Cheap A/C Fix - But Worth It?
Wednesday May 14, 2008
Houston is no place to live without air conditioning. When one man's A/C system took a dive, he was quoted a whopping $1200 to repair it. He was perturbed at the estimate, but University of Houston student Scott Dawson kept his cool. He wasn't even sure how long he would keep his car, so the thought of paying $1200 wasn't settling well with him. That's when Scott shifted into high gear and set out to find a better solution. Instead of seeking an elaborate workaround for the car's A/C system, he employed the faithful K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) system and drew up a plan for cool air that was a real money saver. Scott bought one of the smallest room air conditioners and mounted it on the roof of his car. He cut a hole in the roof to pipe the cool air right into the cockpit. To power the unit, he used what's called a voltage inverter (a unit that converts DC power into AC) wired directly to his car battery and plugged the wall unit right in. It worked. Scott now has cool air blowing right on his head while he braves Houston's high temps in traffic. His fix cost around $400. Sure, it's not in any way permanent, and I wonder what would happen in a serious rain storm, but you have to applaud his ingenuity. See Scott Lawson's A/C system in action at Fox Houston.
Comments
I understand how he feel. People always take advantage of good people. At least he did something about it and not talk BS. I would have gotten rid of the car or drive this vehicle in the cooler months.
I’d hate to be behind this guy when the air conditioning rips loose from his car. Or, as you suggest, when he gets caught in a rain storm. From the pic it doesn’t look like the unit has any weather proofing. Plus, can anybody say, free air conditioner? Hope he can lock it in a garage at night!
lol what a tool! i just got a book for 12 bucks and went to the junk yard and now my car has had good working a/c for 2 years running and it cost me under 200? some people are so dumb and the worse part is that others think its cool. lmao
An evaporative cooler would be even cheaper and all you need electricity for is to run the small water pump and fan.
Have seen guys doing this for years on vans. I don’t know where he spent all that money though.?? a cheap air unit is less than 100, inverter 59. Not a very smart shopper..?? not good for wind resistnace. Hope he has a good battery? Would be better with a portable unit and just use a hose out let to breathe??
I’m a firm believer in 4/50 air conditioning: 4 windows down, 50 mph!
I would love to see someone driving down the highway like that!!!
www.franklynwholesalers.com
Evaporative coolers will not work in Houston, folks–the humidity is far too high. I bet the unit will only cools his head, and the passengers can still stew. Most automotive AC units are around 5 ton capacity, and that roof-mounted unit is far from that value.
I installed an ice chest where the back seat used to be and ran ice water through the heater core with a 12v bilge pump. It worked fine and cost about $50.
He should have promised to stick some add on and some appliance store would have given him the A.C. I would have to imagine the Inverter is a pretty big one to run an A.C, so I am impressed he put this together for $400. Keep up the good work.
it is the easeyest thing the world to critisize some ones good idea if you like it all outhers can go pound sand in there @#$%$%^&*
Clear, to the point, and blunt. I like your style Chris!