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Step 2Materials
You can't very well build this without materials to build it with, can you? I have included the prices we paid for them in italics, as well as prices you might pay and places to get them.
Materials:
Ice Chest-free, had it on hand If at all possible, get one with a hinged lid. Free from a storage shed or a dumpster. Or, the Igloo Ice Cube 14 looks like it would work,well, as do the Cool 16 and the MaxCold 24. We used an old 12 quart cooler, and it fit a 7 pound bag of ice.
Heater Core-free, salvaged from a '77 VW Rabbit we're parting out You can find these on eBay for 99 cents to $20, or from an auto store for around 20 bucks, or at an auto salvage yard. Also, I haven't tried it, but Ufixitautoparts sells heater cores for under 5 bucks apiece.
Box Fans and Blade Guards-free, from stock in basement They're sold out of $5 120mm 12VDC fans at All Electronics, but Jameco carries these for $12.95 each. Newegg has a nice assortment, too. Under $10 on eBay.
Bilge Pump-$10.44 for a 500GPH unit at Wal-Mart The Attwood V500 was at our Wal-Mart for $10.44-you can get a similar pump for under $10 on eBay.
Hose-free, had it in stock Ours came from an auto-parts store, but it can be found at hardware and auto-parts stores for a dollar or so for a few feet.
12V plug-free, chopped off a car accessory Cut one off an old phone charger or other device, or $5 at Radio Shack, or $3.75 at All Electronics.
Caulking-free, from the stock in the shop Can be found near the bilge pump, or from a hardware store. A couple bucks.
Piano hinge (depending on cooler)-free, in stock Only necessary if your cooler isn't hinged. A couple bucks at the hardware store.
Inner tube piece (optional)-free, blown tube You may or may not need this-see step 7. If you do, use a blown one, or another piece of rubber, or come up with a substitute. You did save the last blown tube for future projects, didn't you? A couple bucks, tops.
Assorted wire, wire nuts, and screws-free, in stock Depends on what you have in stock and where you get it. It's all at the hardware store, too.
Ice-free, freezer's ice maker If you need me to tell you where to get ice, you shouldn't be doing this project.
Tools:
Screwdrivers
Drill
Cutting devices
Obligatory safety spiel: Cutting devices cut. Don't cut yourself on them. Drills drill. Don't drill a hole in yourself, my dad says it hurt when he did it once. Screwdrivers don't really do anything, but don't throw them into running jet turbine engines. 12V doesn't do much, but watch out. Oh, and wear safety glasses while you're at it.
Materials:
Ice Chest-free, had it on hand If at all possible, get one with a hinged lid. Free from a storage shed or a dumpster. Or, the Igloo Ice Cube 14 looks like it would work,well, as do the Cool 16 and the MaxCold 24. We used an old 12 quart cooler, and it fit a 7 pound bag of ice.
Heater Core-free, salvaged from a '77 VW Rabbit we're parting out You can find these on eBay for 99 cents to $20, or from an auto store for around 20 bucks, or at an auto salvage yard.
Box Fans and Blade Guards-free, from stock in basement They're sold out of $5 120mm 12VDC fans at All Electronics, but Jameco carries these for $12.95 each. Newegg has a nice assortment, too. Under $10 on eBay.
Bilge Pump-$10.44 for a 500GPH unit at Wal-Mart The Attwood V500 was at our Wal-Mart for $10.44-you can get a similar pump for under $10 on eBay.
Hose-free, had it in stock Ours came from an auto-parts store, but it can be found at hardware and auto-parts stores for a dollar or so for a few feet.
12V plug-free, chopped off a car accessory Cut one off an old phone charger or other device, or $5 at Radio Shack, or $3.75 at All Electronics.
Caulking-free, from the stock in the shop Can be found near the bilge pump, or from a hardware store. A couple bucks.
Piano hinge (depending on cooler)-free, in stock Only necessary if your cooler isn't hinged. A couple bucks at the hardware store.
Inner tube piece (optional)-free, blown tube You may or may not need this-see step 7. If you do, use a blown one, or another piece of rubber, or come up with a substitute. You did save the last blown tube for future projects, didn't you? A couple bucks, tops.
Assorted wire, wire nuts, and screws-free, in stock Depends on what you have in stock and where you get it. It's all at the hardware store, too.
Ice-free, freezer's ice maker If you need me to tell you where to get ice, you shouldn't be doing this project.
Tools:
Screwdrivers
Drill
Cutting devices
Obligatory safety spiel: Cutting devices cut. Don't cut yourself on them. Drills drill. Don't drill a hole in yourself, my dad says it hurt when he did it once. Screwdrivers don't really do anything, but don't throw them into running jet turbine engines. 12V doesn't do much, but watch out. Oh, and wear safety glasses while you're at it.
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Is there any substitute for heater core?
Doesn't matter.
Coil of copper tube? Anything like that.
I have been playing with the idea if using a heater core too. I found the a/c evaporator core in the blower box. You mentioned hooking yours up to the heater core in your truck.
I think by using the bilge pump hooked directly to the heater core and a return line to the cooler With Out the use of a fan on the cooler / ice chest would work better.
By adding a riser of some sort to allow the bilge pump to pump ice cold water through the core with out the ice clogging the intake of the pump.
I feel by eliminating the fan on top of the ice chest the ice would last longer and by using the blower motor in a/c heater box of the truck it would circulate the cold air.
What do you think?
I have also thought about using plastic tubing to recirculate the air from the blower box. One from the cooler right behind the blower motor to suck in the cold air and a return tube from one of the air ducts to a housing that encloses the fan. This could work for some one that is not able to get into the original heater core or evaporator core.
There are seem to be a few ways of doing this. Inexpensive is the idea. But how to improve it for less money is the game (for me).