Cheap and easy penthouse air conditioner prototype

[mpfreivald]

IIRC, when I cut and sanded the partition/surround I had first made a 'model' using some fairly stiff cardboard, to make sure I got the size and shape right. It isn't like we are machining parts to 1/10K inch here, but the bits do have to fill up the space on the one hand and be easy to get in and out on the other. I haven't really worked with lexan so I guess I don't know how easy it is to smooth off the edges, but when putting it in place and taking it out I'd think you wouldn't want pointy bits snagging on the PH fabric.

[86Scotty]

Thanks!

[86Scotty]

OK, I did it. Many thanks for the idea. I just added it to my perpetual build thread. Lots of pics and info here:

viewtopic.php?p=157225#p157225

[Ned5555]

I followed your inspiration to add air conditioning to our van this summer. Camping in Tennessee was just getting too hot for the dog, especially when it stays warm and muggy all night.

I went with a 5,000 BTU Frigidaire because of its low noise rating from Consumer Reports, and the digital thermostat and remote makes it easier to adjust from the bed.

1'' PVC is definitely the building material of choice, but the critical piece for me was a 4-way "furniture grade" side outlet T-junction. I wasted a lot of time in Home Depot looking at 3-way plumbing fittings, before stumbling upon the furniture fittings online. They are popular for exactly this type of project. The 1'' endcaps give it a nice finished look, except for the places I used too much primer.

I'm not totally satisfied with the way I enclosed the unit. A buddy had a giant roll of bubbly solar shade material he used to block windows in his work vehicle. I cut that to fit and taped magnetic bars along the inside edge to make it snap up against the metal A/C. I used a series of small binder clips to hold the outside edge and penthouse seams together. Some extra foam plugged the remaining air gaps.

The end result isn't the prettiest but did a decent job keeping the air out. I definitely woke up chilly a few times at night. So far I've only run it while connected to campground power. The meter showed it drawing about 30 amps so I think you could run it off a large AGM bank for a few hours in an emergency.

With a total investment of less than $200, it's by far the cheapest way to get air conditioning. I appreciate all the details from your earlier prototypes!

[86Scotty]

Looks good!