Experimenting with portable AC unit

[gkb2016]

Solved my water problem. Car wash is $1 can just use the wand to fill up my jugs

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

For what? Don't most car washes recycle their water?

 

[gkb2016]

For what? Don't most car washes recycle their water?

See my prior post - it's for the evaporative AC unit. Should I be worried about using it for that purpose or something?

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Who knows what chemicals/toxins will be evaporated with the water?

 

[gkb2016]

Who knows what chemicals/toxins will be evaporated with the water?

Yeah I thought of that, probably worth more research before using that idea. Maybe they have a sink, I have seen a few car washes that have those by the vacuums.

 

[gkb2016]

Update. Running it now mid day sitting in a parking lot in the sun on a partly cloudy day. Van interior was 31% humidity and 91 degrees, ambient temp outdoors is 86. Ran it on high for about 10 min and got down to 80, switched it over to low and after about 30 min of running total, currently at 60% humidity and 77 degrees.

I'm impressed. Doesn't seem to be using too much electricity either, and I think my system can sustain it.

 

[jonyjoe303]

I been using swampcoolers years, for best results you might want to use flexible ducting to feed outside air to the intake of the swampcooler. On my current swampcooler I feed the swampcooler from the roof vent fan. The roof vent fan is under a solar panel so the air is cooler. By turning the roof ventfan to low forces the air into the swampcooler and I can feel the small temperature drop. The colder the air going into the swampcooler the better it works.
You might want to build some sort of cover on the swampcooler intake so only outside air goes in there, you don't want inside van air recirculating into the swampcooler. Thats the reason many people say that swampcoolers don't work its because they place them indoors and it just recirculates indoor air. Outside air is always cooler then the air found inside a vehicule.
The hessaire uses the celdek evaporator pads, the best available, they never get clog and will last at least 7 years before you might need to replace them. Its the same evaporator pads I been using on my swampcoolers.
If the van was well insulated you would need less water use, on my astrovan I use about 1 gallon of water over a weekend and I run the swampcooler almost all day but usually on low, maybe uses 1 amp of power, about 3 amps on high with the roof vent running.

 

[gkb2016]

I been using swampcoolers years, for best results you might want to use flexible ducting to feed outside air to the intake of the swampcooler. On my current swampcooler I feed the swampcooler from the roof vent fan. The roof vent fan is under a solar panel so the air is cooler. By turning the roof ventfan to low forces the air into the swampcooler and I can feel the small temperature drop. The colder the air going into the swampcooler the better it works.
You might want to build some sort of cover on the swampcooler intake so only outside air goes in there, you don't want inside van air recirculating into the swampcooler. Thats the reason many people say that swampcoolers don't work its because they place them indoors and it just recirculates indoor air. Outside air is always cooler then the air found inside a vehicule.
The hessaire uses the celdek evaporator pads, the best available, they never get clog and will last at least 7 years before you might need to replace them. Its the same evaporator pads I been using on my swampcoolers.
If the van was well insulated you would need less water use, on my astrovan I use about 1 gallon of water over a weekend and I run the swampcooler almost all day but usually on low, maybe uses 1 amp of power, about 3 amps on high with the roof vent running.

View attachment 32012

Thanks for the tips. I have to admit I was a bit skeptical about the swamp cooler after all the things I’ve read online about how they only work in the desert. Wrong. Working fine for me in Michigan on sunny days when the sun dries out the air. These are the days you would want to use it anyways!

Now if the humidity is above 60% it probably won’t do much. I tried it at night time (which was more humid in the 60%+ range and 72 degrees). The temp stayed the same and humidity increased, but sure seems to work fine with 30-40% humidity, and I suspect it will work fine in the 40%-50% range too, just a bit less of an effect. That’s fine at night time, because the Maxxfan and a cheap oscillating fan is enough to keep me cool at night with the lower temps. Some nights here I technically don’t even need the Maxxfan but keep it going on low to prevent the windows from fogging while I sleep.

Before this the van was very uncomfortable and I would be sweating everywhere. I don’t sweat with the swamp cooler running and can even comfortably take a nap mid day. It’s really a complete game changer.

I do run my Maxxfan and open windows pretty wide while using it to give it a supply of outside air. I’m sure your way is more efficient and if I can get a bigger van or find a way to get my setup optimized I’ll have to consider that.

 

[gkb2016]

This is still working out for me at 48% humidity, 61 degrees dew point, 85f outside. Van temp is 77 degrees and 65% humidity. The cab is of course hotter since the air isn't blowing that direction & that is where the fresh and drier air is coming from. It should work fine for anyone with 300w of panels or more, maybe less if your other electrical usage is low.

 

[gkb2016]

Finally found my Kill a Watt meter and measured it at 58 watts on low and roughly 100 on high ... so the Amazon reviews were correct.

 

[jonyjoe303]

100 watts (about 8 amps) aint bad, thats at least 5 times less power than the smallest AC. Your using it in a worst case scenario with high humidity and no insulation, that its able to keep your van cool shows that swampcoolers do work in areas that are usually not considered suitable for swampcoolers.
One thing to look out for is for water to leak out of the swampcooler when driving, the first swampcoolers I was using I had to drain the water before driving anywhere.

 

[gkb2016]

100 watts (about 8 amps) aint bad, thats at least 5 times less power than the smallest AC. Your using it in a worst case scenario with high humidity and no insulation, that its able to keep your van cool shows that swampcoolers do work in areas that are usually not considered suitable for swampcoolers.
One thing to look out for is for water to leak out of the swampcooler when driving, the first swampcoolers I was using I had to drain the water before driving anywhere.

I usually use it on low too, so just less than 60 watts. Uses less water that way too.

I imagine the reason it hasn’t worked for some people is they did not have the outside air circulating properly, or maybe some kind of poorly executed DIY unit (not that a DIY unit doesn’t or wouldn’t work). Doesn’t work as well without the Maxxair fan going. Literally 85 outside and van is parked in the sun. I just took a nap in the van and had to use a blanket. I put mesh fabric sunshades / bug screens over the front windows so passerby cannot easily see that I have my front windows halfway down.

No leaks yet. I try not to have it filled all the way up when driving, usually I’ll only add water to it if I hear it starting to get empty (you can tell by the pump noise) … or if I know I’m going to be in one spot long enough to use most of the water. Also bungee corded it to a wood post.

 

[Debrajoy54]

I bought a Hisense 5000 BTU portable air conditioner at Lowes.

My current setup isn’t optimal, but I have some hope this could work somewhat well. At least well enough to have a few cool hours every other afternoon or maybe every afternoon if I don’t feel like being around people. Mornings I usually spend at places like Panera, Starbucks etc. My Maxx Air fan is good enough at night.

300w of solar and 400ah of batteries.

Right now I don’t have window shades except a windshield shade, so sun is definitely heating the vehicle pretty fast once the compressor turns off. I have ordered some of these to see for all my windows to see how they much they mitigate the heat. Except the very back windows, because I couldn’t find any covers that fit the 2016 Transit Connect Titanium XLT. Found windshield, front side, and sliding door side covers but nothing for the very rear. Planning on cutting the cheaply windshield cover I got from Walmart for the backs or maybe Reflectix.

My AC exhaust is also going out the window, and hot air is able to get in because there isn’t a proper seal, there are some gaps.

Wondering if there is something I can buy, like a gasket or something, that would accommodate the exhaust pipe / adjustable window adapter to create a stronger seal.

If this works well enough, may cut a hole in the roof for exhaust if I can think of a way to keep the rain out, probably some sort of sliding cover from the outside.

Bolded to highlight the main point of my post lol.

Other ideas of course are insulating the exhaust pipe, insulating the van (really don’t wanna do this one because I’m already living in it), and separating the cab. Kinda hard with my setup but have been trying to think of ways this could be done.

This is a totally crazy idea because I have no idea of how or if this might work. Could you hook your exhaust hose to your existing max air fan in the roof?

 

[user 423]

I usually use it on low too, so just less than 60 watts. Uses less water that way too.

A big question for me is how much water it would use in arid regions of the country.

I have a 1/2-ton van that is usually pretty well loaded, so carrying extra water would be a problem.

I usually stay in one spot for 4-5 days before I need to resupply.

 

[jonyjoe303]

This is a totally crazy idea because I have no idea of how or if this might work. Could you hook your exhaust hose to your existing max air fan in the roof?

yes it would work, I use to exhaust the heat from my fridge compressor through my roof vent fan. In the picture the left hose goes to the swampcooler, the right hose goes to the fridge compressor.
I had to move the fridge exhaust hose because the hot air was being sucked back in to the swampcooler. As long as its sucking the air out only it will work.
This removes alot of heat from the inside, if I hadnt vented my fridge compresser I would have got rid of it, it was getting too hot inside my van just from the fridge.
The flexible hose is 4" dryer flexible hose, you can find at walmart.

 

[gkb2016]

A big question for me is how much water it would use in arid regions of the country.

I have a 1/2-ton van that is usually pretty well loaded, so carrying extra water would be a problem.

I usually stay in one spot for 4-5 days before I need to resupply.

Uses less than 1 gallon per hour on low in a humid climate, not sure if being in a drier would cause it to use more.


** warning I don't know if this would be safe and research further before trying this **
If there is a water source nearby perhaps you could use that? It's probably not the greatest for the longevity of the appliance due to minerals left in the water, but I'd imagine you could boil the water to get rid of any pathogens. For me I'd be willing to try it as long as I find out it's safe for my health ... not worried about the appliance getting messed up because I'd be willing to buy a new one (unless it's killing the appliance really fast .. like in a matter of months)

 

[gkb2016]

This is a totally crazy idea because I have no idea of how or if this might work. Could you hook your exhaust hose to your existing max air fan in the roof?

Mine works well enough by putting the front windows down at least half way and turning my Maxx fan on high, that I don't think any hoses are necessary. If I was doing a really fancy build then I might consider something like that and find a way to hide the hoses from view.

 

[FlipperFla]

I mounted a Samsung 5500BTU in my driver side rear window. Dissembled the unit and replaced all the screws with stainless and thru bolted where possible instead of the stock sheet metal screws. Thru bolted a 1”x1” piece of steel angle across the bottom of the ACs frame. This how I mounted it to the edge of the window hole in the back door where the seal for the window glass was. This way if I ever want to take it out and put the window back in you will not see the mounting holes. I made a fiberglass blank to replace the back window precut for the AC. Rolled and tipped the paint so it came out looking just like glass. Had a custom cover made at a local marine canvas shop that give it a pro look. Also tilted it down in the back for the condensation to drain, made a small fitting that a hose connects to and empties in my water tank with the condensation water that would be wasted just dripping on the ground. Amazing how much water I can recoup just from humidity. Been going strong for over 10 years with zero issues.

 

[user 423]

^Nice setup. I've toyed with the idea of doing that with my E150. I have a 900/700 watt LP generator and I'm not sure if that would be big enough for a 5000btu A/C. So part of the equation is paying $500+ for a larger generator.

 

[FlipperFla]

^Nice setup. I've toyed with the idea of doing that with my E150. I have a 900/700 watt LP generator and I'm not sure if that would be big enough for a 5000btu A/C. So part of the equation is paying $500+ for a larger generator.

Thanks. I don’t think it would either. Had a Honda 1000, wouldn’t run it now I run a Yamaha 2000 gen/inverter and it pushes that pretty hard, once it’s running it’s ok. It is the initial startup. If I run the air I don’t run anything else including my battery charger which is a pain. We usually try for shore power when its hot enough for the air. Save the genny for cooler weather.