Self contained portable room A/C

[David Ragan]

Hi

We got moved into the new office and as luck would have it, my office is fairly warm. I'm hot natured.

I know this is asking a lot, but besides a plain box fan, anyone have an idea for a unit that can be placed in my little 220 sq ft office?

I'll take a humidity gauge up there tomorrow to see about maybe just a dehumidifier.

All the floor model portable A/C on Amazon require an air vent to outside--not possible where I am......

So, need something w/o drip or outside vent access.

As always, thanks.

[John M Wilson]

Hi!

All conventional air conditioners work on the concept of moving heat from one place to another. In order to do this, they use compressors, fans, motors, etc, all of which are heat-generating devices. They work because you can move some of the room heat, and all of this additional heat, outside (or to some other place). As you saw on your Amazon search, you've got to vent this heat to somewhere else. There is no conventional self-contained air conditioner which will result in a cooler room.

A conventional de-humidifier is type of a self-contained air conditioner. It uses energy to chill the air below the dew point, lets the liquid water drain off, and then uses the hot parts of the machine to warm up the now colder air. This is fairly energy-intensive, and the dehumidifier will add a fair amount of heat to a room. In a damp basement, this is helpful. In your 220 sq ft office, you will be driven out by the excess heat, in spite of the lower humidity.

A "swamp cooler" uses the ability of water to absorb heat energy when it is going from liquid state to vapor state. If you have very low humidity, you will gladly trade an increase in humidity for a decrease in temperature. If you are in a humid climate, swamp coolers are not very effective in the first place, and people do not usually perceive the higher humidity/slightly lower temperature as any more comfortable.

Fans use this "swamp cooler" style evaporative cooling directly on our bodies. When our sweat evaporates, it takes some heat with it. Nowadays, most folks do not consider sweating with a fan blowing on them very comfortable, but this was nearly the only method before air conditioning became practical and wide-spread.

Sorry, but I do not see any cheap, easy, practical way of getting the heat out of your office.

Perhaps the wisdom of the creek will show a way...

[Alan Hick]

What he said.

Without the ability to drill a hole somewhere, whether for venting or to run the electrical/copper tubing for a mini-split system, I don't know of any way to cool your office, outside of "magic".

[Keith Westfall]

Just find someone who thinks their office is cold, and pump your excess heat to them! :D

[Jerome Stanek]

have maintenance look at the duct work. When I was remodeling some offices the one office was always just a little to warm or to cold when we pulled the ceiling we saw the duct was not fully connected. fixed that and all was well. The office was like that for over 20 years as there wasn't an access panel to see all the duct work

[Brad Barnhart]

Well, there is a way, & though it may sound "countrified" to a city boy, no doubt, but it is effective, and easy to do. Get yourself a 20" box fan, roughly 18' - 20' of 1/4" copper tubing, plastic zip ties, about 6' of clear rubber 1/4" hose, a water pump for a yard fountain, a five gallon cooler, & a block of ice, & a couple gallon of water over the ice. Go ahead, laugh if ya want to. Take your box fan, & start at the top corner on the face of the fan, and go back & forth with your copper tubing, making a coil like design. Using your zip ties, tie the copper tubing to the face of the fan as you are making your coil. Leave about an inch gap between the rows of copper tubing. After you've completed the coil, cut a 3' piece of your clear rubber hose and slide it over one end of the copper tubing. Take the rest of the clear tubing & run it from the other end of the copper tubing, to the fountain pump, into the cooler with the ice. Plug in your fan, & your pump, & your pump will circulate cold water from the ice chest through the tubing, & back to the ice chest. Meanwhile, air from the fan blowing over the tubing creating cool air. It takes all of a couple hours to do, & about $40, or there abouts, & you've got yourself a country boy air conditioner. A word of advice, I would put the fan on a metal chair, or stand with towels or the like under it, because the coils will have condensation. But this does work!! Just my .02 worth.

[David Ragan]

Well, there is a way, & though it may sound "countrified" to a city boy, no doubt, but it is effective, and easy to do. Get yourself a 20" box fan, roughly 18' - 20' of 1/4" copper tubing, plastic zip ties, about 6' of clear rubber 1/4" hose, a water pump for a yard fountain, a five gallon cooler, & a block of ice, & a couple gallon of water over the ice. Go ahead, laugh if ya want to. Take your box fan, & start at the top corner on the face of the fan, and go back & forth with your copper tubing, making a coil like design. Using your zip ties, tie the copper tubing to the face of the fan as you are making your coil. Leave about an inch gap between the rows of copper tubing. After you've completed the coil, cut a 3' piece of your clear rubber hose and slide it over one end of the copper tubing. Take the rest of the clear tubing & run it from the other end of the copper tubing, to the fountain pump, into the cooler with the ice. Plug in your fan, & your pump, & your pump will circulate cold water from the ice chest through the tubing, & back to the ice chest. Meanwhile, air from the fan blowing over the tubing creating cool air. It takes all of a couple hours to do, & about $40, or there abouts, & you've got yourself a country boy air conditioner. A word of advice, I would put the fan on a metal chair, or stand with towels or the like under it, because the coils will have condensation. But this does work!! Just my .02 worth.

What a great stunt!

If I had the energy and time-that would be a great set up for the....ummmmm....tight (is that implied profanity?) landlord to see in my little office. What a laugh I would have. He probably would, too, being an engineer.

what I did was consult my interior decorator Mother In Law and we put some barrier curtains up in both windows for cost of $80. A small fan under a side chair keeps the air moving. Thankfully, it is cooling down here.

I'll just keep griping to Landlord, who is a friend of mine. Anything that aggravates him, I like doing anyway.

[Jason Roehl]

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2mfwcq_homemade-air-conditioner-diy-the-5-gallon-bucket-air-cooler-diy-can-be-solar-powered_tech

[David Ragan]

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2mfwcq_homemade-air-conditioner-diy-the-5-gallon-bucket-air-cooler-diy-can-be-solar-powered_tech
Now that is doable
next summer I will likely keep some gallon ice blocks frozen or two gallons and just put in the am, and we good for the day!
thanks Jason