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Date:         Thu, 30 Jun 2005 17:15:05 -0700
Reply-To:     Doug in Calif <vanagon@ASTOUND.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Doug in Calif <vanagon@ASTOUND.NET>
Subject:      Portable Air Conditioner aka hybrid electric vehicle continued
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Well. The results are in for the moment. I purchased the 5150 unit from Sams, (interesting number btw, in police work 5150 means your bonkers) I think I must be but then I digest.

As soon as I tested the unit I found out the cooling fan is running out of true, I was able to push it and make it better but I am going to exchange this one. fyi

The unit weighs in at about 39lbs best I can figure on bathroom scale. Pretty small indeed 11x12x17 NEWS FLASH! - IT FITS IN THE STANDARD VANAGON SIDE WINDOW OPENING! This will make some of you hate life in the smaller opening westy side windows, hey toss your screen and put GL glass in there. arrg.

Okay with the Xantrex X power 1000 inverter I picked up at Costco a few years back WILL drive this unit. The AC has manual controls (NICE) and is not digital, so it has a "on" switch and a toggle for the fan from low to high. A rotary dial knob manual for the evap sensor is just a thermostat with full counter clock turns off the compressor completely.

With the 1000w inverter I have it will start the compressor if I have the fan switch set to LOW it will not start it with the fan on high. So I recon the fan is drawing some pretty good juice on its own.

Once the compressor is started and running I can switch from low to high on the fan and it runs continuous.

NEAT HUH?

Okay, now some thoughts.

This thing is SO SMALL its not all that much larger (okay a bit) larger than the rear heater under the back seat. I even thought of installing it there. it would work best in a 2wd vanagon so you could cut a couple ports in the sheet metal and vent out the heat from the back Seriously it could fit under there.

The way this unit is designed is it has a fairly large blower motor that shares the same shaft for both the exhaust fan on the back and the cooling fan on the front. Its a pretty big blower motor and I am sure it draws some pretty good amps.

I would be VERY interested in how many watts the compressor by itself draws as I think oil cooler 12vt fans on the evaporator and condenser would move enough air to duplicate the factory blower. AND THOSE CAN RUN STRAIGHT FROM 12 VT SOURCE !

Is a wise guess 2/3 of the spec of 530w AC? reasonable? Thereby reducing the AC load to around 400 w? for a 5000+ btu ac unit? Not bad if it works.

At 39lbs how much weight am I saving over factory vanagon air? anybody know.

Also, during the winter it sits in the garage, AND when camping hooked to shore power can run it all day.

Cheers and cold beers.

Doug


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