Best Air Conditioning solution?

[Rustina 510]

Wow I never heard of either of those, I might try the swamp cooler.

 

Rustina.. WTH is that lol. Also.. not so sure it looks cool.

 

 

That is a swamp cooler dude, we had them in southern Arizona all time, maybe it was a bad example

 

This might look better

 

 

 

I like them and grew up seeing them on my dads an my uncles old classic cars all summer. Wich in Yuma arizona is Dam near year round

[Rustina 510]

 

 

Where the hell do you get these and what are they called??

 

My dad just called them a automotive swamp cooler, it sit with the window and it works really well even in 120 degree temp

 

I see them in eBay all the time. Or cl anywhere in the south west

[Rustina 510]

Swamp cooler works in dry climates, right?

 

They work in the nw

[metalmonkey47]

Oh gotcha man! Thought you guys were talking about the little box cooler down there. I have to get one of these for my truck for sure.

 

They're soooo stylish

[Rustina 510]

Look at this on eBay:

 

Thermador Swamp Window Car Cooler

 

http://bit.ly/JvgExv

[Rustina 510]

Look at this on eBay:

 

Vintage Car Air Conditoner Swamp Cooler Classic Aire AC unit hot rod Thermador

 

http://bit.ly/K4vY89

[ddrum]

Look at this on eBay:

 

Thermador Swamp Window Car Cooler

 

http://bit.ly/JvgExv

 

I live in the dry dessert of El Paso and was thinking about getting one for my 620 since it would be cheaper and much more easier than getting an original one. I think it might look pretty sic in my truck but, are they easy to take off? 'Im afraid if i get one it might get stolen.

[ggzilla]

How well do they work when your stuck in traffic? Do they still gave a little cooling?

[Rustina 510]

Some have a electric assist motor for when your not moving but they cost more.

 

It's a 3 bolt install on the gutter. So easy even I can do it :thumbup:

[Rustina 510]

Double post

[DAT510]

Just take out your seat and replace it with a ice chest

 

 

 

 

 

It got to 93 degrees here....

Rolled down the windows and that helped sorta...lol i forgot about AC

[DRIVEN]

How well do they work when your stuck in traffic? Do they still gave a little cooling?

No. You need air flow through it to have any cooling effect.

Some have a electric assist motor for when your not moving but they cost more.

I've never seen the type with a fan. Wouldn't be tough to add one to any unit though.

 

The window type coolers were designed for open road cruising back in the day. Now they are more of a functional fashion statement. The small square coolers that are designed to sit on your console or passenger floor have a fan and were more common place in the 60's and 70's when stop and go traffic was a developing reality. They fell out of fashion as more and more manufacturers began factory installing AC systems. Zilla is right again. The BEST way would be to either get another 720 with AC or get a complete 720 AC system and install it on your truck. These other small, portable gadgets are really just cheap alternatives to real AC. None of them will be as good at keeping you cool.

[bonvo]

little late here but here it goes

r12 is the old refrigerant it blows colder and is a little less likely to leak due to larger molecules but costs more

r134a doesnt cool as good and has to have a tighter system to avoid leaks but its cheaper to recharge

 

personally i think you have the rite idea short of building a system but the older compressors are heavy i personally would stick with r12

[Spades]

R12 is done for(so is R22), and R134 will be gone after a while as well. A new replacement has yet to be decided on by auto manufacturers, but they have to make up their minds in the next few years because taxes will go through the roof on Tetrafluoroethane. Right now the most likely candidate is Propane with a odorant added. Wont that be neat? Potentially explosive A/C systems!

 

Personally, I would pick an A/C system that bolts up to your car, either one from another Nissan product, or an aftermarket system(you can find these due to hotrodders wanting them for early model street rods), then buy the aftermarket system and build the brackets to mount it.

 

If you want to use a Nissan A/C system, do everyone a favor and go down to Mac's Radiator(they have shops all over the northwest and decent pricing), and buy a A/C overhaul kit and then purchase the A/C lines. You will end up with all new parts, everything included. That way you wont have to worry about leaky fittings, if the compressor works(no clutch issues, leaks, ect.), or if your condensor is clogged.

 

I am not a tree hugger, but the refridgerants we use today are fairly dangerous, everything from the manufacturing to the disposal process...while I think that Al Gore is off his rocker and I personally do not believe in global warming, R12 and R134a are not things should be carelessly vented from a leaky 20+ year old A/C system. There is a reason shops have to pay large amounts on proper A/C service equipment, hire certified technicians, and pay massive fines if those requirements aren't met. This doesn't mean I am against A/C conversions or budget builds, but if this is your first foray into refridgerants, and you lack the service machine to check for leaks and properly charge the system, the last thing I am going to recommend is going to the junkyard and pumping an old A/C system full of those small filler cans.

 

NOTE: if you do go with a junkyard setup, get the refridgerant refills with dye(and a valve to shut the can off), invest in a UV light, infared temperature gauge, probe thermometer (one you can stick in the vents), and a pressure gauge to measure the PSI in the system. If the pressure is a pound or two off, the system often will not function properly. Besides possible compressor damage, the A/C will not blow as cold as it could. Use the infared gauge to check on the line, condensor, and evaporator temps, it will make troubleshooting much easier in case there is an issue(valve problem, clogged evaporator, ect). Once you have the system working right, keep an eye out for leaks, it may leak out in an hour, or maybe you will get lucky and have no leaks for 5 years. If your AC stops blowing cold, use the UV light and look for the leak. DO NOT put the cans of leak stop in...all it does is gunk up the compressor and clog up the rest of the system, out of hundreds of cars I have seen it used on, I have yet to see it fix a leak. I have only seen it blow up compressors and make a nasty mess. So, use care and common sense...junkyard A/C set ups can be done, but to do them responsibly takes time and money, which is why my wagon still uses 460 A/C.

[Tristin]

Ah nifty. It looks cool on that bug, but I cant imagine it looking good on any of my Datsuns lol

 

This is Rays 510 with a swamp cooler... I think it looks fine to me!

 

[bonvo]

i want one of those swamp coolers for my 56 stepside

[HRH]

Buy a block of ice, a drip tray, and a 12v fan. Tacoma ain't hot! I removed the AC from my hardbody

Didn't even use AC in Phoenix at 112 degrees. Spokane gets hot too. Windows down cruising is the way to go. Its 83 here today.

[Boaty]

I once saw pictures of a set up somebody used in some old sedan.

 

It consisted of a 10" electric fan (sans Radiator fan), a small radiator (I believe it was a Honda radiator), a small electric water pump, and a bunch of copper tubing. Fill the system with water, and placed all the copper tubing into a large ice chest in the trunk filled with ice & salt water. Roll the windows up, give the fan and pump power - and you've got some back woods air conditioning! I think they actually might have used electrical conduit for the plumbing, not sure. But it was certainly nifty, albeit a PITA to operate and maintain. Lol. He even had beer stuffed in the cooler, haha.

[regularJJ]

Tristin I think the only thing that does look nice on that 510 is the swamp cooler and the rims lol.

 

Thanks for the info spades, I suspected trying to fix an old system may be too big a hassle to deal with. And I had no idea they were going to phase out r134 soon.

 

Got enough info here to figure out all my options and make up my mind, thanks everyone.