Air Conditoned Tent for those hot months

Well for those who live in areas where it is almost impossible to tent camp during the hot part of the year this is should be a welcome cost efficient solution. Hot camping is no fun, epically in places where it does not cool down very much at night and is humid like Florida. So I was looking for ways to air condition my tent since I have a 5000btu window mounted air conditioner at my disposal. After looking I found 2 methods which look very promising. The AC Boot (http://acboot.com/) and this nice creation by Andrew Davis (http://www.byandrewdavis.com/2009/06/air-conditioning-for-you-tent-camping-in-the-heat) I decided to build something like the ac boot since I needed to travel light and didn't want to bring along all that ducting required for the second idea.

Step 1: Gather Materials

- 1 Tent (Cost: free hopefully)
- 5000 BTU Window Mounted Air Conditioner Arpox. (Cost Variable)
- 2 Yards of Ripstop Nylon which will be more than enough (Cost: Aprox. $14.00)
- 1 Bottle of Fabric Glue INSERT NAME OF GLUE HERE (Cost: $6-10)
- Bungee Cords (Cost: $3-5)

Note: Sundays a lot of the craft stores have 40% off coupons which can save you some money on the glue or fabric.

Links:
http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.jsp?CATID=cat3071&PRODID=xprd560961
http://www.beacon1.com/cgfab.html

Comments

[sportxlh]

I followed your directions almost exactly and just spent a very enjoyable long weekend in Curray Hammock State Park (Marathon) in early September. I don't think I've ever slept so well in a tent in the Keys: thanks for posting such a great idea!!

By the way, someone asked about portable units: they can be pretty expensive: I picked up a GE window a/c for less than $100 at Walmart. The ripstop and glue set me back another $50 or so. Plus, I don't really give up any interior space.

[drewgie89]

Why not buy a portable AC unit and save the trouble of cutting a hole in your tent?

http://www.homedepot.com/Appliances-Heating-Cooling-Air-Quality-Air-Conditioners-Portable-Air-Conditioners/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbv64/h_d2/Navigation?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&cm_mmc=SEM|THD|GGL|D29|AirConditioners&skwcid=TC|14688|portable%20ac%20unit||S|e|10693567662

[zmatt]

Cheapest portable unit that you listed was 230, while the window units can be purchased for much less. I did this project because I had a window a/c unit from a previous hurricane season which was not being used and a older cold climate tent which would not be used.

The window unit does a excellent job and you can control the settings from your bed.

[Redstormx1]

Does the air con ever get down to temp ? Does it get a rest like it would in a normal house .
Im assuming the tent which is highly uninsulated get hot again as soon as you turn it of.
Running the air con all the time would shorten its life . A portable unit with a hose would be an easier install.

[cheapchuck]

I have seen portable A/C units that discharge the hot air (and humidity) out through a tube. This type of unit might be nice for camping, especially if the tent has a vent at the top.

[ve2vfd]

I assume this is for car camping somewhere there is a power point on the site?

[zmatt]

Yes, Almost all of the tent sites in Florida have power so its not a problem but some states aren't like that. A generator would do the job but I think that might be too much work for the A/C.

[mikedoth]

And noisy thus nullifying the need for the tent to sleep in.

[jblanton1]

Sleep with foam earplugs... They will cut down about 29-31 dB of the noise... They're also really good if the other people in your tent tend to snore rather loudly... The only drawback is that you might not be able to hear your alarm clock... But one could argue that on vacation, you shouldn't be letting your life be controlled by an alarm clock... :)

[zmatt]

Heh its completely worth it in this heat and humidity, plus its not that noisy if you get a somewhat good unit. Its still a cheap way to camp comfortably in the summer.

[tippmannphreak]

Yup. I live in NorthWest Florida and I feel your pain. Waking up soaking wet from sweat sucks!

[lksmith]

we just zip the door around the output of the AC

[Oroka]

Just need to add a 32" TV, a microwave, a computer, and you are all set!

[red-king]

doesn't that completely take the point out of camping? lol

[jblanton1]

Have you seen some of the RVs these days? Large screen TVs on the OUTSIDE along with satellite TV... Apparently, their definition of "roughing it" is a bit different than mine... Adding an air-conditioner to a tent is perfectly acceptable to me... Even if you run it off of a generator...When the humidity is in the 90s and the temperature is still in the upper 80s at night, an air-conditioner sure would make it nicer...

[Oroka]

No more than constant power and an air conditioner built in your tent. Personally, I go camping to get away from all the noise of day to day life, I really wouldn't want a A/C humming away all day, but I have seen people who show up in huge trailers pulled by their Escalade, they stay in the trailer all day, the kids watch DVDs on a pick nick table, or satellite in the trailer...

[zmatt]

So now that summer is in full swing has anyone built their own and tried it out? I'd love to see some pictures in action. I wish I was in Florida right now to use it again but i'm stuck in even hotter Alabama.

[bsmith-7]

my brother cut a piece of ply wood for the back of his explorer and fitted a ac unit ,,but since the rest of us could,nt fit we kept unpluging him : )

[calleman]

use a homemade a/c unit that doesnt require power or use a battery with a cheap fan and ice chest.

[bsmith-7]

that would be a nice idea for places without a power hook up ,but it still takes power to make ice and power too store the ice till you buy it so not much savings there .

[Frankie Pintado]

Solar power won't work at night. You need a power source.

[Hiblagrande]

I do use a small AC unit for our tent. I have a large Coleman Weathermaster tent that has a small screen room at one end. The nice thing about this tent is that the entire dividing wall is screen with a curtain like cover. I cut a hole for the AC unit in a small "wall" made of 32"X40" foamcore. I slide the foamcore over the front of the AC and place the unit on top of a milk crate. Then I butt the AC up against the screen wall and drop the tent room divider curtain over the back of the foamcore wall. In the screen room area the AC unit is protected from the elements and our folding table fits over the back side of the AC unit.

[zmatt]

Nice looks like a great setup, I haven't been able to use ours since we first used it.

[Hiblagrande]

Oh, and thanks for the instructable. It was my inspiration to do this. :)

[knexinventer]

id think you would need a heater

[spartancaver]

It looks simple enough. However, taking it from a professional building engineer, that tube thing could have serious drawback. Remember, that window unit only circulates room air through and over the evaporator (cooling) coils. They look just like that radiator looking thing on the outside of the unit. (Oh, yea. flatten or bend enough of those fins over and the unit will blow up and quit working because of no air flow) Problem with the diagram above. The air inside the tent must be drawn into the unit. The heat is removed and the cooler air is blown back into the tent. Now, if all the air can do is blow out and get sucked right back in, then what is happening on the other side of the tent? Nothing, no air flow. Point being, keep any ducting / tubing, down to as very short as possible for proper air flow.

[welder85]

Its called short cycling. The face needs to be flush on the inside or a divider of some sort between the top (supply) and bottom (return). I'd try keeping the inside flush myself. And don't block any of the outside louvers. The biggest deal I see is condensation and getting it away from your tent. That's the water coming off the coil in the back. With a little work you can get pre made tin boots that fit tight over the supply and return front openings (square to round) and run insulated flex ducts into your tent just keep them a couple feet apart. The army does it all the time. Not as hard as you think.

[dwosullivan]

 When i first saw this I honestly thought it was a joke. I mean seriously,  un- environmental.
If your hot open the doors!, or better yet just use the mosquito mesh without the fly
never been to florida but i did spend 3 months in the amazon living in a hammock underneath a $2 tarp and slept like a baby. 

[barefootdude]

I'm so glad you can do that and I could too when I was a lot younger but now in my mid fortys I dont tolerate the Alabama heat and humidity very well at all so in order for me to breath and be healthy I need AC and I have long ago fashioned one for my tent because I love to be outdoors and considering that my electricity comes from renewable energy I am quite green thanks to hydroelectricity but regardless of how the electricity is generated, I would choose being able to breath over smotheing in the humidity of the South!

[mguer133]

thanks I thought I was the only one thinking this was a crazy idea...

[zmatt]

Well not all of us are hippies that don't want to use power when we go on a trip, i wish that i could sleep in the high humidity and heat but its not fun.

[_Scratch_]

Haha, yea the 95% humidity and 105F weather can be kind of harsh with no A/C...

[IronManMC]

I think this is a wonderful idea. I've been camping far too many times when the heat made it impossible to sleep, even with fans and such. An AC would have been a godsend.

And please, can we cool it with the global warming guilt stuff? Just because you tolerate heat better than I do doesn't give you carte blanche to run roughshod over me, any more than my ability to tolerate cold better than you (probably) and therefore don't run my heater for most of winter makes me better than you. We all do what we can. I'm VERY concerned about warming and other environmental concerns, and already do much more than 95% of the general population. There's no harm in running a modern efficient small ~5000 BTU AC that draws around 3 amps @ 117 VAC (351 watts, minus reactive losses because I compensate for this.) Resistive losses are due to actual work done. Reactive losses are due to phase shift caused by inductance (+ j) or capacitance (- j) and do no work. Reactive power losses can be "tuned" out of electric devices with magnetic type motors (refrigerators, air conditioners, etc.), saving significant electricity waste. Any electronics engineer or halfway decent tech can explain power factor, inductive/capacitive reactance, operator "j", and how Xc neutralizes Xl and vice versa. Whatever inductive or capacitive reactance (measured in ohms) is present can be tuned out with the same value of capacitive or inductive reactance.

If you're concerned about environmental problems, you'll do more by learning about stuff like this than playing energy-cop with those who don't know better. Physician, heal thyself.

Apologies to anyone I may have offended. That was not my intent. You'll make more converts leading by example than lecturing.


-Mike "Saving energy because I can't afford to waste it" Curtis

[kcls]

How do you power it?

[oakback]

Many camp sites in Florida state parks (not sure about other states) have power and water available at each site.

[computerwiz_222]

called a 3 point hookup - consisting of water, sewer, hydro i work in a campground in ontario, so i have yet to see anything like this, this is just awesome

[Frankie Pintado]

Every campground in the keys has cable TV hookups included.

[kensue49]

Why not pickup some MPI Survival Blankets(the brand I used, there are others) that are reflective on one side and different color on the other side. This would help reduce the solar heat gain when the sun hits the tent. In the summer turn the foil face up and during the cooler fall turn it foil side down to reflect any heat into the tent. It works well for pop-up campers.

[mitchellhuth]

I wouldn't install it before you went to bed, it may get stolen and you would be left with no A/C  and a hole in your tent:(

[paradiseranger]

when camping in the Florida Keys. I am having similar problem.. although local big box stroes now sell a portable a/c unit that I sit inside the tent out of the ranin and the exaust goes out thru a "pass thru" hole in the tent.. however, the problem is how to keep the cool air inside the tent..with a dome tent, if I add tarps on the outside, then the weight of the tarps causes the tent to want to collapse in high wind and rains (they have a bunch of that down there).. so I have the way to air condition, but not the tent or set up to contain it..I've been looking at some "excursion" and "safari" type tetns that might work.. anybody seen any tents that fit the scenario?.. rain repellant in tropical environment but "sealabe" to contain the cold air?