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Step 5Installation and suggestions for use
Cooler Placement: Earlier I mentioned about how my weak pump wasn't able to pump up more than 12" high. For this reason, I abandoned my first idea of keeping the cooler on the floor in front of the back seat. I decided to keep it in the trunk, and since my car has a pass through between the trunk and back seat, I keep that cracked open just enough to pass the lines through.
Cooling Pad Installation: Most, if not all, baby car seats have removable covers that are held on with an elastic edge that wraps around the whole seat. The supply lines go into the car seats under the upholstery in the front of the seat, near where the babies' feet are, and run along the fold of the seat and the side bolster. The cooling pads are right behind the baby's back.
Power: I ran the power wire up the middle of the car, along the floor and up to the cigarette lighter plug. I keep it plugged in, so that when my car is on, the pump is running.
Keeping it Cold: My method with rotating the freezer packs goes like this: I'll put 4 freezer packs into the cooler just before I go out on a drive. When I'm done for the day, I take the freezer packs out and put them back in the deep freeze. Then I take out a 5th packet from the freezer and put that one in the cooler to stay there the rest of the evening and overnight until I go driving again. Then I take out that one packet and replace it with 4 freshly frozen ones. This keeps the water in the cooler cool and doesn't let it get hot like the rest of the car's interior does. This way when I put in new packets, they don't partially melt to cool down the hot water.
The result: they work great! They keep the babies' backs cool without ever getting cold, or letting them get too warm. I think that if the pads were in direct contact with them, it would be too cold. Placing the pads behind the seat cover (which also has a thin layer of foam pad) works to remove heat from the seat, which was the problem to begin with.
Problems: One problem I’ve started seeing is that after a while, the water starts getting slightly murky and starts getting stuff in it. I’m not sure where this is coming from, but I’m wondering if I should hook up a filter to it somehow. I’ve heard someone else suggest using a little bit of bleach in the water – this may help if it’s due to something growing in there.
Cooling Pad Installation: Most, if not all, baby car seats have removable covers that are held on with an elastic edge that wraps around the whole seat. The supply lines go into the car seats under the upholstery in the front of the seat, near where the babies' feet are, and run along the fold of the seat and the side bolster. The cooling pads are right behind the baby's back.
Power: I ran the power wire up the middle of the car, along the floor and up to the cigarette lighter plug. I keep it plugged in, so that when my car is on, the pump is running.
Keeping it Cold: My method with rotating the freezer packs goes like this: I'll put 4 freezer packs into the cooler just before I go out on a drive. When I'm done for the day, I take the freezer packs out and put them back in the deep freeze. Then I take out a 5th packet from the freezer and put that one in the cooler to stay there the rest of the evening and overnight until I go driving again. Then I take out that one packet and replace it with 4 freshly frozen ones. This keeps the water in the cooler cool and doesn't let it get hot like the rest of the car's interior does. This way when I put in new packets, they don't partially melt to cool down the hot water.
The result: they work great! They keep the babies' backs cool without ever getting cold, or letting them get too warm. I think that if the pads were in direct contact with them, it would be too cold. Placing the pads behind the seat cover (which also has a thin layer of foam pad) works to remove heat from the seat, which was the problem to begin with.
Problems: One problem I’ve started seeing is that after a while, the water starts getting slightly murky and starts getting stuff in it. I’m not sure where this is coming from, but I’m wondering if I should hook up a filter to it somehow. I’ve heard someone else suggest using a little bit of bleach in the water – this may help if it’s due to something growing in there.
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A few thoughts... the in and out tubes can be insulated together because the temperature drop between them is small, much less than to the air.
If you're worried about sloshing water, a piece of open cell foam packing material on top of the working fluid could dampen (no pun intended) waves.
Iodine is a great idea, much better than the bleach I use. Iodophor is good too, but you may see staining. Bilge pumps are made for saltwater use, so salt may work too.
The commercial units made by Breg and Donjoy regulate the temperature by restricting flow, using fancy devices that squeeze one tube. The plastics catalogs have squeeze devices, or you can use automotive hose clamps. Oh, you can find the "cold therapy" units pretty cheap on a major auction site.
Be careful with tender humans!
Also like the cooler/ice pack idea as a radiator wouldn't actually cool the water until you were well underway, and even then, not by much. They're also prone to leaks and greatly complicate the installation.