make a car a/c system electric

[Barry Donovan]

I have yet to see a happy easy going a/c here in maine.

summer needs it and kills it, winter don't need it, gets it anyway and well..it kills it there too.


I was reading history of a/c in cars, some even had a peltier silent. I got to thinking of a wagons space and 5000 btu little window a/c for a house. keep it all in the back, give it a drain and power invertor...290sq feet for 5000 btu.

$115 is the average price for a new one..the whole thing, self contained.

anyone get bangshifty on this subject? with the apocalypse of never ending bad science chemistry chains, I am more tempted this year than any other to try something.

[chevy3100truck]

you're not going to have enough electrical power to run it. Even if it's only 10A @ 120V, that would mean you'd need 100A @ 12V + losses of the inverter.

The hillbilly solution is to use a generator & AC unit

[squirrel]

yup, that's the issue....normal car AC works because the compressor runs off the engine.

[TC]

You can run it on a 2000 watt inverter....... A small window a/c unit like your talking about is made to work on a 15 amp circuit, which is what most household circuits are wired on.......... 15 amps at 110 volts is 1650 watts...... But the real question is how many Amps does the inverter pull on the 12 volt system?..... and how big of an alternator would you need..........

[chevy3100truck]

You can run it on a 2000 watt inverter....... A small window a/c unit like your talking about is made to work on a 15 amp circuit, which is what most household circuits are wired on.......... 15 amps at 110 volts is 1650 watts...... But the real question is how many Amps does the inverter pull on the 12 volt system?..... and how big of an alternator would you need..........

amps = watts / voltage (for single phase). 10A @ 120V = 100A @ 12V. 2000W interter pulls about 166A @ 12V (142A @ 14V)

you'd need a really big alternator for that to work

[Barry Donovan]

You can run it on a 2000 watt inverter....... A small window a/c unit like your talking about is made to work on a 15 amp circuit, which is what most household circuits are wired on.......... 15 amps at 110 volts is 1650 watts...... But the real question is how many Amps does the inverter pull on the 12 volt system?..... and how big of an alternator would you need..........

that is the question.
I first encountered these on a kc135 airplane. been out a long time...not for public apparently.

the peculiar stuff is the ground side too, needs denser steel and more of it in the framing if to go bigger watts demand...finish off the process of 12 to 120, bck to ground. my dads rig can do the biggest invertors...a car will explode things on the backside of 12v trying the same. (ground)

decent tricks with superconducted hollow rockers of unibody, some other stuff, it got me thinking how far can one go...would have to try in risk.
as for the a/c unit, dismantling and hiding stuff would be the finale if it worked.

add a roll cage for the inverted a/c.

[TC]

amps = watts / voltage (for single phase). 10A @ 120V = 100A @ 12V. 2000W interter pulls about 166A @ 12V (142A @ 14V)

you'd need a really big alternator for that to work

They sell 200 amp alternators that use the same casing as the alternator in your car..... You might need a little bigger one to run the other electrical systems but I think it's doable....... Especially with the fact that the A/C unit won't pull the full 15 amps.............. In fact the A/C unit that boxer is talk about will only pull 4-5 amps.........

[TC]

And then there is stuff like this that pulls only 2 amps.....

http://www.homedepot.com/Appliances-Heating-Cooling-Air-Quality-Air-Conditioners-Portable-Air-Conditioners/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbv64Z1z11w1n/R-202332299/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051

It's only a 1000 btu, but that should be enough I would think.........

[squirrel]

that's a neat little unit. Beware the startup current is usually quite a bit higher than the stated current draw, but as long as the inverter is connected to a battery, it could work

[TC]

that's a neat little unit. Beware the startup current is usually quite a bit higher than the stated current draw, but as long as the inverter is connected to a battery, it could work

If you get a 2000 watt inverter, it will have a 4000 watt surge rating........... I'm sure that's plenty for startup..........

Though A 2000 watt inverter is probably over kill for that little A/C I posted since it only pulls 2 amps........

[Barry Donovan]

And then there is stuff like this that pulls only 2 amps.....

http://www.homedepot.com/Appliances-Heating-Cooling-Air-Quality-Air-Conditioners-Portable-Air-Conditioners/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbv64Z1z11w1n/R-202332299/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051

It's only a 1000 btu, but that should be enough I would think.........

I used to have something like it. that is where the idea came from originally...more than ten years ago.

I owned a 1948 mobile hut, cloth covered wires, dangling ten amp box getting nearly everything sucked out of it before it made it to a plugs...which was too fat for the 1.5 inch american steel walls covered in .25 inch plywood....oiriginal paint mind you. amazing. steel does a body good.

anyway

my pc sucked more juice than the little a/c on wheels.

given how a/c works, engineers ought to be embarrassed. the same pump on my subaru from the 80s can power up a w900 kenworth with the 6 foot step down, stand up high rise bunk.

the only real extras needed are the fan cooling at the engine, like a rig... moves amps, heats, sets currents. there will still be a load, just a different kind. The sube is like a mini jeep liberty with the fans just to haul itself.

I wish I did not get rid of that little a/c, I even took it apart...going to do something with it.

I'll spot yard sales, see if I can score something.

[squirrel]

I think the cooling load in a vehicle is much higher than in a building....hope it works

[TC]

I think the cooling load in a vehicle is much higher than in a building....hope it works

Did a little research and it seems a car needs about 12,000-15,000 BTU's of cooling or like a 1 to 1 1/2 ton A/C unit.......... Bigger the car the more BTU's it will need to cool properly........... Though the one 12,000 btu a/c I saw only pulled 8 amps, so again I think it could be doable..........

[Barry Donovan]

remember this is for a 1781cc boxer car..this one cools down as it goes faster. no heatsoaking..
that really is a big btu to get over.

on the 8cyl or even 6.. I would not even think about it, unless older car with the very big engine bay. they stayed cool if anyone remembers driving them every day.(I miss that alot). They only need a little extra. I'd try something like this there too.

I could do a roof vent and live with compression..but I can't hack the metal.

those numbers seem extreme. I have a 10foot tall room, 20x14, an angled roof with 80% of the day hitting every 200 degree shingle through one window, and a black top roof on the other..cools it down in minutes. 11k btuh. it is a big one. unlivable without A/c starting in a maine april (that is a dman hot room)..

cars don't need that unless constipated in the cooling. most of todays stuff would need it...definitely agreeable.

old downdraft boxer. nah. I could admit I am complaining for no reason.

[squirrel]

Move to AZ, I don't have ac on any of my old junk.