Print PDF
Favorite
Email
*This is my first instructable;sorry if it seems over simplified and shoddy. None the less, the project itself is very simple and can easily be modified in a number of ways to fit one's needs and or materials.*
The problem:
The air conditioning in my apartment is horrid, and I can't expect my slum lord to fix it. I'm rarely home so the idea of running the a/c all day to have it slightly less hot than it is outside when I get home is not worth it. Not to mention I don't have the financial means to pay exorbitant utility bills. I would just sweat it out, but heat + electronics & instruments don't mix.
Possible solution!?
Homemade A/C for about $15 (give or take depending what you have laying around and how far you want to take this project).
The problem:
The air conditioning in my apartment is horrid, and I can't expect my slum lord to fix it. I'm rarely home so the idea of running the a/c all day to have it slightly less hot than it is outside when I get home is not worth it. Not to mention I don't have the financial means to pay exorbitant utility bills. I would just sweat it out, but heat + electronics & instruments don't mix.
Possible solution!?
Homemade A/C for about $15 (give or take depending what you have laying around and how far you want to take this project).
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1Materials & Basic Idea
Materials:
Styrofoam cooler
Ice packs
x2 Fans (one medium size fan would work as well- it all depends on your cooler size and how many fans you want to fit into it)
Knife or some cutting tool- if you want to get fancy and feel high tech go ahead and break out that hand held rotary tool.
Over arching idea:
A Styrofoam cooler with ice packs in it. Holes are cut into the top to place fans. The fans will draw in the cool air and shoot it up. Basic idea that cool air falls and will hopefully make the room a little more tolerable.
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
BTW when i take soft drinks to a the Amateur Radio club i belong to, i take four two-quart bottles of water that have been in the freezer and they fit into the bottom of the cooler. Then i put the 32 cans of drinks on top of that. Lot less messy and expensive than bags of ice cubes. I suppose You could also use a stack of frozen water bottles in this idea. Perhaps salt water might be even cooler.
Ice yields 977 btus/lb.
you would need to melt 5 lbs/hour to make much difference at all!
Here are a few ideas to try:
1.) Try plastic bottles set upright along the bottom of the Styrofoam cooler. That will give you more cooling capacity.
You will have to experiment with the number of bottle since water will collect in the bottom of your cooler.
Also, keep the bottles a little apart for more cooling surface area.
2.) Maybe put table salt in the bottles to lower their freezing point.
3.) Make the holes for the fans a bit bigger for better airflow.
4.) Try reversing one fan to blow into the cooler for better air circulation.
5.) Maybe cut slots on two sides of the cooler and reverse both fans to blow into the cooler.