Air conditioning

[sunnymw]

I'm looking for recommendations on keeping cool this summer, on one specific trip, but if it's something that can be reused in our garage where SO does his work (no climate control or insulation really), then bonus points for that.

My mom is camping with us at Ft Pickens this year, end of June beginning of July. She's from the North so she isn't used to boiling temperatures. Anything that could make her more comfortable?

Other than a box fan. That's usually all WE use, but we're kinda-sorta used to it.

[Valmaris]

Re: Air conditioning

http://youtu.be/HxSLbpAwibg

[MacGyver]

Re: Air conditioning

They have limited cooling capacity and need to be refueled with ice regularly, but you could build a portable swamp cooler.
http://www.bing.com/search?q=diy+por...s=bs&form=QBRE

If there's electricity at Ft Pickens, you could just buy a portable AC unit.

[sunnymw]

Re: Air conditioning

There is electricity. I'm having a hard time finding a good portable AC unit.

[MacGyver]

Re: Air conditioning

I know y'all got Home Depots in GA (Years ago, I was amazed at the HD stores in Atlanta before they got up this far north) They sell several portable AC units - the ones that look like dehumidifiers, which is basically what they are, with the addition of a blower motor. They either drain into a small pan that needs emptying every so often, or you can attach a hose to drain 'em. With no big windows in my basement, I use a mid-sized unit to keep half of it nice and cool. I would imagine a small unit would take care of you just fine.

[Bigdog57]

Re: Air conditioning

Lowes and Sears sell them too. I have two, an 8KBTU and a 12KBTU. A bit large to haul in a car, so be aware of that. Also you'll need to empty the condensation bottle each morning. But needs only a smallish hole for the exhaust tube to go outside the tent.

[terasec]

Re: Air conditioning

they may be portable because they have wheels
but generally not that small
i had such a unit for a while, wouldnt want to lug it around camping and in the car
maybe an option is to look at what RV's use? see if they use smaller units

[Malamute]

Re: Air conditioning

I've seen some creative ideas for home made air conditioners for camping. Some are fairly simple and involve a bucket with hole made in it, a small fan, and ice.

I just googled "air conditioning at Burning Man" and saw several variants of the idea.

I knew of one guy that went to Burning Man and made his own AC to keep cool when sleeping. I think it was solar/battery operated. If you have power, it makes it somewhat easier. Looks like many are made from a 5 gallon bucket or a small cooler or plastic tub.

[tradarcher]

Re: Air conditioning

Along with that Malamute said if you google " pictures of air conditioning for tents" you'll see a lot of different ideas of what people used.

[tplife]

Re: Air conditioning

This far down south (gotta' lot in the 'Glades now), is strictly for the swampers. Those coolers won't deliver unless you're west of the Mississippi, so go for the gusto with a real AC unit...and get up off the ground for serious air circulation. Bahia Honda SP, Florida Keys:

[Bigdog57]

Re: Air conditioning

One popular method, is to place a small window AC on a milk crate, and use some ducting to direct the cold air into the tent. Some bigger cabin tents have a small square "AC" access port in the tent wall.

[sunnymw]

Re: Air conditioning

Wow! Well, I'm not cutting any holes into my new tents just for that :p I can probably improvise a way to move the air where it needs to go, and I can probably find a small cheap A/C unit to do it with.

Thanks!

[MaryA]

Re: Air conditioning

This blog reviewed a bunch of portable units and fans to use in tents. We picked up a tiny Frigidaire window model last summer and it worked quite well. But we did have to cut a hole in the tent to vent it.