Keep Me Cool Portable Air Conditioning Cooler 120V

I have always wanted to have Air Conditioning  in my shed, I mainly use it for storage, but I am always in there looking for something!  I was also looking to have something I could take with me, wherever I go, like to a friends house if we just hang out in the garage of on the deck.  I really don't like warm weather, so here is my keep it cool answer!  This project draws a lot upon other 'ibles, like CameronSS's idea, but I needed it bigger!  This all runs off 120V, so I don't have to worry about batteries, just bring the cooler and a long extension cord.   I bought as few materials as possible, and I only have about $20 into this project (aside from what I dumpster dove for or otherwise had laying around),  I probably could have gotten away with about $10, but I wanted a few options that I was willing to pay for.

Step 1: Gather Stuff

Here is what you will need:
- Cooler (found mike kicking around my shed)
- Couple of larger AC fans, I got mine from a K&N Air Filter display that my local Auto Parts Stores was throwing out when they were going out of business
- Coil setup from a Fridge that is being discarded.  Keep an eye out in the neighborhood on garbage day.
- Old Air Purifier fan, or any 6ish inch fan that you can find
- Toilet Drain Flange, Hardware Store (Orange, Blue or Green)
- Shower Drain, again found at a Hardware Store (Orange had this one)
- Fountain Pump, Harbor Freight.
- 7" Duct Elbow, Hardware Store

Misc tools
Screwdriver
Hammer
Drill
Angle Grinder
Jig Saw
Etc

Comments

[ekbruster]

Very Cool, thinking I need to do this with some 12v computer fans and a 12v pump hooked up to a solar panel, that would be awesome for those days out at the campsite!

[showbizkid83]

I have been looking for something like this for a few years now for you see i am a letter carrier in Texas and we drive trucks with nothing but a small 6 inch fan to cool the cab. This would be perfect for me as I have a mounted route where I deliver curb side boxes all day. Here is an idea. Has anyone thought about using dry ice for cooling.

[Caleb93]

Dry Ice used as a coolant for the system would be very dangerous unless you have your window open. Dry Ice is solidified Carbon Dioxide after all.

[tootall1121]

I think ice cold beer would do a good enough job of keeping me cool. Hold the can or bottle on the back of your neck (Before you open it, Jeez do I really have to tell you that.. you might be a redneck if...) Then drink the beer down while it's cold. This tends to cool the entire body. After enough of them, you don't give (bleep) anymore how hot it is. Or, you could simply put the ice in your underwear. That'll do the trick for sure. LOL! actually, other than having to have the AC power source, I like the idea however, I do wonder if you need the coil at all, as suggested above. Ice is cold, air blowing over it would have to get cold. I've always wondered what would happen if you used liquid nitrogen in a closed system. would it stay cold if it didn't have room to expand, and the container could withstand the pressure? Or would it simply become highly pressurized gas?

[Bednarz]

I take that back...I see now that the air is cooled before blowing over the ice, I'm still curious about the humidity though.

[Bednarz]

Nice work! I had originally been thinking that you'd gone a little overboard, but I like the end result. A couple things:
Your only real concern with an overpowered pump is if it's generating a lot of heat and pumping warm water up into your heat exchanger and/or melting the ice too fast. The idea is to keep your fins as cold as possible so the more cold water you move through it the better.
Don't run de-ionized water for any length of time. De-ionized water has a habit of trying to pull ions from whatever it's running through, speeding up your corrosion issues.
Instead of salt, add some alcohol to your mix (grain or rubbing) it has the same temperature lowering effect but won't corrode. The pump has a warning about being used with fuels, but if you keep the mix reasonable it shouldn't be a problem.

I'd be interested in hearing what this set up does to the humidity in your shed, since you're blowing warm room air over the ice before blowing it over your fins.

[Er. Arun]

nice one

[_Scratch_]

Use distilled water, that will keep calcium build-up away. Use a bit of antifreeze if you don't drain it too often. Another thing would be to add about a handful of salt to the water, it may corrode the pipes faster, but it would drop the water temp, and the ice would melt faster. For cleaning the pipes out, just use vinegar, let it sit for 5 min, then wash it out with distilled/deionized water.

[wblack3]

Nice work, but I can't figure out where the cooling effect is coming from other than the ice originally placed in the device.

[Lindie]

That's a great idea. It's really COOL!!!

[lucky3448]

nice.. but it will not work long time because calcium in water will deposit after every time u pour water and start choking the radiator.

[trike road poet]

Love the idea here, garage engineering is always fun!
I'm building one of these in a 12 volt mode for my pickup, to sit on the back seat.
Cool the truck cab while driving and not use the fuel hungry Auto AC. With only two computer fans and a small submersible pump to run, this will use a lot less power then the Auto AC electric clutch, and less fuel to make the few extra watts of power to run the cooler. Add in a simple valve and hose to drain excess melt water outside the cab means not having to haul it out to drain it and straining the back.

Will detail the build and make an instructable when its complete. Will also test it against auto unit for cooling. I intend to put the coil outside the ice container to cool cab air and not introduce extra humidity to the cab, dripping enough sweat now! By channeling cab air only through the cooling coils, I can have dry cool air and no extra cab humidity do deal with.

Its the ones who try things that find answers, and no amount of armchair design beats a hands on trial and error for building real knowledge. thankfully here at instructables, we can learn from each other.

[PACW]

Very nice! We have an orange and a blue hardware store here in Arizona but the last green one we had was O'malleys and they went under 25 years ago or so. Are they still around in other parts?

[digitalmonkeyman]

I refer to "Green" as Menards, although I guess it could also mean Orchard Supply in other parts of the country. O'Malleys is gone as far as I know, just like Handy Andy, wow, a trip down memory lane!

[tzsch]

We had Handyman out this way (Northern California). Good times

[Sitnalta]

The 158GPH pump is probably what you want. You don't want the water flowing too fast otherwise it'll shoot through the radiator faster than the heat can be exchanged.

Though to be honest, I don't think you need the pump/radiator at all. Blowing air over bare ice is going to be more efficient. That's how old-style air conditioners worked before phase-change systems took over.

[digitalmonkeyman]

I have a 92GPH pump left from a fish tank, maybe I should try that one too. Do you think slower would be better?

[jblanton1]

If you already have 110VAC at the place you are trying to cool, just buy a cheap window air-conditioner. This type of system is most useful for places that you don't have 110VAC. Of course with that type of system, you modify it to use 12VDC fans and pumps instead.

[digitalmonkeyman]

I agree, but an 'ible about carrying a window A/C unit to my shed and plugging it in would be sort of boring... :-)

[Pa1963]

It's pretty awesome, but I think it's a little over engineered. Why not just throw some ice in the cooler. Fans blow in hot air, vent lets out cold air. Voila!
Nice jon though. And nice score on the free fans. Dumpster Diving Rules!

[digitalmonkeyman]

Over Engineered? Heck Yeah! I love it though! even if it doesn't help the cooling aspect, it looks cool and recycles lots of 'dumpster' parts, my kids call it Sailing...
during the day it's Garage Sailing, and at night, it's Garbage Sailing

Sailing.. :) Kinda make me want to break out the Caviar and Champagne!

[greeneprojects]

Very nice work! I like every aspect of it.
I would love to see some performance data on it that would list the sq. ft. of your shed and cooling gain.
Thanks for making this instructable.
Shawn

[digitalmonkeyman]

thanks! I will measure up my shed and get some more data soon! I hope to have my very amateur video up in a day or so..

[Norsefalconer]

I don't know where you're located, but if you have another coil/heat exchanger, you can dig a hole 6~8ft down, drop the coil in there, fill with sand or gravel (dirt may even work) and have a budget geothermal unit. Across most of the US, it's around 65 deg that far down. Could be a "heater" as well in the winter. If you go to mb-soft.com/solar/saving.html you'll find a REALLY informative, technical paper/article on how to do this for an entire house w/ air or water as the exchange medium. There's a map showing avg. ground temps West of the Mississippi (he's focused on CA). I know, (expensive) commercial systems exist, but this IS a DIY site right?

[digitalmonkeyman]

Thanks for the great link, I'll look into that more, but I just got inspired to do a quick cooler! yeah, this IS a DIY site, and using stuff you have laying around or dumpster dove for is half the fun!

[pribeiro2]

Awesome job, man! I have the exact same cooler.. once I upgrade it I'll really consider trying this out. Congrats!

[movelikewater]

Thanks for the design. I think it is inappropriate to claim this is a $20 project. Your list parts you "found" are well over $100. You should be honest about the value of parts for the people that aren't living next too a junkyard/already have a stocked shed.

[shortcowboy]

Use a Evap. Cooler pump. Better Water Flow cheap to run, You did good on your design, I built mine with basic same design only I Used an old heater core from a VW, Evap pump and a 90 degree dryer vent for my exhaust return. In Az. My 10x12 shed stays around 78/79 for about 2 hours before I have to re fill the ice. But Very nice job on Yours!

[digitalmonkeyman]

Thank You! How much ice do you use in those 2 hours?

[shortcowboy]

use block ice.

[shortcowboy]

about 15 lbs (3) 5lb bags from our little store up the road.

[digitalmonkeyman]

I'll have to do tests with both cubes and block. Thanks for the tip!

[Treebeard2007]

So how long does your Ice water last in the cooler?

[digitalmonkeyman]

I just did a test, and with 14# of ice, I was able to drop the temperature in the shed 10 degrees F. The shed started at over 100, and I was able to get it to about 90, before the ice only melted completely. Which was about 25 min.

I have a video I will be posting soon.

[ak08820]

Latent Heat of Fusion of Ice = 144 BTU's per pound
The smallest AC units are about 5000 BTU/hour.
The cooler may hold about 20-30 lbs of ice.
So, the heat it will absorb will be about 144 * 30 = 4300.
So you may get about an hour of usable cooling from this.
Hauling ice to the shed may require more cooling.
I would rather troll CraigsList for a free AC unit.

[WinbookXL3]

make a video of it plz

[l8nite]

I really like this build but as with the others I don't understand the need for all the fans, one (or in this case 2) blowing into the closed box will force the cooled air out the other opening without the need of the fan pulling air out. Lets assume that your double fan flows 5cfpm into the box, the single fan flows 3cfpm, the single fan wont be doing anything escept blocking air flow. Maybe Im wrong but the sysytem should work just fine with only air being blown in OR sucked out.

realy inspiring "ible"

[Transquesta]

I don't know whether the addition of the exhaust/output fan was an 'intentional' part of the design, but it is nonetheless brilliant. The 'input' fans increase the static pressure within the enclosure thus making more cool air available to the output.

Agreed, that could be a problem if the rated CFM's of both fans aren't more or less equal (or the input fans' rated CFM's are greater than the output), but if they're compatible in this respect then the output fan should be a real benefit to the sensible cooling effect of the device. It has the effect of serving as a 'booster.'

[digitalmonkeyman]

Is there a way to test the CFM of the fans? For a guy who isn't a HVAC guy?

[Transquesta]

Yes, you can buy a 100+dollar anemometer with a CFM calculation function or you can hazard a guess using a small kitchen bag. The fan which fills up the bag first produces the greater CFM. :-) Seriously, for a project like this I'd go with the kitchen bag--IF you're really curious. (FWIW, there MIGHT be a rating stamped on the sides of either/both fans, but I wouldn't count on it.)