Direct current powered air conditioner...

Thread Starter

Externet

Joined Nov 29, 2005
2,672
Hi.
Anyone knows which defunct electric vehicle brand, model... can be a canibalizable donor to use its airconditioner transplanted to a camper, a boat, a cabin, to be powered on direct current ?
What voltage is the typical direct current supply needed ?

Any database of what manufacturers use in their cars ?
 

crutschow

Joined Mar 14, 2008
38,748
Anyone knows which defunct electric vehicle brand, model... can be a canibalizable donor to use its airconditioner transplanted to a camper, a boat, a cabin,
That would be a significant task, since you would need the motor/compressor, the evaporator, the condenser, two fans, repipeing the system, and then recharging it when completed.

A search turned up numerous AC units designed to operate from 12Vdc.
Or are those more money than you want to spend?
Note that 10k-12k BTU cooling capacity requires 40-60A from a 12V battery.
 
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My recollection is that the very early 1960's Chrysler Imperial had an AC unit that seemed tobe a physically small, boxy looking home unit. It would still need an alternative to the engine driven compressor, though.
It is very likely that an alternative that would be both smaller and more effective will be a mains powered window unit with an inverter.

AS AN ALTERNATIVE, in the past few days I have seen repeatedly advertised small package device claaimed to magicly coola single room, and selling for a quite low price. Evidently it is able to circumvent the basic laws of physics.
 
Search for "Peltier Cooler". It is something like a heat pump without moving parts. I need to cool off something. These Peltier makes cold and hot. I ran water through the inside that went to a radiator to get rid of the heat. The aluminum block gets cold when 12V at 10A flows through the wires.
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You can also get them like this. A heat sink and fans are added to get the cold out faster.
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Many car-travel/camping refrigerators use this device.
 
Possibly useful: https://carinterior.alibaba.com/buyingguides/tesla-ac-compressor-what-you-need-to-know

My understanding is that the A/C compressor is driven by the main battery directly (for max efficiency) and is therefore high voltage, like 350-400V. The fans and such of the HVAC system runs off the lower system voltage, 12V for many but now 48V in newer Teslas.
Exactly!
But they don’t run directly from the high DC voltage, but from a 3 phase inverter.
This allows to drive the compressor at different speeds to obtain maximum efficiency.
 
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