How to Make Your Own Portable Air Conditioner Summer's here and we are all sweating. If you spend any time outside, you'll end up wet. Things are worse when you get to hotter climates. Summer is also the time for drives to see relatives, friends and places. But what if you don't have air conditioning in your car, how could you survive a 10-hour journey? It's actually not that bad, because we've lived through those drives without problems, but what if you could make those drives more comfortable? Instructables user CameronSS posted a guide to help everyone build their own portable air conditioner. This would make any long journey in the car easy to live with. The materials needed to assemble your AC might already be hidden away in your garage. You'll need a portable cooler, 12V battery, fans, and a generous helping of ice. Cameron reports his tests as well. He started his contraption in a parked truck. The temperature was 95 degrees in the shade. The heat outside was 108.

Within five minutes of starting the portable AC, the truck had cooled down to 75 degrees, and the air coming out of it was at 65. Two quarts of water had been refrigerated and 8 pounds of ice were used. The ice had melted after 40 minutes, leaving the water at 50 degrees. Still, the output was of 65 degrees. That's a great idea for those long rides. All you need to made this work over a longer period is ice, and you can get that at truck stops and rest stops all over the place. small free standing ac unitsThe handy bags they come in could also keep them isolated, and not put water all over the place. ac unit cover woodHe basically came up with the device with his dad, who let him use an old pickup truck. single unit ac heatThe trouble is that the pickup truck doesn't have AC.

The idea is based upon portable coolers which have refrigeration units built in. The trouble is that these units cost a lot of money, from $500 to $5,000. His solution costs $10. The basic concept is to use a boating bilge pump to circulate iced water through a heater core, thereby chilling it, and to use a pair of 12V box fans to blow air through the heater core. Cameron lists his materials in detail. The most important parts are a bilge pump and a heater core. Making your own AC does involve playing around with wires and electricity in a very limited fashion. You don't need to be an expert and anyone can do this. What's really interesting is that you can scrounge around for these parts and end up paying nothing. We all have stuff lying around in our garages and sheds that can be cannibalized to create the AC. The first step is to create holes in the cooler lid for the fans and for the pump. The bilge pump is used to power some fans to circulate the cold air that is generated from the AC out into the environment.

After attaching the fans and the heater core to the lid, you can attach the bilge pump to the bottom of the cooler. You'll connect the output of the bilge pump to the input of the heater core and add some fan guards. The wiring is pretty straightforward. Wires should be coming from the fans and the pump. Use wire to attach them together, reds together and blacks together, and connect them to the 12V battery. To operate it, you'll dump in some ice, 3/4 of the way, and half a gallon of refrigerated water. Make sure that the fans are going the right way, fanning air out of the AC instead of in! So check out his handy guide over at Instructables. [Instructables via Lifehacker, images via CameronSS]Edit ArticleHow to Cool Yourself in a Car Without Air Conditioning When the heat is on, there are not many things more miserable than sitting in a hot car waiting for the traffic to start moving. Although there is no quick fix to dealing with the heat, some of the following suggested strategies may get you to your destination a little bit cooler and dryer.

Hang a wet rag over the middle vent of the car. Drive barefoot (illegal in some places). Drive with wet hair. Freeze water bottles to use as ice packs. Plan your travel times to coincide with cooler parts of the day. Work with the traffic flow. Look for shady routes to your frequent destinations. Roll down the windows. This sounds obvious, and it should be, but sometimes the noise and odors of city driving may tempt you to keep the windows closed. To increase the air circulation: If you have a fan operated fresh air vent, open it, turn on the fan, and open a rear window enough to draw a draft through your automobile. Opening the car's sunroof or sliding back window will draw a lot of fresh air, even when you're traveling in traffic that just seems to be creeping along at a snail's pace. Install reflective window tinting on the windshield and windows. Put a fan on the dashboard (illegal in most states, check local laws) or hang it from the visor.

There are a number of inexpensive 12 volt fans available at auto parts stores and retailers. They clip on the sun visor or rear view mirror, or stand on the dashboard, and plug into a cigarette lighter plug to move air. Switch this on during driving, to help circulate the air and keep you feeling a little cooler. Passengers can use a paper or real fan to help circulate air directly around themselves. If the movement distracts you while driving though, ask them to lower the fans or to stop.If you have a long commute to work or school, try to drive in short pants and a T-shirt, then change in a restroom or locker room at work. Doing this will leave you cleaner and cooler for the day ahead. It's recommended that you always keep clean, fresh clothes in the car for times when the heat and traffic are too much for you, if there is a chance you will need to be more presentable during the day. Don't wear dark clothes. Roll down the windows just a little (1/2 inch) when parking.

Take enough Ice cubes and put it in a Thermocol container. Use the vent blower on the car heater on the coolest setting to help move some air. The least bit of air movement will help keep you cooler. There are many low-cost 12v fans designed for computer cases than can be readily adapted for in-car. It may take a little more work, but more choice is better. Where you park your car and how you shield it during parking makes a large difference to how hot it feels. Always use a windshield shade to keep heat from coming through the windshield when parked. Aim to park the car undercover or under the shade of trees, walls, etc. The more you can give your car a headstart on staying cool before you enter it, the longer it'll take to heat up when driving. Wet cloths are also ideal for cooling down a hot steering wheel so that you can actually touch it. Spray water on the steering wheel, and wipe the damp cloth over it. You should be able to touch it without burning once you've done this.