Testing My Ice Chest Air Conditioner

[Bobbie Mayer]

I think crushed ice is your best bet; add salt so it melts faster (as when you make ice cream) and you'll get more cooling. However, I doubt it will cool the air inside as much as you can blow a cooling stream on yourself.

[Huck]

I'd say, the cooler has been a bust. I may play with the design some, but it appears a cooler full of ice just doesn't provide enough cooling to make much, if any, difference. If you want to sit about 6" from it you will feel a cool breeze, but that's about it.

I guess the next logical thing to look at is ways to keep the heat out.

[deryk]

best bet then would be to rig some kind of a sun shade over the ParkLiner.... or find a campground with power or allows generators...or go there when its not quite as hot.

[2yax2go]

What about dry ice?

[Huck]

Originally Posted by 2yax2go

What about dry ice?

If you can tell me how to vent it, and transfer the cold from dry ice to the air, I'm all for it.

[Huck]

I ran the ac (5000 btu) on max for an hour. It cooled the inside temperature 2 degrees - from 92 to 90. Outside temp is 91.

If a 5000 btu ac can only cool the trailer down 2 degrees, not much hope for a cooler.

[Bobbie Mayer]

I'd say start with more insulation. I'm not sure you can make a small trailer comfy in 91 degree weather but more insulation, and a reflective canopy or tarp overhead, might go a long way. For more comfortable sleeping look at a bed like this (made for dogs!) to put over the mattress. Amazon.com : K&H Cool Bed III Cooling Dog Bed, Large, 32-Inches by 44-Inches, Gray : Pet Beds : Pet Supplies That plus a fan might keep a sleeper comfortable. But what do you do during the day if it is that hot outside?

[Ice-breaker]

I recall one road trip driving through the desert near Las Vegas in +100°F temps in a car with no air conditioning. Worked wonders putting a small block of ice inside my baseball cap and allowing it to melt on top of my head.

[Jim W]

If you have access to ice you might consider one of the cool shirt systems. Will keep you cool and work on 12 volts. It just won't keep the trailer cool.

[Mike Magee]

Maybe a wet cloth around the neck?

Watch out for Hurricane Arthur, coming up the coast now.

[Huck]

I used my laser thermometer to try to find where the most heat was coming from.

• Overhead Vent - closed: 107 degrees. Just opening it up dropped the temp at vent by about 10 degrees.
• Fan - Closed and Off: 120 degrees. Opening it dropped to same level as vent.
• Windows 95 degrees
• Walls 90 degrees
• Ceiling 93 degrees
• Bathroom - I think it was about 85. I didn't write it down, but it was substantially cooler than the rest of the trailer.

So I think that suggests at least cracking the vent and fan vent and using some type of heat block on the windows.

I have a roll of Gila Heat Control Window Film I bought several years ago and never used. I think I will give it a try. It has a pretty good rating on Amazon.

[Mike Magee]

Interesting observations, Huck. That made me wonder if my Maxx Air vent cover was helping any with the temp in my vent area. It isn't. Like you, I got 111 degrees at the closed and covered vent, while the main interior is 95*. Maybe I should get some Reflectix, or something, for those vents.

[stevebaz]

Get rid of the plastic bottles and put the ice in aluminium. It will transfer the cool much better. Better yet run a cooling coil into your ice chest and pump cool fluid to a coil in your bed as a heat exchanger. Recirculate the fluid in a loop and it will cool you directly.

[Borrego Dave]

Good one Steve, kind of like a Nascar cool suit.

[Mikmay]

Has any one tried the misting fan they sell at costco for 50 bucks .it sprays a super fine mist of distilled water they claim it will cool the interior of a car by 15 degrees. Was thinking of getting one but wondered if any one tried it first it is not very big it would easily sit on the counter or table

[Huck]

Originally Posted by Mikmay

Has any one tried the misting fan they sell at costco for 50 bucks .it sprays a super fine mist of distilled water they claim it will cool the interior of a car by 15 degrees. Was thinking of getting one but wondered if any one tried it first it is not very big it would easily sit on the counter or table

I'm guessing in dry humidity it would help.

[Huck]

I came across this - Gel'O Cool Pillow Mat. Has pretty good reviews on Amazon.

Gel'O Cool Pillow Mat works to help disperse the heat away from your body, thus keeping the body at a comfortable temperature. Unlike traditional pillows it does not retain heat in one spot, but redistributes and dissipates the heat from parts of the mat that is not in contact with the body.

I think I might test one out. It's small enough I could put it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before going to bed.

[Huck]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

Interesting observations, Huck. That made me wonder if my Maxx Air vent cover was helping any with the temp in my vent area. It isn't. Like you, I got 111 degrees at the closed and covered vent, while the main interior is 95*. Maybe I should get some Reflectix, or something, for those vents.

Is there a possibility the reflextix will melt the plastic vent cover?

ETA: I just did a search on rv vent insulate and found Camco 45192 Sunshield Vent Insulator with/without Reflective Surface.

• Fits standard 14" RV vents
• Reflective surface blocks the sun's damaging rays
• Full 2.75" of foam to help stop heat transfer
• Durable and easy to store
• Keep your RV cooler in the Summer and warmer in the Winter

Camco 45195

https://images.etrailer.com/Merchant...-CAM45195.webm

ETA 2: From looking at my vents, I don't think either of these vent insulators will work for me. Has anyone used a vent insulator on their fgrv

[Dan Meyer]

A 12,000 BTU air conditioner has the cooling capacity equal to melting one ton of ice into water in 24 hours. That would be melting 83 pounds of ice, or about 10.6 gallons of water every hour.

I don't think you used a big enough ice chest. 8-)

See Ton of refrigeration - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia for more information.

-- Dan Meyer

[Huck]

Originally Posted by Dan Meyer

A 12,000 BTU air conditioner has the cooling capacity equal to melting one ton of ice into water in 24 hours. That would be melting 83 pounds of ice, or about 10.6 gallons of water every hour.

I don't think you used a big enough ice chest. 8-)

See Ton of refrigeration - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia for more information.

-- Dan Meyer

Let's say I put up a curtain to limit the space to be cooled. Let's say only cooling about 40 sq ft or 100 cu ft. A 5000 btu ac is rated to cool a 150 sq ft room. 40/150 x 5000 is 1,333 btu. So a little over 1000 btu will cool 40 sq ft. 1,333 x 83/12,000 = 9.2 lbs ice/hr.

That's why I tried to find a dry ice solution. I believe dry ice has 3 times the cooling power of ice, so 15 lbs of dry ice would cool 40 sq ft for about 4 - 5 hours.