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Re: AC while camping
BaconGrease07 #637174 September 30th 2013 7:35 pm
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Thats sweet Catfish....

Re: AC while camping
BaconGrease07 #637185 September 30th 2013 8:04 pm
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It pays to keep 'em covered. That one always has a plastic bag and cover over the unit to keep out travel dust/dirt and road spray. I took those pics last week but I installed that little window-shaker about 8 years ago. It's 5000 Btu I think it was $79 or $89 at the time. Like Phoenix said, It's been a lifesaver on more than one trip.

Re: AC while camping
Phoenix #638201 October 09th 2013 9:58 pm
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Originally Posted by Phoenix
You know , recently they have just come out with a 110 volt portable unit that is a small version of what is in a post a few steps above this one. They are good and very inexpensive. You can put it inside or out and duct it in through a window or up through the floor. you would just have to amke a taped on duct from the unit to your van or just set it inside between your front seats. you would just have to have a 12 guage extension cord to run it and would be fine. All you need is a 5000 BTU or less to do a van and that is way too much but I would do it in a heartbeat. a couple hundred bucks and you are cool as a cucumber. Basically they are a dehumidifier also so you would have to empty the water everyday or more often or run a hose out your floor. but would be worth it. I am old and been vanning a long time, Some events are just miserable and back in the seventies and early eighty's we just did not have the money to afford anything , nor did they offer anything like they do now. Take advantage of it!!!


Yup. They're called "portable air conditioners"

I picked out a unit that is dual hose (external intake to cool the condensers and external exhaust) that also evaporates the condensate off the coils and it gets blown out the window with the hot air.

Compared to comparable window units, portables are expensive. And, the quality of the machine really matters. There's several fly-by-night outfits making cheap portables that don't do shit but make noise.

My unit, is a nice Friedrich. It's a *BIG* unit, 12,000 BTU and when they say 15A start up, the mean 15A start up, it's a HOSS. However, it'll take my black van, in full sun out on a rig site on a 100+++ degree day and drop the temperature below 80 in about an hour and hold it under 80. Get some shade and it's 60 degrees. Exhaust it out the driver's window and strap the monster in behind the driver's seat.

Spent a dozen or so days on rig sits and three or four days camping with it. No complaints and no need to empty the collection tank.

I'm planning a more indepth write up, but I've been too busy with work and trying to get the interior finished I haven't had time to do it.



2012 Ford E250 Extended Body. Black, of course.

Man, you just can't buy good panelling these days. This new stuff is crap.

[Linked Image]
Re: AC while camping
BaconGrease07 #640330 October 29th 2013 1:42 pm
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This would take a bit of fabrication and some engineering, but the Toyota Prius has an electronic a/c compressor. It runs off an electric motor, not a clutch, so theoretically, if you could replace the stock a/c in a van with the Prius compressor, all you would have to do is run the compressor and the blower fan and you would have a/c like a factory van. Should be easy if you can plug into something, otherwise maybe a generator?


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Re: AC while camping
BaconGrease07 #640337 October 29th 2013 2:38 pm
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Tuner4life has a great idea! Doesn't necessarily have to be a compressor from a prius any compressor and then attached to some controls, get the coils setup for condenser on the roof and evaporator anywhere in the van run the copper lines through the window during stops then attach an old chainsaw to the compressor. or drill holes through the floor/roof what have you. Great idea too bad i'm broke, otherwise I'd get on this idea in no time!


Gone vannin' I'll call you later.
Re: AC while camping
BaconGrease07 #665595 July 07th 2014 11:41 am
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Here's a different thread on this topic with some pics of what I rigged up.

https://www.vanning.com/threads/ubbthreads.php/topics/665594/Re:_Keepin'_Cool_at_a_Truck_In#Post665594

Re: AC while camping
BaconGrease07 #666589 July 21st 2014 12:52 am
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I would use Portable Air Cond for dog house just drill 2 hole on panel then hook up for Air Cond or heater with Remote more info here link

Portable Air Cond for Dog House

Re: AC while camping
BaconGrease07 #793173 July 19th 2022 7:19 am
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My van has very good cooling due to the ergonomic design inside the cabin, as well as thoughtful arrangement of windows and hoods. I don't have an electric air conditioner, although I've been thinking about it. However, I can safely cook different dishes in my van, also make sandwiches in a sandwich maker https://www.amazon.com/pie-iron-for-campfire-cooking/dp/B088H42W2L Lon the open fire of the stove and it will still be cool and fresh in my van. The fact is that when I bought this van, my main parameter was that it must be well ventilated and it must be without air conditioner. Thanks to all these parameters, I did not install an electric air conditioner after years.

Last edited by ColmenSativa; July 26th 2022 5:02 am.
Re: AC while camping
BaconGrease07 #793277 July 21st 2022 4:37 am
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I never bothered to recharge my marginally functional AC system after an engine rebuild in 2004, and removed most of the plumbing components shortly afterward, but for the compressor which was needed as a pulley.

I have since replaced that AC compressor with a second alternator which can make ~50 amps at idle.

A 12000 btu 12/24 volt DC AC unit from this outfit can draw as little as 32 amps at 12 volts:

https://bcoolaircon.com/

Still a lot of battery power required for powering it with engine off, but it is about 50% more efficient than Using an inverter to power a 120Vac window shaker or a portable unit which are even less efficient.

Living near pacific ocean, I'm all about ventilation. I have enough powerful intake and exhaust fans to exchange the complete volume of interior air, with outside air 2 to 3 times per minute if I crank them up that high, which I do not need to do.

So I can keep interior from getting hotter than ambient at a fraction of their available power, and purge dog farts in a fraction of a minute, when needed.

But compressor based, engine off AirConditioner, is almost still the golden unicorn.

It can be done with enough solar wattage/ alternator wattage, and battery, but the batteries are gonna be worked hard, and good insulation and efficient components are still needed to pull it off in hot and humid ambient temps.

I think a window shaker, hidden behind spare tire, powered by inverter/Grid might be in my future when I no longer live In coastal sandy eggo.
Someone with more determination to pull it off found a window shaker which would settle around 430 watts after starting up( still needed an 1800 watt inverter to handle start up surge), and had 800 amp hours of Lead acid battery capacity and 800 watts of solar, and could live in the desert without having to run a generator/ alternator in winter fall or spring, not summer..

I know of one person with teh Bcool unit linked above capable of doing it with 500 amp hours of lithium, but for how long he can go with only 300 watts of portable solar panels and no alternator contribution has not yet been reported.

Compressor based AirCond is highly energy intensive and will remain so.

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