The Deadly Heat

[wyatta4]

I'm not going to get myself all wet every time I have to drive somewhere. I want something practical. Something that is going to last. The Cooler Pump deal is a nice idea but the ice really isn't going to last very long.

The beaded seats may work but it isnt going to keep me all the way cool.

There has got to be something... I'm going to beat this

And ya I was thinking it may be possible to have a small portable A/c in the rear with solar panels attached to help reduce energy suck..

[wyatta4]

I was also thinking of air conditioning car unit that ran purely off of electricity? Like the one in the Prius?

[PaleMelanesian]

Look at passive systems first - keep the car from getting hot in the first place. Windshield reflector, park in the shade, crack the window open when you part, etc. Those three give me a measured difference in interior temps - down from 125F to ambient 100F. The lower you start, the less work your gadget has to do / the smaller it can be.

[dcb]

add a 5th wheel chained to a compressor and lower it to the ground when slowing down for regenerative AC braking

[mort]

Originally Posted by wyatta4

And ya I was thinking it may be possible to have a small portable A/c in the rear with solar panels attached to help reduce energy suck..

Forget the solar cells. Too expensive. You'll need about 1000 watts for a barely adequate A/C. Solar cells run about $1 per watt (raw) and you don't have enough surface.
The only way to do this economically is if you get the parts cheap. A portable A/C is about $350, you'll need a battery $150, inverter $75, alternator $100, installation ! But everything except installation can be found on ebay or Craigs list, somethings for free if you go get it.

A portable A/C needs outside air, usually through huge dryer vent hoses. So something tricky with a window maybe.

-mort

[wyatta4]

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

Look at passive systems first - keep the car from getting hot in the first place. Windshield reflector, park in the shade, crack the window open when you part, etc. Those three give me a measured difference in interior temps - down from 125F to ambient 100F. The lower you start, the less work your gadget has to do / the smaller it can be.

Will be doing those things.

And dcb, haha I like your thinking

[Arragonis]

Another idea may be heat insulation of the type used under wooden floors - the gold covered stuff. I put some into the head lining of my old Maestro and it did make a noticeable difference to the inside temps after the car had been parked for a while, and this car has huge windows - like a greenhouse on wheels.

[talldudenumber5]

they have plug in 12 volt cooler at truck stops walmart etc. why not use one of those maybe take it apart and put it in line with your vents to help. you could run it to a 12v battery in the trunk. the battery in the trunk has a dedicated charger. when you are done driving plug it in to recharge the battery.( added benifit of people thinking you now own a plug in car) you could add solar panels to help out. you could also run a wire from your car battery to the dedicated ac battery and put it on a switch for emergency use.
the whole set up would not cost more than 100 dollars and thats if you have no supplies

[roosterk0031]

I was thinking about that dissimilar wire that the 12 volt coolers work on, I don't remember the wire materials involved, but if you go from say Copper(?) wire to iron(?) wire, than at a later point go back to Copper and connect both ends of the copper to 12v dc one of the connections will give off heat the other absorbs heat, simply changing the direction of flow switches which one is hot or cold. I can't remember the technical name for it but I think 30F colder than current temp is all it will do.

[mort]

roosterk0031 and talldudenumber5
see here