/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.469495]

Ive been racking my brain for weeks now.

I need tips/advice/suggestions for cooling my room down during hot days without going out and buying an AC. (my windows face the front of the house and he refuses to let anything in the window)

So what is somthing i can build/make to help cool down my room? Im not talking a bowl of ice with a fan behind it. i want some creative ideas and when/if i build it ill take you guys along during the entire process. I have a great imagination on building things i just need help getting the ball rolling!

[Anonymous No.469496]

>>469495
By he i mean landlord!

[Anonymous No.469511]

>>469495
What I did was put up heavy white curtains kept closed dutring the day and then open them and the windows at night to let cool air flow through.

[Anonymous No.469516]

>>469511
I already have light colored blankets up for that reason. the thing is, theres gravel everywhere outside my window and it soaks up assloads of heat just to put it off later when its cooler and taking away the effect opening the windows do.

I was thinking of some type of water cirulating device or somthing. i dont know im stumped/

[Anonymous No.469519]

>>469516
Short of getting an AC and venting the hotside throught the mail slot then I'm stumped

[Anonymous No.469520]

What do you have to work with?

[Anonymous No.469522]

>>469520
Anything thats not out of the ordinary or big sized machines. Just simple house hold things that most people have. if you suggest somthing that i dont have ill see about aquiring it.

I was thing of using copper tubing and a water pump. i keep building on it but it goes nowhere.

[Anonymous No.469523]

You could always use those intake/exhaust fans and
1. Put it on the inside ledge of the window as opposed to hanging it outside.
2. If he's a real prick or you're just being silly you could make/use a small stand and prop it up NEXT to a window.

[Anonymous No.469524]

>>469519
I already have a window fan that blows in/out air. what if i get another one (i have two windows) and have one blowing in and one blowing out?

[Anonymous No.469525]

>>469523
He's a nice guy but his wife is all about how ours houses look on the outside. we are both on the same 1 acre lot.

[Anonymous No.469526]

>>469522
If you're adament about the water cooling you could affix it to your sink and just have a hayday of tubing the dog snot out of your entire apartment then running it back to where your pipe originally went. But you'd have to overcome gravity to an extent, run the risk of a leak ANYWHERE and it won't be especially effective. + water costs.

[Anonymous No.469527]

>>469525
Why don't you ask them what they do?

[Anonymous No.469529]

>>469524
Circulation would probably be better than a jerry rigged water coolant system imho

[Anonymous No.469530]

>>469527
Their back widows are close to the ground. Mine are 6 feet above ground. so i cannot hook an AC in the back of my house

[Anonymous No.469532]

>>469529
I think your right, i just think itd be awesome to make somthing that actually works.

[Anonymous No.469533]

>>469530
just get a couple of shelf brackets and mount them to the outside to hold up the a/c. when i put my window a/c in i do so from inside..why does the height of the windows prevent you from putting a/c in?

[Anonymous No.469535]

>>469533
I always thought that it wasnt a good idea to do it that way? plus i could care less about the house im more concerned about my room.

[Anonymous No.469538]

>>469535
its probably not a good idea im no carpenter..so im a little confused atm so lets settle the basics..a/c is out because of the way your windows in your room face? if its just your room that you want to cool how many windows and how big is it? if there is any possible way id strongly suggest trying to figure out some way to do a small a/c and just decorate it or something to make it blend

[Anonymous No.469539]

>>469532
Circulation is tried and true.
If you want something that works? You've got it right there.
If you want something flashy that works?
Hmm cieling fan with lithium battery fans attached to the blades, lets make your house airborne.

... actually, maybe a tent like apparatus that lifts the heat from your house ... possibly driveway. Hold on im gonna go doodle.

[Anonymous No.469541]

Duh.
Hook it up to a cooler with ice water and an aquarium pump; you'll be golden.

[Anonymous No.469544]

>>469538
Attached is a picture diagram of my house. Blue ovals are windows. my room is the top right one if this helps.

[Anonymous No.469545]

>>469541
I litterally got rid of my pump and tank 4 days ago. God damn it

[Anonymous No.469546]

>>469538
>>469544
Forgot picture....

[Anonymous No.469582]

>>469541
Copper tubing is expensive. Cheaper just to get another fan.

[Anonymous No.470040]

COLD TOWEL
on the neck or back. srsly don't underestimate it.

[Pinzfag. No.470065]

>>470040
This seriously, A misting bottle to keep your skin moist and a breeze from the fan will cool you off in seconds, its pretty amazing. Short of that honestly air conditioners are the most efficient way to do it unless you can swing geothermal or have a creek.

[Anonymous No.470076]

>>470040
>>470065
This

[GreenGC No.470101]

How hot does it get outside?

Maybe they'd consider letting you install a whole house fan? They work best if its not blazing hot 90+ degrees Fahrenheit

Would they let you insulate the attic if its not very well insulated? That can help keep some heat out as well. You can possibly add some tint to your window panes and then get some light blocking curtains. A couple of fans to circulate air all thru the house.

[Anonymous No.470104]

>>469496
>By he i mean landlord!
Two options:
1---there is portable air conditioners one can buy. It is a 1-room cooling unit, and has a small piece that fits under/through a window, but there is nothing hanging outside. The cheapest ones are around $250 in USA....

2--tell him you want a significant cut on your rent or you will move out, because the room is too fucking hot in the summer. If you do move out because of this, go on craigslist every week for a few weeks (to make sure it STAYS there a while) and post a notice explaining the address, the landlord's name and why you moved out. There is nothing wrong with telling other people about a shitty deal.

------

As has been pointed out before, trying to build your own air conditioner is a waste of time, effort and money.
There is no way you can possibly DIY anything that costs as little, is anywhere near as energy-efficient, and that puts out as much cold air as a store-bought AC unit.

[Anonymous No.470105]

>>470101

Not Op but I have a whole house fan. They are great for when it cools down. You run them in the morning when its coldest right before you button up the house for the heat of the day. You run it again in the evening once the temp outside has dropped below the temp inside the house and you've opened all your windows.

My problem is that, during the higher of the summer, it does NOT cool down here till early morning. Seriously, its 2:19 AM and its 77 degrees outside and 54% humidity and zero wind. Some of you out in the South are like, yeah, so what? I'm in fucking California. Ugh. It will be like this here till August. Whole how fans don't do SHIT in that kind of weather.

[GreenGC No.470111]

>>470105
That was my concern, I'm based in the South and whole house fans are almost useless our entire summer.. its regularly in the 80s with 60%+ humidity at night.. They're great for Spring and Fall, however.

[Anonymous No.470120]

Uhhh, why has nobody mentioned these?

http://www.best-air-conditioner-reviews.com/GE-Portable-Air-Conditioner.html

[Anonymous No.470151]

>>470120

Cause they already did. Learn2Read.

>>470104

[Anonymous No.470187]

>>469495
came across these ideas - could be worth it if you need to do it on the cheap. ofc assuming you have a freezer available
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1NwXBXpShQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUhs_1puHk0

[Anonymous No.470362]

get a ceilinag fan or some regular fans honestly the fan is the most under used and under estimated thing ever, alo crack the windows to let heat out and cool air in

[Anonymous No.470379]

I've been noticing that there's a lot of "ice" rigs involved such as the ice chest.

Wouldn't it be more efficient to stick 2-liter bottles of water and anti-freeze or rubbing alcohol in the freezer for while since it has a lower freezing point and won't freeze?

I'm not sure how much of a difference it would make but I feel if the coolant is still in liquid form it would absorb heat quicker.

Such as cooling-packs you stick in your freezer for headaches and whatnot.

[Anonymous No.470539]

>>470379
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enthalpy_of_fusion
TLDR: it takes more heat input to melt ice than it does to raise the temperature of liquid water (or isopropanol, or whatever) by the same amount. Science bitches.

[Anonymous No.470816]

>>470187

Not OP but thank you anon. I've put some thought into an air conditioning system that uses minimal energy, removes moisture from the air, and saves money.

I'm thinking that if I freeze water with sodium chloride it would act as both the temperature regulator as well as reduce humidity levels.

[Anonymous No.471044]

>>469495
Dude, you need yourself some kind of real AC unit. I'm more /diy/ than the next guy, I once plumbed the cool-air vents of a big window AC in my basement window into the heating ducts of my house. Sort of a poor-man's central air.

But most things mentioned above about /diy/ cooling are nonsense. Swamp coolers only exchange more humidity for less heat. Good, if you're in the Sahara.

If the /b/ troll-logic people mention anything about ice, you better make sure the ice is created outside the area you want to cool. Freezing ice in your own space, and then using it to cool you will actually create more heat. And as you noted, fans only work if your nighttime temperature drops well below what you want your room at.

Just get a portable AC if you can afford it. If not, the same type of thing can be made if you build a big plywood or Styrofoam box around the "outside" part of a window AC unit.

You may need one extra fan to make this work; I will try to use my feeble Paint skills to draw a diagram. Black is your room, red is a window AC unit sitting on the floor, blue is a window. Grey is the plywood ducts you need to build (you also must have the window part-way open). Orange is a normal box-fan that you may need inside of the ductwork to keep air flowing through the "outside" part of the unit. They are meant to be out in free air.