Homemade Portable Air Conditioner DIY - Version 2 - Runs off 12 volt battery, car, or solar!

This is the best diy, homemade, portable air conditioner. Made from an ice chest and powerful blower, this air cooler is strong enough to cool a small room.

Here are the products I used:

Buy the items below in the plumbing section of your local hardware store:

Plumbquik 4" x 2" Flexible Rubber Coupling
Plumbquik 2" x 1 1/2" Flexible Rubber Coupling
1 1/2" PVC Street Elbow
1 1/2" PVC 45 degree Street Elbow
Short 1 1/2" PVC Pipe

[goaround]

As a heating and air technician, this is actually one of the best ideas I've seen

[mattbenfield]

Just came back from a week of camping in the keys. I saw this video before I left and made it just like yours. You saved my life dude! thanks for sharing!

[deltagolf]

I ended up making one of these but used a 3" 130CFM blower instead of the 4" 250CFM in the description. The 3" is a lot quieter, running tests on it now. Input air is 95 degrees and output air is 74 degrees. Everything else for the most part is as Jason designed. Oddly, because it is so cheap to make, I am considering daisy chaining a couple of these together to see what happens. With the 3" tubing fitting right onto the blower, I can just re-direct the output into a second ice chest. Running using a 12V 17AH battery pack with the intent to run using a solar panel + 12V 17AH rechargeable battery + a Beater Volkswagen Beetle. :D Thanks Jason, this was an awesome little DIY project that I did with my son.

[shadowpumpkin]

I have successfully made a miniature version. I used a paint can, plastic tubing under the ice and a small (air mattress) air pump. It cools down my tiny 2 seater car. 😁

[KGKiteGodMusic]

This deserves so many more views. Making a solar build this summer. Thanks for the info

[rimazaynullina]

I m so glad I came across your video. My hubby transports luxury cars and his dodge ram is a diesel truck and for him to sleep with ac would cost a fortune. But now I can build him this type of ac and I don’t have to worry that he will have a heat stroke. Thanks a lot. Your video literary will save a life ❤🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[josepharduengo]

i did one almost exactly like it after watching this video. it works good. the climate here though is very humid but i ran a tube right up next to my face and it was great.

[ToxicBigRig]

By far the best, easiest design. A little more money maybe but way worth it. Thanks for the idea, I will be building one soon.

[Mikey_Anthony]

Thanks for taking the time to make this. You rule. Awesome design and I’d say it’s definitely my favorite & makes the most sense for effectiveness & efficiency. Excited to make one of my own.

[MarsieInTX]

I've watched a few videos on the cooler/ac concept and had the idea of using the hose like you did here. Love seeing how well it worked for you.

[masterjw]

In case you're wondering, the reason the air is cooler after some of the ice has melted is because there's more conductive heat transfer occurring between the air flowing and the pipe/ice. The air gaps (convective heat transfer) between the ice and pipe is less effective. If you were able to somehow pour water into the cooler and let the whole thing turn into a block of ice, you would a very effective cooler.

[raydavid]

These couch quarter backs that criticize your efforts are almost unbelievable." Add Dry ice", Create a huge cloud of smoke. "Add more loops of tubing", Create Less space for ice and why? it already is blowing forty degrees. "Drain the water." There by reducing the mass of cold so it can't cool as well. Until all the ice melts teh water will be less than forty degrees. Let them make their own and then tell you how poorly it works after they have made their own modification. They will probably then blame you. You did a great job making this. Kudo's! I would like to know how long the cooling lasts when the cooler is in the sun. Perhaps painting it all silver will help. Not enough space in the cab for it to be inside. I may have to make my own to find out.

[grantnichols]

Hi. I built one just like you instructed. The issue I had was the flexible pipe isn’t water tight so it would fill up with water resulting in no airflow. If the ice doesn’t melt or you can keep it drained out, the flexible tubing is a great idea. Thanks for the video.

[mlll]

I'm impressed! I'm buying an old camper to live in with my 2 dogs while I am having a home built on 4 acres. It will be in the middle of summer in southern Arizona where highs can be over 105 . I need a cheap and reliable method of keeping the camper cool while I am working during the day. This will be better that the 5 gallon bucket cooler. You did a very nice job with this video. Thank you!

[eltacsyms]

Great video and thanks for sharing your parts list too. I've been toying with this idea too for a while. The comments are helpful, some are funny too! Here's my suggestions, some are already being discussed: Mount the fan to the lid on the inside the cooler, this will greatly muffle the sound and give it a cleaner look. One good fan with a 3 or 4" opening should be able to pull the outside (warm) air in, circulate through the metal pipe and push the (cool) air out. Make the air out hole also on top; so all holes go into the lid, no chance of any leaks. Lastly connect the out pipe to a long flexible plastic tube, so you can direct the air exactly where you need it. In extreme heat, consider putting the tube under your shirt, or even consider making/using a cooling vest, like military pilots use.

[JO-vbvh]

I am making this this weekend. I agree with the way you looped the vent piping inside. I was thinking of something similar, but I couldn't think of the right material. This is it. Thanks!!!!

[donnabarcus]

Thanks for sharing a great video. I believe this would be a fantastic project for the kids to make that are in boys scouts and once they have made their own portable A/C unit, they can use it in their tents while camping during the hot months. Also; this portable A/C unit would be good to use in you vehicle if you can't afford the expensive bill to get your A/C unit replaced.

[jacobmalof]

My ac compressor went out in vehicle and I do gig delivery. Phone keeps overheating in my car, rendering my ability to make money very difficult. Can’t afford to fix the ac so this hack is going to be a life saver! Can’t thank you enough for posting and can’t wait to get this system put together. THANK YOU!

[rushfan]

This is such a great idea. By not blowing the air over the ice, it'll last as long as the rating on the cooler states. The cooler above is rated to keep ice for up to 3 days...that's plenty of time for a road trip even with multiple legs. Dry ice would be even better to use. Either way, since the air is circulating within a closed system efficiency goes through the roof. I night even take this camping for when I go with tent camping with our Scout Troop.

For my application this will go in to the back of my pickup with the topper so that my dogs will stay cool n' comfy. Since I have a 12V adapter back there one of my sons can reach back and turn it on and off at will via the pass-thru from cab to topper. As a side note, I highly recommended tinting the windows of the topper as dark as possible to deflect the sun's rays. I also recommend insulating the inner walls a ceiling of the topper.

This project also took me an hour to assemble. I highly recommend caulking as you go rather than waiting til the end. Once everything was assembled it was a little difficult getting caulk around the underneath side of the two inner ports leading out.

With the caulk in place I can't to try this tomorrow. I plan on testing it in my laundry room (8'x5') with a portable battery that has a 12V plug on it.

[anthonys]

I'm going to make this! I'm a refrigeration technician and this is genius. Only changes I'm going to make is making both the inlet and outlets at the top and then run the pipes across the top section before dropping down and looping across the bottom to try to utilize some of the top section, and I'm also going to run the power to the fan through a 12 volt thermostat to hopefully preserve more ice and increase how long a full cooler will last. Thank you so much sir for sharing this!