Do you live in an un-air-conditioned top floor apartment? Is it frequently over 90*F in the summer where you live? Like to wear jeans 365 days out of the year but dislike excessive sweat?
And I have a solution to your woes- if you have about $30, a box fan, and enjoy pretending to be MacGyver, I have a plan for a mediocre homemade air conditioning unit that will have you sitting in the room of your choice, enjoying 81 degrees of pure, air conditioned comfort while the rest of your apartment is over 90*F.
10ft ¼-inch flexible copper tubing ($6 at hardware store)
3ft ¼-inch flexible plastic aquarium tubing ($0.75 at pet or hardware store)
1 small aquarium filter pump ($15 at pet store) (filter portion removed)
1 plastic hook ($1 at dollar store)
Plastic tub ($4 at hardware store)
Waterproof (electrical or Duck) tape ($1 at dollar store)
Water (from the tap, for circulating fluid and to fill ice packs)
Recycled plastic bottles (free)
Rubbing/Isopropyl alcohol ($1 at dollar store)
1. The day before, make re-usable homemade ice packs by filling several recycled bottles with a solution of 25% isopropyl alcohol and 75% water, leaving an inch or so of air at the top of each bottle. Freeze.
2. Coil the copper tube into a shape that fits the outside of your fan, with two prongs of tube hanging down. This will sit on the front of your fan and act as your heat exchanger. Mine looked like this:
2. Connect one prong of the copper tube to the plastic tube, and seal with electrical tape. I was able to stick the plastic tube inside the copper one and it created a better seal, but your mileage may vary depending on the exact size of your tube.
3. Remove the filter from your aquarium filter pump. Connect the other end of the plastic tubing to the outgoing end of the pump and seal with electrical tape.
4. Fill the plastic tub about a quarter-half of the way full of water. Add your homemade ice packs.
5. Assemble your air conditioner. Attach the hook to the front of your box fan. Hang your copper tube-coil on the hook (you can also tape it, which is what I did in the pic below, but the hook is more versatile). Place the whole box fan assemblage on top of the tub so the pump sits in the water (add more water if the pump is not completely covered). Close the door and plug in both pump and fan. Turn on fan.
The cold water should pump through the copper tube, which cools the copper and then the air passing over it, cooling the room.
You’ll notice that there will be condensation on the copper tubing. That’s the snazzy bonus dehumidifier function! In order to prevent your fan from getting wet, you can pull most of the tubing out about an inch from the fan. Make sure your tub is situated to catch the drips.
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