DIY Air conditioning

[nobb]

I want to build a small DIY air conditioner for my car as shown here:

Instructables DIY 12v air conditioner

Now I just need to find a heater core. Ill probably drop by the local junkyard and pull one out myself. So I am just wondering if maybe you guys could give some tips on pulling out a heater core from an old car. Where is it located and maybe give me a general process on how to take it apart? Ive read a few articles on the internet and I am getting the impression that the entire dash needs to be removed. Maybe someone can suggest an easy domestic car (that will be at the junkyard) to rip this from.

Thanks.

 

[crosshairs]

your link is broken for me..but I think you need an evaporator..not a heater core.

 

[nobb]

Hmm, for some reason the forum take out the !/ part of the link so it doesnt work. Just copy everything in between the quotation marks:

Instructables DIY 12v air conditioner

I am not looking to outfit my car with air conditioning. In the link above, it is just basically a portable icebox filled with ice and water. A pump circulates the cold water into the heater core which acts as a heat exchanger and fans blow out the cold air into the cabin.

 

[Chunkee]

Originally posted by: nobb
Hmm, for some reason the forum take out the !/ part of the link so it doesnt work. Just copy everything in between the quotation marks:

"http://www.instructables.com/i...ioner---Cheap-and-easy!/"

I am not looking to outfit my car with air conditioning. In the link above, it is just basically a portable icebox filled with ice and water. A pump circulates the cold water into the heater core which acts as a heat exchanger and fans blow out the cold air into the cabin.

Good luck with that.

 

[ViviTheMage]

links broken still.

 

[nobb]

^ Sorry about that, its fixed now.

 

[BUTCH1]

Heater cores are notoriously difficult to remove, I would just buy one from autozone for
less than $50. Dont think that wouls cool a car so well but might be a good desighn for
power loss at home!.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Look around on craigslist for someone who's selling a heater core they never used. I wouldn't think it'd be worth the effort to go remove an old one from a junked car.

 

[nobb]

I think it might be kind of a longshot to find someone with just a heater core laying around, but I made a post anyways. I actually wouldnt mind wasting a few hours trying to rip one out of an old car. Just wondering which domestic car would be easiest to take it out of. Alot of the cars at the junkyard have their dashes already ripped out anyways.

 

[drnickriviera]

Today's your lucky day. I had to rip apart the dash on my ram 2500 to replace a leaking evap core. I'm going to change the heater core out as well. It's yours if you pay shipping.

 

[nobb]

Too late. Just bought a new heater core for $50 and my diy air conditioner unit is all built. Waiting for a 30C+ day to test out my new contraption.

Thanks for the offer anyways.

 

[jaspersk]

So how did your air conditioner turn out? I am considering doing this but actually running the water to the heater core in my car. I am wondering how cool the air actually is versus an air conditioner. Any tips or hints you could provide would be helpful. Thanks!

 

[nakedfrog]

I helped my friend swap a heater core on a 1970 Plymouth, that actually wasn't too bad. You don't have to take the whole dash off, just stuff on the bottom.

 

[nobb]

Well I ended up taking apart my DIY air conditioner because I had use for the heater core in another vehicle.

But before I took it apart, I built the DIY air conditioner with a 48L ice box. I would say using the right choice in fans is very important. I used dual 120mm high flow computer fans. Although the air blowing out was initially very cool (I would say almost as cool as a real AC, but will warm up as the ice melts), these fans simply did not seem enough to cool off the entire vehicle. It was only good for lowering the temperature around the drivers area a bit. But on a 30C day, I would say it is still not enough to be driving around with all the windows rolled up and only the DIY AC blowing. In my opinion, I dont think it is worth it. It is a hassle to make and lug around all that ice, and I doubt it would work for over an hour. I definitely dont think you should run water into the actual heater core.

If I can ever get hold of some type of mini refrigerator or something (for free), I would love to experiment to try making an AC unit out of that. Maybe mount the hot side externally on the windows or something. Ghetto, but it sure beats no AC on a 30C day.

 

[Rubycon]

You will need far more compressor capacity to cool the cabin of a motorcar than what you will find with any fridge! Most auto A/C capacity can match that of a central AC unit for a two story house! With its windows in the sun the cabin is like a greenhouse. When parked with a high temperature often exceeding 140 degrees F you need this extra capacity to bring the temperature down or you're just better off with rolling down the windows.

 

[nobb]

Are you serious? That doesnt sound right...I would think that it takes much more to cool an entire house by 10C than it takes to cool a hot car cabin by 40C. My neighbors' 2 story house has an AC unit bigger than my engine bay.

 

[heymrdj]

Originally posted by: nobb
Are you serious? That doesnt sound right...I would think that it takes much more to cool an entire house by 10C than it takes to cool a hot car cabin by 40C. My neighbors' 2 story house has an AC unit bigger than my engine bay.

My Expedition has a 8 ton compressor I believe. E-350's me and my brother think have 15-20ton compressors.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: nobb
Are you serious? That doesnt sound right...I would think that it takes much more to cool an entire house by 10C than it takes to cool a hot car cabin by 40C. My neighbors' 2 story house has an AC unit bigger than my engine bay.

Let your house get to 140F (if you even can) and see how long it takes to cool it

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: nobb
Are you serious? That doesnt sound right...I would think that it takes much more to cool an entire house by 10C than it takes to cool a hot car cabin by 40C. My neighbors' 2 story house has an AC unit bigger than my engine bay.

Yes look it up. Capacity is measured by displacement (compressor lift) and expressed in tons. It came from refrigeration in that a unit that can make a ton of ice in 24 hours would have a one ton rating. This is equal to 12,000 btu per hour. Most car systems are in the 3-5 ton range!