The California Cooler is a revival of an old technology driven by an insight that's overlooked in these days of engineered indoor environments: Cool air keeps things cool. In the days before refrigerators, pantries in Northern California homes had outside vents that preserved perishables throughout cool nights. With this project, you can bring them back. Afraid your baby's seat is getting too hot? A cooler, a bilge pump, freezer packs and tubing will keep you and your baby cool.Dew Bucket: An Evaporative Drink Cooler Consider these two facts: Evaporation cools things, and bottles can't sweat like people. If they could, they would be able to keep their own contents cool. Here's a way to give your drinks their own perspiration system. This is a $10 air-conditioner built around an ice chest. The coolant is, you guessed it, ice. It's practical and cheap, but even if you don't plan to make one, click through to read the back story of how it was conceived. The main character is an electric truck circa 1979, with cameos by store-bought $500 portable A/Cs and a Tesla Roadster.Garden-Watering A/C

Air conditioners can dump hundreds of gallons of water each year. With a pump and some creative pipe work, you can channel that otherwise wasted water into your garden.wall mount ac unit The mastermind behind these instructions built an air conditioner to circumvent a rule in the office. ac unit motor hotApparently, they can't use A/C, but fans are just fine. window ac unit and central airSo, this DIYer rigged an A/C by pumping cold water in an ice chest through copper tubing positioned in front of a fan blade.>CONTINUED: 5 More DIY A/C's >>> DIY Air Conditioner With Heat Exchanger Ugly and effective, this air conditioner costs as much as you'd pay to run a fan and water the lawn at the same time. If the water coming into your home is cold in the summer, you can divert it through a maze of copper pipes with aluminum fins, place the contraption in front of a fan, and voila: The water cools the house on its way to the lawn.

Salvage a computer fan, power it with a solar cell, and surround it with wet cloth. That's the gist of this mini solar A/C. At $5, it's cheap too. You could place a half dozen of these around the house. Just make sure they match the curtains. On smoldering hot days, Rob Patto derives smug satisfaction knowing that the same sun that keeps him huddled indoors is also cooling his home. Here, he describes how he gutted an evaporative cooler and cobbled his A/C together from salvaged and new parts. /id/DIY-Solar-Setup/Tiny, Portable USB Fan Air Conditioner Using only a tin can, a CD, a computer fan and ice, this is a brilliant design for a tiny air conditioner. The best thing about these instructions are that their maker doesn't speak English as a first language, so they're concise and rely heavily on photos.How to Make a Stirling Engine Fan This must-do DIY project turns a stack of two soft-drink cans, a balloon and some intricately folded wire into a goofy and brilliant rotating area fan.

Use our online catalog... Use our dealer locator... Q: Is the engine more efficient when the air conditioning set on recirculation or on outside air? -- Maurice Bluestein, Pompano Beach, Fla. A: Cars typically are more fuel efficient when the air conditioner is set to re-circulate interior air. This is because keeping the same air cool takes less energy than continuously cooling hot air from outside. Of course, turning off the air conditioner saves even more fuel. For driving around town and not at highway speed, keeping the windows open and the air conditioning off is the more fuel-efficient way to go, if you can stand it. The air conditioner's energy-grabbing compressor operates automatically in most modern vehicles even when temperatures aren't extreme. So drivers should remind themselves to turn it off when it they can do without it. Q: In an effort to increase the fuel mileage of my 2007 Hyundai Azera, I've started putting the (automatic) transmission in neutral and coasting on long downhill stretches where I can maintain a safe speed.

Of course, there are sometimes red lights or turning vehicles that force me to slow down, so I also have to put the transmission back in drive while moving in order to regain my speed. With a manual transmission, I could match the engine speed to the vehicle speed as I put it back into gear -- but with an automatic I can't do that. Am I damaging my car by chasing one or two extra miles per gallon? -- Matt Mulry, Greensboro, N.C. A: You probably aren't doing any harm – and I suppose you could "blip" the throttle to smooth the transition between neutral and drive after coasting down a hill. But I think you can skip the shifting and leave the car in gear while coasting. I don't think you'll lose much in fuel efficiency and your drive will be a lot safer because coasting in neutral costs a degree of control. There better ways to save more fuel. ), use extreme tactics to limit fuel usage, including turning the engine off on downhill runs, drafting behind large trucks on the highway or at times creeping along at speeds that cultivate the contempt of other drivers.

But many of the techniques are potentially dangerous or illegal, so just taking it easy on the throttle and brakes should boost your fuel economy significantly without being impractical. Q: I drive a 2006 BMW 325xi sedan. I have had two blow outs in 30,000 miles on the run-flat tires, which came standard on the car. In both cases the run flats did run flat. However, I have replaced them non run-flat Michelin Pilot Sports A/S for better reliability and a better ride. But the car is not equipped with a spare or a jack, or much room for a spare. How big a chance am I taking of being stranded if I rely on a flat fixer in a can and a compressor that plugs into the cigarette lighter? Other than the run flats, I can't remember the last time I had a blow out. -- Bill Ulland, Duluth, Minn. A: At the risk of offering reckless advice, I'll say you are better off without the run-flats. Run-flat tires seem to solve one problem while introducing several others, including extra weight, high cost and sometimes a degraded ride.

I also think it's a good thing these tires can run while flat because they seem to be flat far more often than conventional tires. For years I thought the flat-fixing sprays were a waste of time, but I have more recently had success with them. If the absence of a spare doesn't cause anxiety you should ditch the run-flats. Q: My wife drives a 2006 Lexus RX 330. The gas tank cover says we should use premium unleaded fuel only but the owner's manual says anything with 87 octane or above is fine. A friend says we really should use premium unleaded and that the vehicle will get better gas mileage if we do. Is that true and if so, will the extra mileage pay for the extra cost of premium fuel? -- Matthew G. Bakalars, Oshkosh, Wisc. A: I think your best bet is to use the less-expensive regular fuel, which is almost certain to cost less overall. You might try a tank of each and see if this results in a noticeable difference in fuel economy. Some vehicles I have driven logged slightly better fuel economy with premium fuel compared with regular, but it has never been enough of a difference to offset the price difference in gasoline grades.