Arctic Air Conditioner

[ryoder]

I put blue plastic,ice blocks in, plus very cold and mostly dry freezer block ice plus "wet" ice from Burger King. It's 1 dollar a bag. Once you put that in, the wet ice starts to melt and creates enough water. The blue ice packs hold onto their cold for a very long time. Even when all ice is melted the unit still cools you because the blue packs still pack a punch. I use the bekool.

[Yetti]

Wow $400.  $40 for two SLA batteries and and some spade connectors,  Charge it with a 12 volt DC wall wort.

[TWinter]

$40 for two SLA batteries and that's what you have, just 12v source. What you don't have is charging ports for USBs, 110 outlet, Cigarette lighter outlet, power level and battery level all at the same time that comes in a convenient carry bag and weighs next to nothing. Never said it was cheap, I said it worked well and was very versatile.  

 

When I don't use the cooler I just use this to power two 12" 12volt clip fans you get a Autozone. Clip them to the clothes hanging rack in the rear hatch, face them forward and plug into the Aspect battery pack and I get constant fan and air movement. Works great!

 

-Tom

[par]

I built my own for less than 200. It def works but I think I will add a larger fan and a second hose at some point.

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[PTK]

I've been thinking about this idea but never got around to researching it.

Is it imaginable to build a 12 v ac unit from scratch? I figure at 12v dc it has to be 500 w max. Around 400 w or so to keep within acceptable amp draw.

The smallest 12v compressor that I've seen is this

I'm sure they come in other sizes.

[ryoder]

I just found this. It's new. This is the only one I have seen with a built in rechargeable battery.

http://www.icybreeze.com/portable-air-conditioner/

[Marauder]

I've been thinking about this idea but never got around to researching it.

Is it imaginable to build a 12 v ac unit from scratch? I figure at 12v dc it has to be 500 w max. Around 400 w or so to keep within acceptable amp draw.

The smallest 12v compressor that I've seen is this

image.jpg

I'm sure they come in other sizes.

I wonder how you would dissipate the heat in the airplane? I love the idea of not having to lug 30 pounds of ice around.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[carusoam]

Compressor is one part, heat exchanger (radiator) is the other part...

In the automotive equivalent the AC heat exchanger is co-located with the engine's radiator. It is quite large for efficiency purposes.

In airplanes a large hole Is cut in the tail cone sheet metal to allow air in to pass through the heat exchanger...

Install costs start going through the cabin ceiling.

Best regards,

-a-

[PTK]

I wonder how you would dissipate the heat in the airplane? I love the idea of not having to lug 30 pounds of ice around.

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The arctic air ac unit vents exhaust to the back via flexible duct.

My question is availability of components.

[Awful_Charlie]

I think Peter may be onto something with that unit. Just looked it up, and there is a 24V version too :-)

 

I was wondering if a long evaporator in the overhead vent supply tube would be able to absorb enough heat, and then a small network of pipes in the tail cone could radiate the heat through the skin. If the numbers worked, then those compressors are about 2lbs each, say 20 feet of 1/4" aluminium tube would be a similar, and a few controls and power cable would hopefully keep it within about 6lbs - which happens to be the weight of a charlie weight! Weight down the back, but doing something useful rather thank just carting it about

[ryoder]

Can you tell us where you found that compressor?

 

Here is an options.

1. Install a 900w inverter as a minor alteration.  Run the cables to the inverter from the battery to the back of the plane.  This is around 3 lbs. 

2. Install a small electric air conditioner around 5000-8000 BTUs in the back.  This is around 58lbs shipping weight.

 

This entire setup will cost around 500 or less assuming it works.

The good thing is that if the AC isn't cool enough you can keep the inverter for other uses in the plane and also use the AC for other things.  I can also test it all on the ground in my hangar to make sure it really works well.

 

 

[philiplane]

The Arctic Air real A/C unit works very well here in South Florida. I installed one in a Cherokee Six and it cools the cabin very well. It does require 25-30 amps minimum, and up to 42 amps maximum. I replaced one of their ice units with this one and it was well worth the $4300. 

 

It's best to run a dedicated power harness to the unit, direct from the battery. You also need at least a 60 amp alternator to run everything else if the unit is on high. Fortunately this plane has a 70 amp Plane Power alternator so it gives a little margin at full load.

[PaulB]

So I got my hands on one of these arctic air units.  The previous owner gave it to me because it stopped working for him.  Turns out the fan is dead so I'm going to replace it.  How does this thing not add humidity to the air?  The fan draws air directly out of the cooler full of water and ice.  Wouldn't it make more sense to completely separate the plenum and the cooler allowing the heat exchanger to be the only communication between the two spaces?  What am I missing here?

[Hank]

Two,things--complexity is required to dehumidify, which increases cost, size and weight.

Then there's the whole humidity thing. See, it's RELATIVE humidity, the ratio of the amount of water in the air divided by the amount of water that the air can maintain. Cold air is capable of holding much less water than warm air. If you don't believe this, visit central or northern Ohio in the winter, turn up the thermostat and see how dry your skin gets as the air sucks moisture out of your body.

Cold air, near freezing from the ice, can only hold a fraction of the water that 90-100° air can hold. I'd look it up, but I'm moving and my books are packed. Air with 100% humidity at 32°, warmed up to 90° without adding extra water, would be very, very dry. So it evaporates sweat from your body because it's dry, removing the latent heat of vaporization from your skin and cooling you off.

Humidity in the plane won't change significantly until the water/ice mix begins to warm up, when the ice is mostly melted and can't keep the water puddle cool any more.

[PaulB]

Thanks Hank.  I was thinking it might be something like that but it wasn't coming together in my mind.  

[StinkBug]

I have a piece of foam that's cut to fit on top of the ice and divide the air. Pretty sure it's something the previous owner made. I don't notice a real change in humidity with it in or out, but it does seem to extend the life of the ice. 

[RobertGary1]

Mine kept coming out also. I thought it was my individual problem. I eventually cut off the cigarette lighter end and attached a better connector and then spiced in the reciprical connector to the power supply. Since then, surprise, no problem.

 

The problem if you bypass the cigarette lighter is that you need some basis for FAA approval of the unit since its now part of the electrical system. 

 

Has anyone tried dry ice instead of wet ice? Its pretty cheap at the grocery stores here in California now. Most people are using it in the coolers vs wet ice.

 

-Robert

[Hank]

Dry ice is CO2. Don't think I would want it in any enclosed space with limited airflow like a car or airplane with vents closed to retain coolness . . .

[carusoam]

+1 with Hanks response above...

Carrying a cooler full or plane load of expanding CO2 is a bad idea.

What makes the ice cooler ACs work so well is the use of cold water flowing through the heater core.

Dry ice won't work that way, and has a serious other problem of displacing O2.

Unless you don't breath air...

Best regards,

-a-

[RobertGary1]

Good point. I wasn't thinking of the fact that CO2 is an asphyxiant. I fly in the desert SW a fair amount and can attest to the comment that you really only care about A/C while on the ground and during climb out. At altitude you may even be running the heater if youre on a cross country. But those moments on the ground are pretty brutal.

 

I am thinking about changing my boat cooler to dry ice though. 

 

-Robert

[Hank]

Dry ice will work great in the boat!

Flying east of the Mississippi can be hard in the summer, and I'm re acclimating to my native South after many Northern years. Winters are great, but I'm learning to deal with temps in the high 90s and heat indexes of 110-115. I had the pleasure of holding for departure on sunny June noon in Savannah, a couple of hours before peak temperatures, for about ten minutes while an airliner landed on the crossing runway, taxied back, then back-taxied to the terminal on my runway. The Mooney became a sweat box for me and my wife.

Took off from WV, temps were 88°; landed on the Virginia coast, temps were in the mid-90s and very humid, but we ran the heat at 9500 as it was 56° out there. That made the coastal temps feel even worse, (the 2-hour cold soak). I can typically go from engine start to level cruise at 7500', power set and leaned in less than 15 minutes; the descent, especially IFR with step downs, though, can be really bad. I've had the haze layer (generally where I can begin to feel the extra humidity) rise above me at 9000 msl . . .

At least those of you in the SW have "dry heat." In my experience, that makes Tucson feel like an oven, while here feels like a sauna on steroids. Neither one is pleasant for very long.

[cnoe]

I am thinking about changing my boat cooler to dry ice though. 

 

.........

 

Dry ice will work great in the boat!

 

 

Maybe not. These units pump cold water through an evaporator (coil) which cools the air that passes through it. That's how my Arctic Air unit works anyway.

 

Now many years ago, back in another life I spent a few years as a touring musician and we employed various special effects during our shows. One of these was our "fog machine" which was basically a 55 gallon drum half-full of water. At the appropriate time we'd drop blocks of dry ice into the drum which would immediately create a huge volume of thick "fog" which was distributed around the stage with fans and ducting.

 

Without the water there's nothing to pump through the Arctic Air's evaporator, and if you put dry ice into water your plane will quickly fill up with thick fog. Just sayin'...

[Piloto]

Who would have thunk that Florida would be the cool spot this summer?

Not only the coolest but with the best overall flying weather, specially in south east Florida. The easterly breeze from the ocean helps in maintaining moderate temps during summer and winter. Love Florida.

 

José   

[Yetti]

Quest Diagnostics has a fleet of King Airs that they run samples around the country with.    They used to pack their samples in Dry Ice.   Several pilots got loopy and CFIT

[carusoam]

Use caution if flying medical delivery missions. Dry ice is common and is not good being in the cabin.

A friend with a 252 had a similar experience.

The name 'dry ice' kind of hides the importance of the handling requirements.

Plus the stuff is really cold and can cause skin damage if contacted directly.

Best regards,

-a-