It's 105°F today. Thank goodness for a new central air-conditioner.

This might interest you.... Hubby and I converted an inexpensive plastic ice chest into an "emergency" air conditioner. It will hold three plastic gallons of frozen water, has a small fan placed in the lid that blows over the plastic jugs, and a 2-1/2" gooseneck PVC pipe for the cool air to egress. Similar to the one in this video - http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=homemade+air+conditioner+with+an+ice+chest&view=detail&mid=CA2E4FCA1714EAEF337BCA2E4FCA1714EAEF337B&FORM=VIRE

We can also run ours with alternative energy.

-Grainlady

Besides putting extra humidity in a hot room (which will make it more uncomfortable), how many degrees of temperature drop will this gizmo accomplish in an average size room?

Snidely-

You must be off your meds again..... You contribute so little and are always the spoiler on this board, which is why the posts here are practically nonexistent. I thought a genuine post might breath a little life into it but you just have to pick that scab....

Since you are so curious, why don't you do your own research on the subject - better yet, make one and report back. It's available on-line for you or anyone else -including your little "like" buddy maifleur01 - if either of you are REALLY interested.

There is very little moisture involved since the plastic jugs only "sweat" a small amount. As the ice melts in the jug, that's where the liquid stays. It would obviously be different if you had an open block or a bag of ice instead of the jugs, but not a mist or shower you seem to think it produces.

Our "poor man's air conditioner" is for emergency use only, at which point the amount of humidity probably wouldn't be much of an issue over the cool air it produces.

Besides the unnecessary insult, your comment adds nothing. I asked a fair question.

Sometimes your "ideas" suggest there are occasions when you can't distinguish the difference between "doing something" and "doing something worth doing". This appears to me to be not worth doing, for the reason I said. You've checked the box of adding childish comments, now, what's the answer to my question ?

Rick, Yes!, I do something similar. When the house is cool enough for everyone in it but me, I take out three ice packs from the freezer and put them on my head. Why my head? It seems to cool me down very quickly. I've not done my chest, but it could also be a good spot. May try it there next time I need to cool down more. The ice packs are the inserts from these booties and a similar neck wrap. They are great heated, but also great frozen! Doesn't last long enough.

grainlady, that really has my mind going. I could just envision one of those puppies on the night stand, blowing over my bed. Thanks!

Hi rrredbeard,

When you put that big cold blob in your lap ... do you arrange for some insulation between that and some of the essential equipment?

Hi again rob 333 ... do you get hot-headed often?

o j

I read in an article - and experimented with only a little bit, but does seem effective - that putting the hands in chilled water and/or holding something cool in the hand is one of the faster ways to cool the body down. Something to do with how much blood flow through the hands - effective like ice on the head but with the cooling-the-brain and sweaty head issues.

Timing is everything - I just stumbled on this thread on the eve of our AC replacement. After our old unit died we have been sweltering but surviving by 1) timing opening our windows (big casement windows that let in a lot of air) during the cool part of the day, then closing them when the air coming in is warmer than inside house temps, 2) sleeping under a ceiling fan, and 3) dousing our forearms in very cold water, as armoured suggests. I will have to try the ice packs tonight per Rick's suggestion. Might have given Grainlady's ice chest AC a go if we'd known about it earlier. Useful ideas, all. Even after we get our new system, we plan to power it off and open windows unless it's steamy hot. Saving energy is a good thing, especially since our electricity is coal-fired. Also like the sounds of the outdoors and the absence of the hum of AC running.

Lmns--where are you located?

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the effectiveness of a cloth-wrapped ice pack? Placing this on your chest I think brings your core temperature down the fastest. The square 1 liter juice packs are ideal, bc they can be wrapped easily. Also, you'll have cold juice to drink in the morning if you want--lol!

Joyful--no, you don't want to freeze any parts (or maybe you do?), but if you lay the frozen, wrapped bottle on your lap, it will provide the same gentle coolness.

I describe myself as a 'cheap old yankee'--it's much less expensive to freeze a couple liters of water than it is to AC a whole house. Even my cats lean up against these, once they figure it out.

Let us know what you think of this after the fact!

--Rick in CT

I definitely will try it, Rick. Our AC was installed this afternoon- yay!- and continues to run full blast to cool the house down to a tolerable temp. Don't have juice boxes, but love the idea: cooling action, plus a tasty treat! Will probably use one of the gel packs from our freezer.

I'm with you on saving $$$ and energy. For example, we dry all but our cotton bath towels and socks for about 10 minutes in the dryer, then hang them to dry the rest of the way. Less energy used, fewer wrinkles, and less wear on fabrics.

Our new AC and furnace are much more energy-efficient than our old system, too. They're much greener and will save us some green. It's good how saving money/being "cheap" often benefits the environment!

'Cool!'

So, where are you located?

Imns--did it work well for you?