USB Air Conditioning

Step 1: Box

Find the tin and make holes.

Comments

[techno guy]

dude, this is so cool, where i live right now is soooo hot; this works so nicely and cost me nothing to make; but the ice goes away so quickly, it doesn't melt, it disintegrates, but the byproduct is freezing cold water that i'm considering to drink, good job on this 'ible

[anandal]

can anione of u, help me out in designing this setup on basis of technical datas like( container volume, fan power,ice qty., temp. difference etc... ) required for 1 person nd for 15 persons ?

[DhanushkaYT]

i'd try using a thermoelectric cooler {peltier unit}

[nacho.cheese]

nice, but maybe I will try that one with a bigger container..maybe it can refresh a bigger room....nice project

[WhiteTigerTails]

Try it with more fans, and a larger container, like a cooler.

If you're doing that, use Ice packs (Such as Nordic Ice) or frozen water/gatorade bottles.

And use some fans to draw air in.

[suboxygen]

nevermind.. i used whatever worked haha. i made one! sadly, the fan is so weak.. i can feel it drawing cold air out, but its really weak. is there... an easy way to... say, use two USB outlets to combine 10 volts to power the fan more? I made mine out of this big Tin box that a bottle of southern comfort came in.. its really cool. looks nice and its really tall! I love the idea.

[suboxygen]

heres the pics of the version i made. Needs more juice in the fan area though. I used a plastic like CD case, it was bendy plastic to make holes in to hold the ice. It worked fine, drained without leaking. Cool instructable!

[WhiteTigerTails]

Ok, do as I did. I amped it up a little. I don't have pics now, but I will later.

Essentially, have one fan running air intake, and one to blow the air at you. Intake at the top, ice at the bottom, fan blowing air aimed at your face.

It's that simple, and all you have to do is rig it up to a single usb cord.

[robotguy4]

Note to readers:
Make sure that the holes are NOT at the bottom of the tin. If you do this, after the ice melts, the water will flow out of the holes.

[Tapeplayer]

ya thanks for ur imput. Ive i almost did that then i was like oh ya.

[MCzone]

put a cup under the tin

[MCzone]

I am going to make one from an altoids case and a cpu dan (usb powered)
thanks for the idea

[robotguy4]

-=ACHTUNG!=-
Note to readers:
Do not OVERFILL your container with ice. If you do this, after the ice melts, the water will flow out through the holes you drilled.

Nice design, by the way.

[MCzone]

try putting a drip catch under the container

[gccradioscience]

I have not made one yet, but how do I find a container that fits a CD with holes in it. What size do I need? Also how much speed do I need for the fan to put out enough cold air and what size fan would you recommend. Thanks for showing me this project thanks, now I can probably build something better that will keep my netbook much cooler one day.

[hdhiman]

i recommend adding some salt on the ice

[hdhiman]

thanks i made mine for my car

[psoria martinez]

Recomiendo usar un motor de mayor potenciay debajo de la lata de matal colocar algo para que no sobresalga el agua accidentalmente. Un trabajo estupendo! =)

[crtn2]

i'm not sure this will work. USB can't provide enough power.

[Wally_Z]

You could, if you wanted, drill a hole at the bottom of it, and run surgical tubing to a bucket to catch the water runoff.

[Gr3at_Whit3_North_Guy]

How do you splice the two fan wires to the USB cable. I am trying to make a simple homemade usb powered USB inter cooler

[levigray]

I have not tried this yet, but like the design. Has anyone tried it yet with crushed dry ice? I know too much of it will cause a lot of CO2 to go into the air, but something this small of scale it might work pretty well. Only reason I mention it is it would eliminate the water drip factor.

[jpnagle59]

Danka....good job...

[superior eng]

thnx man

[Marwenovic]

Nice project keep gowing i'm waiting for your next project

[iain010100]

Air conditioning, just in time for November. :-) I really like the clever use of everyday objects to make that thing. Mounting the fan to a plastic lid is something I would never have thought of. Nice job.

[spark light]

it never hurts to not take the risk.

[MrCantThinkOfAName]

Heres my version of ot, but its completely usb anymore, i made it a hybrid, i have a usb cord and a cord thatll plug into the wall that gives it a little more juice than the usb. i dont have them plugged in at the same time, that would most likely short out my whole computer haha.

[Tapeplayer]

One thing i did with mine is put a piece of bent plastic so the air goes towards me

[Tapeplayer]

I made one and its great. I have no AC in my house and i keep this on my computer desk with an extra fan on top of my computer. Works great.

[catdaddy137]

this is cool, or could be if knew about usb wiring......any more info about the wiring ? or did i miss something ?

[Tapeplayer]

in a usb wire there are four wires. red, black, green, and white. The red and black are 5v and ground. The green and white are for data transfer. In this project you just need the red and black. Also on the fan there is usually a yellow wire but ignore it. Just connect red to red and black to black and you should be in buisness.

[Vikingoyotl]

Great instructable, buddy... but i have a doubt... how can i connect a 5V usb wire to a 12V fan?

[Tapeplayer]

ya, a 9v battery would work the best but a usb is more convient.

[lukeyj15]

 it just means that the fan will be going more slowly. if you connect it to 12v it will go it's fastest.

[Jay_Clark]

Cool idea and neat concept! This is governed by the same principle as a swamp cooler. One suggestion is to make a hood or rig something up to direct the flow of air toward you so that the effect will be felt in a much more noticeable way! Nice!

[Pretty Idiot Productions]

Nice and gadgety!

[abdul hadi]

yes I think that you people are right broken things can be efficiently used

[Bartboy]

its portable! you can use in car with an Ipod car charging usb thingy from apple!

[diegolay]

Why not the real air conditioner that comes with the car ventilation system?