17 replies to this topic

[Geaux Gators]

With my kid being out of school for the summer and starting high school in the fall, I need to come up with lots of crap for him to do to A) keep him busy B) keep him out of my wife hair and C) keep him out of trouble (B and C generally go together)


We have embarked on a interesting journey.  I was having a conversation with another member about hot an humid summers here in Florida and Houston.  So we were looking at portable A/C's to put in our golf carts.

we found some kits online to make what is called back home, a "Swamp cooler" or a battery powered fan, blowing over an ice chest full of ice.  

Well, Nicholas and i decided to build one, but problem was going to be that my cart doesn't have a cigarette lighter plug.  and were we really going to have a place for one.  

My kid has ASD, and would be what is commonly known as Aspergers, so he is smart as hell... and still dumb as a box of rocks...  So we decided to buckle down and design our own.


We came up with the idea that for about 55 dollars, a portable small "A/C" unit that would fit in a cup holder, hold ice for about 4 hours, and have a couple of hours or so of run time would be perfect, and we have like 6 pre-sold


SOOOOOO

Yeti Style 30 ounce vacuum wall tumbler from Amazon, dual USB powered fans, 2600mah battery pack (x2) and a some pvc couplers with some ingenuity attached... (oh yeah, and a bunch of FlexShot)


we should have our first working prototyped tonight or this weekend.  

Once we get the designed worked out, we can start working on getting the pricing down.  there are some fixed costs... The tumblers, cheapest we can find is 10 bux... the fans run about 15 for the set, and the battery packs are 5 each.

but damn at the PVC..  the 45* elbow is 2 bux, but the step down couplers are 6 each, plus about a 4 inch straight peice for about a buck.  flex shot, electrical tape, elbow grease, they are negligible

we were trying to keep the complete cost down below 40... and we have about 45-50 in it, as people are going to expect less than 50...

thoughts and Ideas?

Pictures coming soon.

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[Mtngolfer1]

Great Idea!, it sounds like you are on the right track for sure. The swamp cooler is a great idea for the HOT DRY Colorado days, a little moisture is appreciated. I am looking forward to seeing the finished product.

[Geaux Gators]

so  far, we have built the first working prototype... but the problem i am running into is getting enough airflow.  the fans just do not draw enough air.  not quite sure how we are going to boost it yet.

[Hateto3Putt]

Geaux Gators, on 09 June 2017 - 05:52 AM, said:

so he is smart as hell... and still dumb as a box of rocks...

Hey, I got a couple of those!

[Geaux Gators]

Makes some things "tough" because he is so smart he is stupid.

#shrug

[rogue409]

Geaux Gators, on 11 June 2017 - 05:48 AM, said:

so  far, we have built the first working prototype... but the problem i am running into is getting enough airflow.  the fans just do not draw enough air.  not quite sure how we are going to boost it yet.

Computer case fan spliced to a USB cable?

[Geaux Gators]

Actually bought them that way

[Ripken08]

My son has Asperger's too and it's quite frightening that you have dissed your kid twice in this thread already

[Geaux Gators]

If you have a son that has Aspergers, Then you know that every one is quite different.  My son, and he will tell you himself, has absolutely no common sense.  He absolutely knows what his limitations are, and we strive everyday to make those limitations strengths.  In no way am I truly dissing him.  It is what it is.  He is a very high functioning 15 year old (today is his birthday) but he is also socially about a 10 or 11 year old.  In fact what he wanted for his birthday were a card game and for a certain female friend to go with us to dinner.  The card game is being delivered by amazon, but the girl will not be joining us.. Family already had other plans.  I can tease him, of course in the right way, about his lack of common sense.  He has none... i mean none.  but the things that kid can do with a computer, and spacial reasoning wise... i tell you he is a lab accident away from being a super-villain.  

But he is so smart that it makes him over think everything and he makes HUGE blunders.  hence my comment that he is so smart that he is stupid...   Thats not a diss, and if offended you in any way, I truly apologize, it was not meant that way.  People that do not have kids with ASD, or Asperger's, don't understand the way they operate, and that is the easiest way to describe how he "operates"  Smart with some things, yet absolutely unable to comprehend other things.  Such as this, and your kid might do this to... he is in a room and two people are having a conversation, that completely has nothing to do with him/her in any way, and they say something about something he knows about, and they are incorrect about it.   He literally cannot stop himself from interjecting himself into the conversation, and looking like a snotty, know it all.  And he absolutely does not mean it in any way other than to help.  But then you explain to him that that he needs to not do that, and he does it less than five minutes later in another conversation, and he isn't even in the room.  

So, I wasn't "dissing him"  i am a realist, he has his limitations, some are just the fact that he has these personality traits.  Some arent from his ASD, some are that the apple didn't fall far from the tree, it never hit the ground, because it got caught up in the branches... #shrug

I make light of the situation, so that it doesn't seem like a burden, just the way it is.  And that way he doesn't see it as a burden, just something he needs to work to overcome.  It was just me and him for the first 10 years of his life, and I just thought he was how he was, I did the best I could given the circumstances.  I got remarried 4 years ago, and even though they don't get along very well, she is the reason we know whats going on, he has some special help at school, and he has a good councilor .. the councilor focuses on his ADHD stuff, because that causes the most "grievances at home" but in the long run I want him to be able to figure out how to use his weaknesses as a strength.. He will probably not be able to go to "college like i did" but I am pretty sure that Jacksonville has either a DeVry or a ITT college or something similar.  He will thrive in that, plus if he continues to understand computers and learn code, he might be able to write programs that will allow him to help others with struggles like his.. who knows

I know this is a bit rambling, i told you that the apple never hit the ground, but I wanted you to know that I wasn't really dissing him.. just making light of the situation we have and putting it in a way that others can understand how he thinks,

Ripken08, on 12 June 2017 - 03:58 PM, said:

My son has Asperger's too and it's quite frightening that you have dissed your kid twice in this thread already

forgot to quote ya so you would see my response.  

:thumbs

[justasgood]

Happy Birthday to the future SuperHERO!!!

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[Geaux Gators]

lo

justasgood, on 13 June 2017 - 06:15 AM, said:

Happy Birthday to the future SuperHERO!!!

Lol, one can only hope right?

the supervillan thing is a quote from big bang theory.

How are things down in Tigertown, I know you are on the north shore, but you know what I mean.  You guys getting a lot of rain?  we are, FINALLY, getting hammered here in Florida.  You guys if I remember correctly, don't need anymore.. we are 8 months behind on it.

[IsleOfMan]

I love reading about this project.  I have twin 7 year old boys that are a bit further down the ASD spectrum and I pray that by that age we're lucky enough for them to be that high functioning.  Even with them being further down the spectrum, I love the levity you have about it and I'm sure your son would greatly prefer levity to somber seriousness as a constant reminder of his condition.  

As for increasing airflow, you may want to have at least one fan drawing air, along with a couple pulling it out and directing it.  12v fans instead of 5v fans off more CFM as well.  Lastly, getting the output pointed up towards your face might help as well, putting the cooling where it will be felt most and isn't obstructed by clothing.

[Geaux Gators]

yeah, we have the fans running together at this point.  trying to run them together, we thought it might increase the flow.  our original design was to have a fan pulling air and another forcing it out.  But I just think the fans arent powerful enough.

I am going to see if I can get the fan supplier to tell us how to "increase the power" of the fans.

[IsleOfMan]

The easy answer is more voltage, but the 5v motors may not be able to handle it.  If you're ok sacrificing them as an experiment, up the voltage or add a potentiometer to vary voltage and, therefore, speed.  When you go to buy the next round of fans, pay attention to the CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute) ratings.  

Also, the Yeti-style mug is probably a good insulator, but something wider/flatter would give you more surface area to cool the air as it passes over.

[Geaux Gators]

IsleOfMan, on 13 June 2017 - 12:14 PM, said:

The easy answer is more voltage, but the 5v motors may not be able to handle it.  If you're ok sacrificing them as an experiment, up the voltage or add a potentiometer to vary voltage and, therefore, speed.  When you go to buy the next round of fans, pay attention to the CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute) ratings.  

Also, the Yeti-style mug is probably a good insulator, but something wider/flatter would give you more surface area to cool the air as it passes over.

the idea behind the Yeti Style mug was for the ability for it to sit in a cup holder to be useful in a golf cart.  May have to head back to the drawing board

[Geaux Gators]

The Fans I got are 2700 RPM with 13.8 CFM. the larger units are 20 per fan at 1600 RMP

May have to do the one pulling and one pushing thing.. or I can use the two smaller fans to draw the air in, and possibly the two larger fans to push... just drives the cost of the units up.  which stinks...

another idea is that we get some of the "gel freezer packs" and remold them to sit in the Tumbler a certain way... that way the air passes in between the sidewall, and the cooler pack...

and honeslty, we may be overthinking it... see that idea about the apple and the tree.. we might even be able to just mount the fan directly inot the top of the yeticup...  then problem solved, just add freezer gel pack....

Edited by Geaux Gators, 13 June 2017 - 01:35 PM.

[IsleOfMan]

A couple of these would move substantially more air and not break the bank... maybe 1 intake and 2 exhaust.  Not sure what size PVC you're using, but Y-splitters and reducer flanges should be able to piece it all together.

https://www.amazon.c...1_t1_B01DNFFPHG

EDIT:

3pcs for $14 vs 1 for $8.

Edited by IsleOfMan, 13 June 2017 - 01:37 PM.

[Geaux Gators]

Yeah, I am trying to keep our cost at less than 40 a pop.... We are at 41 with one set of the USB powered fans... The PVC stuff is a nightmare, trying to get things working and not make it too cumbersome.  This is not nearly as easy as we hoped...