homemade 12v AC system?

[Edahall]

Originally Posted by dmartin1

some neat info in this thread. it sounds like it could be done if you really wanted to but its not practical at all. i wish i had the funds and time to atleast try it to say that i did it.

on the charging baterys at home every night topic, instead of having to charge the batterys every night to run the motor for the ac, couldnt you fab up a high-output alternator and charge the batterys while running? i know that would put just as much strain on the engine as a compressor, but like i said, it seemed like a neat topic and ive never seen it done before.

It would actually put more strain on the engine than the compressor. There is always a certain amount of loss with energy conversion (i.e. using alternator to charge a battery).

However, how about using the heat from your engine to run a boiler and a turbine that will power that A/C? As you know, the gasoline engine is only has an efficiency rating of about 20% so the rest of it is turned into heat. It sure would be nice to be able to capture some of that heat energy and turn it into propulsion energy.