A Different kind of Air Conditioner?

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A Different kind of Air Conditioner?

Postby CPASPARKS » Thu Feb 16, 2006 6:28 pm

Has anyone seen this before?

http://www.sunfrost.com/sleep_genie.html

I am wanting an air conditioner for my teardrop but do not really have the room for a traditional air conditioner.

Does anyone have an idea beside a "PetCool" or hauling a portable air conditioner to vent into a tear?

Would like to have some new ideas. :roll:

Help!!!
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Re: A Different kind of Air Conditioner?

Postby Kurt (Indiana) » Thu Feb 16, 2006 7:03 pm

CPASPARKS wrote:Has anyone seen this before?

http://www.sunfrost.com/sleep_genie.html



This little unit might be perfect for the normal teardrop cabin. I didn't see the BTU output, but it shouldn't take too much to do the job.
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Postby madjack » Thu Feb 16, 2006 7:51 pm

Kevin, believe me we all want a new AC idea and that one looks aobut perfect...hwve you contacted them to see if it is actually available and at what price. The biggest problem is cost...there a number of smaller than 5000 BTU units around but they run form 500 bucks and up, making the limitations of an 80 dollar 5000 BTU window shaker livable. Units such as swamp coolers work well in dry climates but don't do a lot in humid areas and while the Kooleraire's are a good idea, they need a ready resupply of ice so we really need something else...why don't you check with these folks and report back on what they have to say...by the way, we stuck a 5000BTU unit inna 4x8, Camp-Inn does it also, so they can be made to fit and work and like I said...the price is very hard to beat
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Postby CPASPARKS » Thu Feb 16, 2006 11:37 pm

Thanks Madjack.
I called Sun Frost late this afternoon. They told me that this a a prototype that they never put into production. They could not tell me much about this unit, including the btu.
Still searching.
Madjack, do you know if the "Petcool" with the 2,500 btu be enough to keep your teardrop cool? If it would keep you cool in Louisiana, I am certain that it would work here in North Texas.
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Postby madjack » Thu Feb 16, 2006 11:48 pm

Kevin, theoretically 1000BTU's would be enough to keep you nice and cool...Kai, down in Mexico has a 2000(?)BTU PetCool and reports it to be very effective...we had thought about doing a permanent tongue mount and use PVC as ducts...but it wouldn't be "cute" and would still cost 500 bucks...guess I will stick with the cheap window shaker
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Postby cracker39 » Fri Feb 17, 2006 6:58 am

I've seen several plans for using the window unit in a TD. Tongue mount ducted into the cabin, galley mount doing the same, and side mount slide-outs, which make good sense. It takes up no space when camping, leaving your galley and tongue for normal use. My TTT will have a window unit mounted permanently in the upper part of the rear wall. At least for now, I am planning a permanent mount. At first, it was to be removable, but do I want to have to lift it into place every time we stop to camp?
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Postby 48Rob » Fri Feb 17, 2006 8:03 am

:no: :no: :no:
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Postby kurtibm » Thu Feb 23, 2006 5:05 pm

I emailed inquiring of the availability of an energy efficient 12V A/C unit; below is the reply...

Hello Kurt,
We are in the process of developing an energy effecient system for tear-drop campers. Is your camper insulated? I
will keep you informed.

Regards
--
Larry Schlussler, PhD.
Sun Frost, Owner
824 L Street, Arcata, CA 95521
Tel: 707-822-9095
Fax: 707-822-6213

I replied...

Hi Larry and thank you for the reply,
The Tear I have now is not; however I'm planning a second one and plan to insulate IT.
If you are marketing to the average teardropper, though, I'd recommend that you factor in that the trailer would not be insulated, as most are not.
I look forward to your update when available.

Thanks again,
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Postby Big Guy with a Little Guy » Thu Feb 23, 2006 11:39 pm

I realize that most of America is hot and humid, and it can be difficult to escape it. Here in Utah a cool mountain is never more than an hour away, and in my case, 15 minutes. I would never even consider camping in such heat that required A/C, but many of you probably have little choice.

In any case, if you require A/C, you are basically restricted to camping near shore power. Okay, so you are near power. That would seem to open many possibilities for A/C solutions. There are the $100 models from Walmart, etc. It seems that something like that would work wonderfully, and it cheap and easy to install.
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Postby CPASPARKS » Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:14 am

Kurt,
I am glad that you are following up on the SunFrost concept of an air conditioner.
Please let me know when you get more information from them.
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Postby cracker39 » Fri Feb 24, 2006 9:16 am

I went the cheap route and bought a 5000 BTU window AC from HD yesterday. Now, I just have to creat a mounting framework that will support this 40 lb unit, which will be mounted in my back wall, which is angled from bottom to top, while traveling. Even with a torsion axle, it will be subjected to bumps, so it must be held securely in place, yet be removable if it ever needs to be replaced. That means I need to have it balanced to reduce any rocking motion that would loosen the mounts. This presents an engineering design challenge. I guess I'll have to first find the center of gravity and work from there. I'm working on a mounting setup now while I am still building my first side wall and will probably post it in a thread asking for comments and suggestions.
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Postby ALAN GEDDES » Fri Feb 24, 2006 5:48 pm

If this company can pull it off they can sell a few of them here for sure if the price is ok. If they can make it 12V with a low draw and small size they can even be a little more costly. It's what we want and need. Most use would be for sleeping at night, not 24 hour use.
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Postby Artificer » Fri Feb 24, 2006 7:41 pm

My idea for a 12v A/C is to use the Pet-Cool, and run it from a battery and inverter. A decent sized deep discharge battery should get me at least 4 hours of continuos run time. Hopefully that ends up being 6-8 hours of intermittent use during the night. Now if I can find the site that had them for $370 with free shipping...

If their claim of 72watts is accurate, and compares to the pet cool, then I would estimate an output of around 600BTU's of cooling. 2 sleeping people put out around 500BTU, so I'm not too sure if the cooling would be adequate.

My long range goal is to try to make a duplex free piston sterling cycle refrigeration/generator. Propane powered A/C for back woods camping, without the racket of a generator. Not sure how feasible it is, but its nice to dream about it.
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Postby kurtibm » Fri Feb 24, 2006 8:14 pm

..... close..... $399 free shipping.......
http://www.petgiftshop.com/index.php?p=product&id=745&parent=4
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Postby Sonetpro » Fri Feb 24, 2006 9:44 pm

Artificer wrote:My idea for a 12v A/C is to use the Pet-Cool, and run it from a battery and inverter. A decent sized deep discharge battery should get me at least 4 hours of continuos run time. Hopefully that ends up being 6-8 hours of intermittent use during the night.

Artifcer That's what I'm doing. I bought one and have tried it. Not in a tear yet as mine isn't finished. I have mine powered by a 700 watt inverter and 2 100 amp battery's. I am using a thermostat and relay so it will only run when it has to. I put a meter on it and it draws 3.6 amp AC when the compressor is running. I have a kipor 1000 generator to run it. (quiet) The generator will run it but doesn't have enough power to start the compressor. So I'm running it through the inverter and battery's to use the battery's as big capacitors. Runs off the generator fine and at less than half load, uses the battery's to pull the extra amperage required to start the compressor. I've bench tested it and it works fine.
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