Air Conditioning?

[Psychoholic]

Ok, the threads about AC and how often do you drive your coach have peaked my interest - how hard would it be to put air in Morticia on the cheap?

And when i say cheap, I am talking CHEAP. No Vintage Air setup or any bullshit like that.

[hotroddwayne]

Ok, the threads about AC and how often do you drive your coach have peaked my interest - how hard would it be to put air in Morticia on the cheap?

And when i say cheap, I am talking CHEAP. No Vintage Air setup or any bullshit like that.

The word "cheap" never falls into the air conditioning category Chris. After over $1400 invested in Matilda's A/C system it still doesn't work as it should at all. 3 different shops worked on it, everything is new (including the compressor), been converted to use the new refrigerant, and it's worthless. As for the "Vintage air" systems, i'm not impressed by them either. Dad installed it on his 1936 Ford hotrod 8 years ago & it's nothing but trouble, rarely works, & is very expensive to repair.

[tonytheskin]

Ok, the threads about AC and how often do you drive your coach have peaked my interest - how hard would it be to put air in Morticia on the cheap?

And when i say cheap, I am talking CHEAP. No Vintage Air setup or any bullshit like that.

Talk to LMS, he said his is great. Don't know what he has invested into it though.

[Custom Coffin Works]

I'm thinking about running one of these with a converter. If it works the way they say, it would make snow in my coach.

http://cgi.ebay.com/PORTABLE-9000-btu-ROOM-AIR-CONDITIONER-ac-conditioning_W0QQitemZ290325331831QQcmdZViewItemQQ ptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4398bcff77&_trksid= p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65:12|66:2|39:1|72:1171|240 :1318|301:1|293:1|294:50[/URL]

With my custom interior I could easily build it into the seat.

[pyro]

put a vintage air under dash system in my standard 63 Cad. Blows ice chips if you want it too.

I will be doing the same to my 63 MM, but with a rear vent or two also.

[Highbars]

I am going to experiment with the power inverter and the 110VAC unit.. With this set up a larger output Alt. will be needed but it could easily be plugged in at a show or camping and you got A/C.. Plus no load on engine or cooling system overload...I agree with Hotroddwayne "CHEAP" is probably not in the cards but in the long run it would be the less expensive way and more useful way to go.....Unless you are restoring to OEM Spec... Then well .... Your screwed...

[Scary Guy]

I'm thinking about running one of these with a converter. If it works the way they say, it would make snow in my coach.

http://cgi.ebay.com/PORTABLE-9000-btu-ROOM-AIR-CONDITIONER-ac-conditioning_W0QQitemZ290325331831QQcmdZViewItemQQ ptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4398bcff77&_trksid= p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65:12|66:2|39:1|72:1171|240 :1318|301:1|293:1|294:50

With my custom interior I could easily build it into the seat.

Does that thing shred paper too? Because that's what it looks like.

I'd kill for one in my room though. I can't wait until Mr. Heat comes to say hello to me again today. Maybe he'll bring his friend Mr. Humidity with him.

At least I don't live in Texas I guess

[Boogeyman Con Carne]

Bah, it's not that bad... Only 102 today...

[Morella]

I was going to put in a small 110v unit in each fender, duct the outside air through grilles in the floor (mine has a removable panel that you could use for that), turn the front ducts toward the front when driving, if necessary, back to the crotch if it overheats while "camping", etc., with two 135 amp-hour batteries and a 2500 watt invertor. One or two would have run all night because they would cycle in that small a space, but replacing the smog pump with a second alternator might be a good idea, or waiting until you charge your main battery before you turn on a relay to charge the back ones. You could overheat your alternator trying to charge all of those batteries at once.

The batteries and invertor are in mine, but I'm pulling them out since I'm going to sell it. If you put A/C units in the fenders, be sure that they have drain hoses that you can hook up to scuppers and get the water out, so that your fenders don't rust. There's the option of the overhead unit, but then you have to cut a hole in your roof, you still need an inverter, and some people will think that it looks stupid.

Another option is the underdash unit, but there is one problem with those. The hoses are held on by clamps, and they tend to pop off. You might want to go to an A/C shop and get some swaged hoses put together for it. It's embarassing when your hoses go "SPPSSHHHHHHH!!!" and you lose all of your refrigerant in a stinky cloud, not to mention expensive. That was how I learned the hard way that any time you work on an air conditioner, inspect or just replace the hoses. They might cost $120, but the oil and refrigerant to do it over will cost you that much, and then you still have to replace them.

The compressor seals need to be in good shape too; in fact, if you're installing one for the first time, it may end up being cheaper to put in a new one.

-denise

[hotroddwayne]

There's the option of the overhead unit, but then you have to cut a hole in your roof, you still need an inverter, and some people will think that it looks stupid.

Ya know what... if I ever saw someone driving a hearse with an RV air conditioner mounted on the roof i'd hit them square in the mouth & drop them off at rehab... because they're obviously on CRACK!!!

[EvilManor]

Ya know what... if I ever saw someone driving a hearse with an RV air conditioner mounted on the roof i'd hit them square in the mouth & drop them off at rehab... because they're obviously on CRACK!!!

Surprised we haven't already seen one on a ecto clone

[Morella]

I really like the one I saw at Home Depot. It's kind of shaped like an old radio, and all you have to do is run an exhaust hose, like a drier tube, outside the floor or wherever. At $450, it is cheaper than any car air conditioner, brand new, and you can probably run it on an inverter.

-denise

[devil man]

guys when i had my 71 i fixed my a/c and found my self turning it off and i live in f.l. and if you fixed every thing and it still don't work then you may have air in the system and when you fixed every thing did you do it all at the same time or has they said if all at the same time then i am lost but if one peace at a time then if they didn't replace the right things at the same time like replace the compressor and not flush out the lines and change out the acumilator or drier it could have screwd the system sorry about bad spelling

[BIGEVIL]

As someone who tried 3 different ways to run electric a/c, let me tell you the truth.
The only reason I sought out to do it, was for keeping the car cool while I was at a car show.
1st and most importantly, a good automative a/c system puts out about 35,000 btu ! You can not get that short of a full blown house unit. An automotive compressor draws about 5hp. It has to move a good volume of freon at very high pressure. An electric pump has to be HUGE to do the same job.
For "on the cheap" rob a whole kit from a similar car at a bone yard.

If I had to do it all over again, I would buy a roof mounted system from an RV and cut a hole in the roof. Now before you raise your fist at me....I would have the unit mounted in a recessed box so the top of the unit is flush with the roof line. On the inside I would build a cool overhead console (see some of my previous pics) to hide the system. Since the roof line is so high, a 12" tall overhead console would look at home. The roof of ther car is so high, you would never see the opening anyway. If you really felt anal about it. you could hide it under a power sunroof.

[devil man]

that sounds like a good idea but i guess i just got lucky with mine but yea finding one with same parts in a yard is most likely the cheapest way well good luck