How would I go about running a house AC thru my sliding back glass?

[Chevyman1984]

I saw a van the other day at a stoplight with a house window AC hanging out his back door window. I tired to flag him down to ask him how he did it but he didnt stop.......It would be cool if I sould run a small cheap 80$ AC thru my back glass, i figure it would work way better then the one on the truck, save gas, and wouldnet eat HP. How would I go about doing this without killing my alt, battery, computer, etc....

thanks
Josh

[bobboinge]

Well, I'd say there 3 ways. #1 get a 50 miles extension cord. #2 install a small gas generator. #3 maybe he uses it when he camps and has a place to plug it in.

[amac209]

power invertor?? just figure out haw many amps it will draw from the alternator first. if you take the number of watts it takes to run the ac and divide that number by 12 you will get a ballpark figure of the amps the alternator must provide. if it's higher than 30 amps you might need to upgrade the alternator. i would wire the invertor directly from the battery with decent sized wire and put in a relay wired to the ignition switch. if you give me the specs on the ac unit you want to use i could draw up a wiring diagram.

[J-Ri]

hehe, extension cord The generator isn't a bad idea... but it would be fairly loud, and how to turn it on/off? I'd bet is is for "camping", although what's the point of camping if you have A/C?.

A power inverter that big would be very expensive, especially if it's for using a cheaper A/C method (a 600W is about $60, and from there they get expensive quick.

What I'd do is get a DC motor, and replace the motor for the compressor with that. Then, hook a relay up to the compressor controller. You'd probably have to get a ford starter solenoid for a draw that big, not too expensive. Definately use big wire, I'd use at least 4 guage, but figure out the amps of the motor and use wire approved for that many amps.

[Chevyman1984]

The AC i have in mind is 5,000 BTU/9.7EER/4.7 Amps/115 volts. What is EER? If im not mistaking Watts is voltsXamps right? 115V*4.7A=540.5 watts.....Will my truck supply enough power for this? I have a 500 Watt amp on my two 12inch subs and it handles that fine, maybe fabricate a bracket under the hood to hold a dry cell battery for extra support??.....A wiring diagram would be nice. I have the AC compressor on my truck bypassed becasue it causes severly reduced acceleration, eats the hell out of gas, makes my engine run hot, and it blows....blows huge balls, there is no use in running it, it sucks so bad. I flushed it out, checked for leaks filled it up with that cheap ass new stuff......it still sucks. What a waste of money. R12 was way better....

[Chevyman1984]

Also, how would i upgrade the alt?

[Chevyman1984]

anyone?

[J-Ri]

You are correct, that is the formula. That is much less amperage than I though an A/C unit would take. With the amp at full power, and the A/C compressor running, you would be drawing 86.7 amps. After adding in power draws such as the coil, headlights, computer, etc, you would be very close, if not over, the rated capacity of the alternator. Plus the power inverter uses more power than it puts out. To be safe, you shouldn't go over 75% of the rated capacity, except for short amounts of time such as honking the horn. http://www.alternatorparts.com makes a 250 amp alternator, as well as smaller sizes starting at 140 amps.

[Chevyman1984]

I really wasent planning on running the amp and the air at the same time becasue the bass don't sound right with the windows rolled up. Its like the 12"s are hardly hitting and no air is getting out. The truck seals so air tight no sound gets out.....I can turn it all the way up roll the windows up step 5 feet away and can't hear a thing. What is the rated capacity of the alternator. I should be able to run one or the other but just not both at the same time right?

[J-Ri]

Is this the '91 in your profile? If it is, the alternator is in the neighborhood of 85-100A, which would mean between 63.75 and 75 amps continuously. You should confirm the rating before running the A/C, but you'd probably be ok not running the A/C and the amp at the same time.