AC for your 600

[roger white]

I bought a 5000 BTU (small) window at a garage sale last month to experiment
with putting it in the backseat. With blowers for cool air via flex hose between
the seats to the front and one to take outside air from one of the ventilators in the back and exhaust out the other.  A little sheet metal box work on the front and back of the unit and a padded bottom to keep marks from forming on the back seat and it would be ready!  The AC worked fine with 40 degree air output @ 70 degrees outside air temp.
Now to find the inverter.  I knew that the Honda puts out 30 amps at idle.
   The AC calls for 540 watts of power.  It should be easy.
Here's what I found. The inverter should be at least 1500 watts. But to run an
AC you need to find out its LRA (locked rotor amps) and use that as the inverter size. The AC will draw that for an instant when starting.
Next you have to have a bank of batteries to draw from. A minimum of four
6 volt golf cart batteries wire in series/parralel to give 12 volts are needed
for 1 hour of AC use.
This is the kicker, you will need a 150 amp alternator to run this!  What's that
saying in engineering about there's no free lunch?
Anyone want to buy a 5000 BTU window AC cheap?  The price is cheap but
the shippings a killer.  That's why there is Craigs List. To get the heavy stuff locally.
If anyone is thing about building this 200 lb. AC system I have One piece of
advice.  Buy the batteries used from a golf course in the fall. That's when they get rid of all the batteries from their golf carts!
Roger

[John Ledford]

I have a "swamp cooler" that was once used on my VW. They hang on the side of the car off of the gutter and stick into the front window. It resembles a large weapon. The cooler is filled with water and by pulling a rope a fibre material is soaked and then uses evaporation to cool the incoming air.  Works well in climates with low humidity.

--- On
Sun, 8/9/09, roger white

wrote:
> From: roger white
> Subject: [2cylinderhondas] AC for your 600
> To: 2cylinderhondas@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Sunday, August 9, 2009, 1:59 PM
> I bought a 5000 BTU (small) window at a garage sale last month to experiment
> with putting it in the backseat. With blowers for cool air via flex hose between
> the seats to the front and one to take outside air from one of the ventilators in the back and exhaust out the other.  A little sheet metal box work on the front and back of the unit and a padded bottom to keep marks from forming on the back seat and it would be ready!  The AC worked fine with 40 degree air output @ 70 degrees outside air temp.
> Now to find the inverter.  I knew that the Honda puts out 30 amps at idle.
>    The AC calls for 540 watts of power.  It should be easy.
> Here's what I found. The inverter should be at least 1500 watts. But to run an
> AC you need to find out its LRA (locked rotor amps) and use that as the inverter size. The AC will draw that for an instant when starting.
> Next you have to have a bank of batteries to draw from. A minimum of four
> 6 volt golf cart batteries wire in series/parralel to give 12 volts are needed
> for 1 hour of AC use.
> This is the kicker, you will need a 150 amp alternator to run this!  What's that
> saying in engineering about there's no free lunch?
> Anyone want to buy a 5000 BTU window AC cheap?  The price is cheap but
> the shippings a killer.  That's why there is Craigs List. To get the heavy stuff locally.
> If anyone is thing about building this 200 lb. AC system I have One piece of
> advice.  Buy the batteries used from a golf course in the fall. That's when they get rid of all the batteries from their golf carts!
> Roger

[roger white]

It's not the heat its the humidity! If I lived in Arizona I wouldn't be lookin at AC. I wouldn't be fixing rust spots either.
I live in Nebraska where salt is the cheapest de-icer in the winter. I believe
my Honda's previous owners loved to drive in the winter.
I supose the easiest thing for me is to pack up the family and emigrate to Canada where its cool most of the time.
I have one more thing to say off topic.  I lived in Florida for 3 1/2 years and one of my neighbor couples had an N600 as their only mode of transportation!
Talk about faith. I worked on their car a couple of times.  Who ever worked
on their car before had one tool, a pair of lockjoint pliers. Ruined all the bolts in view.
I had a 72 Pop Orange Coupe then, my first 600. I don't want to date myself
but I bought all the parts for a full top-end rebuild direct from the local Honda dealer at a reasonable price!
My girlfriend at the time and I went different ways and I had to sell my 600
for a low price to a junkyard because my new apartment would not allow people to work on cars in the parking lot.
She said I spent all my money on beer and car parts!  Is that so wrong?
Now I wish I'd of kept all those new parts but I never thought I'd ever have another 600.
I bought a 1971 sedan in 1987 three months before my first daughter was
born.  My wife was so happy she said that I could only spend extra money to
restore the 600.   My daughter is now 22 years old and I have finished the mechanical and am now doing the final bodywork to finish the 600 for the road as a driver. Extra money is so rare.
I have three beautiful daughters ages 16-22 years and I hope they all do as their mom and I did .....alope!
From:
John Ledford To:
2cylinderhondas@yahoogroups.com Sent:
Sunday, August 9, 2009 2:18:16 PM Subject:
Re: [2cylinderhondas] AC for your 600
I have a "swamp cooler" that was once used on my VW. They hang on the side of the car off of the gutter and stick into the front window. It resembles a large weapon. The cooler is filled with water and by pulling a rope a fibre material is soaked and then uses evaporation to cool the incoming air.  Works well in climates with low humidity.

--- On
Sun, 8/9/09, roger white

wrote:
> From: roger white
> Subject: [2cylinderhondas] AC for your 600
> To: 2cylinderhondas@ yahoogroups. com
> Date: Sunday, August 9, 2009, 1:59 PM
> I bought a 5000 BTU (small) window at a garage sale last month to experiment
> with putting it in the backseat. With blowers for cool air via flex hose between
> the seats to the front and one to take outside air from one of the ventilators in the back and exhaust out the other.  A little sheet metal box work on the front and back of the unit and a padded bottom to keep marks from forming on the back seat and it would be ready!  The AC worked fine with 40 degree air output @ 70 degrees outside air temp.
> Now to find the inverter.  I knew that the Honda puts out 30 amps at idle.
>    The AC calls for 540 watts of power.  It should be easy.
> Here's what I found. The inverter should be at least 1500 watts. But to run an
> AC you need to find out its LRA (locked rotor amps) and use that as the inverter size. The AC will draw that for an instant when starting.
> Next you have to have a bank of batteries to draw from. A minimum of four
> 6 volt golf cart batteries wire in series/parralel to give 12 volts are needed
> for 1 hour of AC use.
> This is the kicker, you will need a 150 amp alternator to run this!  What's that
> saying in engineering about there's no free lunch?
> Anyone want to buy a 5000 BTU window AC cheap?  The price is cheap but
> the shippings a killer.  That's why there is Craigs List. To get the heavy stuff locally.
> If anyone is thing about building this 200 lb. AC system I have One piece of
> advice.  Buy the batteries used from a golf course in the fall. That's when they get rid of all the batteries from their golf carts!
> Roger