(Part1of2) STEALTH Solar Air Conditioning Van Life Hacks
(Part1of2) STEALTH Solar Air Conditioning Van Life Hacks
It’s by no means perfect.. but it’s a reasonable fix on a low budget. I absolutely recommend MORE battery power than what I have to increase usage.
**This is (practical) for 4 reasons..
1) Low energy A/C unit with ECO-Start.
2) Only at peak direct sunlight hours.
3) Reflect outside heat as much as possible.
4) Cooling an area as (SMALL) as possible!
—See (Part 2) for improvements–
#vanlife#solarairconditioner#offgrid
Thinking about van life for financial issues and flexibility, but my main concern is my large double coated catahoula. This is really great and informative, thank you.
wow, thumbs up for creativity!
Thanks for video nice setup. Where can I find this Ac unit and what solar panels do you recommend for top of van.
That sounds like way too much power consumption for only 300 watts of solar.
Thanks so much for this! In one of your replies to another comment, you mentioned having two small swamp coolers. Would you be willing to explain a little more about those?
You could have done another duct around the intake for more efficiency… So you aren’t drawing hot air inside you van.
I’m not sure if I see correctly but your rear adapter take the air you try to cool down in the van and trow it hot outside. I think to have second adapter for the air intake will be more efficient ( to having a closed loop with the outside like when you put this unit in a house windows ) and avoid you to open the window too.
Just watched this I love it. I have some questions though. Are you able to run the AC unit all night? and what kind of batteries are you running?
In case anyone noticed, I have 300w in solar but the A/C unit draws about 650w at first then about 500w then after. Keep in mind the A/C unit has a compressor that automatically turns on and off so the house batteries recover completely between compressor times. This is why it works on solar.
What size battery bank do you have, I know you said 2, but how big? THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO
I would suggest installing one or two old school floor vents the let air in from the front fender wells. If you leave your window cracked, sooner or later some addict is going to try to break in to the van there.
Not totally thrilled about your lack of insulation on the vent, or the drainage tray, but it’s all very innovative, anyway,
Rad!
What is the exact AC unit you ended up using? Did you find it used or buy new?
Stealth camping sounds so intriguing. Maybe one day. Nice to meet you and get to know you. Blessings Sherry
This is fantastic info! Thanks, N8!
Very good info very good build, ill have to get that timer you bought for the ac.
Your pulling inside air from the van and blowing it out the heat vent that’s why you have to crack the window you need to make a vent for the aircon to intake cool air from outside…
Hi thank you so much for this video! out of all the ac van solutions i’ve seen on youtube this one seems the most realistically secure and doable. I have a question, for the adaptor to fit the vent you said you got at home depot, what exactly is it? what should I search for to find that same thing? Thank you!
I just bought a van with my partner, my top condition is stealth above all else, nice channel man, subbed
How many hours a day does this setup run before the system can’t keep up?
Do more stealth and forest van camping..And don’t forget cooking videos
Awesome!!!!great idea
If I were to fully insulate the rear of a step van with styrofoam and have a ventilation panel under the solar panels (for stealth) would that be easier on the power consumption?
Assuming I have a wall and a door going to the drive cabin and a wall in the rear?
You need ducted intake vents equal to the exhaust vent going to the side vents on the ac case. You won’t have to crack the windows and it’ll be more efficient.
Great job..new subscriber. Saving for van life in florida..
Super inefficient for a Van with limited power to spare…
You have already split units 12V or 24V
a) dedicated for van confersions – super expensive
b) for trucks for parking – more okay price
That was very MacGyver. Thank-you!