Anyone running AC? Its hot outside!

[sbnova]

Im looking for anyone running AC. I know of Gilmore and their systems. I have a mild 1680(?) with dual carbs in my 1964 Beetle and I am hoping to drive a little cooler here in Central Florida.
Who's mounted a compressor neatly? Did you use a sanden 508, or the newer SD7b10? Did you drive it from a factory sized AC crank pulley addition or off your standard crank pulley and belt? I would think the AC pulley would drive the compressor slower and consume less engine power.

Has anyone used an electric AC system? Amazon has a few for cars. The current draw is high though, likely more than I can support continuously.
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Link to my build thread- Updated 6-6-07 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=210613
check my sites to see my work;
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/1564293 (bug)
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/448794 (Vette,Nova,Typhoon)

[FPGT72]

I am a ways down this road with the VW, but I have done it with other small cars. Fiat 850 Spider, so about the same size horse power wise.

I did the electrical system, and fitted a "GM style" alt. It is a little more easy on that car because of how the charging system is on the air cooled VW. But it did work ok with a "high output" charging system.

I don't own that specific 850 anymore, but I do have two others. I am not going to go that way again. It worked, but the cars, are just too "loose" to really hold the cool in. There is no free lunch and when you hit the amp draw hard you will feel it in that little low HP engine.

This was a while ago, so they could have gotten better. I don't daily my old girls so they can wait for pretty days.

[wdfifteen]

[Busstom]

How about something like this 90 amp (advertised) unit?

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/pnx-al82n-90?se...RwQAvD_BwE

wdfifteen, can you link or post info on that unit running in your 911?
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My name's Steve and it's pronounced "Bust 'em" (cuz people think I'm Tom)

[wdfifteen]

[Busstom]

Thanks! Good to know that electrical AC is an option.

Wow, I don't normally balk at price, but that one's gonna sting

And of course, some homework is in order to determine how packaging it in a Beetle will work out. But it does look like a nice option.
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My name's Steve and it's pronounced "Bust 'em" (cuz people think I'm Tom)

[Mike Fisher]

I've noticed that 'all' the VW's in Indonesia etc I see seem to have add on air conditioning w/compressors.
It must work or they 'all' wouldn't buy them.
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[sbnova]

Good info!

So I was looking at amazon and found a few electric AC units. Like this one for example

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-System-Electric-A...amp;sr=8-8

Most say the compressor draws 70a at startup but they don't say what the continuous draw is...
I figure 70a plus ~10a for the condenser fan plus ~10a for the evaporator fan and you're right there at 90a. Not counting the what the car is drawing.

Maybe the Porsche elec system recommended over 90a because the car itself draws more than a ~64 beetle??

Ive seen those 90a alternators, and that is exactly what I was considering. The problem for me is swapping alternators. My engine is all new, beautiful and fully custom painted so I am not really looking forward to taking anything apart. I think I would rather disassemble things to swap an alternator than to add a compressor and hose in the engine bay though.

I may just bite the bullet and buy that amazon unit. They even list kits without the evaporator so you can select the evaporator style you want separately.
_________________
Link to my build thread- Updated 6-6-07 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=210613
check my sites to see my work;
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/1564293 (bug)
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/448794 (Vette,Nova,Typhoon)

[Cusser]

I'm in Phoenix. I'd only consider Gilmore or ICE AC in San Diego.
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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[Erik G]

[DerrickfromNC1]

This might be unconventional but I have a few friends that put small igloo coolers in their trunks. They mounted a small variable speed fan on one side and a 3” hose on the other side ducted back into the car. Does a surprising good job of cooling the interior on a 90 plus degree day in the Carolinas and the ice will last almost half a day of constant use.
I plan to do a variation of this by adding some 2” copper tubing snaked under that the air will travel thru. This should also allow the ice to last longer. Next time I see them I’ll take some pics.
I was told one of my friends had incorporated a small aquarium pump to circulate water within the system to aid in cooling but I have not seen it yet.

[sbnova]

Erik G- “scared” to change the alternator lol, no. I said not looking forward to changing it. Yes, everything is custom painted, by me, basecoat clearcoat on the tins, alternator, and shroud. I’ve neatly routed every wire in an attempt to keep the engine bay as tidy as possible.
That being said, I’d still rather change that alternator than mount a compressor
_________________
Link to my build thread- Updated 6-6-07 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=210613
check my sites to see my work;
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/1564293 (bug)
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/448794 (Vette,Nova,Typhoon)

[Karmann2109]

Now that Gilmore is no longer an AC kit option, are there any alternative solutions for my 1965 Karmann Ghia?

Thanks.

[Cusser]

[theastronaut]

My car's AC uses 14 hp to run it and everything is in tip top shape, but it's just barely adequate on really hot days. 14 hp converts to 35,620 btu, but of course not all of the 14 hp used is converted to cold air. Mine uses the same evaporator as an 80's Prelude, so I'm guessing its rated similarly to 90's Honda civics that have 12k btu capacity.


The 12v compressor units won't have nearly the same btu output as a normal belt driven compressor. 90 amps at 14v is 1260 watts, which converts to 4300 btu. Not all of that energy is making into the cabin as cold air, if its a very optimistic 75% efficient you're only getting 3200 btu. Not enough to adequately cool a car.


A common Sanden 508 compressor is capable of 33,500 btu at 4000 rpm, a 709 is capable of 36,600 btu at 4000 rpm. Of course the rest of the system would have to be sized appropriately to get anywhere near that out of an AC system. But that's ~10x the potential of the 12v compressors.


Vintage Air's Gen 4 Magnum system is rated at 17-20k btu. I've installed a few Vintage Air kits and they are excellent at cooling the interior of a full size sedan quickly even in 95* weather.
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