Off Grid Inventions: Turning a 12 Volt fridge-freezer into an air conditioner!

This is a prototype and test to convert a 12/24 volt fridge-freezer in to an air conditioner for small spaces that uses only 50 watts of power. Scroll down for recommended components. www.amazon.com...
These are the components I am using or recommend:
12/24/110 volt fridge freezer: amzn.to/3oCrxwV
Efluky US rechargeable fan: amzn.to/3N5yZde
Adjustable ABS AC Vent: amzn.to/3C3yKZR
Kona Black/Ice 2 Pound Ice Packs: amzn.to/43wWdhS
Laser Temperature Gun: amzn.to/3C1UvcG
I make a small commission if you buy through my links -thank you!
Off grid 20+ years and I have designed many off grid and solar projects and many cabin plans available here: amzn.to/3C1UNAi
#offgrid #airconditioner #inventions

[@solarcabin]

This is a prototype and test to convert a 12/24 volt fridge-freezer in to an air conditioner for small spaces that uses only 50 watts of power. Scroll down for recommended components. www.amazon.com/shop/solarcabin These are the components I am using or recommend: 12/24/110 volt fridge freezer: amzn.to/3oCrxwV Efluky US rechargeable fan: amzn.to/3N5yZde Adjustable ABS AC Vent: amzn.to/3C3yKZR Kona Black/Ice 2 Pound Ice Packs: amzn.to/43wWdhS Laser Temperature Gun: amzn.to/3C1UvcG I make a small commission if you buy through my links -thank you! Off grid 20+ years and I have designed many off grid and solar projects and many cabin plans available here: amzn.to/3C1UNAi #offgrid #airconditioner #inventions

[@Craig-x5b]

You have been planning on doing this design myself I'm going to be using a smallest size.

[@Craig-x5b]

Do you think 2 3 inch cooling fans might

[@dannywilliams6643]

My girlfriend past out from heat exhaustion 2 years ago In July. She fell straight towards me and I caught her just as her knees hit the ground. It was a blessing in a way because when the ambulance took her to the hospital, they ran a scan on her brain and discovered 2 unruptured aneurisms. Ironically enough, today we went to the hospital to have a cerebral angiogram done. We're waiting to hear what the options are for treatment. Sorry for the rant lol. Seriously good content!

[@thomastroiano296]

Danny, I hope she is okay

[@dannywilliams6643]

Oh boy! Now we're getting into stuff I like doing! Repurposing stuff! Great stuff sir!

[@74dartman13]

I love projects like that and keeping your beer cold is a bonus!🍻👍😁

[@solarcabin]

Exactly! Put some brats and beer in there and have a nice air conditioned meal!

[@74dartman13]

@@solarcabin awesome!👍😁

[@jcb0249]

My idea involved a lot more hose, a 12v aquarium pump, and a couple transmission coolers. But also used my 3way fridge instead of a 12v fridge/freezer. It's not central air, by any stretch, but it'll keep the camper cool enough. Great idea!

[@davidpotter9462]

Sounds great. I have tried this. It works up to a point. My solution was to buy six more batteries and four more solar panels 😁. I caved and got a window A/C that my uncle wasn't going to use anymore. It had a timer control which went out so I just put two switches on it one, for the fan and one for the compressor. It actually works better than it did before 😂.

[@bobbyemmons2754]

good idea Lamar

[@hihoney1122]

Thay is a huge drop in temperature. Great information and video.

[@chadpolson1713]

Always enjoy your videos, LaMar! Keep it up!

[@solarcabin]

Thanks Chad!

[@arthurleslie9669]

LaMar ... Now ... Let's see ya use that to turn a Hot Tub into a Cool Tub for the summer. LOL :)

[@solarcabin]

I can see a few uses for this. Still in the experimental stage lol.

[@leetaves9143]

i live in Florida and have two swamp coolers they run off car radiator fans 12v 80watts on full speed, never run it on full speed it does great

[@jtmg11]

You gotta look into some other inexpensive options of dry cooling with low wattage. Our humidity is a killer in and of itself, adding moisture attempting to cool it at the same time is counterproductive unfortunately. It's a shocking difference with your indoor spaces around 50% relative humidity, it allows you to maintain higher temperatures say 80°F and still feel coolish

[@stephenhumble7627]

The heat you take from the air eventually has to go out the hot coil on the fridge so this will only work short term to cool the air until your water bottles warm up but will remove humidity for a while as well. Better to put the fridge outside with ducts in and out the room. Fill bottom of the fridge with water so the air passes over the cold water cooling the air. To improve performance use a small water pump and showerhead to spray the water into air in the fridge to help cool the air as going thru the fridge.

[@solarcabin]

You only run the freezer at night when you don't need the AC for a few hours to refreeze the bottles.

[@keithcharman4133]

Great experiment. Proper mcgyver

[@AnythingByEric]

great vid, this is the very thing in my mind right now - i mostly do field works and the El Nino sun is beating me, my car do have an AC unit but to save up a bit of gas, im searching for cost effective way to have a portable AC ($1k on the market right now wont cut it - too expensive) i've seen a few car fridge powered by 12v which cost around $120-200 and was planning to do this.

[@daniellapain1576]

You need to trap the cool air in its chamber, letting it loose is similar to leaving your oven open to heat a house. You could make a metal lid with fins and have a fan blowing through it. underneath you can have a pc water pump circulating a basic cooling liquid to bring the cold up to the fins.

[@michaelmendez5600]

Remember you need the hot size of the cooler outside of the room. Or you can cool your room.

[@solarcabin]

That is true if the compressor is running because it is puling heat out of the unit but the compressor only runs overnight when I don't need AC and it is freezing those ice packs solid. The ice packs then are used for cooling and the compressor doesn't have to run and is not producing heat. I will explain that better in the next video.

[@MadelineWoe]

They've been advertising this ice cooler that does this. Fill it with ice blah blah. I wondered if you could use a 12 volt refrigerator. And here you are! The heat exhaust issue from the compressor can be worked out. Construct an insulated compartmentalized nook to park the compressor vent end...sorta box it..ya know then run an accordion type hose like in the portable home ac units. For greater efficiency run insulated sock around the hose. Also use a low watt fan at the end of the hose to pull out heat...send it outtie through a window. I see this all convenient for my plans to travel using my back van window. Then traveling and sleeping in my ride with the heat wave would be all bougie!

[@solarcabin]

I think it could work. Not as cold as a refrigerant AC but a lot less power.

[@michellelaclair]

set this inside a small tent/closet if heat is a real concern. thats what is suggested during the winter time to conserve on heat.

[@solarcabin]

This unit is designed to freeze the ice packs at night when the AC is not running and only run the fan for AC in the daytime. Still a work in progress.

[@jeremysks45]

Did the frozen bottles melt in time from ambient temperature air being blown into the freezer? Im not asking this too be a critic or a naysayers by any means. You are conducting an experiment that i have spent a lot of time thinking about how to design. Thanks for sharing the video!

[@solarcabin]

Thanks, The bottles were not completely frozen when I tan this first experiment and it takes 90minutes at zero degrees to freeze a 16 ox bottle of water. The unit will need to run for at least 4 hours steady to refreeze the bottles between uses as an AC unit. I will explain more on that in the next video.

[@scozilla8503]

Hi. Just curious if you did any more testing with this cooler idea.Because I have a couple myself.I would like to try it on

[@solarcabin]

I did more testing using the gel packs and that works better and last longer than water bottles. You can also freeze those faster.

[@davidpatrick1813]

neat

[@Wheeets]

Is there an update to this video? How did the gel packs work? I live in a temperate region where humidity is often quite high. Swamp coolers won't work for me. I had thought of using the fan as the exhaust and having the intake as tubes that ran down in between the gel packs or ice bottles before that air is pulled out by the fan & vented out could be a benefit

[@solarcabin]

I didn't finish this project and I wish I had. I know the system can work but the fridge I was using was not the best for fast freezing. They make models now that can freeze those gel packs solid in less than an hour.

[@mattcavoto]

Did you do any further testing with this Lamar?

[@solarcabin]

Yes, it works better using frozen gel packs.

[@r3x2b0]

Unless you find a way to reject the heat from the compressor, it will create more heat than cooling. See second law of thermodynamics. You might mount it outside a window and pipe the cold air in. Maybe pipe warm air from your cabin into your fridge. Just my thoughts.

[@solarcabin]

That is true only while the fridge compressor is running. This unit only runs the compressor when you do not need AC and only needs 4 hours to refreeze the ice packs at night. Then only the fan runs to circulate the air around the ice packs to cool the room. Doesn't violate the law. I will explain that in the next video

[@rongarrett1366]

Do they still make the model (s) of Alpicool that you use for fridge and freezer?

[@solarcabin]

Alpicool is still in business and has several larger models now. God company on Amazon: amzn.to/3qqLo2r

[@michellelaclair]

or why cant you just fill up the expensive freezer with ice packs and rotate them into a cheap styrofoam cooler that you dont mind cutting a hole into? That way you still have use of the expensive cooler and it stays intact?

[@utubemouse]

Great idea!

[@NaomiSims-w5g]

Yes, there's a vanlifer that freezes gel packs in her portable car freezer, then places them inside a larger portable cooler she uses as her "refrigerator" to avoid having to buy ice. You would have the trouble of removing & refreezing the gel paks, but the whole idea would be a great way to save power.

[@Craig-x5b]

Hi what size fridge did you use

[@solarcabin]

That is a 24 quart I think?