There are few things more unpleasant on a really hot day other than being stuck inside a hot house without a working air conditioner. If your air conditioner is just down for repair, or if you don't have an air conditioner at all, you can easily make your own air conditioner and be cool in no time.
Gather Up Your Supplies
The supplies for this project are pretty basic supplies. Most are ones you can find around your house; although there are a few supplies you may need to make a trip to your local hardware store for.
The items you'll probably be able to find around your house include a 5 gallon bucket with a lid, a utility knife, a 8-7 inch portable fan and a milk jug full of frozen water.
The item's you'll probably have to pick up from your local hardware store include a PVC pipe that is 1 ¼ inches across and about a foot in length, a hole saw that is wider across than the PVC pipe, and a Styrofoam or minnow bucket.
Make A Hole In The Lid
The first thing you are going to need to do is take the small fan you have and place it with the fan portion pointing upward on the lid of the bucket. Then you'll need to take a pencil or marker and trace the outline of the fan onto the bucket lid.
Next, you'll need to take a utility knife and cut along the lines that you drew. You may want to put on leather work gloves during this step in order to protect your hands. Apply pressure downward and slowly work your way around the outline. You may also use a jigsaw or keyhole saw to cut the lid.
After you have cut the hole, dispose of the section of the lid that you cut out.
Prepare The Fan
You need the fan to fit inside of the hole that you made. If your fan has any supports to make it stand up that stick away from the base, you may need to use a hacksaw to cut them off so that the fan will fit inside of the hole.
Once you have removed anything sticking out on the fan, put the bottom of the fan into the hole. The top of the fan should be on the outside of the lid, facing upwards.
Cut Three Holes In The Bucket
Next, you need to prepare the bucket. You'll need to use your hole saw for this step. You are going to need to make three holes a couple of inches below the rim of the bucket. The holes should be in a row, with a couple of inches in between each one. You may want to use a marker and place an X where each hole should go so you have a guide while you are cutting.
Use your hole saw to cut through the bucket where each X is located. When you are done, you should have three holes in the side of the bucket, close to one another.
Prepare The Pipe
Next, you need to take the PVC pipe that you purchased and cut it down to size. The pipe needs to be a couple of inches long. It needs to be long enough to go through the bucket and extend a couple of inches outside of the bucket.
If the PVC pipe you purchased is not short enough, use a marker to measure out the pipe and cut it down to size with a hack saw.
Set The Pipe
Next, take the pipe and put it inside of the holes that you drilled in the bucket. Most of the pipe should extend outside of the bucket. If the pipe is loose, you may need to place caulk around the pipe right next to the hole on both sides of the bucket in order to secure it into place.
Styrofoam Bucket
Place the Styrofoam bucket inside of the 5 gallon bucket. It should fit right below the PVC pipes. If the bucket you purchased is taller than that, cut it down so the bucket is right below the openings for the pipes.
Take the Styrofoam bucket lid, and cut an opening on it just like you did for the 5 gallon bucket's lid; just trace the bottom of the fan, and cut the opening to size.
Put It All Together
Place a frozen gallon of water into the Styrofoam bucket inside of the 5 gallon bucket. Put the lid on the Styrofoam bucket. Place the lid for the container with the fan on top of the bucket. Then plug in the fan and set it on high. As the ice melts inside of the milk jug, it will let off cold water vapors. The fan and the holes in the bucket will help disperse this cool area around your house. All you need to do is replace the gallon jug with a new container of frozen water once it melts in order to continue to enjoy your homemade air conditioner.
With all the supplies on hand, it should only take you an hour or so to create your own homemade air conditioner that you can use as long as you have a gallon of frozen water on hand. This is a great and affordable way to keep your house cool if you don't have an air conditioner, or if your air conditioner is down for repairs for a couple of days.
To learn more, contact a company like C & D Cooling & Heating Co.
Share11 November 2015
I know it can be difficult to make yourself think about getting your furnace running when the skies are sunny and the temperatures are hovering around 90, but it is the best time for you to think about your heating system. Getting ahead of the winter preparation game will help to save on the cost of the repairs because the need for furnace maintenance is usually at a low during the fall season. This blog will show you what you can do to prepare your furnace for winter and when you should hire a professional HVAC technician to take care of it for you.