🔧 Technical DIY Electric AC

[v6buicks]

I saw this video and it really got my wheels turning.


My "race car" also lacks AC and I wish it didn't. I don't necessarily regret deleting the original system though. I did what I had to do to make the turbo system in my Camaro work quietly and remain serviceable. The original evaporator box and compressor had to go, but I did at least keep the factory heat. Here's a LINK to that job for some context.

Now that the car is pretty fun and reliable, I'm trying to achieve more comfort. Bringing AC back would be awesome. I don't expect to find a ton of help here, but I'm curious if anybody has had any experience with 12V compressor pumps. I'm considering mounting one of those and a drier where my battery used to sit and a Vintage Air remote condenser with fan in front of the radiator. Custom hoses will run inside to the simplest evaporator/fan unit I can find which will blow cold air into the original blower motor. Yes, that would be two blower motors and a some interesting fiberglass work to get ducted correctly. This probably sounds like a goofy approach, but like the video I want to use the car's original control panel. To do so, I would probably need to reincorporate the original Camaro pressure switch, and wire the retrofit evaporator in a way that's always on full cool and full fan speed whenever the original control is on an AC setting.


TLDR:
Has anybody used a 12V AC compressor? Have you had issues with quality or performance?

Click to read more...

 

[sktchy]

Had a conversation with an hvac guy the other day and came to find out some of the newer heat pump/ac units actually run on DC rotary compressors so they can vary the speed at which they run. Apparently it does away with the high and low side of things as they're also reversible to pull heat/cold either direction. I didn't think to ask of what kind of voltage they run on but it may be somethin to look into as far as maybe sourcing a unit at a decent price to start this venture?

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

Get an inverter and you'll be good to go

 

[DEEZUZ]

Woah...

I am very interested....

 

[DEEZUZ]

We need compressor that puts out like 320 psi though correct?

 

[sktchy]

320 seems excessive? Most of the high side stuff I deal with is roughly 200 psi? The low side being happy around 40?

 

[sktchy]

Although that hvac guy did mention the refrigerant they use now is higher pressure slower moving stuff. I would imagine pressure would be related to what you put into it.

 

[v6buicks]

This is what I'm struggling with. Vintage air and others have yet to adopt electric compressors and I think there's a good reason for that. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure Limousines, and old school vans/SUVs with supplemental systems have been using them for years. I could be wrong though. Hybrid and electric cars use their high voltage system to power their compressors, so 12/24V systems seem like a crappy Amazon/Ebay gimmick as of right now.

 

[v6buicks]

Oh fun. I'm not sure if this makes things easier or not, but I just remembered that I have a brand new GMT400 evaporator in the basement. I might be able to stick a pusher fan on that and make a shroud that directs air into the blower housing. Then I could put an accumulator and orifice tube in which play nicer with the Camaro controls.

A universal fan inside the cabin in addition to the blower motor sounds loud though. More research needed.

Also, my passenger side air bag is deleted which left a nice sized pocket for all this nonsense to reside.

 

[Bob Kazamakis]

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[sktchy]

Looking into DC compressors most everything I'm finding is 600 bucks and up. I did run across a rotary unit for like a camper fridge for 340 that looked like it could be a possibility? I'd think maybe the rv world would be a better place to start looking for cost effective options as alot of the older ones I know ran on battery power and some used propane to cool the fridges and stuff.

Otherwise I feel like this could turn into a spendy venture real quick. But could definitely be done.

 

[v6buicks]

Looking into DC compressors most everything I'm finding is 600 bucks and up. I did run across a rotary unit for like a camper fridge for 340 that looked like it could be a possibility? I'd think maybe the rv world would be a better place to start looking for cost effective options as alot of the older ones I know ran on battery power and some used propane to cool the fridges and stuff.

Otherwise I feel like this could turn into a spendy venture real quick. But could definitely be done.

Spendy is fine as long as it works the way I want it to. I'm more skeptical of these Amazon evaporator/heater/blower units for $65.

Amazon.com: Custom Fit Under Dash Add On AC A/C Evaporator 12v 8.5A w/ 4 Vents, 3 Speeds, 390 CFM, 3300 Kcal/hr, 400x330x145mm - BuyAutoParts 63-20018N NEW : Automotive

Buy Custom Fit Under Dash Add On AC A/C Evaporator 12v 8.5A w/ 4 Vents, 3 Speeds, 390 CFM, 3300 Kcal/hr, 400x330x145mm - BuyAutoParts 63-20018N NEW: Core Assemblies - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[sktchy]

Yeah I don't think I'd mess with that so much as I'd try and find an old camper to gut the parts from the fridge and put your own setup together. I'd think the hardest part of it would be routing your lines at that point

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

I looked into this with the 442 but even systems like the early Tesla uses have a difficult time with something as hot as our Interiors would get to.
electric car doesn't have to deal with the through floor heat of an internal combustion engine as well.

One of those small ones would probably help you a good bit especially if you were able to duct it through the seat

 

[v6buicks]

I looked into this with the 442 but even systems like the early Tesla uses have a difficult time with something as hot as our Interiors would get to.
electric car doesn't have to deal with the through floor heat of an internal combustion engine as well.

One of those small ones would probably help you a good bit especially if you were able to duct it through the seat

Swamp ass is the worst part about driving my car. I wonder if it would help at all to do a chilled water grid like the opposite of a heated driveway. Cold doesn't radiate though.

I did some measurements and it looks like that Amazon evaporator deal would just barely fit behind my glove box if I gutted it. Ducting it would be a huge chore though if I wanted to route it to the original blower. Ducting it in parallel would be silly. Ditching the entire original system or modifying the original controls to work on a Vintage Air system would be a smarter move at that point.

 

[Turbocharged400sbc]

At that point you might as well just get a cool suit or make your own there's plenty of people online that have done so.

Looking at it the realistic best option is to put an AC compressor on one of our engines and enjoy the large volume that we can use to cool the interior with two engines pumping heat int

 

[v6buicks]

At that point you might as well just get a cool suit or make your own there's plenty of people online that have done so.

Looking at it the realistic best option is to put an AC compressor on one of our engines and enjoy the large volume that we can use to cool the interior with two engines pumping heat int

I have also considered the idea of a manual steering rack and putting a compressor in place of the PS pump. I don't think I want to do that either though.

 

[v6buicks]

More ideas...

Why not think INSIDE the box? The stock evaporator worked great in these cars. I may have eliminated the space where it used to reside, but I could try to use the same concept.

As you can see, all air used to flow across the evaporator. I don't have much room to play with right now, but some little tweaks to the "delete" plate and the box might free up enough space to squeeze in a Smart car evaporator or something like that.

Time to do more rock auto speccing. Mini fridge evaporators are surprisingly large and their tubes are incredibly tiny, so that wouldn't work. It would probably just burn up the pump and not really cool anything.

 

[v6buicks]

Every evaporator from Civics to Smart cars to original are all about the same size. Mini Coopers probably have the smallest at 9.5 x 9 x 2.5. I'll keep looking.

EDIT: REAR evaporators for minivans are the ticket. If I put a T&C unit on it's side it'll be the same height and depth as stock but cut the width almost in half. There's also a newer version that's an inch thinner in depth which could allow me to tuck it in closer to the interior and protrude less into the engine bay.

 

[v6buicks]

I think a rear AC evaporator will suck as a primary evaporator however, it should still be better than nothing right? Or will it be so inefficient that the evaporator fails to turn the liquid refrigerant into a gas again? That would not be good. Maybe it would be fine since my 12V electric compressor won't be doing as much work as a typical belt driven unit? Hard to say. I'm thinking about buying one of these pull-outs so that I can experiment with fit and function on a bench. If I really want to get stupid, I could use my AC to DC power supply to run the whole system without even taking the car apart.