I will not write about the residents of the cities of the European part of Russia languishing from the abnormal heat, because this boyan is a bandit. If you personally don’t belong to them, or you love the heat and feel great among hot concrete and asphalt, then just don’t read this post.
So, it's getting hot. Not everyone can afford a “real” air conditioner, and it’s not just about money. The queue for the installation of split systems is scheduled as much as a month in advance, and a floor-standing air conditioner that does not require installation is an agrammatic noisy fool that will stupidly and uselessly occupy the precious space of a city apartment for 9-10 months a year. Fans are of little use, because... They continue to drive the same hot air, which does not bring relief.
But, as you know, the new is the well-forgotten old. There is such a thing - an evaporative air conditioner, which, due to the simplicity of its operating principle, can be built with your own hands. There are descriptions of such homemade air conditioners on the Internet, but the proposed designs are relatively labor-intensive to manufacture, and a modern metropolitan resident has so little free time... And not everyone dares to drill, saw, plan, and paint in their apartment.
But there is a way out! Being an equally busy city dweller, I came up with and tested an evaporative air conditioner, which is molded from shit and sticks of scrap materials in literally 15 minutes. Tools you will need:
- hands - 2 pcs.;
- screwdriver - 1 pc.
Materials:
- exhaust duct fan - 1 pc. (purchased at any construction market);
- flexible corrugated aluminum ventilation pipe - 1 pc. (bought there)
- wire with plug - 1 pc. (again there).
The total budget is several hundred wooden ones.
Use a fan with maximum performance. I found the most powerful of the household ones at 300 cubic meters per hour, all the more powerful ones were industrial, and therefore noticeably more expensive and noisier. Please note that it must be exhaust, i.e. blow in the direction where the pipe connects to it.
So. We slightly stretch the pipe and bend it as shown in the photo (it bends, stretches and holds its shape perfectly). We attach the raised end of the pipe with tape or self-tapping screws to some kind of stand (I used a cardboard box from the same fan). We connect the wire to the fan and insert the fan into the pipe.
Pour some cold water into the pipe and loosely place cotton rags in the water. When they are saturated with water, add water so that there is a little water above the rags. In total, the layer of water and rags I got was one-third to one-half of the cross-section of the pipe. All. Let's turn it on!
After half an hour of work, when the water had cooled, the temperature difference at the inlet and outlet of the pipe was as much as 5 degrees - the improvised air conditioner lowered the temperature from 31 to 26 C! Pouring snow and ice scraped from the walls of the freezer into the pipe on top of the water gave another 1 degree. YES!!!
To catch up. It is impossible to drag a pipe with water inside (it bends), so it makes sense to improve the design by securing it to some kind of stand. You can simply tape everything to a suitable board, or you can come up with a more elegant holder - it all depends on your imagination.
Yes, as you know, cold air, when left to its own devices, goes down, so it makes sense to direct the outlet section of the pipe a little upward, and place the structure itself not on the floor, but on a table or bedside table, in order to cool not only your feet.
With a pipe diameter of 150 mm, a length of its part filled with water of 450 mm and a fan of 300 cubic meters per hour, my device, of course, was not able to cool the entire room. However, it is quite capable of creating a comfort zone around the workplace or bed. Now I’m sitting at the computer in a pleasant coolness :)
How to improve productivity if necessary? You can increase the length and cross-section of the pipe, install a more efficient fan, or assemble several devices into a battery. In addition, I have not yet experimented with the amount of water and rags and their material. Overall, there is great potential for improvement!
I give you an idea! Coolness is close - just 15 minutes of moving your hands! :)
Summer has arrived, and with it the heat, from which sometimes there is nowhere to escape. Cold drinks, a cool shower and being in the shade only briefly help to cool down and take a break from the scorching sun. The single most effective method of escaping the heat at this time of year is air conditioning. But not everyone can afford to purchase and install it. In such a situation, ingenuity and hands that grow from the shoulders come to the rescue, as well as a little money and time. We invite you to find out how you can turn an ordinary fan into an excellent air conditioner!
To make an air conditioner with your own hands, we will need:
- fan (any type),
- copper tube
- transparent PVC tube
- plastic clamps
- aquarium submersible pump with a capacity of 600-1000 l/h
- thermal box (foam box)
To turn an ordinary fan into an air conditioner, you just need to attach a heat exchanger to the fan grille, through which cold water will circulate, and the fan, in turn, will transfer the cold from the heat exchanger into the room with an air flow.
As a heat exchanger, we will use a 1/4" (6.35 mm) copper tube, which is used for air conditioning systems. The length of the tube will depend on the size of your fan and the density of the spiral.
Of course, the higher the density of the spiral, the faster the cooling will occur, but do not forget that a very dense spiral will impede the movement of air flow, so the main thing here is not to overdo it. For a standard floor fan, the length of the copper tube for winding the spiral is 5-10m.
It is most convenient to attach the copper tube to the fan grill using plastic clamps, but as an option you can use thin wire.
We cut off the ends of the clamps so as not to spoil the appearance.
To connect the pump to the heat exchanger, you can use a transparent PVC tube with an internal diameter of 6 mm for easy connection to the heat exchanger.
You can select a PVC tube according to the diameter of the pump nozzle, but in this case, you will need to wrap electrical tape around the ends of the heat exchanger and secure it with metal clamps.
As a reservoir for cold water, we will use a foam box (thermal box) or any other container (barrel, canister), which it is advisable to insulate with foam plastic.
After all the tubes are connected, place the pump and drain hose in the heating box. Periodically, to maintain a low temperature, we throw pieces of ice, cold accumulators or frozen eggplants with ice into the thermobox.
As you can see, making an air conditioner with your own hands is not at all difficult. Of course, a homemade air conditioner will be inferior to a factory one, but, nevertheless, it is a worthy option for combating the heat.
For those who find this air conditioner design complicated, we suggest considering the option of a simpler air conditioner:
To make a simple air conditioner, we need:
Small fan (table or car),
Thermobox (foam box)
Elbow from a plastic sewer pipe
In the lid of the thermal box, cut two holes. We cut out one hole for the fan so that the fan does not fall through. The second hole is cut close to the diameter of the knee. The knee itself is necessary for the directional distribution of cold air flow throughout the room.
The operating principle of a homemade air conditioner is quite simple. Ice is poured into the thermobox and covered with a lid (on which the fan is installed). The air flow, cooled by the ice from the fan, will exit through the elbow and be distributed throughout the room. The temperature at the outlet of the elbow is below 10 degrees, and will gradually increase as the ice melts. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically drain the melt water and add ice.
If you don’t have a thermal box, you can use a large plastic container, only in this case, condensation will form on the outer walls and drain onto the floor. To prevent this from happening, the plastic container must be thermally insulated with sheet foam.
So, you decided to make your own air conditioner. Where to begin? First, a little theory, which can be gleaned from articles and videos on the Internet. An air conditioner is a system that allows you to maintain an optimal temperature in a room and is capable of eliminating harmful particles in the air.
All existing air conditioners are divided into two types - compressor and evaporative.
Let's look at some examples that are alternatives to an expensive device for a refreshing effect in a stuffy room.
A remedy for the heat of our ancestors
In times of lack of cooling systems, the use of a wet towel was considered a fairly effective method. For example, they wrapped it around a bottle and placed it in a through place, where the matter cooled during the process of evaporation of water. This principle is included in many of the homemade air cooling devices presented below.
Fan + water
The main components for this system will be:
- regular fan;
- a container filled with water, a cloth (preferably a towel);
- wire for fastening;
- a suitable body for this purpose.
The operating principle of this system is based on filling the refrigerator container with ice or cold water. Under the influence of the pump, cold water enters the radiator, and the fan supplies cool air flow outside.
The use of such air conditioners allows you to significantly save your own budget not only on creating the device, but also on its installation. The proposed options are as environmentally friendly as possible and completely harmless, which is very much appreciated nowadays.
During hot weather, we all face the problem of dry air inside heated buildings, this negative impact is especially felt in multi-storey buildings. Many people cannot afford to buy a normal climate system, but it turns out that it is quite possible to make an air conditioner from various scrap materials with your own hands. This article will tell you exactly how.
Everyone knows that an air conditioner is designed to maintain an optimal temperature in a confined space, ensuring a comfortable stay. All models of modern air conditioners are divided into two main types: compressor type and evaporative. Many craftsmen come up with various very original designs of air conditioners for the home, which are based on evaporation of moisture under the active influence of heat.
Even our ancestors often used homemade devices to cool the room, when there was no trace of such a word - climate system - in the lexicon. To do this, a thick canvas fabric was hung on the transom of a window or window, and the other end was lowered into a basin of water. Hot air from the street dried the canvas and a cooled and humid stream entered the room. Many people still make such an original and simple homemade air conditioner; they just insert a fan into the window to significantly speed up the blowing process.
So, to make a simple homemade air conditioner using improvised materials, you will need:
- small fan, which can be bought in a store or at the market from grandfathers;
- container with cold water;
- thick fabric, you can use a terry towel;
- wire for making a frame.
A strong frame is made from wire, we insert a fan into the window, a frame with a towel attached to it is fixed in front of it on the inside, the second end of which is lowered into a container with cold water.
Any user can build such a simple household homemade air conditioner at home; for the lazy, the option shown in the photo below is suitable.
We can say that this option is the most silent device. Among the disadvantages: it is necessary periodically add cold water.
Plastic containers+water
Another rather original option involving a household fan, and for its manufacture the following components are required:
- plastic bottles of different shapes and capacities;
- floor fan;
- water.
For the best effect, place bottles of water in the freezer and freeze, but there is one trick - to make the ice melt slowly, add a little coarse salt to the water.
The fan is installed near the table, and rows of bottles are lined up in front of it at a short distance from each other. The whole process is very simple: the ice melts, taking heat from the air, and the fan supplies cooled air to the desired location.
We change bottles periodically. If there is no space to place them on a plane, then you can fix them on the back of the household appliance. This air conditioner made from plastic bottles takes up little space and works almost silently, but its effect is slightly worse than the original version.
Copper tube+hose
- Another option for air conditioning, which is quite easy to make at home from a table fan. To do this you need to prepare:
- garden rubber or plastic hose for watering;
- thin copper tube;
table fan. The tube is bent in a circle, leaving a gap between the sections for the unhindered passage of air flow, and secured to the device limiter with clamps. One end is connected to the tap, and the other to the drain. The cooling process is also simple - water circulates through the tube
and cools it, the air flow, passing through the homemade device, cools.
The disadvantage of the system is that it can only be installed in the kitchen, which results in significant water consumption.
Ice and cooler
- container made of tin or plastic;
- self-tapping screws;
- drill;
- old CD;
- cooler (mini fan);
- USB cable;
We drill the container in the lower part along the entire perimeter to suck in air, carefully drill the disk in several places. At a distance of 1/3 from the bottom, screw in three self-tapping screws that will hold the disk in the desired position. Ice is placed on the CD, the entire structure is closed with a lid on which the cooler is rigidly mounted - it will draw cooled air from the inside. We connect the old USB cable to the cooler, and insert the other end into the connector of the system unit or laptop.
There is a video for users to learn about the entire manufacturing process:
Unique device made from bottles
As everyone knows, Africa is the hottest continent on our planet; in some regions there is intense heat almost all year round and there is no electricity. Craftsmen from Bangladesh came up with a very original air conditioner made from plastic bottles, based on a physical law: the gas’s own temperature decreases when passing through a sharp contraction and maximum expansion subsequently.
As the prototype showed, the air at the outlet loses about 5 degrees - an excellent result without the use of technical means.
The unique device is very simple to make - we provide an algorithm for all actions.
- We cut out a rectangle from plywood or fiberboard that matches the window opening.
- We measure how many bottles fit on it, installed closely. It is better to select a container designed for 2 liters.
- We drill pre-designated holes in the sheet - their diameter is identical to the size of the neck of the plastic container.
- We insert the bottles one by one, removing the cork and cutting off one third, into the holes, and secure them. If there are gaps, then fill them with silicone sealant.
- We fix the made air conditioner in the window with the bottles facing out.
This is probably the most environmentally friendly device in the world - what else do you need in the heat at the dacha.
Radiator+fan
There is no limit to the imagination of home craftsmen - they try to update almost any old equipment and give it a second life: for example, a miracle air conditioner made with their own hands from an old car aluminum radiator.
The simple design is made up of a radiator, a room fan and a case from an old computer system unit - a radiator and a fan are mounted inside the unit, and water is supplied and drained through specially routed tubes. For ease of carrying, handles are attached to the body. Gifted craftsmen install the power supply with different voltages, so that there are several operating modes, and control will be carried out by a built-in switch.
Durable rubber hoses are secured to the tubes using clamps; one is used to supply water, and the other is used to drain. The advantage of such a miniature split system, made by yourself, is high speed of water passage through the main device and fast rotation of the fan. At the same time, condensation does not appear on the radiator, constructed from aluminum plates.
Unusual use of a freezer
From an old refrigerator, with some skill and a flight of imagination, some homeowners make an air conditioner that installed in a window opening or a special niche with access to the street. The chamber intended for freezing food is inserted in such a way that the back part is completely outside, since there is a radiator located there, which is an active source of heat. The main cold is concentrated inside the chamber, so we make a hole in the door and install a fan of the required size.
From the sides of the chamber, which will be located outside, you can drill holes for the influx of air mass. This design of the refrigerator will provide an influx of coolness into the room during hot summer days.
You can make an air conditioner from a refrigerator using an old one. portable version of a household product.
- We take the case from a mobile version of the refrigerator, which has not been working for a long time, but keeps a good seal, remove the lid, and install two coolers from the computer on it. To do this, outline the size of each, then drill round holes using a drill and a mechanical jigsaw.
- We put the coolers in place and seal all the cracks with sealant.
- We put ice inside the chamber - you can pre-freeze the required amount in a plastic container suitable in size to the internal volume of the old device.
- We close the lid tightly and turn on the fans using a specially purchased device or connect them to the PC. The ice takes quite a long time to melt, and a home-made air conditioner from an old mobile refrigerator manages to cool the room perfectly.
- Then the water is poured into the container, and a new portion of ice is placed in its place.
As you can see, making an air conditioner with your own hands is quite possible without any special technical skills. All of the homemade air conditioner options proposed above are absolutely harmless and made from environmentally friendly components; many of them help to significantly save not only on the purchase of expensive equipment, but also on its installation.
Original designs will help you avoid heat stroke while at the dacha, and for car enthusiasts who still have old radiator from the stove An original air conditioner like this is suitable, the manufacturing method of which is shown in the video:
Wanting to save money, they use a homemade air conditioner to cool the air. Homemade devices operate on the principle of lowering the temperature of any surface when water is converted into steam.
Installation of factory and homemade air conditioner
The design of a household appliance such as an air conditioner is quite complex. The air cooling system operates by transferring heat from one zone to another: in the hot season - from the house to the street, and in the winter months - from the space outside the walls of the apartment inside it. A special substance is responsible for the circulation of warm air masses - freon, which, if necessary, boils and goes into a gaseous state, acquiring a low temperature.
The air temperature in the room and the pressure of freon, called refrigerant, are controlled by an electronic control unit, which begins to work after receiving signals from special sensors. Since the operation of an air conditioner is a complex process, making an air cooling system yourself is not easy.
Homemade air conditioners are distinguished by the fact that they are activated by blowing room air through cold objects.
This object can be pieces of ice or cold-producing devices used to store food in bags during transport in the summer.
Making your own air conditioner
- All coolers made independently are units of two parts:
- a block that lowers the temperature of air masses;
an element that distributes a cooled environment throughout the apartment room.
Ice and draft
If desired, the design of the air conditioner can be made more complex: use a wire basket suspended from the bars of the fan grille. A container of ice is placed in this container.
If possible, it doesn’t hurt to improve your homemade air conditioner to make it work better. This means abandoning the plastic bottle and using a “cold accumulator” - a container with a special liquid used in cooler bags. The performance of such an installation for changing the microclimate is determined by the size of the vessel with pieces of ice.
A homemade air conditioner that operates thanks to ice and draft will cool the air in the room much more effectively if you assemble the installation as follows:
- take a very large plastic vessel with a tight lid;
- make 2 holes in the lid of the container, and the diameter of the first should match the parameters of the fan grille, and the size of the second can be 5 or 10 cm;
- insert into the second slot and securely fasten the corner fitting by 5 or 10 cm, which will allow an “L”-shaped outlet to be formed above the cover;
- immerse in the first hole and secure the fan well, using self-tapping screws immersed in the lid of the container;
- Fill a tightly sealed container with bottles of crushed ice, frozen liquid or a cold accumulator.
The fan of the device, made according to the instructions, will push warm air masses through the ice container and produce cold currents exiting the corner fitting. Since the body of the container is insulated from heat, the ice will not melt instantly, which means it will ensure the operation of the air conditioner for many hours.
Video “Air conditioning using ice”
Fan and cold water
Together with a fan, you can use not frozen, but simply chilled water to build an air conditioner, which will create a dynamic flow running through the copper radiator grille. In other words, the fan blades will draw air into the spiral of the copper tube, through which water from the water supply will flow, characterized by a stable temperature of 14–16 degrees Celsius.
With this approach to designing an air conditioner, you will get an inexhaustible source of cold air.
- But you will have to pay for the wasted water, so it is much more reasonable to make an air conditioner from a fan and cold water as follows:
- next to the neck of the container, attach a compressor from the aquarium, equipped with a pipe that sucks in water and connected to a hose that runs from the lid to the bottom of the barrel;
- attach a fan to the lid of the vessel, the grille of which must be equipped with a spiral of copper tube;
- align one edge of the copper spiral with the compressor pipe, and the other with a short hose, which occupies only a quarter of the height of the barrel;
- attach a check valve to the end of the short hose, which blocks the movement of liquid from the barrel to the hose.
After activating the compressor, such an air conditioner comes into working condition, since the cooling spiral attached to the fan grille is filled with cold water from the bottom of the container. The liquid is given a certain direction: after running in a spiral, it will merge into the upper zone, where relatively warm water is located. The result of this organization of the movement of the liquid medium is the flow of only cooled liquid to the fan blades.
Video “Creating an air conditioner from a container of water”
From an old refrigerator
Only men who are experienced in repair work should try to make an air conditioner from an unused refrigerator. In this case, the design of an air cooler involves the use of household appliances for freezing food, the components of which are a cooling radiator (freezer), refrigerant, compressor and condenser, which is a grille at the back of the refrigerator.
To assemble an air conditioner from parts of an old refrigerator, you need to do the following:
- remove the doors from the household appliance that block access to both chambers;
- Carefully, in order to avoid damage to the walls, insert a fan powered by electricity into the freezer;
- using a drill, make several holes with a diameter of 1.5 cm in the lower area of the side walls of the refrigerator;
- Place the refrigerator so that the rear grille is outside the room in which you want to make the air cool (you can place the household appliance in the doorway, sealing the area between the body and the edges of the opening with polyethylene film).
If the previous point is not feasible, then you need to do this: open the refrigerant supply line and remove only the condenser outside the room, using copper pipes for this.
True, this solution to the problem involves pouring a new portion of freon into the system.
Video “Air conditioner from the refrigerator”
When you decide to make an air conditioner from a portable refrigerator, in addition to the housing from a small household appliance, you must use 2 more items:
- radiator;
- submersible pump.
A homemade air cooler is constructed from a portable refrigerator in several stages:
- a radiator of a suitable size is installed in the “box” of the device;
- a submersible pump (taken from an aquarium or car washer) is attached to the bottom of the refrigerator body;
- the wires are led outside the chamber;
- a square-shaped hole is drilled in the lid of the refrigerator (from inside the body), and 2 round holes are made outside this area, which will be needed for ventilation;
- The radiator is fixed inside the chamber using silicone;
- the pump output and radiator inlet are connected;
- A hose is placed at the radiator outlet, which will help make the device operate more quietly.
The created air conditioner will cool the air by filling the refrigerator capacity with pieces of ice or cold water, which, under the pressure of the pump, will flow into the radiator and, under the influence of the fan, form cold air currents.
From a car radiator
If you are planning to make a cooling device from a car radiator, you will need to prepare the following parts:
- fan (from the car);
- radiator (from the car);
- computer power supply housing.
To assemble an air cooler from these elements, you need to perform certain tasks:
- mount a radiator on the back wall of the power supply case, and a fan on the front wall, which will allow the air flow to exit the radiator and be directed towards the fan;
- Attach handles to the created structure to make it convenient to move.
Since the power supply produces different voltages, the air conditioner can be turned on in different modes of supplying cooled air.
To correct the operation of a homemade device, you only need to adjust the built-in speed switch.
The radiator used to create the air conditioner is distinguished by its plate appearance. Rubber hoses are placed on it and secured with clamps. Hollow tubes are needed to supply and discharge water. In this case, the liquid must flow from one place to another very quickly, for which the fan motor operates at high speed, providing an instant decrease in the temperature in the room.
Video “How to make an air conditioner from a radiator”
Other options
The instructions for creating this air cooler require:
- connect the fan to the air purifier using a hose or pipe;
- make a housing for the air conditioner parts using any available materials;
- make a filter from a fine mesh mesh (fold it 4 times) and attach it to the lower area of the body;
- Fill the air cleaner reservoir with water and connect the system to the electrical network.
The made device will function due to the fact that the fan moves air masses into an evaporation chamber, which contains water and cools the medium trapped in it.
Outside the air conditioner, cool air will appear after passing through the holes in the mesh.
1 - body; 2 - wire mesh; 3 - air duct; 4 - holes for cooled air outlet; 5 - flange connection; 6 - fan with motor
- You can also create a spray air conditioner with your own hands. The device is assembled from a large container filled with water and an air duct. To make this air conditioner work, you need to do the following:
- insert a spray bottle into the evaporation chamber, the nozzle of which will allow you to regulate the intake of liquid from the tank;
connect the installation with a ventilation system that helps cool the air masses.
Advantages and disadvantages of homemade air conditioners
- The undoubted advantages of self-assembled air conditioners include:
- real performance, because such installations really cool the air in the room;
the ability to assemble from scrap materials that did not require spending money.
- But homemade air coolers also have a number of significant disadvantages:
- operating time is limited by the amount of ice that has to be constantly replenished;
- the inability of the installation to cool the air in all rooms at once, since while one room is blown with cold currents, a refrigerator is working in another, freezing ice and therefore heating the air;
- significant energy consumption, which necessitates the need to replenish the supply of ice chips;
strong humidification of the air in the room, which is caused by its passage through cold water or ice.
All of the homemade air coolers reviewed function without problems. They are a real salvation from the heat when the situation is hopeless. True, using a home-made air conditioner causes a lot of trouble.