Who says Texans aren't innovators?

Yeah, but since he only has 1 extension cord, he can only get 50' away from home...
 
i think i saw a picture from oshkosh of something like this in Scholler. A chevy suburban with a window AC in the back.
 
gkainz said:
Yeah, but since he only has 1 extension cord, he can only get 50' away from home...
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He probably has at least a 2000 watt inverter. I have a 1750 watt inverter in my car. I can get it to run a 25" color TV but it wouldn't sustain firing up a laser printer. I might have had a better chance if the fuser didn't come on with the rest of the machine power up.

I think he was pretty creative. Heck, you can get a decently rated window AC for $150 and a 2000 watt inverter for $150-175. Compare that to the cost of auto AC components... if I had a junker and just wanted to cool it for a period of time, I'd probably do similar as this guy.
 
uh isnt there basically a big generator under the hood? all you need is an inverter for AC.
 
oh but how much does his highway mileage suffer with all that drag though? where is the break even point?
 
tonycondon said:
uh isnt there basically a big generator under the hood? all you need is an inverter for AC.
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It's an alternator and the output is usually like 35-50 amps at 13.8 volts - 70 amps if the car has a trailer-tow option. Lessee 483 watts with 35 amp, 966 watts with the 70

Lance can do the math but think to get the 800 or so watts at 117v need for a small A/C is a bit much to expect, especially since the invertor is not 100% efficient.

How do they make the 400 and 600 watt invertors work on a stock car, Lance? How do they keep the alternators from melting?
 
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Depends on what part of the Houston area he's from... some people might actually applaud him.
 
Don Jones said:
I do probably 5 a week

The guy's time is worth something, I bet he spent quite a lot of time getting this done and all that to drive around looking like a redneck
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But he's in Texas...I thought everyone thought everybody here is redneck anyway??? :) (Just like it seems a lot of people think we all walk around with guns on our hips....oh wait, ahhhhh...never mind. :eek: :) )
 
ausrere said:
But he's in Texas...I thought everyone thought everybody here is redneck anyway??? :) (Just like it seems a lot of people think we all walk around with guns on our hips....oh wait, ahhhhh...never mind. :eek: :) )
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That was my theory when I worked in Nashville: "Son, you're a man now. Here's yer pickup, yer cigarettes, your shotgun that goes into the the rack..."
 
KennyFlys said:
Check the price of a compressor for your car.
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Junkyard, $25-$150 depending on the model. The dude must have gone to A&M because he ain't too bright. If he keeps the car a year and drives it at Texas speeds, he'll spend more in gas in lost economy than $1200.
 
mikea said:
It's an alternator and the output is usually like 35-50 amps at 13.8 volts - 70 amps if the car has a trailer-tow option. Lessee 483 watts with 35 amp, 966 watts with the 70

Lance can do the math but think to get the 800 or so watts at 117v need for a small A/C is a bit much to expect, especially since the invertor is not 100% efficient.

How do they make the 400 and 600 watt invertors work on a stock car, Lance? How do they keep the alternators from melting?
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Most window A/C units have about a 1.7- 2.5 kw starting surge... He probably mounted a Honda gen set in the trunk.
 
Henning said:
Most window A/C units have about a 1.7- 2.5 kw starting surge... He probably mounted a Honda gen set in the trunk.
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The video shows an inverter tied directly to the battery. He starts the car, and then turns on the a/c. So he's using the battery to cope with the starting surge, but still, he's got a chunky inverter and he's driving his alternator really hard to keep up with it.
 
Ken Ibold said:
The video shows an inverter tied directly to the battery. He starts the car, and then turns on the a/c. So he's using the battery to cope with the starting surge, but still, he's got a chunky inverter and he's driving his alternator really hard to keep up with it.
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That confirms my suspicions that he's an Aggie. All them Aggie jokes didn't come about with no merit. They couldn't even engineer a bonfire without killing people. I had one on a boat who didnt understand that if I picked up an exaust stack from a boiler unit from 1/3 way up, that it was going to fall over (this thing was 70' tall, stainless steel and weighed 1300+lbs) and kill the people sitting on the pipes next to it who were trying to get me to do the lift without getting out of the way....:dunno: :dunno: :dunno: . "Why aren't you doing the lift" "Because they won't get off the pipes and over here out of the way" "Why do they need to get off?" "Look how the rig is slung and you tell me the problem..." "I don't see any problem." "Didn't they teach you about CG at TA&M!?!" It was a true moronathon, much like I see in that picture.
 
Henning said:
Most window A/C units have about a 1.7- 2.5 kw starting surge... He probably mounted a Honda gen set in the trunk.
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I'm thinking the small one-room A/Cs which are like 7 to 8 amps at 117 volts. I have a Panasonic.
 
Henning said:
Junkyard, $25-$150 depending on the model. The dude must have gone to A&M because he ain't too bright. If he keeps the car a year and drives it at Texas speeds, he'll spend more in gas in lost economy than $1200.
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yep, and around here he could have bought a new compressor kit (not reman) with the compressor, oil, reciever drier, orfice tube or expansion valve, and system flush for around $350.00. Took all the effort he used to engineer this mess and installed the parts himself, then taken it to someone to charge the system, and bingo, $450.00 and does not look like a moron. Sheez, what some people will do to save money.B) I agree with Henning, gotta be an Aggie.
 
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