RV Coolbox ? Keeping the hot Texas summer cooler

[Danny7]

Originally Posted by Mike S

Hope no one takes this seriously, dry ice and water create a lot of carbon dioxide in a hurry.

Not recommended to breathe a lot of carbon dioxide

EDIT- this is wrong, thanks for the corrections Pete and Mike

unless you fill the cabin up with carbon dioxide it won't hurt you . i don't think most aluminum planes are airtight enough for it to matter. carbon dioxide is what we inhale and exhale with every breath anyway, unless by volume it displaces o2 it doesn't do a thing to you.

you aren't thinking of carbon monoxide are you?

[PCHunt]

Dry ice in the cockpit is a definite safety hazard.

[Mike S]

Originally Posted by Danny7

carbon dioxide is what we inhale and exhale with every breath anyway, unless by volume it displaces o2 it doesn't do a thing to you.

you aren't thinking of carbon monoxide are you?

No, I am not thinking of CO.

The quantity of CO2 inhaled is extremely small, the amount exhaled is a bit bigger.

There are two hazards of breathing CO2, displacing Oxygen as mentioned above, and the other is that the body regulates breathing in accord to CO2 levels.

[Louise Hose]

Originally Posted by rv7boy

The web site doesn't mention the size or empty weight. Could you post that also?

The top (and bottom) are about 18 inches wide (the handles probably add an extra 1.5 inches or so) and 11 inches deep. The chest is ~14 inches high. To operate, the intake vent is raised about one inch and, of course, the blower tube extends a lot more. I don't have a good scale from this range, but the empty weight is about 7 pounds (probably +/- 1#).

Originally Posted by rv7boy

One other thought, it would help a little if the canned drink(s) were frozen before placing in the cooler. With this little machine, every BTU/calorie counts!

Freezing the Moosehead? The horror!

As for adding shades, I suspect that might help on some days and at some hours. But, the sun is low enough during the evening commute that I would have to also block critical visibility to block it. And, in this part of the world, the issue usually isn't primarily direct sunlight.

Dry ice? No thank you. You would be blowing that CO2-charged air right at your face for maximum cooling efficiency. I'll stick with regular ice. I've worked in a carbonic-rich atmosphere enough to have high respect for its impact on the human body. (I could diverge into a Darwin award story here, but I'll stick with this RV-related theme.)

[BobK]

If you add salt to the ice, the melting point goes lower so the water circulation is lower and thus a cooler cool. Might not last as long tho.

[N941WR]

Originally Posted by BobK

If you add salt to the ice, the melting point goes lower so the water circulation is lower and thus a cooler cool. Might not last as long tho.

And you wouldn't want that salt water leaking in your plane or pumped over the side on to the wing.

[rjaflys]

As mentioned above, the amount of water is related to the amount of cooling, but it is no problem to remove. The unit comes with a length of hose that is simply connected to the circulating pump and with the unit turned on the water is pumped out. When camping the unit can be removed from the airplane and put in the tent. With a 12 volt source like a small 110 to 12 volt power supply, you could have a mighty comfortable tent for a while. One thought is that this type cooler may be adding moisture to the interior of an aircraft, which may not be too good for avionics. Any thoughts. Bob.

[rv7boy]

Originally Posted by Louise Hose

...Freezing the Moosehead? The horror! ...

I guess you can tell the strongest thing I drink is Root Beer.

[Danny7]

Thanks Mike S and Pete Hunt for setting me straight- i was thinking co2 would affect the body more like nitrogen. in the Atmosphere CO2 is much less than 1% and how much is in you affects respiration quite a bit.

good to have guys that know what they are talking about on this forum.

[Louise Hose]

Originally Posted by rjaflys

One thought is that this type cooler may be adding moisture to the interior of an aircraft, which may not be too good for avionics. Any thoughts. Bob.

The builder/manufacturer says that the unit is actually removing moisture from the air, making the cabin a bit drier, although I haven't figured out how that happens. I do know that I haven't had any condensation problems on the canopy or in the cabin so I have no reason to not believe him.

Since my plane lives in near 100% humidity much of the summer, I really doubt that this is an issue for us, anyway. And, in most applications, you would only have the cooler on for a relatively short time (i.e., during climb-out, descent, or out practicing TnGs).