HOME MADE AIR CONDITIONER! EASY AS 1,2,3 !

[@bambipesquera5603]

My ac unit went out tonight. It's a $6,000 repair I didn't plan for. I just made 2 of these. My dogs and I are much cooler now, which is no easy feat in this Texas heat. Thank you!

[@mikesartin]

This approach would be good occupational therapy for those unfamiliar with thermodynamics. On the other hand, my brother somehow ended up with a giant (10ft by 10ft or so) evaporative cooler. I'd never have suspected how efficient it was in the 90% humidity of an East Tennessee summer. I've got a 20 to 30 foot irrigation well and I've considered working out a mathematical model to see if the water temp from such a shallow well would be low enough to make a geothermal chiller.

[@scbond]

"You don't want to be one of those people that takes one step forward and three steps back," ...he says while cutting styrofoam with a knife going towards his other hand.

[@rickhinder8832]

I was thinking the same

[@InDyingLights]

Do we want to comment about the legendary fail at @5:22?

[@cirrus070]

i just tied a bag of ice behind my fan. boom cool air.

[@prime1457]

Excellent idea! I personally like how you used ice using water, and not dry ice like an unnamed person would do two months after you posted this. Well done for the original content!

[@katieshealinggarden]

Hey.......Here's a simpler way to cool off.... Get a large spray bottle....fill with water....put in freezer......when you get hot just sit with box fan facing you.....spray water towards fan........the mist will cool you off........repeat often as necessary. I even take it in the car and spray towards open window and mist blows back at you.

[@dhamapaudyal9559]

I found it very good idea to save electricity and have a airconditioning system economical and easy. Thanks for posting this video.

[@zTHEMADHATTERz]

Nice DIY vid. I am stationed in Europe and in Germany it can get up to over 90 degrees but Europe doesn't believe in AC. I'm gonna go buy the stuff today and do this. The only thing I will change is forking out a lil more money for an actual cooler. Good shit man. Thanks.

[@julierunyon1863]

I think you did a great job and kept it light hearted. Some of the other videos I saw on this concept were either too involved & not useful (dripping hoses and pumps?) or didn't explain very well the whole concept. Good job!

[@Miata822]

It takes 144 BTU to melt a pound of ice. The smallest window air conditioners are rated at 5000 BTU per hour. That is the equivalent of melting 35 pounds in this device Every Hour. This kind of air conditioner can work but you need Lots and Lots of ice. BTW, you may have heard an air conditioner called something like a "one ton air conditioner." My house has a 3 ton unit. This weight measurement means the air conditioner provides cooling equivalent to melting however many tons of ice over a 24 hour period.

[@TheAJACE]

Hi Mitch, real good video and idea. We did it the same way here on worksite at the Turkish coalfields. It's working fantastic and all of us are now equipped with this AC. To the other comments: there are not all over the world styrofoam coolers available!

[@Warbirdwoodsman]

One thing to keep in mind that if you use ice that isn't encapsulated inside your cooler you will be put moisture into the air. That could cause some mildew problems with extended and repeated use.

[@robertfieldsjr.5919]

Great idea, you almost lost it when the 2inch drill bit flew off and tried to get your hand! I was wondering, why not cut the circular foam first, that way it goes into the bottom first creating a better seal all the way around the floor of the bucket? what do you think? Robert

[@benliebrand5271]

Wow that is cool!

[@benliebrand5271]

Robert Fields Jr. I would imagine he cut the base the way he did to force the side pieces out against the side of the drum.

[@chavacoatlito]

Since he is putting the ice in a bag it does not make any difference. Either way will work the same. You can put some foam in the lid or around the bucket to get a little bit more insulation but I am not sure if that would be needed.

[@misscooperfly]

Awesome, I have no air and didn't want a big blasting fan. Been using my fridge think this will work great. Thanks

[@strumpeteer]

Great idea! Seems like a safe set up provided that you use a low voltage DC powered fan. Thanks for sharing.

[@mlpminecraftstudio6526]

thx for telling us how to make a air conditioner and my dad actually found it really easy to make with you! thank you very much again

[@ladeene06]

Well that's just downright nifty! I'm thinkin I might be able to stand sleeping INSIDE,the tent! Lol. Thanx Alot

[@jonwolfie1]

Instead of standing, try lying down.

[@Rgarcia713]

jonwolfie1 Now that made me lol

[@marivali1153]

That's SUPERB!!!! Nice Going. very fun to watch. This would .make an Awesome little science Project. 😃

[@davidthurstram2134]

Few thoughts on this: 1) Where are you getting the ice from? From your freezer? Your freezer is not going to be able to make enough ice to keep this thing moving along for 5 hours. If your house is really warm the ice will melt in far FAR less than an hour. (You could use dry ice but then this would go from an OK air-conditioner to a death trap) 2) Problem with thermal dynamics. You see, the compressor in your freezer does not pull the thermal energy out of the refrigerant and send it off to magic land. the thermal energy that is pulled out of the refrigerant and is then exchanged and put back into the air around the refrigerator. If you have a single room apartment you would basically just be wasting energy by pulling the heat out of the refrigerant and putting it into the space around the freezer. Refrigerant then cools the freezer which then cools the water and turns it into ice. Then you take this Ice and use it to cool the air in the room; the same air you earlier heated up making the same ice. Cool little project and it does have some applications. But, it is not by any means cheap air-conditioning. A few design points: INSULATION: it is not really necessary. You can make this in a copper bucket with little heat-sinks on it and it will actually work even better. Your goal is to heat up the ice while cooling down the room. Only time when insulation would be important is if you want to be able to transport the ice in it and then turn it on when you are ready. But if this is so then you also need insulating plugs for the exhaust vent and the insulating cover for the fan to keep the ice from melting prematurely. THE ICE CONTAINMENT PROBLEM: Putting the ice in a plastic bag lowers your efficiency. You need a basket setup which is going to hold ice and keep it relatively dry (increasing your surface area and efficiency since ice is not cooling the water but just the air moving through. Remember, your goal is to cool the air not to have a bucket/bag of cold water) while the bottom catches the water form melting ice. Preferably making it in a way that it can be easy to remove and dump. Also, it would be possible to lower the temperature of the air coming out by adding some salt to the water ice before turning it on. This, of course, would also make the ice last shorter.

[@garrettt8090]

It's much easier to buy a stirafoam cooler and cut out a hole for a fan and 1 or two dryer elbow tubes then put in it and set the fan on top of the cooler , just cut the hole a little bit smaller and put in the frozen water bottles and enjoy

[@TechTimeWithEric]

It seems like this would be in interesting idea for use in a tent.

[@jimmyerbe768]

We have a large tent and use a large fishing cooler loaded with ice from the 24 hour outdoor ice house, we have a good size fan in it and lasts all night. Its worth the 10 bucks in ice. Fishing in the florida keys

[@russaikman]

Same logic used here, thinking about making a 55 gallon drum version. Fan can make noise. Cool things right off.

[@mpaxton8991]

Thank you for your service, sir.

[@bruceforster4209]

You are NOT the safest person with shop tools, I've ever seen, but your project is BRILLIANT! If you could clean up the interior design a bit, and design some good packaging, you could probably SELL these and make some money!

[@zainagha]

What a great idea. If you are using a solar panel then this air-conditioner will be running free of cost the only cost will be the cost of the ice. What room size can it cool? After how many hours do we need to replace the ice?

[@Marlin101084]

Ok, so to make the ice, you're using a small-scale A/C system called a freezer. It takes heat from inside, transfers it outside, INTO your KITCHEN (or where ever the freezer is located). So to make ice, you remove the heat from water, and put it into your home, plus add the heat generated by the compressor motor of the freezer. Then take the ice out, and use it to absorb the heat in the air of your home, cooling it in the process. When the ice has melted back into water, place the water back in the freezer and repeat. After each cycle, you are actually going to have more heat in the system (e.g. your home). Even if the freezer is located outside your home, the energy used to create the ice is going to be no less (most likely GREATER) than the energy required by a dedicated Air Conditioner for providing equal amounts of cooling. This type of device would be great in a small area that cannot support a dedicated Air Conditioner (think old, small RV or something), or at least a neat solution if you have a small room that you want to have a couple degrees cooler than the rest of a building.. but it is not going to save money over running a proper AC unit.

[@admx7338]

What about a 3ftx3ftx6ft 200lb steel box is small scale? In the end he's got the worlds least efficient a/c unit here. You would literally be better off to sit on a bag of ice. Literally because at least the ice would cool your ass off, instead of dropping the air temperature of a room by 1/64th degree per hour.

[@louhutson4119]

U cu yy 7

[@TheBwhaaaa]

"stick this in my hole when it hardens it will be as hard as a rock" i died laughing

[@bowenmichelle]

Lol along with his ' we don't want it to look like a scumbag type deal'.

[@michaelboyle9806]

Wow not a thank you for the less sweat just comment on that part I worry for our generation

[@the30secondpunny17]

Michael Boyle The way you are so unsafe I worry for you. Be more careful.

[@TheIsaiahjones]

TheBwhaaaa kmsl...i thought it was just me that noticed that!!!

[@sdnative2387]

"That's what she said".

[@mrsuaavve]

Love this idea. It makes perfect sense and I could see the benefit of something like this while out camping. Have u done follow-up vid showing how to hook up solar panel?

[@lalalaheidi0022]

do you think this operation would also work with a 3.5 gallon bucket... and how far away does your 5 gallon contraption cool to? ...thank you...

[@seikibrian8641]

If you're putting the ice bucket in one room and the ice-maker or freezer is in another, there's some merit to this, although it's not particularly efficient. In a studio apartment, though, the heat taken out of the water during freezing is moved into the kitchen air, and putting the ice in the same room later to remove the heat in the air results in no net heat removal. If you include the heat from the fan running (there won't be much, but there will be some) you'll end up with a net heat gain. Heat pumps and other A/C units work by MOVING the heat from the indoors to the outdoors via some type of exchange mechanism.

[@DaBucKFasTeR]

Brilliant Mitchell.. thanks

[@HanieBCreations]

Wow. This is such an inventive cool idea. haha! I was thinking there had to be a way to create a small air conditioner. Heck just about anything can be done. Perfect for the tent trailers or camping out this summer. Thank you for sharing.

[@TheSoftwareJunction]

yeah but you need ice...

[@rexdove1051]

Watch one of the other videos, cause this guy is a moron and this one is too much trouble to make!

[@naijanistan]

This is the best video that I've watched in ages. I plan to complete this project one day.

[@prinitajaiswal2852]

This is very good project , u have explained every step..

[@EqualsThreeable]

Hey we have the same Pepsi cooler at my work, and if I'm not mistaken the looks like a Manitowoc Ice machine, those work great.

[@GF_Burke]

Making one. Just don't see the need for PVC, a hole is a hole. Unless you wanted to direct airflow somehow. Good vid man.

[@RickD5468]

I need a home made dehumidifier ;)

[@GF_Burke]

de?

[@RickD5468]

Yeah, its very humid here and hard to get my apartment below 70% some days. I just don't want to pay 500 for one from samsung lol

[@GF_Burke]

where are you? lol

[@RickD5468]

I am in Korea teaching English.

[@marcos22571]

Love the template angle cut on the insulation at the jump start...LOL!!!

[@suzannesadiiqa]

You could use the plastic camping ice 'bricks' instead of ice, or the plastic bubble stuff for making ice cubes...............the fan looks like the one I had on the dash of my motor home, easy to come by I would imagine.

[@bigdaddygato]

Cool vid man !! Might try this when I go camping !!!!!

[@fixfireleo]

i wonder if it might work better with dry ice or regular ice and rock salt?

[@XtrAMassivE]

i'll need to make something like this coz my room gets crazy hot in the winter and it doesn't cool no matter what!

[@idris7245]

U mean summer

[@XtrAMassivE]

hahah yeah, don't know how i missed that lol

[@kuyanatnatdkrx7]

damn that must be one hot winter , what is it like there when it reaches summer?

[@undocumentedspot]

I thought typing winter was intentional. I thought your mom is one crazy angry mom to be hot in winter.

[@skyprankstertv2276]

U mean in winter u close all the ac in your house and ur room get hot

[@WilliamTells]

how many times do you have to say "concept" ? to get your CONCEPT across ?

[@AlMzraq]

Nice and easy to made but I wish if you got a tempreture tester.

[@goscott2]

This is a great video. Thanks for sharing. Very helpful.

[@darrellfort1668]

LOVE THIS VIDEO. THANKS BUDDY

[@EricaYE6]

Great job! I like it.

[@luzgarzapalacios9206]

¡¡¡me encanto esta idea pues es económico. Y muy práctico. Gracias Dios los bendiga :)

[@imonittonite]

I may try this using an empty box wine bladder. Keep a spare or two in the freezer and you'll never need to mess with ice. The bladders keep the ice water frozen for a very long time.

[@RickDeckardMemories]

I can see that everyone or at least a lot of people are very excited by this idea. There are tons of similar projects posted here, mainly using styrofoam coolers. The problem is that it will not give you any noticeable cool. It's just like opening a refrigerator door and keeping it open in a hot apartment. Sorry. BTW, a small window AC unit can be had for less than $100 on sale, and it will probably burn only $2-3 of electricity per day, so what is all this big fuss about? And to match that store-bought AC unit output one will probably need 50 buckets like the one in the video. )))

[@redwhite286]

nice project thanks for sharing

[@tomrippity]

I'm curious how much the insulation helps since you are forcing warm air into the chamber with ice. That would be an interesting thing to test.

[@bobkilla430]

More of a swamp cooler then ac. Not that it's going to cool down a room but swamp coolers raise humidity so they are no good for a humid place. I can't see this working for more then a foot in radius and definitely no where close to a bigger fan you could get for free on craigslist, cheap on Amazon or battery/solar fans for outside. It sounded like a cool idea but the more I think about it the more I see easier and better solutions. Srill, thanks for the the video

[@johnrandles4403]

Where do I buy the massive silver ice cube maker/storer so I can make ice for my money saving deluxe home made air conditioning unit ...

[@PCWestOtzi]

Wouldn't it be better to install a strainer above the outlets for the air to go around the ice and then out?

[@florentinealonso6128]

Great man many cool videos

[@albertflores5228]

Dude, awesome project !!! I'm building one, you see leaving in Houston Texas ... talk about HEAT..HEAT and more HEAT, this will work perfect while I'm out in the garage. Thanks again ... great video !!! -Albert,

[@admx7338]

Bad idea. This thing will grow deadly bacteria. Legionella aka Legionnaires Disease. Just sit on a bag of ice. Its safer and more effective at cooling you off.

[@QueenBeezHive]

Cool me and the kids will be making one.. well trying to at least lol... yeah family project

[@trackerbuckmann1111]

...you probably could have just sacrificed an ice chest. anyways, I believe that geothermal cooling is a better option, The earthship concept makes pretty good use of this. circulating cool water from tubing weighted down in the bottom of a pond is another great option.

[@cjr1382]

I have a question, this AC model wont make the air humidity sky rocket? (I'm asking this because I imagine it could cause some damage to my pc because I keep on the ground... or floor i dont know the right word for that.)

[@kingnorse3640]

wow great concept i love it

[@elizabethiglesias5044]

Nice, as a mom of four paying 300 a month in electricity,altough somewhat ghetto for the public to see..lol i would use about 3 of these!! But tell me ...im in florida,although not as hot as Texas,its hot! but what about the humidity/mold problem?Or maybe just use in the day time and at night ise the ac's????

[@McChief1993]

Would it be colder if u put salt with the ice?

[@olallaeddy]

The AC to DC converters waste power makeing the DC voltage out of AC even when the fan is turned off. Just some info some dont know about. I try to by an AC powered fan. They dont use much power. Thanks for the video

[@RockyLeQc]

The best free way is to stay open the freezer's door...

[@Gay4raywj]

EpicGamer You might as well. These ice-powered ac units are inefficient. You're essentially just indirectly "opening the freezer's door"

[@rouelibre1]

Bad answer. The freezer will let cold air through the door and the heat extracted will go out the back of the unit. They will cancel, the freezer will run after his breath untill the compressor is dead.

[@andydunnock8114]

False - you would make the heat-exchanger work harder, which would warm the room.

[@rouelibre1]

Andy Dunnock Right-on man. This is thermodynamics. You have cold out of the frezer and the same amount in heat from the evaporator PLUS the heat generated by an over-worked compressor. Bottom lin, you have made yourself a heater.

[@RockyLeQc]

rouelibre1 So use the first freezer created. (Without your technology)

[@newstart49]

In layman's terms; If you are cooling a room, you don't need a cooler- just the ice on a pan and a little fan to move the exchange quicker. The faster the ice melts, the faster you are cooling the space. You are changing the temperature of the air, not "conditioning" it as in removing humidity- in fact, you are adding humidity. The cost to make the ice and cool the room at XX temperature for XX hrs is the same as running a small a/c, since the refrigerator must use XX btu's to remove the heat from the water to make ice. If you were to get free ice, then you have cheap cooling. If you must buy the ice, expect to pay much more for cooling this way. This is not free or low cost air conditioning since no natural energy source is used. *40 years in HVACR experience here. Nice video though.

[@Supertechismailckm]

very nice i will try just to show mu students how ventilation of air in a air conditioner works witout refrigeration system thts all.thank u

[@shuvo10307]

nice job dude thanks for sharing

[@MazwiZwane]

Subscribed, love the way you present your work

[@melrosehawkins8294]

What about making a round cardboard insert leaving about 1/2 - 1 inches to the inside wall of bucket and spray expandable foam? Also, I think a guy could use a shop vac and blow the air out.

[@mlecandie]

Thank you for sharing.

[@chillfoundry]

Mitchell, can you please make a video of your solar conversion of this project?

[@greenrolaids]

is that glue strong? possibly similar to a rock?

[@ladyb8692]

Great idea!! Thanks

[@Ohiogirl419]

I'm SO MAKING THIS SOMETIME this SUMMER!

[@chillfoundry]

also, Mitchell, where did you get the plugin/usb powered fan and how much was it?

[@suzannesadiiqa]

Try an automobile accessories shop............I had one for my old motor home dashboard.

[@Ayush_Int650]

For how long can it keep cool once the ice is kept inside and tightly packed?

[@jerry52346]

try bait/hunting/fishing stores for the round coolers.

[@DNTMEE]

Save electricity? Do you have any idea how much electricity it took to make that ice?

[@TheHardstyleMusicz]

I'll try this out, then *I'll come back to ya*

[@dunkinnatalie]

It's been 6 years, how's the AC?

[@harman6719]

@@dunkinnatalie il try this out too, then come back to ya :D see ya in 6 years :D

[@LoveYourself-1970]

How many square feet will it cool???????????????? TYIA💕 Thinking about making a few. 1 for each room. Then my electric bill will be lower......

[@lalalaheidi0022]

also, what type of fan did you use?

[@DocCanFixIt]

That's really "cool" Mitchell! But how do you get it to mount in the window???

[@mexicanu1986]

Nice concept!!!

[@carlc88]

Id you add in the electricity you use to freeze the ice this is probably a looser on the efficcency scale, but for a short term cooling effect maybe ok.

[@wiktorwiktor12]

I recommend using dry ice than normal elextristy and its esay ro see

[@crystanubis]

You're not very bright, are you?

[@orlandobermudez504]

Are you trying to kill us boy!!! and why waste money when you got ice in the fridge but you can use it if you want just make sure you use gloves though you don't want your people find you dead and on top of that with no hands

[@wiktorwiktor12]

well someone done it and it did not kill him

[@tommcdonald4014]

Wiktor Wiktor Some people shoot up bad heroin and don't die. Does that mean bad heroin can't kill you? Are you dim?

[@crystanubis]

Wiktor Wiktor If you're talking about the Crazy Russian Hacker, you do know he has since recanted on using dry ice due to the suffocation hazards illustrated in numerous response videos, right? 

[@moeforever7]

I think you can put salt in the regular water ice to make it colder.

[@DIYOneForAll]

Thumbs up! Nice one :)

[@BDoggy45]

Don"t even have to use one of those 5 gallon buckets but instead use one of those Styrofoam cooler right of the back. All ready isolated and easier to cut. But hey, just my thoughts.

[@jonwolfie1]

isolated?

[@BDoggy45]

insulated*

[@rexdove1051]

Yes but not durable

[@BDoggy45]

yeah but far more convenient then cutting up Styrofoam. It's all preference.

[@mikesullivane30]

BDoggy45 Yep, just put the styrofoam cooler into a slightly larger plastic cooler if you are worried about durability.

[@TGFan101]

Will it still work with Polystyrene?

[@anre4499]

Great job!

[@johnnieb1626]

Love it !!

[@kunchacvkcvk3751]

very nice yu shome right way thankyou

[@knighawk99]

I couldn't find the round insert either, so I did the same thing with a sheet of Styrofoam, with one difference. I beveled the sides to eliminate gaps. cool vid though thx

[@followjesuschrist7828]

thanks for your very good Idea , God bless you

[@brianx2504]

This design could be better imo. I would have made a platform inside for the ice bag to sit about 1/2-3/4 of the way up in the bucket and have the holes below the ice. That way the air is forced to flow past the ice, cooling it, and then the cold air sinks and flows out the holes in the bottom.

[@TheWallyjp]

this is awesome, may i ask how much it costs in total for you to make it?

[@sdnative2387]

@4:05 for GODS SAKE do not use a knife like that around the fingers or you could be headed to the ER. Rule number one from box cutter days is always cut AWAY from the body parts.

[@bustedback]

For what you spent in materials and tools you could have purchase a small window mount A/C unit.

[@calebkeener5780]

That's awesome

[@peyoncole9711]

I have the same exact fan

[@giggles32750]

Well I think it's awesome!!