Beaded Seat Covers Are Cheap, Keep You Cool

[cfg83]

dcb -

Originally Posted by dcb

It is conceivable to don your shorts and t-shirt (and flip-flops) and put your work clothes on a hangar I suppose, just duck in the ground floor washroom and change when you get there and right before you leave.

Yeah, that would work. I have a light-colored T-Shirt for the ride in and a "nice polo or golf style shirt" for work. Tankfully, no pressed dress shirts. I just change in the parking lot. Conceivably, you could change in a nearby parking lot if it wasn't "nice" to change "at work".

I also have convertible cargo-pants, so I am wearing "shorts" on the way in and pants at work. That way, I have an "operable envelope". But, that predates hypermiling.

CarloSW2

[justpassntime]

I won’t get into the date, but the beads were a success. When I showed up I was a little toasty, but my back felt much nicer than usual and wasn’t a pool of sweat. The seat was still slightly uncomfortable, but it was definitely refreshing to have my back feeling good. When she got into the car, she agreed. I’m sure she’s used to A/C, but I didn’t hear any complaints about the heat. The only negative seemed to be that the beads could tug at longer hair.

Sorry to hear the beads were better than the date. Seems as though she might have needed to shave anyway.

[Will]

I must say the bead idea is pretty cool, but if I get one will I also have to get a crown to put on my dash?

Seriously, I cannot say anything. Tennessee is pretty hot this time of year, and will be for some months to come. Anything helps.

[MazdaMatt]

There is a product called "Cool Shirt" that people use in racing long races. It is basically a T-shirt with hoses stiched into it and a cooler full of ice water and a pump. Unfortunately, it costs 400 bucks. However, I bought a boating bilge pump for 20 bucks and I am going to try to stich hoses into a couple towels. I figure if I can put the towels on my seats just like a beaded seat cover and run ice water through them, me and the gf can stay plenty cool without A/C.

[cfg83]

MazdaMatt -

Here's my poormans "Cool Shirt" :

Ice/Cooling Vests: Hypermilers Dream Come True

Originally Posted by cfg83

Hello -

I just tried this yesterday and it worked pretty good :



The vest is a fishing vest that I got on sale for $10. It seems to be a "short" vest, which makes it easier to wear in the car. The ice packs are $0.80 a piece. I may get 4 more ice packs to have a rotation system.

Yesterday was hot, but the real test will be in high summer,

EDIT: I'm only worried about the commute to work, because I usually drive back at night.

CarloSW2

It works fine. If I wanted it to work for more than an hour or two, I would keep a cache of ice packs in an ice chest in the trunk.

CarloSW2

[MazdaMatt]

haha, very nice

What about condensation on your shirt? I guess it doesn't matter if its hot enough to resort to a fishing vest full of ice packs.

[dremd]

Originally Posted by steensn

I dont either. I mean really... does anyone really have a nice looking car here where it matters? My muffler just fell off, beads aren' a big deal...

Infact; I do. First thing most people say when they get IN the Golf is "Nice Car"

[dremd]

Originally Posted by MazdaMatt

There is a product called "Cool Shirt" that people use in racing long races. It is basically a T-shirt with hoses stiched into it and a cooler full of ice water and a pump. Unfortunately, it costs 400 bucks. However, I bought a boating bilge pump for 20 bucks and I am going to try to stich hoses into a couple towels. I figure if I can put the towels on my seats just like a beaded seat cover and run ice water through them, me and the gf can stay plenty cool without A/C.

What kind of tubes are you looking at? Im looking at a similar (but different) project.

[ebacherville]

I usually get "nice car" but only after I tell them I get 53mpg Before that its head scratching the entire time..lol

[MazdaMatt]

Originally Posted by dremd

What kind of tubes are you looking at? Im looking at a similar (but different) project.

Canadian Tire is a major hardware store here. They sell food-grade tubing that I've used for a couple of hose project (brewing beers, etc). A small diameter tube with a wall thickness about equal to I.D. is what I will be looking for. I need something that won't pinch when i sit on it. My g/f suggested using "fabric glue" to attach the tubes to the towels, then fabric glueing another layer of fabric over the tubes... I don't know quite what I"ll do yet. Maybe that'll be my tinker project for next week.

I plan on using a wide dia hose from the bilge pump to a T-junction with 2 quarter-turn valves (passenger/driver). Then splitting the 2 outputs into multiple smaller-dia tubes attached to the towels so they run water in parallel. All the tubes will be recollected into larger dia tubes and dumped back into the ice box.