Portable A/C option

[Jonathan33]

Update on AC options:

This company is located in TN. David brought it to my attention while emailing about removable aftermarket AC options. I don’t think he has actually used them.

https://www.peterschiffaero.com/product ... fielite-24

On thing that was brought up while emailing with them was an outside scoop would probably have to be added to the plane for a cooling air for the condenser coil?

Still trying to get clarification on this point.

[skyseeker]

I was thinking about the exhaust, power, and added humidity problem with the portable AC options available.

Nothing looked really appealing so far for those 3h flights around the US Southwest in the summer, so I built this prototype.

No hot air exhaust. No added humidity into the cabin. Lasts about 3 hours. Fill with ice and a few inches of water. Safety fused and low voltage cutoff for the battery. Adjustable air flow.

Tested fine in my old car without AC, but the fans are loud at full blast. Could put a 6" HVAC duct on it to direct the air.

Next version will be using a better cooler with wheels. The problem is the full cooler weighs a lot and I'm still on the fence about taking a 20AH Lifepo4 battery in the air. Power is 12v at 6 amps at full blast.

[blsewardjr]

Zero Breeze has a new portable AC unit (Mark 3) that puts out 5280 BTUs. I'm thinking of trying it along with a EcoFlow 3 Plus LiFePO4 battery, which has a battery management system. Total weight would be about 32lb and price around $1600. The Mark 3 has a pump for the condensation so could send it to a container. Would probably use the forward air input and output hoses and place the rear of the unit next to the vents on the back of the luggage area. The use case is for taxi and takeoff/landing. Operational altitude is 2000m, which should be plenty.

[rxwingman]

For years I used the original (now called B-Cool) red Igloo "swamp cooler" filled with ice, that had a small radiator located on the top lid, and a small pump to push ice water through the radiator, with fans mounted on top pulling the ice cold air through the radiator blowing it into the cockpit. It used a 12/24v "cigarette" plug for power and had an on/off switch and fan speed controller on the power cord. I'd freeze large blocks of ice to use vs. just regular ice cubes to keep the water colder longer. Guessing the unit weighed about 15-20 lbs full of ice.

I flew in and out of Palm Springs in the summer using this system and it would reduce the inside cabin temp about 10-15 degrees on a hot day. I'd shut off once in flight once the altitude was cool enough to use the vents. Ice blocks would last for about 2-3 hours if the pump was not constantly in use. Worked great to keep the temp down when sitting on the ramp waiting to take off.

This is the current version. I can't remember what the original version was called, but they use to sell them at a booth at the AOPA conventions.
https://www.mypilotstore.com/MyPilotSto ... gKfm_D_BwE