Homemade Air Conditioner

[isaacpr7]

I got to test it this morning and I was amazed at how cold the air was coming out of it. And that's without the bilge fan. Once I'm able to get into my hangar I will get my infra-red thermometer and see what it reads. Whatever it is I know it's way colder than outside temp.

[par]

Here is a look at what i'm making as well. I'm still waiting for the pump to come in the mail so it should be complete by next weekend. I'm also trying to use some high voltage lithium batteries I have sitting around so that I can run it for a half hour or so before hopping in the plane on a warm day. Once the engine is running, I'll flip a switch and run it off the alternator. Here are some pictures.

 

http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/album/14086-cb-air-conditioning/

[StinkBug]

Details on the pump for moving the water around?

 

I've seen some people do really cheap versions of this simply by flowing air across the ice in the cooler directly, but the radiator is definitely a more efficient method.

 

[Wesley brown]

All the parts are for a boat! The builder pump and turbo fan can be found online from a boat supply store. Buy a heater core for a car that will fit the top of your cooler first look for a cooler with lines that are 1/2" or 5/8". Mine had both sizes and I had to make a reducer for the inlet of the heater core.

The bulge pump will be epoxied to the floor of the cooler and but a flex line that is also made to fit the bulge pump. I used quick connects for future replacement and also had an extended line that I could hook up to the pump to discharge the spent water from the plane. Make the hoses long enought to open the lid without binding them.

Next is the turbo engine exhaust cabing fan. These are very efficient and they pull some CFM. If IFR remember correctly the fan is 750 cfm and draws very little amps. I think I figured both fand and pump on my set up draw only .4 amps. I use a 1100 amp jump start pack which is 23 lbs or so but will last me 8 hours or so. I have a hard line that is rand to the front so I can cycle the fan or pump or both. If I want to save batter power I tun the pump off and use the fan while at altitude. It's great for cooling the plane prio loading up the wife. She hates being sweaty and hot. It also helps her with her vertigo if she stays cool.

[StinkBug]

Doing a bit of searching on ebay turned up a ton of little 12V aquarium/pond pumps. Not as much GPH as a bilge pump, but in this application you're not really looking to empty a boat quickly, you just need to circulate a small amount of water. The pond pumps are a lot smaller and pull a tiny amount of power in comparison as well, since they are designed to run on solar panels. Most of them were around 2.5 watts, compared to 2.5 Amps for the bilge pumps.

[kmyfm20s]

The faster you move the water the faster the ice melts, it's a balance.

[Piloto]

Has anyone tried just leaving the passenger door slightly open? My wife seats on the back seat and holds the door open with her right foot while taxing. The draft from the front fan is more than enough to keep her cool. Just before take off I close the door and use the overhead nozzle vents. Then climb to 6000ft for air conditioning temps in the summer here in south Florida. For the amount of baggage that I carry with my family there is no room for an ice box air conditioner.

I used to own an M20C with the louvers vent and had to admit they were not very good when compared to the nozzle eyeball vents used on the M20J and later models. Unlike the M20C/E/F louvers in the M20J opening all the four overhead vents do not reduce the individual flow of each vent. The vents are individually fed from a plenum in the tail cone that is fed from an air scoop in the dorsal fin. I found the M20J overhead nozzle vents to provide a significant improvement in cooling comfort vs. the louvers. For better cooling comfort take off your pilot cap. The visor blocks the air to your face.

José

[ryoder]

I am a CB but opted for the bekool and it's worth every penny.

[par]

Details on the pump for moving the water around?

 

I've seen some people do really cheap versions of this simply by flowing air across the ice in the cooler directly, but the radiator is definitely a more efficient method.

 

Here is my parts list-

 

1) Pump: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000O8B7VO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    I think I would go with a lesser capacity pump because this one moves a lot of water. I'd recommend you keep it around the 200gph mark at most.

 

2) Plumbing: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004UOUBW4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    I also bought some 1/2" ID tubing for the outlet. The inlet is 3/4" ID

 

3) 12v cable: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Z0HVHA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

4) Fan: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F7ANK7S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    I went with this one to keep the noise level down but I would recommend something that moves a little more air.

 

5) Heater Core: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009DK66RO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

6) Icebox: Marine grade ice cooler from Walmart for 30 bucks.

 

7) 3" intake hose from Autozone for 20 bucks.

 

I ran mine today with some ice in it and it worked well. The ice did not last very long because my pump is moving too much water so I may look changing it out. I may also replace the fan with something that moves a little more air than what I have at the moment.

[Wesley brown]

I actually use a electric fuel pump from autozone and it is rated 5 gph . It's externally mounted but works perfect on flowing the right amount of water without melting the ice.