Testing My Ice Chest Air Conditioner

[Dan Meyer]

Originally Posted by Huck

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.

You have the right idea. Figure out how to make the heat in your space melt a little over a gallon of ice per hour, and you are all set!

FWIW, the 7100 BTU A/C on the roof of my Scamp 16 will freeze you out in 'most any heat.

-- Dan Meyer

[Huck]

Originally Posted by Dan Meyer

FWIW, the 7100 BTU A/C on the roof of my Scamp 16 will freeze you out in 'most any heat.

-- Dan Meyer

The 5000 btu ac in my Parkliner won't. But after I finish putting up sun screen on the windows and insulate the vents I bet it does.

[Donna D.]

I aways thought this was an interesting concept:

Homemade Air Conditioner simple DIY AC uses 45 Watts - can be solar powered! - YouTube

[deryk]

I have an 8000but window unit that looks about the same size.....I need to see if it fits..same size as the 5000but it replaced...I'm sure it would help cool it down in there lol

[honda03842]

Huck,

When and where we travel we find that the primary problem is humidity. On a hot day in Florida when Ginny decides to cook the temperature and humidity can quickly climb.

When this occurs we find that our 5000 BTU AC unit quickly removes enough humidity to make the trailer comfortable. Though comfortable, it takes more than an hour to bring the temperature down to a cool level.

We do use a small fan to blow the AC output around the trailer. We have not done anything to improve the vents or windows.

[Nut501]

Originally Posted by honda03842

Huck,

When and where we travel we find that the primary problem is humidity. On a hot day in Florida when Ginny decides to cook the temperature and humidity can quickly climb.

When this occurs we find that our 5000 BTU AC unit quickly removes enough humidity to make the trailer comfortable. Though comfortable, it takes more than an hour to bring the temperature down to a cool level.

We do use a small fan to blow the AC output around the trailer. We have not done anything to improve the vents or windows.

Norm,
Would window tinting make a big difference in the south? One would think that if you could reflect the heat/sun , that your camper would be cooler and then the A/C would cool it down quicker. Just wondering! Does anyone have any experience with window tinting?
Thanks,
Carl

[Huck]

Originally Posted by honda03842

Huck,

When and where we travel we find that the primary problem is humidity. On a hot day in Florida when Ginny decides to cook the temperature and humidity can quickly climb.

When this occurs we find that our 5000 BTU AC unit quickly removes enough humidity to make the trailer comfortable. Though comfortable, it takes more than an hour to bring the temperature down to a cool level.

We do use a small fan to blow the AC output around the trailer. We have not done anything to improve the vents or windows.

Are you parked in direct sunlight and how hot does the outside temperature usually get? I think you posted you are not in FL in the summer.