Cool Gadget - Really Cool!

SCCutler

SCCutler

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Spike Cutler
...so I have lamented how freakin' hot it is here, especially in the ground ops phase in summer. In-plane A/C is a rarity, and cost of retrofitting is downright stunning.

Have seen the ArticAirCooler (an ice chest with asmall water pump, heater core and powerful fan), and had assumed that it would not really put out enough cooling effect to be useful.

Well, one of the guys on the DFWPilots.com board bought one, and says that it works remarkably well.

But what's even cooler (so to speak) is the creative engineering which followed from his original post, to build the mousetrap better, and if you follow the thread, you'll see what I mean; I am most intrigued by the idea of having a fan/coil unit up front with the pilot / co-pilot, and another one in the back, either or both of which could be run. Very innovative!

See the thread, here: http://dfwpilots.org/board/index.php?showtopic=1721
 
Well your post answered my biggest question, I assumed (made an a## out of you and me) that this unit would send chilled moisture to the cockpit causing eventual headaches with the electronics. It seems to not do that though instead it cools dry air and workds like an air conditioner.
as I live and breathe the same air as Spike, I may have to give this a try!
 
Ah, another weekend project for me to tackle. They have some good ideas on those additional pages of the post... the form-fitted styrofoam layer to isolate the air from the moisture and make a better air duct; using frozen BLOCK ice (in plastic milk jugs, for example), which would last longer; adding a return tube so the water doesn't drain directly on the ice and melt it faster.... good ideas!
 
Bound to be 40 lbs plus 1-=15 for the ice chest. 55lbs or so loaded?
 
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I recall seeing that at SNF. The idea is excellent. His execution had a certain "basement business" look to it, but from the link you posted it looks like he is doing better on the cosmetic side.

The biggest unit uses a full-sized chest cooler and then a separate small cooler for an "air handler." That lets you put the cooler in the baggage bay and the air handler closer to the people.
 
I just slide back the canopy on the ground.
 
Anthony said:
I just slide back the canopy on the ground.
Click to expand...
I just flip the toggle switch (just forward of the rotor brake) over my head to medium or all the way forward to high and stay nice and cool even with the sun streaming in the big bubble :D

Or, in the R22, just take the doors off. :yes:
 
Do you think the unit would spill water when the ice has fully melted and you're in a steep turn or slipping down final? Would encourage you to keep the ball centered!
 
Troy Whistman said:
Ah, another weekend project for me to tackle. They have some good ideas on those additional pages of the post... the form-fitted styrofoam layer to isolate the air from the moisture and make a better air duct; using frozen BLOCK ice (in plastic milk jugs, for example), which would last longer; adding a return tube so the water doesn't drain directly on the ice and melt it faster.... good ideas!
Click to expand...

Troy, if you do this, go to a garage or auto repair shop and get a used heater core. it may leak a tiny bit, but you wouldn't care it'd just leak back into the water if at all. There's no back pressure at the outlet to cause a leak. If you did restrict the flow with a small valve at the outlet it might improve the cooling efficiency a bit. In a former life we found that our coolant was flowing through a radiator on our race car too fast to allow maximum heat transfer. Putting a restriction in to slow down the flow rate a bit made a dramatic difference in the operating temp.
I just threw out the heater core that I just took out of my truck. It would have been perfect. Even made from aluminum. Saving 30-40 dollars on a unit like this cuts the cost Waaaay down.
And yes, you do really have to pull the WHOLE dash out to get to the heater core in my truck
 

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Keith Lane said:
If you did restrict the flow with a small valve at the outlet it might improve the cooling efficiency a bit. In a former life we found that our coolant was flowing through a radiator on our race car too fast to allow maximum heat transfer. Putting a restriction in to slow down the flow rate a bit made a dramatic difference in the operating temp.
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Keith,

This reminds me of something my auto A/C guy said... he said if you turn the fan speed DOWN, you'll actually cool the car better than running it full blast, as the air spends more time over the cooling coils before entering the cabin. I don't know; I find I feel colder when it's moving faster air, but maybe that's more evaporative effect than the air temp.

Thanks for the tips! Your suggestion was what they decided to do on page 4 or 5 of the dfwpilots.com link Spike sent. Actually, they ended up going with a CPU water-cooler radiator and 120mm CPU fan!
 
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