Comments on: Pete’s Homemade Air Conditioner

By: Jon ovington

Jon ovington — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:12:07 +0000

Ah, an addition, I was just too curious, Lol anyway, seems that for this experiment a good salt option is known as Light salt, as it has good amounts of Potassium Chloride, and an endothermic reaction takes place. Commonly used to chill beer cans/bottles quickly. The thing is, I can see that this will drop the temps quicker and lower, but then again, the ice might not last as long?

By: Jon ovington

Jon ovington — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:58:06 +0000

As a matter of interest in getting the water or box of ice as chilled as possible, I believe that, for a box of ice cubes or whatever at least, not sure about a water solution, that adding a good quantity of salt will take the temps down even more, super chilled! Anyone clarify if that is possible with a water solution filled with ice, or ice packs, or does it just work with ice only?
What is the physics behind that btw?

By: Dax D5

Dax D5 — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:29:32 +0000

Erm, Coyote … if you’ve seen the full site, some people have actually done the radiator thingy. Unfortunately, not everybody has access to one, so these contraptions are the second-best solution.

By: Hack your cooler: Air chillers | Diy all the Way

Hack your cooler: Air chillers | Diy all the Way — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 03:21:03 +0000

[...] H. made this cool-looking device that uses cool water pumped through copper tubing to chill the air being blown by a [...]

By: Yahoo! Answers » Blog Archive » How can I stay cool in this heat?

Yahoo! Answers » Blog Archive » How can I stay cool in this heat? — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:02:08 +0000

[...] if you’re a do-it-yourself-er (and don’t live in a place that has AC) you could make your own, homemade air conditioner or prepare some cool meals to eat during hot weather. (I’m a big fan of lavash, tomato, feta, [...]

By: Dennis

Dennis — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 03:19:13 +0000

Without trying to get out of context or budget, the cooling process you are utilizing is based primarily on the ability to exchange heat from one medium to another. There are many resources for “junk” items that have a much higher thermal transfer coefficient than the coils of copper tubing currently utilized. In short a trip to the local wrecking yard could supercharge the volume of cold air being produced. As there is no worry or real concern of potable water within the system itself, contamination is not a major concern. Locating an old car radiator that doesn’t leak (this is a low pressure system so if it leaked in the car it may not in this application) and mounting your fan to it should increase the thermal transfer rate much better than wrapping copper tube around a fan. Keep in mind that a lot of engineering went into the design of the radiator to maximize its efficiency for just this purpose. The same is true for cooling the water in the lines. For this use a small transmission cooler submerged in the water and ice mixture. Both the radiator and transmission cooler are designed to exchange more heat than what will ever be present in the system. The flow direction should be from the bottom of the radiator as the cold water inlet and out the top for the return line. The real problem comes from maintaining a fresh supply of ice and with this in mind evaporative cooling might present simpler resolutions

By: Chad

Chad — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 02:08:14 +0000

This rocks! I just made one of these at home and it saves me having to run around misting my 1 and a half year old child. I had a blast making this, my wife thought I was crazy (until she felt that sweet cool breeze), my friends think I’m a genius and my 1.5 yr old son is no longer a little sweat monkey. Life is good.

P.S. Coyote, live a little you silly little high-school prick.

By: Coyote

Coyote — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 01:11:15 +0000

You could save a lot of effort by just placing a pan of ice in front of the fan and get a better cooling effect. Remember that there is a very limited quantity of cooling available in a block of ice.

2 things: one, if you are in a dry climate, remember your high school science: evaporating water absorbs massive quantities of heat. So a fine mist will cool better than this silly contraption. Higher pressure, clean water and fine nozzles are needed (the essence of outdoor air conditioning), or just wet towels with a fan directed at them. Too bad our houses are not built water proof as misting systems could be installed indoors in dry climates.

On a personal level, get a spritzer bottle from a cleaning company as they allow the finest mist and will last the longest, and mist the air around yourself. Mist your curtains, your hair and your cloths. Or buy a commercial evaporator or humidifier.

Remember that as the air becomes saturated with moisture that you will need to vent it (open window) and allow dry air to enter. Hot dry air is like a cooling vacuum. Just add water.

Second: If the climate is humid (above will not work as air is already saturated) and your water supply is cold (eg: from a deep water lake intake), set up an old car radiator (much better at heat transfer than a couple coils of copper tubbing) with a fan and run the water tap into the top. Allow the water to drain out the bottom and regulate the flow according the amount of cooling achieved. Direct drained water outside to water your garden if you have one and are concerned about waste.

If you lived in an adobe house, adding moisture to the air and walls would make your summers very comfortable in dry climates, and you would be able to keep some windows open to listen to the crickets and birds also. Please take time to think about these things instead of buying into such a silly little recycled junior-high school science project.

By: Adam

Adam — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:27:41 +0000

Omg that’s why I found this site in the first place, Seattle is killing me!

By: mariam

mariam — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:32:22 +0000

I was wondering, why not fill up the bathtub and use that instead of an ice chest. Then move the fan with tubing into the hall (for instance) and drain the waste water into the sink (usually near the tub) if necessary.

I’m not completely understanding how to make this in the first place though. It’s fascinating. It’s 103 here in Seattle and no one’s equipped for this heat, so I’m going to try SOMETHING!