CNET
How to Build a DIY Portable Air Conditioner
Cool down with this DIY portable AC made out of parts you might have sitting around the house. Here’s how to do it. Read the CNET Article for more info: How to Make Your Own Portable AC Unit at Home This Summer 0:00 Intro 0:06 What you’ll need 0:32 Drilling the holes 1:08 Inserting the…
RED
August 8, 2023 at 8:10 am
You’ll need to get the ice from someone else’s house for this to work indoors
Eric1285
August 8, 2023 at 7:05 pm
It works if you have multiple HVAC systems and one is broken. My upstairs AC died a couple of weeks ago but the downstairs one (where the kitchen is) is still going. I made ice downstairs and haul it upstairs at night to power my DIY cooler. I use a pump & radiator for better heat transfer though.
Frink Fronk
August 8, 2023 at 8:10 am
or buy a second hand box air con for $50 and put it in your window. thank you for the video though it was fun.
CNET
August 8, 2023 at 9:43 am
Not portable and more expensive.
Cælen
August 8, 2023 at 10:21 am
AC is $$$$ to run.
Eric1285
August 8, 2023 at 7:06 pm
@Cælen Ice is expensive too. Just noticed the grocery store in my neighborhood got a new ice machine. $3.99 a pound!
Eddie Abbott
August 8, 2023 at 8:16 am
GREAT JOB
Witness101
August 8, 2023 at 8:21 am
Air conditioners don’t use water.. you’ve made a swamp cooler..
faken man
August 8, 2023 at 2:53 pm
do you want him to put freon in there?
Eric1285
August 8, 2023 at 7:02 pm
Not even. This isn’t going to evaporate much water. Most of the cooling power will come from the heat exchange over the surface of the ice / water. This would probably condense more water on the sides of the bucket than it evaporates with the fan.
Ernesto Miños
August 8, 2023 at 8:31 am
Deme dos!
Vaux Glandzer
August 8, 2023 at 8:43 am
Just used the rechargeable desk fan, dorky D.I.Y! If it ain’t cool enough wrap the ices in a piece of cloth and put it on your face!.. 🤣
danmar007
August 8, 2023 at 9:19 am
Every Summer we see videos like this, 🙂 Does it really work?
CNET
August 8, 2023 at 9:35 am
It does. It really works. 🥶
zero11010
August 8, 2023 at 9:59 am
The term for this is “swamp cooler” yeah? It’s an older concept.
If you google “DIY swamp cooler” it’s full of this.
Jezza
August 8, 2023 at 10:24 am
Great way to introduce mold into your home in some climates!
Kevin Corcoran
August 8, 2023 at 1:39 pm
Ya only if your home is already a swamp with no exhaust out lol
Cælen
August 8, 2023 at 10:28 am
Actually use similar in my grow tent. Works really well bringing temps down 3-5 degrees. When it’s hot, a little makes a big difference. Condensation cooled air in a bucket. You complain, I’m chilled.
CB.PUNISHER.1900
August 8, 2023 at 10:36 am
JUST USE A FOAM COOLER
Alejo
August 8, 2023 at 10:38 am
This is essentially a swamp cooler 😅
Dan
August 8, 2023 at 10:39 am
we need diy fridge to get ice first
David Jamgochian
August 8, 2023 at 11:33 am
its Good advice
s pharr
August 8, 2023 at 12:08 pm
In another 10 years that will be the only way to get AC in California
Buhari Altine
August 8, 2023 at 12:21 pm
Thanks for sharing the tip
Veedo Capone
August 8, 2023 at 1:18 pm
Amazon $40. Done.
M b
August 8, 2023 at 1:29 pm
Nonsense! This will make your already humid room much, much more humid!
Thom McCaughey
August 8, 2023 at 1:32 pm
Why not use a Styrofoam cooler instead of the bucket? That way it is already insulated and the ice would probably last longer even though you are blowing the fan on it.
CNET
August 8, 2023 at 3:33 pm
Good call.
Victor S.
August 8, 2023 at 3:49 pm
Cnet is cool
mrdonetx
August 8, 2023 at 4:03 pm
I love how people call this air conditioning. This relies on water’s heat capacity and evaporation to cool. Adding ice just gives you cool air until it melts. If you live in a very humid area your ice will melt much faster because the circulating water is pulling heat from the air and the water (humidity) in the air out. Humidity is just water which has the same heat capacity as all water melting the ice which is frozen water. You will have condensation build up reducing the available surface area of the circulating water to cool air, etc. If you live in a dry climate go for it. Living in a humid climate you will waste more energy trying to keep ice in there than if you just bought a small a/c and plugged it in.
525Lines
August 8, 2023 at 6:37 pm
Your air conditioner is a fan and ice. I think I invented that first. I’ve found that getting cotton shirts wet and hanging them up to dry in a room will chill the room considerably. Really works.
CNET
August 8, 2023 at 9:49 pm
Very interesting. Thanks
Mikey JR
August 9, 2023 at 10:00 am
Hanging up wet shirts? Your air conditioner is a swamp cooler. I think I invented that first. Instead, I’ve found that using a condenser coil with an air handler unit designed to be permanently afixed to the house really works.
Eric1285
August 8, 2023 at 7:00 pm
Having just made my own DIY cooler / AC, I can tell you this won’t do much. You might get a trickle of cool air out of the three tubes for maybe an hour or two before your ice turns into a bucket of warm water. I did something similar using a 50 qt cooler, except I added a small pump and ran the ice water through a transmission cooler (radiator). I set a fan behind the radiator to blow air through it. I load it up with 20-30 pounds of ice and it’ll last 3-4 hours tops (it’s more like 2.5 hours of cold air plus 1-1.5 hours of cool air).
If you want the math…melting one pound of ice takes 144 BTU’s of energy. Once the ice is melted, it takes 1 BTU to increase the temperature of water by 1 degree (F). So if you’ve got 20 pounds of ice in that bucket you’ll get 2,880 BTU’s of cooling power from melting the ice, plus another 800 BTU’s to warm the water up from 32F to 72F. About 3,700 BTU’s of cooling power if you load that bucket up. It’s certainly better than nothing, but it’s not going to be anything close to a real AC.
You get some nice cool / cold air blowing over you for an hour, maybe 3 if you use a really big cooler. It’s been a nice stop gap for us since our upstairs HVAC went out. My DIY solution is enough to help my daughter fall asleep, and by the time my ice runs out the ambient temperature has come down. I’m not kidding myself though…I ordered a real portable AC to get us through the rest of this year. Next year the federal government will literally be dropping money out of helicopters for anyone wanting to upgrade their HVAC…so I’m waiting for that.
John Doe
August 8, 2023 at 8:06 pm
So how many hours does it last before having to put more ice?
CNET
August 8, 2023 at 9:51 pm
The ice packs were still cool after about 3 hours. I was pretty shocked. Used it in the garage.
Eric1285
August 8, 2023 at 9:58 pm
@CNET Ice packs are a good idea. They can get colder than ice and stay cold a bit longer.
Revin Bedwards
August 8, 2023 at 8:17 pm
I would rather just put that ice in a cup of water. Thanks though 👍
Sonny Truong
August 8, 2023 at 10:22 pm
Get a window A/C, even an old, used one. It would be many times more effective and it would cost less to operate. And please don’t call this “contraption” an air conditioner.
Bin Kenney
August 9, 2023 at 2:41 am
Clickbait jerk – this is not Air Conditioner, this is Air COOLER!
Callum McMac
August 9, 2023 at 12:03 pm
Try using refrigerant next time.
artjom01
August 9, 2023 at 3:18 pm
Your fridge will produce more heat inside when you freeze the water that this bowl might cool
SABlister
August 9, 2023 at 3:38 pm
Uh wouldn’t the easiest solution be to just set up a fan to blow air over the ice in a bowl or something? This is overcomplicated AF