The Deadly Heat

[wyatta4]

Summer is here, we all love it, when we don't have to drive without A/C. I have no A/C option in my CRX HF and no motivation to spend a million dollars (over-exaggeration) on putting it in. I want an alternative. No wet towels and ice packs in my arm pits. I want something useful.
I was thinking of this --->

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR9CA8lJGvs

But reading on creates a doubt of how long the ice will actually last..

Secondly I thought about taking a mini freezer and plugging her in with maybe some fans blowing the cool air around.

In doing all of this I don't want to suck so much power that I start to lose gas mileage like original A/C would do..

Any ideas on how much power putting a freezer in my car would pull?

Also another idea would be one of those portable A/C units somehow wired to my car..

[CigaR007]

How about dry ice ? Could be expensive on the long run though.

[wyatta4]

Ya, I dont want to be spending a ton..

[roosterk0031]

A refrigerator or freezer will not cool the inside of you car if its inside it too, they move the heat from inside the freezer to outside it so they will make your car hotter. With the freezer door open they will still make the car hotter as the electricty they use mostly turns to heat, its moving heat from front of frig to the back of the frig.

If your in a dry enough climate a swamp cooler could have a chance. Get a 12 volt fan, cover back side with cloth, spray bottle of water, moisten cloth with water, it could cool down to the wet bulb temperature. I've never tried it, but I might have to I have the fan, but humiditys so high not sure if it's work here most days.

[mort]

Originally Posted by wyatta4

Ya, I dont want to be spending a ton..

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

[gone-ot]

...wear DAMP clothes and stand/sit in front of a FAN = evaporative cooling!

[CigaR007]

How about storing rain water and dispensing it at will in the form of a small mist ? It could be used in combination with the cabin fan for a better cooling sensation.

[mnmarcus]

I've imagined a small & efficient ac unit with solar power. Leave it on all day. Seems like you should be able to stay ahead of the solar heat gain of the car.

[deathtrain]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxl1-U6QeBg

[PaleMelanesian]

Beaded seat cover to get air flowing under and behind you.