Air Conditioning your RV

Webb · #1 06-27-2008, 04:23 AM

As sweat poured from every square inch the other day, I said to myself....Self, wouldn't it be nice to have some AC in here....

Looked it up on line and thought "anybody done anything like this?"

Here's an engineering ideal, design a built-in cooler with a drain line in it with a small heat exchanger,and fan. Heat exchanger could be aluminum tubing and the fan pumps air through the tubing. Plastic and Foam are light weight. You only really need it on the ground till you get up to altitutude. Lid would need to be water tight but have a vent line so it would drain. As ice melts off, you loose the weight because it drains out. The forward bagage compartment in an 8 would be perfect for 10 pounds of ice (I think??). Where would you put it in a 7? After you get up, you turn off the fan, still have 5 pounds of ice. When you are getting ready to land and it's starts warming up, you flip the fan back on and have enough cooling on the ground to the ramp. Also simple, less to go wrong, and way cheaper than a system in a 10.

When you get ready to fly, go buy a 99 cent bag of ice and just dump it on. Fly on and when your done, all you have to remember is turn the fan off.

Am I crazy? I'm actually thinking about where I could fit one in a 7 and easily have access.

RVAddict · #2 06-27-2008, 04:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Webb

Am I crazy? I'm actually thinking about where I could fit one in a 7 and easily have access.

This may sound dumb or like I'm trying to be a smart ***, (I'm not), but how about the baggage compartment??

That would be the ideal location for the one pictured. Pull it out when you dont need it and it's right behind you blowing forward when you do. Seems simpler to me than in the front baggage of an -8 with ductwork.

JMHO

EDIT: Now I re-read your post and saw that you want it built in. DUH!! Oh well, I still think the baggage area is about the only option in a -7. In that case, you should try to duplicate the one in the picture so it will be removeable. Bet you can do it for less than the $500.00 that one costs!

Webb · #3 06-27-2008, 04:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RVAddict

This may sound dumb or like I'm trying to be a smart ***, (I'm not), but how about the baggage compartment??

That would be the ideal location for the one pictured. Pull it out when you dont need it and it's right behind you blowing forward when you do. Seems simpler to me than in the front baggage of an -8 with ductwork.

JMHO

No offense taken. This is just an ideal. Also, the little gem you are looking at is about $500 and it's a small one. Also, I wasn't really interested in a big block taking up baggage room.

I'm thinking on the hidden side. Lift the lid, pour the ice in, close the lid and it disappears. I also was interested in seeing the water drain out as the ice melts so you lose weight as you go. The pictured unit holds the water until you land.

One possible place could be a wedge shapped unit behind the seat back. Tool box on one side and on the other a built in light weight self draining AC unit that drains out.

Ain't insomnia wonderful.

RVAddict · #4 06-27-2008, 04:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Webb

Ain't insomnia wonderful.

I work nights. This, is my day... or..... whatever.

Pilottonny · #5 06-27-2008, 05:00 AM

And you think 10 lbs of ice will give enough "cool air" to keep you cool for, lets say 15 min. of preflight, taxi and TO and another 10 min. for landing and taxi? At what outside/inside temp.? If it can do that, it will have to be frozen at - 200°C or you will probably hardly notice the temperature difference.

Maybe you can carry a couple of hundred lbs in the rear fuselage (put a heavy prop on for balance!)

I bet there will be somebody out there that knows everyting about Joules/Watts/Btu to let you know how much ice you will have to carry to get some benefit from it.

It would be nice though! Oh, BTW, there are some threads regarding this same toppic, they died out silently.

Regards, Tonny.

TSwezey · #6 06-27-2008, 05:41 AM

Go over to Aopa.org and their forums. Do a search on the system. There is a lot of info and somebody has plans for a do it yourself system.

Bob Brown · #7 06-27-2008, 06:32 AM

Look up the history section of Aviation Consumer. They did a fairly comprehensive test of all the models similar to what you show...their conclusions were that they didn't really affect the temperatures in the cabins of the aircraft they tested...

DeltaRomeo · #8 06-27-2008, 07:56 AM

Webb,

You might try one of the cooling vests available. I reviewed one a few years back and it was so cold I had to turn it off every few minutes.

http://www.vansairforce.net/review/C...Vest/index.htm

b,
dr

grantcarruthers · #9 06-27-2008, 08:38 AM

I'd go with a water circulating vest/jacket/or seat covers. The heat absorption of 5-10lbs of ice would go a lot farther through direct conduction than circulating air in a cabin that sees many cubic feet of air pass through a minute.

I wouldn't dump the water overboard right away as the melted water at 33degrees has a lot of heat absorption left in it and can be more efficient than the solid ice due to surface contact depending on the transfer method.

DR, can you link to the vest you mentioned, I havn'e seen any?

[Done! http://www.jenkinscomfort.com/ dr]

It's getting ugly in So IL, gonna be 95 and 100% humidity real soon through sept.

Webb · #10 06-27-2008, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Brown

Look up the history section of Aviation Consumer. They did a fairly comprehensive test of all the models similar to what you show...their conclusions were that they didn't really affect the temperatures in the cabins of the aircraft they tested...

I knew that - just seeing if you guys are on your toes. Yeah right

Sounds like I hit a been there, done that. Please excuse the faux pas. It was one of those insomniac moments at 5am in the morning and I must have been dreaming.

I was just thinking about knocking the temp down enough to keep from needing a shower after 5 minutes in the cockpit.

The ideal came when I was talking to my father who was born in 1921, when traveling across USA as a young man, my grandfather used to hang a piece of ice in a mesh net in the opening of a partially opened car window to help cool the car down. Most of the folks here probably were not traveling in cars back then.

Hey, I've got an idea now. I'll hang a big chunk in a mesh net across the opening of my slider and the big fan can blow air over it to cool it off. Hmm...I might have to do rolls every few minutes to drain out the cockpit.

Thanks guys, you just saved me from going down the "wish I hadn't path".

In all fairness, bear with me:

Tony - I'm only talking about 10-15 front end minutes and turn off the cooler fan and save the remaining ice for when you land. Once you are at altitude, you won't need. I'm only talking about a short period of time.

Doug - Could that cooling jacket be the model for a seat cover? It might be the most efficient method of keeping your cool. However, if married, you might need a pair unless you want to pretend you're in a RV3.

Grant - Valid point on the water - put a valve that lets you drain when on the ground (or over your friends bar-b-q).

Here's the funny part - I blame everyone on this site. There are so many creative individuals that make you look inward and start thinking of the little things that make your plane just a notch above in some places. This thread is parallels one of those cold frosty times when the guy next to you says..."hey guys, what if......." Vunerable, yet makes you wonder....is it doable.