12 volt squirrel cage blower for car that doesn't have A/C...

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

My son's first car was a 1 owner 2001 Chevy Metro that we bought for $1k from a dealership a couple of years ago, when he got his first job there changing oil. It was obvious that the owner had let it go for the past few years, because it had worn brakes, lots of rust areas, etc. Over the next year and a half, we took care of various issues on it. Now that he has another car, I've found that I sort of like driving it once in a while, especially with the manual transmission and the 43 miles per gallon fuel efficiency.

The only aspect of the car that I really don't like is that it has no air conditioning. Last summer we put a couple of small rotary fans up on the dash, plugged in through the cigarette lighter. That helped it feel a little cooler during the hottest period. Trouble was, it kept kicking off the accessory fuse, so no radio each time. And they made the fuses kind of hard to access - why the heck didn't they put the fuse panel over on the side of the dash? Instead, I have to arch my back with my legs hanging out of the driver door, then try to hold a flashlight while I look up at the fusebox.... annoying.

Anyway, I tossed the offending aux fans, and I'm thinking I'd like to just have some sort of extra squirrel cage blower inside of a cage made of expanded metal that I can have aimed to blow a heck of a lot of air on me while I'm driving. Can anyone recommend something like this?

 

[Micrornd]

Have you considered coming directly off the battery or directly off the main feed to the fusebox with an inline fuse of whatever size you need, with the fuse placed wherever you want ?

 

[NutBucket]

Could even add a relay to ensure it isn't accidentally left on.

 

[BoomerD]

Could get one of the "In the window" swamp coolers. (do they even still make those?)

OR...

Home Page - icybreeze

www.icybreeze.com

ZERO BREEZE Mark 2 AC

ZERO BREEZE Mark 2 Battery Portable Air Conditioner, Just press the button and enjoy the cool air anywhere. Get yours at the ZERO BREEZE Online Store now!

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[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

Have you considered coming directly off the battery or directly off the main feed to the fusebox with an inline fuse of whatever size you need, with the fuse placed wherever you want ?

I have definitely thought about that, something with a fuse right there by the fan, which would be easy to replace. The swamp blower idea would not work out well around here, because we have such high humidity.

I'm wondering if I might just be able to get a couple of centrifugal blowers used from a junk yard, or can you get replacement ones that aren't too expensive?

 

[snoopy7548]

Could get one of the "In the window" swamp coolers. (do they even still make those?)

OR...

Home Page - icybreeze

www.icybreeze.com

ZERO BREEZE Mark 2 AC

ZERO BREEZE Mark 2 Battery Portable Air Conditioner, Just press the button and enjoy the cool air anywhere. Get yours at the ZERO BREEZE Online Store now!

www.zerobreeze.com

Like this?

 

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

Ha ha, of course, wouldn't you need an extension cord for that?

 

[NutBucket]

2000w inverter and a bigger alternator!

 

[mindless1]

Why a squirrel cage blower? They are only used on automobiles because they produce a higher static pressure, needed when pushing the air through the ducts.

For open air use, you'd be better off with a conventional DC axial (aka computer) fan. I wrote computer but there are some larger, designed for RV use, for example:

Amazon.com : RV fan

If you want something even larger, then a secondary radiator cooling fan, though then you have to build your own protective grill and mount for it.

Anyway you can get an automotive squirrel cage motor and fan assembly, fairly inexpensively from amazon warehouse, around $20 if you wait a few days for lowest price, but then you need to build an enclosure for it, or a little more on Rock Auto after shipping... depending on vehicle application.

More Information for VDO / CONTINENTAL PM136

 

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

I guess because I like how quiet and how efficient the centrifugal blowers are - I've always felt like they were a superior design. I just want ahead and bought a new blower motor (new, dented shipping box) with centrifugal fan blades for $12 shipped off Ebay. I'll have to put together a little enclosure for it. I've got a wall cigarette lighter adapter that I can use to test it out at home or at work, before trying to get it working in the car.

 

[mindless1]

They are a superior design, for situations where there is impedance to airflow like a duct. They trade flow rate for higher static pressure, which could be what you want if you want a directed stream right at your head, because that static pressure allows using a housing with better flow direction control.

As far as noise and efficiency, in free air they use more power to move same volume of air, and make more noise doing so. They don't seem that loud in an automobile HVAC system because the RPM isn't very high, and the ductwork muffles the noise.

 

[mindless1]

Have you considered coming directly off the battery or directly off the main feed to the fusebox with an inline fuse of whatever size you need, with the fuse placed wherever you want ?

When you take a tap or direct to battery, you're really supposed to put the fuse right after where you tapped in, so that the entire circuit (including if any of the downstream wiring becomes an issue) is after the fuse.

If he wants a fuse right next to the fan, then I would put a higher value fuse at the battery or junction box, then a 2nd, lower value fuse next to the fan... except that if done right, it should never be blowing the fuse, which is another reason to use a dedicated circuit if you don't know how much current margin an existing one has, vs the stall current rating of the fan.

 

[Micrornd]

When you take a tap or direct to battery, you're really supposed to put the fuse right after where you tapped in, so that the entire circuit (including if any of the downstream wiring becomes an issue) is after the fuse.

This is no different than the feed wire that runs from the battery to a fuse box under the dash or the charging feed from the alternator to the battery.
Many of today's cars don't even have fusible links in power feed wires.
But I do agree that routing the wire to protect it from damage or shorting is much more important if coming directly to or from the battery.

Another alternative would be to use an "add-a-circuit" tap at the fuse box, but then you are limited to what a 16ga wire can carry vs distance.
(I've only seen "add-a-circuit"s available in 16ga)

 

[mindless1]

^ It is different. First, a lot of vehicles run a master power distribution box (containing fuses/relays/more) near the battery and the interior fuse box runs through that.

Second, the factory wiring is designed by engineers, considering required current, the routing, materials, connectors, and goes through quality control, and the finished design is tested for safety. Clearly the prior DIY attempt falls short of this if it was blowing fuses.

Third, if your vehicle burns to the ground due to an ordinary defect/fault, insurance will cover it. If it happens due to an undisclosed modification that the adjuster finds, probably not.

The add-a-circuit type taps are not ideal because they put extra strain on the socket contacts, may result in having to leave a cover panel off (due to clearance issues) so more contamination gets inside, and in a case like this fan (previously stated concern was already blowing fuses due to amount of current) potentially more current than intended through the wire and connector going to the fuse box, even if there were a suitably lower gauge wire going away from it to the load.

There are better, and worse, ways to wire this up.

 

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

>Second, the factory wiring is designed by engineers, considering required current, the routing, materials, connectors, and goes through quality control, and the finished design is >tested for safety. Clearly the prior DIY attempt falls short of this if it was blowing fuses.

Actually, the reason why it was blowing fuses was because of the connector that shoved in to the cigarette lighter adapter - the male part. It turns out that one of the two prongs wasn't sticking out properly on one side - I'd guess a sort of manufacturing defect.


>Third, if your vehicle burns to the ground due to an ordinary defect/fault, insurance will cover it. If it happens due to an undisclosed modification that the adjuster finds, probably not.

Not really an issue - we just get the insurance that covers medical, uninsured motorist, and the other guy's car. Our vehicles are typically 10+ years old when we get them, we pay cash, then we use them until they are used up. We're never making payments, and if one of our vehicles gets junked, we buy another used one.

 

[mindless1]

^ Your vehicle burning down is not an issue because you don't have it insured? Seems a bit backwards to me but whatever. It's also a safety issue if that fire starts while you're trying to drive. I know... it's a small risk, but I believe in best practices when it's someone else's safety.

Actually, the reason why it was blowing fuses was because of the connector that shoved in to the cigarette lighter adapter - the male part

... and yet, this does fall under the umbrella of design/current/materials/connectors/QC/etc already mentioned. A fan is not a critical device, so of course some consideration has to be made for that factor but at the same time, consideration of every (reasonably foreseeable) detail ahead of time can save some aggravation later.