Got to be a better option. £24 delivered!!

On 10/28/2022 at 4:51 PM, Nathan Buffery said:

Got to be a better option. £24 delivered!!

I guess if I where to buy a used one, would it matter if it where a ford mondeo or not (going on the assumtion of robbing the rest of the AC system from my car)?

Could I not just find a broken one from somewhere and bolt it on, which leads me to the other idea of fitting a dummy belt shaft

53 minutes ago, crack pot said:

I guess if I where to buy a used one, would it matter if it where a ford mondeo or not (going on the assumtion of robbing the rest of the AC system from my car)?

Could I not just find a broken one from somewhere and bolt it on, which leads me to the other idea of fitting a dummy belt shaft

You won't be able to rob the rest of the AC system from the car.  Would require full dashboard removal to reach the evaporator.  Engine bay pipes may be impossible to remove with the engine in situ.  We also have no idea if the condenser is still good, they're the usual leak point as it only takes a pinprick from a stone to wreck them.

You could swap out the compressor for a broken one but you must make sure the pulley free-wheels ok.  If the pulley jams that'll snap the belt.

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

You won't be able to rob the rest of the AC system from the car.  Would require full dashboard removal to reach the evaporator.  Engine bay pipes may be impossible to remove with the engine in situ.  We also have no idea if the condenser is still good, they're the usual leak point as it only takes a pinprick from a stone to wreck them.

 

Are you saying that the compressor and evaporator are located behind the dash and not the engine bay?

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Would require full dashboard removal to reach the evaporator.

Well Tom I give you 110% for effort !!

This is the longest I've ever known a wind up to go on. Have you been telling him the compressor is behind the dash ? 🤣

14 minutes ago, crack pot said:

Are you saying that the compressor and evaporator are located behind the dash and not the engine bay?

The compressor is in the engine bay, belt driven as you've seen.  

The evaporator is buried deep behind the dash.  This is the part that gets cold, so air is blown over it towards the vents.

The condenser is a radiator next to the coolant radiator.  This gets warm and needs to be outside or in good airflow for the system to operate.

The Mk3 also has an accumulator/drier mounted in the inner wing.

Then pipes join all those together.

5 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

The compressor is in the engine bay, belt driven as you've seen.  

The evaporator is buried deep behind the dash.  This is the part that gets cold, so air is blown over it towards the vents.

The condenser is a radiator next to the coolant radiator.  This gets warm and needs to be outside or in good airflow for the system to operate.

The Mk3 also has an accumulator/drier mounted in the inner wing.

Then pipes join all those together.

So compressor is the AC pump right? (the part we cant remove with belt problems)

Is the evaporator (behind dash) a cold heat sink? And the condenser the hot heat sink somewhere near the radiator?

accumulator/drier mounted in the inner wing.???

This cant be a serious thread

1 hour ago, crack pot said:

So compressor is the AC pump right? (the part we cant remove with belt problems)

Is the evaporator (behind dash) a cold heat sink? And the condenser the hot heat sink somewhere near the radiator?

accumulator/drier mounted in the inner wing.???

Yes, compressor & pump is the same part.

The evaporator and condenser both contain refrigerant on a sealed loop of pipework, they're not a solid heat sink like on a computer chip.  It's the change in state that creates the cold temperature in the evaporator.  (Same effect as aerosol deodorant chilling your armpit).

If this is a wind up, I applaud the effort! 

However......just to clarify.

To used your Mondeo AC system for your cellar cooler. You will need to strip all the parts out of your car. Fix the evaporator into your cellar with a fan and some means of catching the condensation. Run the extra AC pipework outside. Have some means of driving the compressor. Have another fan for the condenser. Get someone around to fill the system with refrigerant and wire it all up.

I think a portable AC unit might be a tiny bit easier. 

 

1 hour ago, Nathan Buffery said:

To use your Mondeo AC system for your cellar cooler. You will need to strip all the parts out of your car. Fix the evaporator into your cellar with a fan and some means of catching the condensation. Run the extra AC pipework outside.

When the OP removes all the pipes from the car will they all be colour coded like in Tom's picture?

🤣🤣

1 hour ago, Nathan Buffery said:

I think a portable AC unit might be a tiny bit easier. 

Not so sure tbh.  I have one and the noise is absolutely deafening even in a large room filled with soft furnishings.  Can't imagine how horrific that would be in an echoey cellar!

Depends whether they're trying to cool the whole room or not I guess.  Big, old chest freezers can be picked up very cheaply.  Can keep plenty of bodies fresh in one of those!

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Big, old chest freezers can be picked up very cheaply.  Can keep plenty of bodies fresh in one of those!

Talking from experience?

44 minutes ago, Nathan Buffery said:

Talking from experience?

No. 

22 hours ago, crack pot said:

So compressor is the AC pump right? (the part we cant remove with belt problems)

Is the evaporator (behind dash) a cold heat sink? And the condenser the hot heat sink somewhere near the radiator?

accumulator/drier mounted in the inner wing.???

 

21 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Yes, compressor & pump is the same part.

The evaporator and condenser both contain refrigerant on a sealed loop of pipework, they're not a solid heat sink like on a computer chip.  It's the change in state that creates the cold temperature in the evaporator.  (Same effect as aerosol deodorant chilling your armpit).

A heat sink on a computer is just a lump of alloy with thins on and no coolant passes though it like a radiator. Or is heat exchange the better term for them all

So from your good diagram I can see we have our accumulator/drier. And this is located somewhere in the wing?

What about the expansion valve then where would you find this?

 

21 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

I'm now considering if this is worth robbing or not!

Is the fan for the condenser the same fan for the radiator because the fan for the evaporator is the blower used for the hot air as well

 

I'm now wondering what it would cost to buy all this second hand

9 hours ago, Nathan Buffery said:

I think a portable AC unit might be a tiny bit easier.

Any surgestions on buying one of those then?

7 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Not so sure tbh.  I have one and the noise is absolutely deafening even in a large room filled with soft furnishings.  Can't imagine how horrific that would be in an echoey cellar!

Depends whether they're trying to cool the whole room or not I guess.  Big, old chest freezers can be picked up very cheaply.  Can keep plenty of bodies fresh in one of those!

Is your portable AC unit for domestic or commercial use?

I mean in the UK I cant see people running it for more then a month a year, where mine will need to run most of the time at 12C while outside temprature is above 12C

But chest freezer though, if I left one of those open in a room then I wonder if that would cool the room to 12C

On 10/28/2022 at 10:53 AM, TomsFocus said:

 

I found this from the video

 

 

I've never personally used one of these but they had them in the server rooms onboard a ship I worked on and they seemed to do a decent job. They come with a length of hose, like a tumble dryer, to take away the heat. So you'd have to run that outside. They also have a tank to collect the condensation, which needs emptying every so often. I think they are quite power hungry but maintaining 12°c shouldn't be to bad. 

2 hours ago, crack pot said:

A heat sink on a computer is just a lump of alloy with thins on and no coolant passes though it like a radiator. Or is heat exchange the better term for them all

So from your good diagram I can see we have our accumulator/drier. And this is located somewhere in the wing?

What about the expansion valve then where would you find this?

 

Heat exchanger would be a better term than heat sink in this case.

The drier is located in the driver's side wing.  Pictured below.  The expansion valve is right on the bulkhead where the pipes enter the cabin.

 

2 hours ago, crack pot said:

I'm now considering if this is worth robbing or not!

Is the fan for the condenser the same fan for the radiator because the fan for the evaporator is the blower used for the hot air as well

 

I'm now wondering what it would cost to buy all this second hand

The cooling fan is the same one for the coolant radiator as well as the AC condenser.

 

1 hour ago, crack pot said:

Is your portable AC unit for domestic or commercial use?

I mean in the UK I cant see people running it for more then a month a year, where mine will need to run most of the time at 12C while outside temprature is above 12C

But chest freezer though, if I left one of those open in a room then I wonder if that would cool the room to 12C

Mine is domestic 230v.  

I don't think using a car AC system for this will work.  Leaving a freezer open wouldn't cool a whole room either, it'll just burn the compressor out running constantly.  Freezers have no airflow over the condenser which is why they can only cool a very small area rather than produce constant cold.

I think you will have to look into a proper portable AC system for this. 

Portable AC systems need a large exhaust vent for the hot air which might be difficult in a cellar.  Pipe diameter is about the same as a vented tumble drier hose.

Will also need to rig up a room thermostat to maintain room temp rather than temp just at the unit itself.  Would want it just to cut in at say 14c and then cut out at say 10c.

On 10/31/2022 at 6:51 PM, Nathan Buffery said:

I've never personally used one of these but they had them in the server rooms onboard a ship I worked on and they seemed to do a decent job. They come with a length of hose, like a tumble dryer, to take away the heat. So you'd have to run that outside. They also have a tank to collect the condensation, which needs emptying every so often. I think they are quite power hungry but maintaining 12°c shouldn't be to bad. 

Surly the ones that where one the ship would of cost more then the 20 quid asking price and therefore a more profesanal quality

On 10/31/2022 at 7:33 PM, TomsFocus said:

Heat exchanger would be a better term than heat sink in this case.

The drier is located in the driver's side wing.  Pictured below.  The expansion valve is right on the bulkhead where the pipes enter the cabin.

 

I remember seeing that thing when I tried to pu the fan belt back on today. Though I cant get it back on!

Remind me where the expansion valve was again?

 

On 10/31/2022 at 7:33 PM, TomsFocus said:

The cooling fan is the same one for the coolant radiator as well as the AC condenser.

Then to keep the car as it is apart from removing the AC system, I would need to purchase 2 fans for bough heat exchanges making it more of a not so good idea

On 10/31/2022 at 7:33 PM, TomsFocus said:

I think you will have to look into a proper portable AC system for this. 

I do actully have a chiller unit out of a pub cellar, but it is missing the outside external heat exchange

 

Its called a Beer Master thats all the info I have on it at the moment

On 10/31/2022 at 7:33 PM, TomsFocus said:

Heat exchanger would be a better term than heat sink in this case.

The drier is located in the driver's side wing.  Pictured below.  The expansion valve is right on the bulkhead where the pipes enter the cabin.

 

 

I got the belt back onto today in the end. Not started car or put back on plastic cover or wheel yet but since as I can see the dryer, is it worth robbing that off or not bother?