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82westyrabbit
Samba Member
Joined: March 02, 2015
Posts: 1013
Location: Ma
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 Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2020 1:13 pm Post subject: Re: Air conditioning....WHILE PARKED |
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| Yes definitely not the solution for most people. John |
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vwwestyman
Samba Member
Joined: April 24, 2004
Posts: 5828
Location: Wamego, Kansas, USA
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| Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2020 6:42 am Post subject: Re: Air conditioning....WHILE PARKED |
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This thought may not work for everybody, but is super simple so I thought I'd throw it out there.
Earlier this month, I spent a week helping out some family friends in Wisconsin. I drove up in and slept in our Eurovan.
Several days saw highs in the mid-90s, and I had to park it where it sat in the sun most of the day.
So before bed, I just turned the engine on for a while and ran the AC on full blast for a little bit to cool the inside down. This worked pretty great for the most part. Once it was dark and I cooled (and dehumidified) the interior, it stayed cool enough to sleep comfortably. (Admittedly this wasn't with a pop top.)
So if you've got AC in your van, you might consider trying this before going to extreme measures buying generators and all that.
_________________
Dave Cook
President, Wild Westerner Club
1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing |
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zoti
Samba Member
Joined: December 26, 2007
Posts: 2114
Location: Plano, TX USA
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| Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2020 5:10 pm Post subject: Re: Air conditioning....WHILE PARKED |
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| 82westyrabbit wrote: |
Here we go. Try #1.
Generator on the roof. Just to big a pain to get it up and down from there, and start it and put gas in it.
Air conditioner between the seats blows cold air exactly where you want it when driving. Unfortunately it blocks my access from the front of the van to the back of the van which made me very unhappy, not to mention how ugly it was from the back. On top of that the portable air conditioner is a power pig taking about 9 amps to run and sometimes would overload the generator. With the air conditioner being the one hose design it blows hot air out but all of the air that gets blown out comes from inside the van no matter how long you ran it, it would never cool of the van because of the volume of the outside air being moved it.
Next move I mounted the generator on the rear bumper as the van is in Texas and most of my tools are in Massachusetts I had to accomplish this with minimal tools. I bought a winch mount from harbor freight and bolted it to my rear bumper (my rear bumper is re-inforced) but I can’t leave the generator out in the rain and would make it an easy theft item. The air conditioner between the seats would probably still be there but it died after 3 weeks.
Now I have 5000 BTU air conditioner hanging out my window. When parked this air conditioner despite being less BTU’s cools the whole van even when 100 degrees outside, but it still does not have enough power to cool the whole van going down the road but it gives me a nice cool blast of air on me. I also built a box around the generator. This air conditioner runs on less than 4 amps so the generator is at idle and is much quieter than when it was running the other air conditioner. If you really want air conditioning driving down the road this probably is not your answer. Also if you have the camper windows they don’t open wide enough to put the air conditioner in. So because I had one I changed the window to one out of the tin top so that the air conditioner would fit. I general I’m not a big fan of AC but in Texas you need it. I assume that come the end of august I will remove all of this and it will be out of the van until the middle of June when I will put it back in the van. John |
After checking all the options for AC and wanting AC both for driving and while camping I think I am going to go with a similar setup with the portable AC unit but I think it is important to get one that has a dual hose configuration that draws air from outside to run through the condenser coil and then blow that air out. Those unit are much more efficient and don't draw air from inside the cabin to run through the condenser.
Then I can mount a small generator on the back of the car on a swing rack and use it like that both while driving and camping. I figure since it's not a daily driver it can be a good solution. |
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82westyrabbit
Samba Member
Joined: March 02, 2015
Posts: 1013
Location: Ma
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| Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2020 5:44 pm Post subject: Re: Air conditioning....WHILE PARKED |
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| I couldn’t find a two hose ac that was small enough to run on a small generator. I am not convinced my generator is putting out rated power either. You should be able to run about 8000 BTU’s or more on my generator but the 5000 BTU AC and a fan is all the power I can get out of mine. Is mine a lemon or did I buy the wrong generator I don’t know. At lest the blue match’s the van. I will be interested in what AC unit you buy. Keep us posted. John |
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MarkWard
Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005
Posts: 18742
Location: Retired South Florida
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| Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2020 7:08 pm Post subject: Re: Air conditioning....WHILE PARKED |
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| Often the starting load is higher than the running load. |
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zoti
Samba Member
Joined: December 26, 2007
Posts: 2114
Location: Plano, TX USA
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| Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2020 3:21 pm Post subject: Re: Air conditioning....WHILE PARKED |
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| 82westyrabbit wrote: |
| I couldn’t find a two hose ac that was small enough to run on a small generator. I am not convinced my generator is putting out rated power either. You should be able to run about 8000 BTU’s or more on my generator but the 5000 BTU AC and a fan is all the power I can get out of mine. Is mine a lemon or did I buy the wrong generator I don’t know. At lest the blue match’s the van. I will be interested in what AC unit you buy. Keep us posted. John |
An 8000BTU unit should require less than 1000W of power and should work with most small generators. |
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MarkWard
Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005
Posts: 18742
Location: Retired South Florida
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| Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2020 3:32 pm Post subject: Re: Air conditioning....WHILE PARKED |
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| The powerhouse appears to be an inverter not a generator. If it’s like my Honda, it has an economy mode, which isn’t that great for starting loads like your AC. If that’s the case, switch off the economy mode and it will be happier running your AC. |
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Farf
Samba Member
Joined: July 12, 2009
Posts: 463
Location: Colorado
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| Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2020 6:45 pm Post subject: Re: Air conditioning....WHILE PARKED |
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| MarkWard wrote: |
| Often the starting load is higher than the running load. |
You can increase starting torque and reduce the duration of the locked rotor amps of the compressor by installing a hard start kit, really easy to install. They also make soft start devices for compressors but much more money.
https://www.amazon.com/Antoble-Capacitor-Increases...mp;sr=8-15 |
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82westyrabbit
Samba Member
Joined: March 02, 2015
Posts: 1013
Location: Ma
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| Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:02 pm Post subject: Re: Air conditioning....WHILE PARKED |
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| Yes the power house is a inverter. I have tried it on both the eco mode and regular mode. It starts the AC just fine but it will shut down after 5 to thirty minutes with the larger air conditioners. The manual says it should run a 13000 BTU camping air conditioner. Mine certainly won’t. Like I said I am not certain it capable of putting out rated power. John |
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MarkWard
Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005
Posts: 18742
Location: Retired South Florida
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| Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 4:33 am Post subject: Re: Air conditioning....WHILE PARKED |
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| Same result in or out of the box it’s in? Sounds like thermal protection. |
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PDXWesty
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Joined: April 11, 2006
Posts: 6344
Location: Portland OR
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DanHoug
Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2016
Posts: 5693
Location: Bemidji, MN
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| Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2025 12:54 pm Post subject: Re: Air conditioning....WHILE PARKED |
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my take on AC. only cost was for the magnets. green tarp is a boat lift canopy that shredded in a storm. AC unit is the one from my shop.
_________________
-dan
60% of what you find on the internet is wrong, including this post.
'87 Westy & '89 Westy both 2.1 4spd
Past projects can be found at--
www.thefixitworkshop.com |
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dhaavers
Samba Member
Joined: March 19, 2010
Posts: 8398
Location: NE MN (tinyurl.com/dhaaverslocation)
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| Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2025 7:56 pm Post subject: Re: Air conditioning....WHILE PARKED |
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That’ll do, Dan…that’ll do.
- Dave
_________________
86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS> |
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MarkWard
Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005
Posts: 18742
Location: Retired South Florida
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| Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2025 7:31 am Post subject: Re: Air conditioning....WHILE PARKED |
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| DanHoug wrote: |
my take on AC. only cost was for the magnets. green tarp is a boat lift canopy that shredded in a storm. AC unit is the one from my shop.
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Clean custom install. Probably could market them. 
I’m surprised that little unit cools your shop. My garage AC is 18000 btu mini split.
My YouTube algorithm has been showing me rooftop 12 volt inverters. Eco mode or something similar. Nice option for fixed roofs. |
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DanHoug
Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2016
Posts: 5693
Location: Bemidji, MN
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| Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2025 7:55 am Post subject: Re: Air conditioning....WHILE PARKED |
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| MarkWard wrote: |
| I’m surprised that little unit cools your shop. My garage AC is 18000 btu mini split. |
my shop is small, 22x30 interior and very well insulated. the 5k BTU/hr unit runs pretty continuously in 95F, 90% humidity we've had the past few days but it keeps the interior below 70F and lowers humidity to around 55%
i'll probably put a mini split in when this fails. i've got a propane furnace and heat it year round but the MS would be nice in the mild temps and is much quieter.
regarding the AC install... i cut about 1" out of the pool noodle and it grips the window sill well and provides a resilient mount as well as protects the glass. just the right compression. seems pretty ideal.
_________________
-dan
60% of what you find on the internet is wrong, including this post.
'87 Westy & '89 Westy both 2.1 4spd
Past projects can be found at--
www.thefixitworkshop.com |
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ProbablyNotIan
Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2024
Posts: 46
Location: Idaho Falls, ID
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DanHoug
Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2016
Posts: 5693
Location: Bemidji, MN
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| Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2025 3:52 pm Post subject: Re: Air conditioning....WHILE PARKED |
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| ProbablyNotIan wrote: |
I just wonder how much power draw it has. |
120 volts. 400 watts
_________________
-dan
60% of what you find on the internet is wrong, including this post.
'87 Westy & '89 Westy both 2.1 4spd
Past projects can be found at--
www.thefixitworkshop.com |
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Povi
Samba Member
Joined: January 15, 2016
Posts: 18
Location: Kernersville, NC
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| Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2025 1:18 pm Post subject: Re: Air conditioning....WHILE PARKED |
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3/4" ply, with a 5/8" deep kerf cut with a tablesaw on the outside face front to back. Glued in a strip slightly thicker than the kerf, to get it to bend to mate better to the door frame. Sanded flush and bedded some tape used for roof repair. Thin stuff, absorbs paint well. The pink 1" foam is a plug fit inside the window opening. Flat bar stock steel straps to hang it from the gutter. Welded the hook ends on rather than bend them. You could do this many different way. Let in a piece of aluminum angle to act as a gutter above the ac. Piece of rope used like caulking to seal up the gap between the unit and the aluminum. All the gaps on the two sides and bottom are minimal. Measure well and cut for a near friction fit
Using it for it's third outing week after next. Late July in the Florida panhandle. Worked great last year with the pop to up with reflectix lining the tent.
This year I'm keeping the top down. It's too hot to make it work so hard just for some headroom. I have interior window insulation, front windshield exterior wrap, and the upper bunk gets folded out and the reflectix laid out over the mattress and a piece of rigid insulation fills in the gap between the bunk and the latch
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89' Westy Subaru 2.2 |
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