Portable Air Conditioner

I work out of my truck 8 hours a day as a security officer. My truck is my office. It is not cost effective to run my truck air conditioner all day. I built this portable air conditioner to use in my truck and it works great.

Parts List

1) cooler
Wal-Mart

1) 12 volt DC Fan
(My fan will run on AC and DC)
Wal-Mart

1) 4 inch 1/4 Bend PVC Hub
Lowes Hardware

1) 4 inch RDR DR 35 PVC Adapter
Lowes Hardware

1) 12 Volt DC Accessory Plug
Radio Shack

1) Piece of Plywood
Already had this

6) Wood Screws

7) Ice

Cut the plywood to fit the inside lip of the cooler. This needs to be a snug fit so you don't loose air but not too tight as you will have trouble removing it.

Cut two holes in the plywood, one for the fan and one for the PVC exhaust.

Portable Air Conditioner

Cut a 3 inch plywood strip a little bit narrower than the width of the board. Screw this into the bottom of the board. This strip forces the air to go further down into the cooler forcing the air into the ice.

Portable Air Conditioner

Place the fan over the large hole and drill 4 holes into the fan. Make sure you do not drill into any wires when doing this. You may have to take the fan apart to find the best place to drill. Also make sure the power plug is facing towards the top so you will be able to access it. My fan came with a two speed on off switch. The switch was on the opposite side of the power plug. I put the switch on high and mounted the fan switch towards the board. If I want to turn the fan off I just unplug the cord. Screw the fan to the board. Be sure your fan blows into the cooler.

Portable Air Conditioner

Put the 4 inch PVC adapter into the hole.

Portable Air Conditioner

Put the 4 inch 1/4 Bend PVC Hub into the adapter. You should be able to turn the PVC Hub 360 Degrees. This allows you to blow the air in any direction.

Portable Air Conditioner

Plug your DC Adapter into the fan and the other end into your vehicles 12 volt DC accessory plug. You are now ready to use your Portable Air Conditioner. The air will be cooler if you use bag ice, however bag ice will probably melt in about 2 1/2 hours. I freeze water in 1/2 gallon milk jugs. The ice will stay frozen twice as long but the air is not as cool as using bag ice. If you use milk jugs do not fill them up all the way. When water freezes it expands and will burst the milk jugs if they are filled to the top. If you like this project PLEASE VOTE FOR IT.