Redneck AC

[youngsc]

I have one of the most inefficient condos in the world and at this point in time don't have the money to replace windows, door, ac unit, etc. So I decided to go with this instead, I'm sure some of you have seen it, so far it gives a decent amount of cooling. With fresh ice it gives about a 10-15 degree drop in the air that it's blowing compared to the ambient temp. It gets cold enough that I had to throw a towel under the fan because there was so much condensation. I spent a little extra on the hose and connections so right now it consists of 20' copper tubing, compression fittings, 20' hose cut in half that would normally be used for freezer connections and a submersible 120 gph pump. The one piece that could stand to be improved is the cooler but until I ran it I wasn't going to spend a bunch of money there.

[02silverbird]

Re: Redneck AC

be careful that the condensation doesn't go in the motor coil of the fan!
But other than that not bad way to use the ol' nogen! :)

[unvmyrs]

Re: Redneck AC

Do you have a write-up? Mods, please sticky this. WIN. :P

[Lilspleen]

Re: Redneck AC

Haha that is epic!!!!

[vanbibber]

Re: Redneck AC

man why didnt i think of crap like this the last time our a/c went out lol. this just got book marked just in case haha

[Tom Rs]

Re: Redneck AC

what did this cost ? i can get a new a/c for about a hundred, thats why i ask

[youngsc]

Re: Redneck AC

be careful that the condensation doesn't go in the motor coil of the fan!
But other than that not bad way to use the ol' nogen! :)

No worries there because the condensation builds up on the copper and the fan will blow it away before it can roll back.

Do you have a write-up? Mods, please sticky this. WIN. :P

It's really pretty straight forward, here's a small writeup I followed loosely. This method used suck power to get it started rather than a pump and doesn't have a good cooler so the ice is gonna melt quicker. He also put the coils on the back of the fan rather than the front.

Like I said I spent a little extra on the hoses and connections just for added insulation and to eliminate leaking. Here's a couple more pics to give you an idea of the pump setup and the connections.





This could use some improvement but it works for now.

The next thing I might do is look at adding 15' of copper tubing to the back and getting some extra cooling. This is getting as bad as modding a car.

[youngsc]

Re: Redneck AC

what did this cost ? i can get a new a/c for about a hundred, thats why i ask

With everything probably around 50-60. If you can get your ac fixed or new for that then I would def go that route.

In my case it wouldn't matter if I service or repair the ac because there's still all the leaks. Until I fix those leaks (door, windows, 20 year old ac) I'm not going to throw money away cooling the whole condo when all I care about is cooling me.

[vanbibber]

Re: Redneck AC

after looking at that guys vs yours..your way is a hell of alot better IMO.

[T-Mill]

Re: Redneck AC

next... cut some holes in the side of your fridge, and put the water in the fridge and run your pipes through there... then you don't have to keep making ice lol

[steddy]

Re: Redneck AC

I like it! All I wonder is how much cheaper it is to run than a window ac unit? You (or someone) may have come up with something, given the current state of economics. Very cool!

[dmw319]

Re: Redneck AC

whatever works!

once in my acura i didnt have heat in the winter, so i put a low voltage space heater in the backseat and made a cardboard box for it so i wouldnt melt the seats and plugged it up into the cigarette lighter dc converter. tada - warm air. :)

[youngsc]

Re: Redneck AC

after looking at that guys vs yours..your way is a hell of alot better IMO.

Thanks

next... cut some holes in the side of your fridge, and put the water in the fridge and run your pipes through there... then you don't have to keep making ice lol

Already thought of it lol. I'm also in the middle of doing renovations and the fridge will be saying goodbye at some point so we'll see.

I like it! All I wonder is how much cheaper it is to run than a window ac unit? You (or someone) may have come up with something, given the current state of economics. Very cool!

HOA is pretty strict so can't do a window AC otherwise yeah that would have been a more economical option.


Next up is gonna be adding another 20' of copper to the back and have the fan push and pull the cold air. Should be interesting.

[Everglades W68]

Re: Redneck AC

Now that is cool!

Myself, I'd just buy a cheap portable AC unit from Home Depot and plug it in.