Redneck Air Conditioner  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: kastnerd
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 06, 2014, 09:08:25 pm
content: I keep being told by different people that these Redneck air conditioners save people lots of money and cool the room just as well as a real air conditioner. and to unplug your normal AC and use this.My argument is your making your refrigerator running longer and harder freezing the ice, this cost money.I understand if you dont have an AC this works. But is it more cost / energy efficient compared to a real Air Conditioner?There argument is "your refrigerator is all ready running so its free"

author: c4757p
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2014, 09:21:05 pm
content: Quote from: kastnerd on August 06, 2014, 09:08:25 pmYour refrigerator pipes the heat it takes out of the water into your house. You'd be more thermodynamically sound just using water out of the tap for this, as at least that typically enters the house at a lower temperature than ambient. (Please don't do that.)The onlytrueredneck air conditioner is either a beat-up old fan, a speeding truck with its windows down, or an ice-cold bottle of beer.

author: N2IXK
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2014, 09:26:25 pm
content: That's nothing compared to the redneck pool heater:

author: warp_foo
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 06, 2014, 10:46:49 pm
content: I thought of this video when I read the thread title:

author: dfmischler
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2014, 11:31:22 pm
content: Guys, rednecks are not necessarily dumb.The best redneck air conditioner I know of uses well water (approx 45 degrees F [7 C]) run through a heat exchanger with a large squirrel cage blower circulating air through a plenum to cool a store not far from me. After the water goes through the heat exchanger it is used to water the acre or so of lawn. This setup keeps the store at about 74 degrees F [23 C] with no problem and seems to use less electricity than a conventional air conditioner. That well is too full of iron and sulfur to be pleasant to drink, but the owner has found a good use for it. And the lawn looks great all summer long, too.The best redneck pool heater is to fill the pool with women wearing bikinis (or less). Plenty hot.

author: djacobow
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2014, 11:46:28 pm
content: This air conditioning arrangement is actually used in light aircraft, where air-con add-ons are unavailable for older aircraft, very expensive for newer aircraft, add weight (even in winter!) and sap precious HP.http://www.arcticaircooler.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=61&vmcchk=1&Itemid=61You'd have to be pretty darned lazy and unresourceful to shell out $500+ for one of those, though.

author: c4757p
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2014, 11:54:16 pm
content: Quote from: dfmischler on August 06, 2014, 11:31:22 pmWho said they're dumb? Coming from a family of them myself, I'll have you know, they're justhilariouslyresourceful.

author: SirNick
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2014, 11:55:48 pm
content: That URL is one letter away from being the name of the local VW club. heh.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2014, 11:57:44 pm
content: For those living where water is "free", there's the trick of turning the shower to full cold and directing a fan at it. Slightly more refined is to use a car radiator or other heat exchanger so it doesn't add humidity.