building one. In my application, I am striving for minimal noise, and I think a hair drier would be extremely loud. With the high CFM 120mm (12v DC) computer fans that I am using in this setup, about the only sound I actually hear is the gentle gurgling of the bilge pump as the water circulates around the system. Take care, Jason

[@7x779]

115VAC hair dryers use a 12V DC motor?

[@michaeijn67]

I have used 2liter bottles and a good size fan to force are in a ice cooler with a large pipe for a venting system works well enough to cool a small room. I believe he should use a much bigger cooler to be more effective. Of course it's for a car not a room. I think he did a good job.

[@crocker5731]

Can you build one big enough to cool my house

[@firstnamelastname6605]

it takes more effort to draw water through your heater core than it does to draw air. Submerse the core in the water, and draw the air through it. That is much less effort. Also, consider the compact high-velocity motor of a hair dryer.the motor inside a hair dryer is actually DC. there is a bridged rectifier wired in to the two input connections of the tiny motor making it battery powered. I can get decent velocity with just a transistor 9 volt battery.

[@dantyler1558]

I wonder if anyone has worked to NOT drain melted ice in one of these? Once ice melts, you still have very cold water to work with. Redirect the cold water to recover a few more joules...

[@WizzRacing]

I don't get how this is efficient. Pushing warm air into the ice chest then back out would melt the ice in pretty quick fashion. Not to mention if its really humid. It's cheaper to buy one of those home-depot 120 volt 500 watt AC units for $99.00 get an inverter and run it off any good deep cycle battery. Use your car alternator to recharge it or run it. It takes 41 amps to run one but it can cool down a full size can in 20 mins to 65 degrees.

[@bibleprophecy1st]

I am going to do something similar. I am going to use two heater cores. one on the intake side and one on the exhaust with a barrier between the intake and exhaust of a wall of water trickling down through waterproof filter material for evaporative cooling along with those cores/coolers. Instead of the water just falling back in the bottom it will spray into the filter material from pvc with small holes drilled in it. That is how those swampy mini coolers that cost about $600.00 work. Except they use a wicking material that must be replaced ever few hundred hours. That is screwed up for somone who plans on using it alot. I also bought a bilge fan that is more powerful, moves more air, and is smaller in diameter (4 inches) then those computer fans. It uses 4 amps at full power but I don't think I will need it to run at full power since the pickup thruck camper on my S10 is only a little over 5 1/2 ' x 7 1/2 ' and about 5' tall with a cab over compartment. Self built. The one thing about evaporative cooling is you have to be able to vent the moisture to the outside and I have a roof vent as well as two intake vents and a window, so that's covered. I am going to have two different variable speed switches. One for my bilge pump, and the other for my bilge fan so I can adjust each of them and tune it to the right flow rate for the water and air. Also I'm not going to use a cheap coller. I am ging to build my own box and insulate it with 2 to 3 inches of styrofoam. I don't want it to take up as much space as that cooler. All powered by two 50 AH deep cycle batteries, and two 100 watt solar panels.

[@phillipforeman5322]

You have the fans backwards to me. The pullers are pulling across the cold heater cores then back into the cooler , then back out??? Nooooo

[@qtrtilldawn]

First, shouldn't the intake CFM equal the output CFM? This setup makes the intake work harder, less efficient, and will burn the fans out faster, plus over rev the output fan, to burn out early as well. And Cherokeeman below has a point. Even regular auto AC's when put on MAX, only use internal air, (recycle the already cooled air), before they begin to cool outside air - although this would still be internal air no matter the vent direction. And bibleprophecy1st also has a point, just use two fans and place a core on intake and one on output. That would fix the CFM problem and slightly precool the warmer part, (the intake side). As for the cost, I understand this was a pure store bought system, at least if gives an idea of the parts cost if you only have some parts and want to add the rest. I personally have stuff laying all around the house and this design is just to get ideas.

[@unkledupee]

DatoynaEV do you think something like this could work in dry desert heat for long periods of time in a car, say using a strong power pack like the goal zero yeti 400? or do u think the ice is just gonna melt to fast?

[@dyubirantiquera5434]

this will suck out the water moisture from the cooler and eventually it will add to the ambient humidity, and turn the air to a much heavier density.

[@searcy95]

You should remove the loop, add a "T" @ your pump . Have a cold water line feeding each core. Your design takes warmer water from one core straight to the 2nd core.

[@jamothegreat6052]

chuck s i agree

[@no1wrench]

run a hose from the final output into the water... no running water sound... WOW! why does no one run this drain hose? drives me nuts.

[@DaytonaEV]

Good evening, If you check out my video from a few days after this one was posted ( July 21, 2013 - Waterfall Hopping In The EV & First Homebrew Portable A/C Test at about a minute and a half in) you can see that I did exactly that for the first real-world test of this unit. :) Having a extra bit of tube from the output going down into the bottom of the ice chest served to not only reduce the sound of running water, but also theoretically may have slowed the ice melting a bit, as it no longer had the steady stream of water falling directly on top of it? While it certainly helped with the sound, you can still hear some 'gurgling' of the water flowing through the system, somewhat more like coffee brewing or one of those peaceful desk/office water fountains. Due to the fans blowing air through and out of the unit, they carry that gurgling sound rather well to the outside, and thus it remains rather audible. A good example of the sound it makes is later on in the video (about 31 minutes in) after the ice had completely melted. Fun stuff in any case, take care, Jason

[@nmtscrub]

EXACTLY!!! common sense isnt for everyone. ;o) im moving into my toyota sienna soon and im building one of these before i even think about paying migktykool the same amt of money for an mk4 or arctic king for this joynt but i like em!

[@7x779]

It would cool a little more if both cores were connected in parallel rather than series, so both would get fresh cold water at the same time. In the way pictured, the second core is getting slightly warmer water from the first. The good thing about this design is that it is a real air conditioner, it will cool the air without adding humidity, like the other evaporative coolers that only work in a dry climate.

[@7x779]

At 4:15 where can we find fans with the adjustable switch?

[@firstnamelastname6605]

intercoolers are designed for high temperatures. How does ambient temp cool squat? Now if you were to submerse the cooler into the iced water, and pump air thru it, THAT would drop the temp much better.

[@DaytonaEV]

The two heat exchangers utilized in this project are not intercoolers, but rather are heater cores that were originally designed for use in a 1985 Chevy S10. By pumping ice cold water through those aluminum heater cores, this lowers the temperature of their metal fins to close to the same as that of water. Then, by using the fans to force air through both heater cores, this causes the air to also cooled (much like an evaporator in a regular A/C unit). Also, like a cold soda can on a hot/humid day, moisture from the air is extracted and causes condensation to build up on those ice cold aluminum heater cores. When enough condensation has accumulated, it drips down into the ice chest, thus causing the whole system to work as a dehumidifier as well (again, much like a regular A/C unit). In any case, the air coming out of this self-contained unit is significantly colder than the air going in, and it works surprisingly well. :)

[@kevondaines]

DaytonaEV Hi Jason, Sounds great , it sure will do the trick as well. As for the cooling system with heat exchangers. In my experience ,ice will always leave a trace of calcium behind. It usually forms its self as a smudge in the bottom of a water reservoir when the same water is re-used during a open circulation system. Particular systems as such build can be bought here at our local MediaMarkt but again it is totally dependable to normal tap water. After using this unit for about a 3 weeks I've noticed the smudge creating (discoloring) in the bottom of the tank , and white dried hard water on the ventilator. With some handy work ....this was easily removed and the tank cleaned. My first intend were to pure the water from creating this process again,So now the water which is placed in the bin altogether with plastic bottles of ice is a mixture of 35% Demineralised water. Demi water has the ability to keep coolness down longer and causes no calcium smudge at the bottom of the tank. As for the glygol i've mentioned about. The perfect way to make it run cold for hours is into a closed system. So....according to how I have build a few systems myself **Towards heatexchanger , then back to the cooling for the heatexchanger This is a closed system** **From the reservoir towards the heatexchanger and back into the warm return compartment. This is the open system** Pulse timer emitter relay and a 2way electropilot valve The emitter works with your temperature controler and opens up the valve at a precise timing point to cool down your heatexchanger. Continous circulation in my experience has shown that temperatures can variate to a higher point than what is desired. I have no doubt that your system will work my friend ,am just extending a bit of knowledge to your theory. It is great to see that some people do have the crafty hands to create stuff like this. Wishing you all the luck with your concept my friend. Take care Kevon

[@mannygarcia5451]

Thanks for sharing your video I built one worked great during the initial test in my garage. It was blowing 64° man it was great ran it for 30 minutes. Next day I put it in my truck started blowing cold air 54° but my heater core experience condensation restricting the air flow. This thing works we have plenty of ice machines where I work. I have to change the design mabe adding a turbo fan blowing inwards helping the water drain or replacing the heater core with copper tubing. Any suggestions?

[@DaytonaEV]

Hello Manny, congratulations on building your own unit, that's awesome! I do not really have any specific suggestions, as this is very much not my area of expertise and was really just something I put together and documented as a fun side-project that was roughly based on the original design I happened to find on the Instructables website (link in the video details above). There are great many other designs out there on the web for this type of thing to use as a reference, so I am sure you will find some good ones with a bit of Googling around. I wish you the best of luck, and to have fun tweaking/improving your project! :)

[@jonnyc2.047]

How's it working putting the two fans up against the heater core using it to cool hydroponic systems what do you think about that

[@DaytonaEV]

I am sorry, I literally know nothing about hydroponic systems... However, if the goal is to provide heat transfer via a liquid pumped through heater core, then forcing air across that core should having some cooling effect on that liquid. Although it should be noted though that the amount of cooling will be far less with a heater core than something like a full sized radiator, perhaps with one (larger) fan, and also may strongly depend on how fast the water is flowing through that radiator/heater core. I would think it really comes down to how much cooling capacity you need in your particular application.

[@sandrahendricks7553]

I love this and enjoyed the video. Since I am not tech savy, I need step by step instructions. I may have to take a fan out of my son's computer. Do you think he will notice. lol

[@samicakmak7078]

+1 trust idea

[@user-br7sg4on4f]

You can use Fraser with a 12v compressor used in cars

[@nmtscrub]

man i wish you would just put the camera down and do the build. way too much chatter

[@GhostOfBillCooper]

All that work just to blow humid air into you room.. Move the radiators to the outside and pump the water to them. Then just blow air through them and you're good.

[@DaytonaEV]

You are correct in that this particular design (from over 5 years ago) does not completely isolate the ice water from the airflow through the heater cores, and therefore will not completely dehumidify the air passing through it. It does, however, work as a proper heat exchanger, since it does transfer heat from the air passing through the heater cores into the ice water and as a result builds up a significant amount of condensation on the heater cores themselves. The water from the condensation drips down into the ice water, and the unit does in fact blow out colder-than-ambient (and not significantly more humid) air out the exhaust as a result of this process. While moving the radiators to the outside of the unit would certainly solve the problem where the air channel is passing over the ice water, which is admittedly likely picking up some trace amounts of additional humidity, you would then have to deal with the condensation dripping from those external radiators somehow. Having a puddle of water forming under the unit is likely not a big deal if the planned use case is having it sit on the ground or in a garage or something, but is more of a significant issue if it's placed inside of a car, for example. In addition, the unit would need to be quite a bit taller (or wider or thicker) in order to accommodate those external radiators. The net result would likely not be as "aesthetically pleasing" as the setup that I was personally going for with this particular design, which is why I opted for an internal radiator approach. As stated elsewhere in various comments and possibly even in some of the videos, I had noted that the air passing through the system interacting with the ice water was a potential issue with the design and figured the easiest 'fix' for that would be simply put a vapor barrier of some sort inside the unit, above the ice water, but allowing sufficient airflow to still be able to pass through the heater cores. The general idea was to use something like a sheet of solid foam insulation, cut to fit the interior ice chest shape, or possibly something as simple as a sheet of thick plastic or rubber with a small hole somewhere in it for the condensate to still be able to drain on down into the ice water below. I never ended up doing any of that, since this little fun side project was never the focus of my KZbin channel, nor a primary interest of mine. But, in theory, it would be a relatively simple/elegant solution. :)

[@vonshango6311]

first show us proof of concept video so that we're interested to see how you made it.

[@hichamn4654]

The problem with this inventions is the fan! Please stop mistaking people about using fans all together ! The air passage must be water tide grade and using air compressor air flow. Fan system require no air restrictions yet it the very restrictions that this invention functional.. ex the radiator as an air restriction... this all add up $$$

[@hichamn4654]

***** water tide ! Well Please help me in how say it probably! I think you understand that it should be a tide system where air can not escape just like turbo system in a car vs just a fan in it place. And I will not wait until you finish your first grade to answer me in any of the five languages that I already speak ;) water tide ! I simply wanted to bring to attention of the pressure existence but this product is not properly done.

[@jonnyc2.047]

I used a Subaru heater core $20 a piece quite large compared to yours no disrespect

[@DaytonaEV]

It's all good, I randomly selected the Chevy S10 heater cores because they were about the right size for fitting in my particular ice chest lid, and were readily available at a local AutoZone store. If Subaru heater cores were less expensive for you and worked better for your project, then that's terrific. :)

[@singh843]

149 you can get small AC

[@sasyedji]

According to me its useless. Heating core will not get cold enough with just water passing thru it. Ice will melt in 10 to 20 mins. Then water will adopt the room temp. And air will get room temp. This would be useful only if compresser is used

[@DaytonaEV]

This sort of portable air conditioner unit is not designed to cool an entire room, as it only requires a 12 volt electrical supply with a few amps worth of power draw to run the water pump. While it likely could cool an entire room if you had a constant supply of ice to feed it every 30 minutes or so, that would not really be practical in the vast majority of use cases. Where a device such as this IS actually useful is in situations where you do not have access to the high-voltage + high-amperage power feed necessary to run a noisy compressor, and where you desire some form of cooling in a very space constrained location such as a car, a tent, or even in an off-grid camper where portability is of paramount importance. Take the example of a campground in the woods, where already likely have access to bags of ice (such as those normally used to keep food-stuffs cold in ice chests just like this one)... If you bring along a 12 volt car battery (or better yet a lithium based one) as well, then and you can run a ice-based portable A/C unit like this one for quite a long time on a single charge. As for how long the ice water will remain cooler than the ambient temperature, that largely depends on what the temperature is to begin with, how much airflow you have through the unit, how good the insulation is in the ice chest itself, and a variety of other factors. In the video linked below, I ran my particular unit for roughly 6 hours in my Electric Vehicle on a particularly hot day in the middle of our New York summer. Even though the ice had completely melted, the water itself was still 'chilled' and was still blowing out colder-than-ambient air. kzbin.infokSSlGq-4KUA

[@grahambate3384]

Good try cob, but lol, keepbtrying

[@AdamAdam-ke7ed]

حلوه

[@patrickbradford6223]

wow dude, your audio is terrible.

[@purekeynoob]

So.... you took a $20 project and made it cost $200? Seems logical.

[@DaytonaEV]

Unfortunately I did not have any used ice chests, heater cores, bilge pumps, dryer vents, or high performance 12v fans kicking around and had to purchase them when I put together this particular project (3 years ago). Could something similar be built for less money? Perhaps. However I was more concerned with making an attractive looking unit and then testing the concept out for myself, rather than trying to build something as cheaply as possible.