Quote:
Originally Posted by wyatta4
Ya, I dont want to be spending a ton..
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Ha!
Hi Wyatta4,
When ice melts it absorbs heat, 12000 btu per ton, so if you melt a ton of ice in an hour that is the same as an A/C rated at 12000 btuh. An average car A/C is around 50,000 btuh. But you might not need to use the A/C for hours on end. You could have the same cooling performance as a regular A/C for 15 minutes if you could melt a ton of ice in that time. But a ton of ice adds 2000 lbs at the start of your trip. And it takes up some space, about 35 cu ft. So probably not practical.
Now that 50,000 btuh car A/C is not very efficient. Coefficient of Performance is the amount of heat moved divided by the power needed. 4 or 5 for a car. Those window units you plug in to 120 ac can have a CoP as high 9 or 10. So less power wasted, but if you want a full size A/C you'll need a lot of electricity. A 10000 btuh window air conditioner uses about 1200 watts, about 10 amps at 120 volts. You'll need a 100 amp alternator and an inverter and counting the rather poor efficiency of alternators you'll be adding 4hp or so to your engine load. Also you'll need to mount it out the window, which will alter your aerodynamics a bit. Your CRX might only need 10 hp to cruise, so you'd definitely notice the mpg.
-mort