The DIY styrofoam "air conditioner"

[ganchan]

So you're stuck in a Phoenix parking lot one summer night, and you have nothing but a battery-powered fan to combat the heat (no house power or generator to run an actual AC or swamp cooler). But you can afford to pair your fan with a cheap styrofoam cooler and a chunk of PVC pipe. Do you build one of these DIY "air conditioners," and will it be worth the effort?

 

[Canine]

One of those coolers would have about 5500 BTUs. A small AC unit is rated at 5000 BTUs. Hopefully, that gives you an idea of how much cooling power a Styrofoam air conditioner works. I would rather use an Arctic Air:

https://www.amazon.com/ONTEL-Arctic-Personal-Space-Cooler/dp/B0787DD3RX

Yes, it costs $20 more up front, but it will save you a ton of money running back and forth constantly filling up the Styrofoam cooler with ice. It will provide more cooling power, too.

 

[B and C]

In Phoenix, the swamp cooler would work well, in South Texas, not so much. They require low humidity to work.

 

[duckie]

I have the Artic Air. I got it because it could run off USB. I don't have solar or a house battery yet. I knew I could get a USB battery bank that I could recharge at work. I got a 10,000 mAh battery bank, the battery goes down about 2% every hour on low, and about 16% every hour on medium. Works OK, but I try to stay out of the van in the middle of the day. I've actually moved to "shore" power so I can run it on high now, but I turn it down to low again in the night. I feel confident that it could run on solar, if I had it.

Highs in the 90-100 F range. My outside temperature sensor on my windshield records the high as 135. I'm guessing the car reflects additional heat to make the sensor read that. I'm still contemplating the best spot to put it.

So the answer is Yes! Build that cooler and stay a little bit cooler on the cheap if it's just for 1 night, maybe even multiple nights if you have the ice $. Long term, I like my reusable Artic Air, but your milage may very if you don't have a place and the time to recharge the battery bank.

 

[lenny flank]

They're generally not worth the effort. They only work in low humidity--in most of the country they won't work at all. Even in areas where the physics means they can work, they require a lot of water, and most of the DIY thingies aren't powerful enough to do anything useful and won't lower the actual air temp inside the van by anything significant.

You can get the same cooling effect with a wet t-shirt and a five-dollar fan from Walmart.

 

[Matt_Pill]

Some unconventional methods that normally get used in other hotter countries- knitting ice into your hair, hang a wet cloth similar to Jenny but hang it around the vehicle, take a nap at the hottest point of the day (if you can do it), so on.

 

[wmyers4u]

added humidity and mold concern me anytime you are adding moisture to the inside of a vehicle. I suppose that can be monitored though

 

[MrNoodly]

A friend in southern Arizona experimented with several variations of these things. More ice, more powerful fans, on and on. Basically, the heat always won the battle.

 

[ganchan]

I'm not looking forward to urban car-camping overnight in the DFW area during my July road trip. So far my survival strategy ideas include:

-Opened 2nd-row windows + fan + spray bottle
-One of those neck towels or wristbands that keeps you cool after you wet it
-Overnighting at a Planet Fitness and "accidentally" falling asleep in the lounge (I'm a Black Card member)
-Same strategy, via the trucker's lounge in a truck stop

That's all I have. Any other ideas that don't involve renting a room or a total lack of stealth?

 

[Dingfelder]

ganchan --

I've found those blue-ice type packs -- the dark-blue, hard sided ones with real corners are the best -- with a towel wrapped around them to soak up moisture, are terrifically helpful, especially when left to rest on the front and side of the neck. So much blood rushes through the neck, in huge arteries, that the cooling effect is virtually instant and amazing. They take a long time to defrost and come in many different sizes, including two different ones that both will fit between jaw and collarbone. They can take me from misery to feeling pretty good, and are almost always on sale somewhere.

Even if you don't have a freezer, do you have a freezer at work? or a friend with a freezer? Because they will give you hours of relief.

 

[ganchan]

ganchan --

I've found those blue-ice type packs -- the dark-blue, hard sided ones with real corners are the best -- with a towel wrapped around them to soak up moisture, are terrifically helpful, especially when left to rest on the front and side of the neck.  So much blood rushes through the neck, in huge arteries, that the cooling effect is virtually instant and amazing.  They take a long time to defrost and come in many different sizes, including two different ones that both will fit between jaw and collarbone. They can take me from misery to feeling pretty good, and are almost always on sale somewhere.

Even if you don't have a freezer, do you have a freezer at work? or a friend with a freezer?  Because they will give you hours of relief.

I'll be on the road with no electricity, so I won't be able to keep the packs cold. But maybe I could fill some freezer bags with ice from the convenience store, wrap them in old clothes, and see if that would do something similar.... I could also keep some damp towels in an ice chest and apply/re-cool them as needed.

 

[Dingfelder]

I'll be on the road with no electricity, so I won't be able to keep the packs cold. But maybe I could fill some freezer bags with ice from the convenience store, wrap them in old clothes, and see if that would do something similar.... I could also keep some damp towels in an ice chest and apply/re-cool them as needed.

If you are willing to buy ice, perhaps put it in a good cooler and use it to freeze some of those blue packs?  Put the ice bag(s) right on top of them?  Because they take far longer to defrost than a similar amount of ice does.  The blue packs come pretty small, and you don't need a big one to put in the crook of your neck. I saw them on sale for 1.99 at Rite Aid the other day, so it wouldn't be too expensive an experiment.

Good luck with whatever you work out.

 

[highdesertranger]

regular ice will not freeze ice packs. ice packs freeze at a much lower temp. highdesertranger