Ice, like so many other things, has just sky-rocketed in price. Five years ago I was paying 50 cents for an 8# bag, now the same places want $1.00, some campground stores and even convient/gas station type stores just off the inter-state will have it as high as $1.79 - so the question would be ... how much ice does it take to do what?

Dale

I make my own ice when possible. I use 1 quart plastic boxes that make 2 1/2 # cubes.
So far I have tested the unit under many conditions in the following: my own 21' boat cabin, a friends minivan, a 9x9 tent and friends popup. I have tested it during the heat of the day and at night. During the day, it cools the boat cabin to 74 degrees for about 4 hours on 30# of ice. It cools the cabin overnight to 76 degrees and about half the ice remains in the morning. It cooled the tent overnight to 76 and used most of the ice. During the day it never shuts off and cooled to 78 for 1 1/2 hours. It cools the popup overnight on about half the ice.

Considering your figures, buying the ice in larger bags, like 14 lbs, the price would be a little cheaper. For example, here at Wal-Mart an 8# bag sells for .99 cents and the 14# bag is $1.59.00. To round that off at maybe two 14# bags, cost of buying the ice with tax, would be about $3.50 - but the next question would be: for the popup camper and then the 9'X 9' tent, cooling at night only, the tent would use all the ice and the popup about half?

Since I live where it gets real warm in the summer and those dog days of summer have even produced 80 degree night time temps, what's your figures for these conditions? And what about high humidity? Oh, one other question ... what would the measurements of this unit and it's weight be?

Thanks,

Dale

Well first let me say the unit has been tested here in Florida. I can't imagine a much worse climate. It is hot and humid most of the time.
Second, the bagged ice did not perform well. The unit produced the longest cooling times with standard ice tray cubes and better yet 2 1/2# blocks made in plastic containers from Wal Mart.
In the most recent test in the popup, which is about 1/3 larger than the boat cabin, it took about 20 minutes longer to cool the popup down to 74. The humidity only dropped to 60% because of all the canvas but it quite comfortable.
The unit will cool my boat cabin down to 71 degrees running constantly. However, it uses every bit of ice in 3 hours.
The unit is mounted on top of the ice chest and is only 12" long,9" deep and 7" high. It weighs about 4# and with the ice chest filled the total weight is about 35#. On an Igloo 48 quart marine chest you can add 10#. I normaly place the unit in the cabin and add ice there. As the ice melts it overflows into the bildge. Only about 3" of water is maintained inside the chest.
I am very happy with the air conditioners' performance and use it about every weekend. I have built a couple for friends but have never considered marketing it. A friend is urging me to do so, but I have reservations. The big question in my mind is, would it be considered a pain in the butt to set it up for use.

We tent camp most months of the year but have to restrict the summer months to higher elevations or near the coast. This concept would expand our camping options. We consider nightime temps of less than 60 degrees ideal. We just spent 16 days camping with nightime temps running in the mid 50s. We could live with temps in the mid to low 70s at night.
I am assuming that this unit uses some type of a fan, because power is at a premium what would be the power requirements for one of these units. What is the amp draw at 12 volts DC? We currently run all our equipment on one 19 amp hour 12VDC battery w/ solar recharging. This is about as much power equipment as I think is reasonable for us to pack along but we might be interested in a larger battery and solar panel to provide the power to support one of these units.
The camping equipment that I would rate the highest are items that are simple and straight foward to use and pack down small. One well thought out, compact container that all the components store away in is a plus. I think that simplicity of set up and small transportable size would increase the appeal to more people. One last thought on marketing camping products, we have used a Zodi portable shower water heater w/ shower tent for the passed three summers. I consider this to be a top notch product that meets all the above criteria. I would think these units would sell like hot cakes. Lots of people say they would like to have one or they are going to get one, but I have never seen another one in a campground. Why? Good Luck!

Why do I read this thread and see a large cooler filled with ice having a 12v muffen fan mounted in the lid that draws cool air from inside of the cooler to act as an air conditioner?

Well something like this. lol

{{!gwi}}

$200?

A little to high. Considering that a cooler can be gotten rather cheaply along with a 12 volt Muffin fan. Total cost not including the ice. More around the $50.00 mark..

First question: the unit draws 3.1 amps when the water pump is on. Fan only operation draws 1 amp. It has never run my battery down even runing all night.

Second question: what you drew was the Koolerair available from Boaters World. It is a piece of junk. It draws air over ice which ADDS moisture to a space and it acctually makes 78 degrees feel like 85 or more. I tried one last year and threw it away. That is when I developed the air conditioner.

A better description of the air conditioner is as follows. It is a chiller system just like the larger ones used to cool buildings such as hospitals. It has 2 fans and a water pump that circulates chilled water through an evaporator. The thermostat controls the water pump to conserve ice. The unit dehumidifies just like an air conditioner is supposed to. 78 degrees feels much cooler at 75% humidity than it does at 80 or more.

THE BIG QUESTION IS: would others think packing ice a pain in the butt and therefore not want one?
It is cumbersome to get it into my cabin. Most of the time it stays in there and I fill it with ice inside the cabin.

I recall awhile back that some of the western campers were fond of the "swamp cooler" and I understand that did a good evaporation cooling job where the humidity was low but not so good here in the southeast. Is your cooling unit based on any of this principle?

The problem I would have is being away from the house with my popup camper and the only ice available would be the cubed ice.

The difference is that a swamp cooler adds moisture and an air conditioner removes moisture. Moisture or humidity is what makes you feel warmer on a hot day.

Can we have pictures?

Has anyone tried the blue freezer packs in the Koolerair?