home » Winter » How to make a homemade air conditioner. We make a simple and cheap, but quite effective air conditioner with our own hands

How to make a homemade air conditioner. We make a simple and cheap, but quite effective air conditioner with our own hands

Modern air conditioners have a significant cost and are not available to everyone, which is why an alternative has appeared - a homemade air conditioner. As practice shows, such units, although far from ideal, can save you from the heat for some time.

To make an air conditioner at home, first let’s look at how a regular household cooler works. It consists of two heat exchangers, a compressor, a throttling device and two fans.

A heat exchanger located inside the room takes heat from the air flow passing through it, as a result of which the latter enters the room cooled. The refrigerant transfers the removed heat through the tubes to the second radiator, which transfers it to the environment.

The diagram below shows the operating principle of the air conditioner.

Air conditioner device

The efficiency of domestic and industrial air conditioners is based on the processes of vaporization and condensation, accompanied by the exchange of a large amount of heat.

To understand this, just remember the school physics course. The amount of energy spent on heating or cooling a substance is characterized by its specific heat capacity. But there are also additional heat costs that go into the transition of a substance from one state of aggregation to another, and these costs are very significant. The liquid is heated to a boil using a certain amount of heat, after which it turns into steam, which requires additional energy, called the specific heat of vaporization. As the steam cools, it condenses, releasing the same energy back.

A home air conditioner takes heat from the room air to boil the refrigerant. The compressor, which creates pressure in a closed system, moves it through the throttle to the second heat exchanger, where the refrigerant condenses under the influence of the flow of outside air, to which it releases thermal energy.

Example: To heat 1 liter of water by 1 ºС, 4.187 kJ of heat is required, and to evaporate the same amount it takes as much as 2256 kJ. This is where the 300% efficiency of refrigeration units comes from.

Types of homemade air conditioners

Homemade air conditioners are simple, but work on different principles. Conventionally, they can be divided into the following groups:

home air conditioner from a used refrigerator;
cooler operating on running water;
an air conditioner that uses ice frozen in another unit.

Before you make an air conditioner from improvised means, you need to choose for yourself the most convenient of the 3 proposed options, and for this we will consider their principle of operation. The first unit on the list is the only one that operates according to the traditional effective “evaporation-condensation” scheme. And this is because for its manufacture all the filling is taken from an old refrigerator: a compressor, an external heat exchanger - a condenser and a freezer, which is an evaporator.

You can make such an air conditioner yourself. An evaporator is placed in the cooled room, having previously installed an axial household fan on its rear side. A freon tube is passed through the wall and connected to a condenser and compressor mounted in an adjacent room. If necessary, you can take 2 sets of heat exchange equipment, as shown in the video.

Disadvantages of making an air conditioner from an old refrigerator:

Differences in design will also affect operating efficiency, since the refrigerator was originally designed to maintain a low temperature in a small enclosed space.
Due to the above, the compressor of this device will never stop, and in this mode it will not last long. Unless the cooling system will be additionally automated using air temperature sensors and a power control unit.

Air conditioners using cold water and ice

Taking a regular car radiator and a household fan, you can assemble a water-based air conditioner. Adapters will have to be made to its pipes to connect hoses with running water, and the fan will have to be fixed at the back.

You just need to organize its power supply with a voltage of 12 V.

Cold water flows through the radiator, removing heat from the air pumped by the fan. Such a device can hardly be called an air conditioner; rather, it is a simple air cooler, since the intensity of air cooling directly depends on the water temperature. These are used in industrial ventilation; only the feed water is cooled by special installations - chillers. At home, there is nothing to cool the water with, you will have to take what you have from the tap. Regarding this option, it should be noted that the idea is not bad, there is only one weak point, but it is significant - the inability to provide low-temperature feed water. Clear instructions on how to make an air conditioner with your own hands using water are presented in the video.

The third option is the simplest air conditioner, which cools the air using ready-made ice. 2 holes are made in a tightly closed plastic container: one for the fan, the second for the air outlet pipe. The container is filled with ice, closed, and a fan forces the heated air mixture from the room inside. The latter quickly cools, washing the ice, and exits back through the pipe. Air conditioners for cars are also made in a similar way. One additional recommendation: it is better to cover the inside of the container with sheet polystyrene foam.

Some craftsmen adapt a household cooler to a car air conditioner, since installing a standard one will be more expensive. The operation is quite labor-intensive and difficult, but it provides some advantage: the operation of the refrigeration unit does not depend on the engine.

How to properly install an air conditioner in an apartment How to make the right choice of air conditioner for your apartment Mobile air conditioners without duct: operating features How to make ventilation in a private house

Despite its simple appearance, this is a real air conditioner. The only thing is that he is not self-sufficient. It also requires a refrigerator or any other device (or courier service) capable of generating ice in sufficient quantities. Although in some cases you can get by with plain water.

Thanks to the use of ready-made items, the air conditioner has a finished, almost industrial look. For better cooling of the space, it should be located as high as possible relative to the floor level. And since the function of the bucket is not lost after its intended use, you can store seasonal items in the air conditioner that you will not need until next summer.

The author used a low-voltage fan, this allows the air conditioner made by hand to be completely autonomous. Simply adding a solar battery on a wire to the design is enough to place it on a window with suitable parameters for voltage and current. This will make your air conditioner automatic too. It will turn on when the sun is shining and turn off at night when it is not so hot.

Also, the option with a solar battery will make it possible to use the air conditioner in camping conditions. In this case, ice can be replaced by spring water (usually it has a temperature of no more than 11 degrees), but it will need to be changed more often as it heats up.

Ok, where I'm from, it's getting hot. So hot that the beer evaporates while in the bottle.

Also the fact that my room gets a lot of sun during the day doesn't make for a cool evening in the summer.

Being who I am, I hacked into an old (recently purchased) bucket to create a USB Air Conditioner if you will.

Step 1: Gather Material (and Go Crazy)

If it was in a video game you would have to travel far to get it. I bought this one at the pain store.

Bucket 20l
A lid that fits a stated bucket
Mini desk USB fan
Some cleaning cloths or thin porous material (40cm x 30cm) The tools I used are a guideline only, so feel free to deviate from this list
Cordless drill
Roulette
Vernier caliper (vernier caliper)
Glue gun (with glue sticks)
Your brain (don't use someone else's brain for this, yours will be fine)
Step 2: let's maim

Do not cripple until better times.... cut and cut.

Take the cap and drill a small pilot hole in the center

Use a vernier to determine the diameter of the fan cage minus the parts were screws go thrown.

I got a deposit of 16mm minus 3.2mm on the rim. Leaving me with 12.8mm

Using a vernier set to 6.4mm (cage radius) I scraped the circle onto the lid. (with pilot hole as my anchor point)

Then we cut it. Use a rotary tool or a sharp carpet knife to cut out the circle you removed.

it should look like the picture above.

STEP 3 GO

Step 3: Drill holes for mounting (You won't find any oil)

You piloted the drilling of holes in the lid.

Make sure they match the cage and clean for a tight fit with the cage

Step 4: Now the marriage is out of the cage.

Split cage. Save the screws

Place the bottom side under the lid and the top side of the cage on the top lid is between the cage now.

Secure the cage using the screws you held. A drop of hot glue under the screws will stop them from pulling out and thrown. My fan came with nuts, I skipped the glue involved, but if you are worried that they might lose you can blot them with glue.

Congratulations, the cover is done. We go to the bucket

Step 5: Buckets are even sharper.

The bucket contains water and a channel that controls the air flowing in.

Cut a groove on the side for the wire to fit. This is where the wires are inserted.

Next measure the bucket and make a half point mark with a felt-tip pen.

Measure the top half and mark half.

This is where your holes will be made so go and make sure that everything is halfway around the bucket.

Now the fun begins.

Step 6: Captain has a hole in the bucket

Depending on how many holes are required, mark several circles around the bucket more or less 13cm.

Use the vernier to scrape the circle again from halfway as a turning point. Remember to use a radius (6.5 cm) I made 4 holes perpendicular to each other.

This is where you can use your own ideas. I've used two designs here as examples.

Cut out a circle or drill holes inside the circle.

This is your intake, so feel free to experiment.

Step 7: fabric and holes.

We are on rags and why they are on the list.

Dimensions 40cm x 30cm. If you can't find them and are using another material.

Fold their lengths wise and glue on top, just above the hole. Making sure that it covers the hole and that a large piece does not touch the bottom of the ladle.

Place a bead of glue under the hole and secure the fabric to it.

Almost done

Step 8: Water and Ice

Fill the bucket with water until under the holes.

Add ice for greater effect. Wet the rag so it can act as a wick that keeps the drawing water in place.

Place it on the cover and plug it into a USB plug and let the magic begin.

It takes time to cool the whole room, but it lowers my room average from 25C to 16C tossed day.

The great thing is you can run it as little as 6V so adding a small solar panel makes it camping enough to make your friends jealous.

Enjoy

PS. Show me your variasions and final build and ask for any support.

For those who like to craft in their spare time, making an air conditioner for a car with their own hands is a real challenge that simply must be accepted. Especially if it is unbearably hot outside and your car is not equipped with a climate control system. A homemade air conditioner for a car is not as complicated as it seems at first glance. The most important thing is to know the operating principle of this device and stock up on all the necessary equipment, because the design of the future portable car air conditioner depends on the available means.

First, let's figure out what the essence of a mobile air conditioner for a car is. There are two types of air conditioners: compressor and evaporative. To manufacture the former, special equipment is required, as well as various expensive parts and perfect knowledge of cooling systems. Another thing is relatively simple evaporation systems. It is on their principle of operation that the design of homemade cooling devices is most often based. The trick is that to evaporate water, such a cooler-humidifier requires a large amount of heat, which it takes from the environment.

You can design an evaporative air conditioner for your car without much expense. To do this you will need:

the simplest plastic container (an unnecessary cooler bag will also do);
interior heater radiator;
two computer coolers with dimensions suitable for the container;
bilge pump;
hoses and wires;
fasteners;
cigarette lighter plug.

Then fans are installed, one of which is designed to blow air through the compressor of our car air conditioner, and the second to blow out coolness. To collect warm air, several holes are drilled on the sides.

All of the above homemade devices are installed in any part of the car interior - the main thing is that the air flows exactly where it is needed.

We can conclude that constructing an air conditioner for a car with your own hands is a very simple and not at all expensive task. So if you are looking for an affordable way to save yourself and your passengers from the heat, a homemade cooling system is just what you need.

Video “DIY car air conditioner”

After watching the recording, you will learn what parts a car air conditioner consists of, how to assemble it and how to care for it.

The heat is bothering you, but you don’t have money for air conditioning? You can try making your own air conditioner. In fact, it is not as difficult as many people think. Numerous videos and articles on the Internet provide step-by-step instructions. In this article we will look at the simplest and most effective ways to make an air conditioner with your own hands.

First, let's get acquainted with the theory. Everyone knows that an air conditioner is a device that can maintain a certain temperature in a room. The simplest and cheapest air conditioners can only cool the air; more modern models can have a comprehensive effect on the microclimate of the room: humidify and purify the air, eliminate dust and allergens, kill germs, etc. Despite the apparent complexity, all air conditioners are divided into compressor and evaporative.

In order to make the first type of air conditioner with your own hands, you will need significant financial investments. Assembling a compressor air conditioner will require in-depth knowledge of the operating principle of the device. The operation of the second type of air conditioner is based on simple evaporation of water. It is known that during evaporation the temperature decreases, since part of the energy leaves along with the evaporated molecules.

Let's finish with the theoretical part and move on to considering the simplest air conditioners that you can make with your own hands.

How did our ancestors cope with the heat?

One of the most common means of cooling since time immemorial has been a wet towel. Any container was wrapped in a towel and placed in a drafty, ventilated place. As the water evaporated, the towel cooled. Most DIY evaporative air conditioners work on the same principle.

DIY air conditioner made from a fan and cold water

The simple design is suitable for office workers. The device will require a fan with a protective casing, a water tank, thick fabric and wire.

In front of the fan, a cloth is placed on a fixed wire, the lower edge of which is lowered into a container of water. The structure is placed in a window opening. The design will constantly maintain active evaporation of water, and the stronger the evaporation, the lower the air temperature.

A homemade fan air conditioner has a number of advantages: it operates silently, consumes little energy and is easy to assemble/disassemble. Water consumption is approximately one liter per hour.

DIY conditioner from plastic bottles

To make the conditioner, take several plastic bottles with cold or pre-frozen water. The bottles are hung on the fan in the direction of the air flow in a row, leaving small gaps so that the air can flow freely. The liquid in the bottles needs to be changed as it warms up.

DIY air conditioner made from a hose and copper pipe

A thin plastic copper pipe is bent into a spiral and fixed to the surface of the fan protective grille. There must be gaps between the turns of the pipe to allow free passage of air. One end of the pipe is connected to a garden hose connected to a cold water faucet. The second end goes down the drain. The end intended for draining can be plugged with a stopper. Next, the tap opens and the pipe fills with water. As the water in the pipe heats up, it needs to be renewed. Also, instead of a plug, you can provide a valve (including an automatic one).

DIY air conditioner made from a container, fan and ice

To make an air conditioner, you will need any unnecessary container (but a thermally insulated one like a portable refrigerator case is best), holes are made on the lid of which, and ice is placed inside the container. A fan is built into the lid of the container so that the air flow goes inside. This way you will get a flow of cold air from the second hole.

DIY air conditioner made from an air purifier and fan

This type of air conditioner will require more effort and expense. To make it you will need a car air purifier and a regular fan. The fan and air purifier are connected to each other using a pipe or hose. The housing for the resulting installation is made from any available materials. The filter, attached to the bottom of the housing, is made of fine mesh, folded 3-4 times. After assembly is completed, the air cleaner tank is filled with water, and the system is connected to the electrical network. Using a fan, the air mass is directed into the evaporation chamber, where it cools as it passes through water and exits through mesh holes, which promotes the evaporation of moisture.

DIY spray conditioner

Take any suitable container and fill it with water; put an air duct on the water-filled container. A spray bottle is mounted in the evaporation chamber, which has a nozzle for regulating the amount of liquid taken from the tank. The device is driven by a ventilation system.

Air conditioning from the freezer

One of the most affordable and effective air conditioners that you can make yourself is to install it from an old freezer. To do this, the freezer is hermetically mounted in a window with the rear wall with a heat sink outside. To ensure that the generated cold is evenly distributed throughout the apartment, a fan is installed in the freezer door. You can drill several additional side holes through which warm room air will flow.

DIY air conditioner from a portable refrigerator

A radiator is mounted into the refrigerator body, and a small submersible pump, for example, an aquarium pump, is built into the bottom, the wires are routed out. A hole is made on the inner surface of the cover for the radiator. A pair of round holes for fans are cut out from the outside. The fans and radiator are attached using silicone, the fan wires are combined. The pump is connected to the radiator, and the refrigerator itself is filled with water and ice. The pump begins to pump water into the radiator. The cooled air is exhausted outside through the fan.

As you can see, making your own air conditioner is quite easy. A homemade device will significantly save your budget and will not cause additional hassle during installation.

This publication is mainly addressed to those readers who do not yet have the opportunity to purchase a factory-made air conditioner, as well as pay the rather “significant” electricity bills that accrue as a result of its use. In addition, the devices on sale have a number of shortcomings that force some particularly “picky” users to abandon such equipment - this will be mentioned below.

But living in the intolerable summer stuffiness, which is especially typical for the premises of insufficiently thermally insulated apartment buildings, is also a completely bleak prospect. Therefore, homeowners have a question about whether it is possible to make an air conditioner with their own hands.

There are several options that will help cool the air in the room using homemade devices. Probably, we should immediately warn that there are many skeptics who do not want to put in the effort and conduct such experiments. They actively criticize these inventions, posting derogatory comments and predicting in advance that the project will not work. However, there is nothing easier than testing the effect of homemade products on yourself, especially since each of them will not require large expenses and excessive effort, since any person should be able to make them if he is tired of the constant stuffiness in the rooms.

So that anyone can try to make and test one of the homemade air conditioners, several simple designs will be presented below. Some of them can be made literally in an hour, and using the most affordable materials.

What is an air conditioner? Advantages and disadvantages of factory models

First, it’s worth understanding what it is, what the principle of its operation is and what it is used for.

Everyone knows that such devices are used to maintain a room temperature that is comfortable for humans. Air conditioners, the most affordable and simple in design, are designed only to cool the air. However, today innovative models are produced that are capable of not only completely controlling the temperature in the room at any time of the year, but also purifying and humidifying the air.

Basic device of air conditioners

All commercially available devices are divided into evaporative and compression

They differ in their functions in that evaporative models can only cool and humidify air, while compression models can be designed to both cool and heat it.

Compression air conditioner

Compression air conditioners can be called the most common devices. They can be seen everywhere, built into window openings or hung on the walls of buildings.

The design of a compression device, like any other refrigeration equipment, consists of the following main components that perform certain functions:

The compressor keeps the refrigerant moving around the appliance circuit.
The condenser (radiator) is designed for cooling and condensing freon.
The evaporator is designed to turn liquid into vapor when the freon pressure is sharply reduced.
Thermostat - controls the current flow of freon passing through the evaporator, thereby maintaining the temperature at a given level.
Fans are installed both outside the air conditioner and inside, and are designed to activate heat exchange processes and provide a directed flow of cooled air.

The operation of a compression air conditioner can be briefly described as follows:

A gaseous refrigerant with a temperature of +10÷20 degrees enters the compressor from the evaporator under a pressure of 3–5 atmospheres.
The compressor compresses the refrigerant to reach a pressure of 15–25 atmospheres, while it heats up to a temperature of 75–90 degrees.
Next, the freon enters the condenser, where it is cooled by a flow of “outboard” air driven through the heat exchanger, turning into a liquid state. The refrigerant leaving the condenser has high pressure, and its temperature is 12–20 degrees higher than the environment.
From the condenser, the heated refrigerant enters the thermostatic device. This is usually a thin copper spiral tube with the ability to adjust the cross-section for the passage of freon; the pressure drop in the thin tube with an increase in the speed of movement of the refrigerant, in strict accordance with Bernoulli’s law, causes a sharp drop in the boiling point of the liquid, which leads to the beginning of the process of active evaporation.
Then the refrigerant enters the evaporator, where, due to sudden expansion and removal of heat from the air in the room, it is finally converted into a gaseous state. It is this stage that is key to lowering the temperature in the room.
Next, the refrigerant in a gaseous state again enters the compressor, and the whole process is repeated cyclically.

Air conditioner prices

air conditioner

The same principle, by the way, underlies the design of refrigerators.

Find out how by studying the step-by-step instructions in a special article on our portal.

Evaporative air conditioner

An evaporative air conditioner is a fairly simple design based on the direct evaporation of ordinary water, that is, its operation does not use special refrigerants (freons), which often pose a danger to the environment.

The main components of this class of devices are:

The housing, which houses all the components, with a tray (item 4), is made of materials that are resistant to moisture and significant temperature changes.
A water pump equipped with a filling container (item 1) and water supply valves. Designed to saturate the cooling filter with water. Water is taken from the tank, where it is pumped from the pan. There is a drain valve that is used to regularly remove contaminated water from the sump.
Evaporative filters or gaskets (item 2) are designed to evaporate the water entering them as efficiently as possible. They are most often made from cellulose, although the use of special polymers is also practiced. Most often they have a honeycomb structure - this promotes maximum contact between the humid environment and the pumped air.
The fan provides intake and forced movement of the required volume of air through evaporative filters.

Even from the name of this scheme it becomes clear that it works due to evaporation, and water is used as a liquid that turns into a vapor state. It is interesting that such devices have, one can safely say, a very ancient origin. This is exactly how indoor cooling was organized several thousand years ago in Persia and Mesopotamia, where such “air conditioners” were called “wind catchers.”

The principle is known to everyone - the evaporation of water always leads to cooling of the surface. A simple experiment: wet one hand and leave the other dry - the difference is obvious. By the way, clever nature has provided each of us with our own “cooling system” - it is the secretion and evaporation of sweat that saves the human body from external overheating.

When an evaporative air conditioner operates, warm outside air is drawn in by a fan and passes through filters that are constantly saturated with water from a container. Due to the evaporation of water, the air flow is cooled, humidified and passes into the room. It is characteristic that the lower the humidity of the outside air, the more intense the evaporation of water from the filters, and accordingly, the more efficiently the air conditioner functions. Unlike compression air conditioners, the air in the room is always pumped in from outside, that is, it needs filtration (that’s why evaporative filters are used). In addition, this makes it necessary to ensure exhaust flow from the premises.

This type of air conditioner has a much simpler design, is much more economical in operation compared to a compression design in terms of energy consumption, with equal cooling power.

A significant disadvantage of such devices is that they show extremely low operating efficiency in humid climates. In addition, costs include the need to constantly replenish water or supply it.

So, in order to manufacture an air conditioner based on the compression principle of operation, you will need to make significant investments, and its assembly requires some knowledge and skills. At the same time, making a working model of an evaporative air conditioner is not difficult even for a schoolchild.

Advantages and disadvantages of ready-made air conditioners

Air conditioners are installed everywhere these days, since in the summer, when the temperature outside rises to 35÷40 degrees, and sometimes even higher, it is quite difficult to do without additional cooling equipment in the premises. Any of the air conditioners has numerous advantages that any manufacturer cites and, in principle, does not deceive the consumer. However, not everyone knows that, in addition to its advantages, each such device has plenty of disadvantages, some of which are extremely dangerous to the health of people in the air-conditioned room. But in order to compare the advantages and disadvantages of devices, you first need to know them.

The well-known “advantages” of air conditioners include their following characteristics:

The main advantage of these devices is the creation of a comfortable microclimate in a house or apartment in the summer or year-round.
The air conditioner is able to filter the air masses passing through it in the room. In some models, in addition to filters, ionizers and humidifiers are installed, which significantly improve the air quality in rooms.

The negative aspects of having an air conditioner in the house include the following:

Air conditioners consume a large amount of electricity, so your bills will increase significantly. In addition, these devices require professional, regular maintenance, and you will also have to pay for these services.
The biggest disadvantage of air conditioners is that they collect dust from the air, with all its accompanying components, and accumulate it on their filters. As a result, a favorable microclimate is created in the filters for the proliferation of dangerous microorganisms. One such characteristic bacteria is Legionella, which causes a very serious lung disease, Legionellosis.

Air conditioning requires special means - this is usually done once every three months. If this procedure is not carried out on time, the device will become a breeding ground for dirt and an unpleasant odor that will remain in the room.
If you use an air conditioner without a humidifier, the air in the room will very quickly become dry - the relative humidity will be only 30÷40%, when comfortable air for a person should be humidified to 45÷60%. Dry air makes breathing difficult, leads to damage to the mucous membranes of the eyes and nasopharynx, as well as aging of the skin.
The use of air conditioners often causes a surge in colds during the seemingly “harmless” summer period, especially in children or adults with a predisposition to this.
When operating, the air conditioner makes constant noise, which negatively affects the psyche of some people.
Finally, although prices are no longer what they were, say, ten years ago, not everyone still has the opportunity to purchase and install such a device in their apartment or house.

Unlike a factory-made device, a homemade version does not require high costs or special conditions. It is easy to operate and maintain, so this can be easily handled without the involvement of specialists.

DIY air conditioners

It might be worth starting with the simplest ways to cool a room. They are well known and have been used since ancient times - for example, a wet sheet used to cover an open window, or a container filled with water and wrapped in a wet terry towel, the end of which is dipped in water. This “cooling system” is installed on a windowsill with an open window or in a door opening facing the street. The role of the fan in this case will be played by a banal draft. Everything is the same as discussed above - when the water evaporates, the fabric cools, and the desired coolness enters the room.

Most mini-air conditioners operate on the same principle, which can be made quite easily yourself.

Next, we will consider several options for devices that can be made at home without much difficulty and great expense. Of course, the created models will not be able to compete in terms of cooling power with factory-produced air conditioners, but they will not cause as many problems. In addition, energy costs will be several times less than when operating real devices.

The advantage of a homemade cooling device is that if the design seems ineffective, it can be easily disassembled and put, so to speak, in a box. Due to the fact that everything necessary for the manufacture of devices is inexpensive, you will not be offended by the money spent. But how much pleasure the master will receive if he is satisfied with his “creation”!

The first option is a mini-air conditioner made of a fan and a copper tube

It is not difficult to make such a compact air cooler, but it must be taken into account that for its effective operation you need running water or a bucket filled with it, which will have to be carried after the device if it is decided to move it to another room. If a water meter is installed in a house or apartment, then it is better, of course, to choose the second version, with water recycling.

Fan prices

fan

To make the air conditioner shown you will need:

Fan of any model with a front protective grille.
Copper tube 1/4˝ or 6.35 mm. Its length will depend on the diameter of the fan grille and the density of the spiral. A standard floor fan will require approximately 5000÷10000 mm of tube.
Plastic clamps or thin wire.
Transparent flexible plastic tube with an internal diameter of 6 mm.
Submersible pump for an aquarium with a capacity of 600÷1000 l/h.
A thermal box, such as a cooler bag or a plastic bucket. It should be noted here that ice will melt in a thermal box much longer than in a bucket, so it is preferable to the latter.
Metal clamps.
Cold accumulator.

We need to talk about the cold accumulator in more detail, since it is useful not only for this, but also for other models of homemade mini-air conditioners.

Prices for copper tubes

copper tubes

Cold accumulators are used in car or portable cooler bags to maintain the required temperature. This convenient device is a hermetically sealed plastic container with a flat shape. The battery capacity is filled with a quickly freezing liquid, and before placing it in an insulated bag or plastic box, it is frozen in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator.

The cold accumulator can be used an unlimited number of times, and it is capable of not only cooling the interior of the refrigerator box, but also keeping it cold. You can find three types of batteries on sale, which differ in the filling material. Thus, the container can be filled with a water-salt solution, gel or silicone.

The water-salt battery maintains the temperature in the refrigerator box in the range from -20 to +8 degrees.
The gel version of the cooler is capable of maintaining both positive and negative temperatures at the desired level.
The silicone battery is sold in a durable plastic film bag - this option can maintain a temperature from 0 to +2 degrees for seven days, provided that the refrigerator is not opened.

Therefore, to cool the water entering the air conditioner, it is more advisable to purchase a silicone battery. But for it to work effectively, we repeat, it requires a tightly closing box with effective thermal insulation. If you don’t have one on your farm, you can select a sealable container (for example, there are buckets with a rectangular cross-section) and cover all its surfaces (including the lid) from the inside or outside with a layer of polystyrene foam 30÷40 mm thick.

Having prepared everything you need for work, you can proceed to making a mini-air conditioner:

Illustration
	The first step is to remove the front protective grille from the fan. Then a copper tube is taken and, starting from the center of the grate, a spiral is twisted from the tube, as shown in the illustration.
	The more turns the spiral has, the faster the room will cool. However, do not forget that if you twist the spiral too tightly, it will interfere with the normal movement of air pumped by the fan. The ends of the tube are left free - they will later be placed behind the rear grille of the fan after installing and securing the front one. This design will become a heat exchanger for the air conditioner. Water, cooled in a sealed container, will circulate through the copper tube, and the fan, blowing the heat exchange circuit, will direct the flow of cool air into the room in the desired direction.
	The tube is secured to the front grille using plastic clamps, but if they are not available, you can use ordinary thin soft wire to secure the spiral. After the heat exchanger is completely secured to the grille, the ends of the clamps need to be cut off, since the air conditioner will not look aesthetically pleasing with them.
	The next step is to install the grille with a spiral onto the fan. The ends of the copper tubes are brought to one of the sides of the device or placed behind the rear grille. In any case, they should be turned in one direction, where it is more convenient to install the cooling box.
	Next, the ends of the transparent plastic tubes need to be connected to the ends of the copper coil. To ensure that they are tightly fixed and the connection is completely leak-proof, they are secured on top with metal clamps.
	After this, one of the tubes is connected to the pump nozzle. The length of both hoses must be such that they freely reach the container in which the cooler will be located. Here it is necessary to clarify that the tube can be selected according to the diameter of the pump nozzle, and if it is much larger than the size of the copper tube, then before putting on the transparent hose, you need to wrap electrical tape around the latter and also secure the connection with a metal clamp.
	After connecting all the tubes, they, together with the pump, are placed in a container. In this case, a foam box is used, but a refrigerator bag or a plastic bucket will also work, but it will need to be thoroughly thermally insulated using polystyrene foam or other insulation. To ensure that the container closes tightly, the tubes can be passed through holes drilled in the walls of the container - then the lid will be tightly closed.
	The thermal box is filled with cold water, and after this the system is checked. To do this, you need to turn on the pump and when water starts circulating through the tubes, check the connections. The water taken by the pump must pass the entire coil and return to the container through the second transparent drain tube.
	If the test was successful, then add ice and cold accumulators to the container with water, and then tightly close it with a lid. Now you can turn on the fan and check the functionality of the entire assembled system as a whole. You will have to periodically add ice to the thermobox as the mini-air conditioner operates.

The second option is a mini-air conditioner made from a table fan

In order for the air conditioner to be more powerful and cool the entire room, you will need a fan of greater power. But it is quite possible to organize local cooling of the air flow, for example, near a place for work or rest.

In this case, the master used an ordinary table fan, which is found in almost every home. It will not have to be disassembled to the ground, so if you want to use it in the traditional way, it will be enough to put it in its original position.

In addition to the fan, to create this design, you will need a cardboard box of a suitable size, wide tape, a pan or other container that will completely fit into the box, shoe threads and ice. The tools you will need to prepare are a stationery knife, scissors, a marker, a ruler or tape measure, and a large (gypsy) needle. If you look at the list of tools, a logical conclusion arises that even a woman’s hands can make such a mini-air conditioner.

Illustration	Brief description of the operation performed
	So, any large corrugated cardboard box will do the job, as you can easily make a small one out of it. In order to start making it, you need to prepare a suitable container. You can take any pan from the kitchen, since it can be returned at any time if necessary. There is no need to drill or saw the container - it will remain in its original form.
	The task of the first stage is to make a box without a bottom from corrugated cardboard, which will be 150÷200 mm higher than the container, and have dimensions in length and width that the selected container will easily fit into. To do this, the cardboard box is marked, its bottom and lid are cut off. This work is performed with a sharp stationery knife.
	Next, a box is assembled from the cut cardboard. The edges of the box are secured with high-quality tape, which is glued in two to three layers.
	The result should be a box approximately like the one shown in the illustration. If there are holes or windows in the walls of the box, then they need to be sealed with the same tape so that the cold that will emanate from the ice is directed in one direction and exits through one channel specially designed for this.
	The next step is to measure the remaining cardboard, and on one of the fragments that does not have folds, a lid is drawn and cut out, which must exactly match the previously made box. In the central part of this cardboard square, a circle is marked, which should have a diameter that exceeds the span of the existing fan impeller by 20÷25 mm. The fan blades should not only fit freely into the cut-out window, but also not touch its edges when turned on. It is best to make this cover from two layers of cardboard - it will be more reliable.
	The next step is to secure the prepared square lid on top of the box. The parts are connected around the entire perimeter using tape.
	Then, the height of the container that will be located under the box is measured. At this level, a rectangular hole with a height of 35÷40 mm is marked and cut out. The length of the opening may be different, but it is important to deviate from the corners of the box by at least the same 35÷40 mm, thereby maintaining the rigidity of the structure.
	The next step is to cut out two identical parts from cardboard - strips, the length of which will be 4÷5 mm less than the rectangular cutout in the box, and the width will be 5 mm greater. The parts must be connected with threads, at a distance from each other, which should be equal to the height of the rectangular gap cut in the box. The threads need to be run at a slight angle from the top part to the bottom, i.e. fasten them through the top panel, departing from the edges 7÷8 mm, and on the bottom 12÷15 mm.
	The next step is to insert the connected parts into the cut-out rectangular window of the housing, as shown in the illustration. They must enter it freely.
	Next, take a gypsy needle with a thread inserted into it and the parts are loosely fixed in the window, each of them in three places. One of them is fixed to the top line, along the length of the opening, and the second - along the lower border. The threads should not be pulled tight - after threading them through the cardboard, you just need to tie knots.
	The result should be a structure similar to conventional blinds, which can tilt down, up, or be installed exactly horizontally, directing the air flow in the desired direction.
	This illustration shows how, with the movement of a finger, the curtains of the resulting blinds move upward. They will remain in this position until someone decides to change the direction of the flow.
	Now you can start assembling the structure. In order for the air conditioner to operate more quietly, it is recommended to place a bedding on the surface of the floor or table under the container - this can be a cloth folded in several layers or an old towel. But at the same time the pan must stand very steadily.
	The front mesh, removed from the fan, is placed on top of the container, with the convex side down. It will serve as a stand for pieces of ice.
	Now you can put ice on the grid - it should be prepared in advance. If the summer is hot and you plan to use the air conditioner every day, then ice will have to be prepared constantly. This is the only inconvenience in using this design. However, its advantage is that it will consume no more electricity than a regular fan.
	Now, the container with the mesh and ice is covered with a box. When the ice melts, the water will flow into the placed container, but in order for the cold to flow into the room constantly, ice will have to be constantly added. It is best to prepare the ice used for this conditioner in large pieces, freezing water, for example, in plastic glasses. In this case, it will melt more slowly than the one made in small cubes.
	Next, a fan is inserted into the hole in the box, with the blades down. If a tabletop device is used, as in this case, then it does not need to be removed from the stand. When using a large, floor-standing model for the design, it would be better to remove the axis with blades from the stand. For a larger fan diameter, you will have to make a larger box.
	When the entire structure is assembled, you can proceed to testing it. In this case, to visually assess the functionality of the air conditioner, the master used polyethylene tapes.
	To visually determine the direction of air flow, so to speak, “in real time,” several polyethylene strips can be glued to the blinds with tape. If you always use ice of the same size, then over time it will become clear how much, approximately, one bookmark is enough. Although, the period of ice melting will also depend on the air temperature in the room.

When using such a mini-air conditioner to cool the air, you need to periodically empty the container in which the melt water will collect, otherwise it will overflow. If the cardboard of the box gets wet, the fan may well fall into the spilled water, which will lead to a short circuit. Therefore, a homemade air conditioner of this type requires constant monitoring.

The third option is a tabletop mini air conditioner

This air conditioner model is perfect for those who spend all day at the computer or just at their desk, since its range is very small. However, this device also has its advantages - it works quietly, takes up little space and consumes a minimal amount of electricity.

Illustration	Brief description of the operation performed
	To create this model you will need a computer fan (cooler). It can be purchased at a specialized store or even simply removed from an old system unit or power supply.
	A mayonnaise bucket or a deep food-grade plastic container with a lid can be used as a container for ice.
	The container lid must be at least 5 mm larger than the fan dimensions.
	In addition, this mini-air conditioner model will require a 12-volt power supply. The fan will run from it.
	You will also need a regular 0.5 liter plastic bottle. To be more precise, only its upper part – the neck – will be used.
	To assemble the structure, you will also need to purchase a small switch and a socket for the power supply in a store or remove it from old equipment.
	When purchasing a socket, you need to ensure that it fits the plug of the power supply. It is best to buy them at the same time to avoid mistakes.
	A fan is applied to the lid of the container, then it is marked using a marker. First, the fan is outlined around the perimeter, and then inside the square the circle in which it will later be installed is determined.
	Next, it is necessary to ensure free passage of air inside the container. To do this, a large number of holes are burned in the inner part of the outlined circle using a soldering iron.
	But it’s better to do it even simpler - cut out the entire opening for the fan along the marked circle. This operation is easy to perform using a sharp utility knife with replaceable blades.
	The cylindrical fan housing should fit into the resulting window as tightly as possible, if the existing model has one. If not, then it is necessary to ensure that the plane of the body is pressed as tightly as possible to the surface of the cover. All burrs remaining after cutting out the window must be cut off.
	After this, the fan is applied to the lid again, and dots are placed on the lid with a marker through the holes located in its corners. Then, mounting holes are drilled or burned along these designated centers.
	The fan is installed on the cover and screwed with short screws and nuts. In this case, it is necessary to orient it correctly - it should work to force air into the container, and not vice versa.
	To ensure that all the air pumped by the fan enters the container and is then discharged through a channel specially designed for this, it is additionally recommended to seal this unit by gluing it with silicone around the entire perimeter using a heat gun.
	The next step will require wiring the switch and the socket for connecting the power supply. The red wire (plus) from the cooler is soldered to one of the switch legs. The end of the wire is first cleaned and lubricated with soldering flux, which will result in a more durable contact connection.
	Next, you need to take a piece of wire, strip it at the ends, and then treat them with flux. One end of the wire is soldered to the second leg of the switch. It is advisable, of course, to observe the color coding of the wires here too, using red so that it is clear that it is the “plus” that is being interrupted. However, with due care, this is not necessary. In the example shown, the master uses black, apparently whatever was on hand.
	The next step is to immediately attach the switch to the fan housing using silicone hot-melt adhesive. For the key you need to find a suitable place that is convenient for turning it on.
	Next, take the power socket. As a rule, in most models of power supplies, the central contact of the plug is “plus”. Therefore, here too, the master connected the terminal located at the end of the socket to the switch, where, as we remember, it is the “plus” that breaks.
	Then, take the second pre-stripped wire from the fan (“minus”) and solder it to the “minus” of the power socket. It is very important not to mix up the wires of the positive and negative contacts, otherwise the fan may fail. If you are not sure, then it is better to ring the switching before turning it on, making sure that the polarity of the wires is correct.
	Now it is necessary to carry out “running tests” of the assembled electromechanical part for operability. To do this, the power supply is connected to the network, and its plug is inserted into the socket. The switch key is pressed.
	If the tests were successful, the fan works and directs the flow exactly in the right direction (into the container), the socket is also secured with silicone hot-melt adhesive to the cooler body, next to the switch. The illustration clearly shows the location of parts and wires.
	As a result of assembly, the structure should look something like what is shown in this photo.
	When the main and, it must be said, the most difficult part of the air conditioner is done, you can move on to an easier stage - working on the container. To do this, first a plastic bottle is marked with a marker and the upper part is cut off, which will be used in the design as an outlet channel for cooled air. It is advisable to make the cut line as smooth as possible to simplify sealing of this unit.
	The next step is to apply the cut part of the bottle to the top of the container wall and outline it with a marker.
	But the hole should still be somewhat smaller. Therefore, another one is drawn inside the outlined circle, with a radius of approximately 2–3 mm less. After this, a round window is cut out along the line of the inner circle using a knife. The work must be done slowly, very carefully, since the knife can easily move to the side, and the cutout will be larger than necessary. This means that you will have to look for another container.
	The cut bottle neck is inserted into the cut hole on the container from the inside, and then the joint is “sealed” with silicone hot melt adhesive from the outside and inside. The sealing seam must harden well, and only after this can a control test of the structure be carried out.
	The cap from the neck of the bottle is removed, and polyethylene strips can be glued around the outlet hole, which will visually show the strength of the air coming out of the neck.
	Then the container lid with the fan attached to it is installed in place, and the assembled structure can be checked for functionality. The illustration clearly shows how strips of polyethylene visually demonstrate the force of the air flow leaving the container.
	Now the container capacity is filled with ice, approximately to the bottom edge of the glued bottle. The ice in the container space will cool the air, and the fan will ensure its influx and subsequent exit through the neck fixed in the wall. Instead of regular ice, you can use its dry version - by the way, it is enough to cool the air for a longer period. If the capacity allows, then in addition to ice, you can also install a cold accumulator in it.
	These two photographs demonstrate how, having made such a tabletop air conditioner, the master measured the temperature at the outlet before turning on the fan and after it had been running for several minutes. The thermometer shows a drop in temperature from 32 degrees to 21 - what is required.

A significant disadvantage of this design is that the cooled air will be supplied as a “jet” in only one direction. However, the device can be installed in such a way that the air flow blows on the face of its owner, and this will be enough to not suffer so much from the stuffiness in the room.

The fourth option is “conditioner” made from plastic bottles and a sheet of plywood or cardboard

This method of cooling rooms was invented in Bangladesh and is used everywhere today.

This air conditioner will require virtually no costs for its production, and during its operation - for electricity, since it works naturally. This air conditioner design does not require not only electricity, but also ice or water.

The principle is that air naturally (due to a draft) passes through a sharply narrowing channel, and then, with an instant expansion at the outlet, it cools. This principle is clearly demonstrated by a simple experiment. Blow on your hand with your mouth wide open - you will feel the warmth. And now, with the same effort, but pass the air through the lips extended in a tube - the effect of an air stream cooling the skin is obvious.

The structure can be made of any size, which will depend on the linear parameters of the window frame, which is planned to be opened wide.

Now we need to consider the simple process of manufacturing this model of “air conditioner” in a little more detail.

So, you need to prepare a sheet of plywood and the required number of plastic bottles. They can be of any color - this factor does not matter at all for the operation of the air cooler being created. However, if you want to create a colored design, then bottles of different shades can be arranged in a certain way, creating a beautiful ornament that will be visible from afar.

To create the conditioner, you will only need the top parts of the bottles, ⅓ of their height. Therefore, they need to be cut off and the plugs twisted off them. However, do not rush to throw away the corks, since they will serve perfectly as fasteners, like threaded bushings, for fixing bottle parts on the plywood panel.

You need to cut so many bottles so that after placing them on a plywood sheet, they are located tightly, but do not touch each other. To mark their places on the panel, you need to take a long pencil, and, inserting it through the top into the center of the neck of each of the bottle segments, alternately mark the location of the future hole.

To drill holes you will need a core bit. Since the diameter of the threaded part of the neck of most bottles found is standard, a drill with a diameter of 18 mm is required. It is installed in the drill chuck, and holes are drilled according to the previously made marks.

Now all that remains is to install the bottle pieces into the holes. To keep them securely, you can secure them with lids by screwing them on from the outside, after first cutting off the top of them so that they become “passable”.

You will get a plastic ring with a thread inside. These couplings screw onto the necks of the bottles and will securely fasten them to the plywood sheet.

Plywood prices

The finished air conditioner is installed on the window opening with the funnels facing outwards. The developers of this scheme claim that due to the fact that the warm air entering the funnel, passing through a narrow neck, is cooled, the temperature in the room is guaranteed to drop by five degrees. And this is a lot in the summer heat!

True, you will have to come to terms with the fact that the window practically stops letting in daylight, which, you see, is not entirely convenient.

Fifth option - mini-air conditioner made from a fan and plastic bottles

This air conditioner model is in many ways similar to the previous one, but is reinforced with a fan, and can be installed in any room, easily moving it to the desired location. In addition, there are no problems with daylighting the room.

In order to make this version of the “air conditioner”, you will need the following materials:

An ordinary household fan.
Six plastic bottles.
A sheet of thick cardboard or thin plastic.
Plastic clamps.
Stationery knife.
Silicone hot glue.

The work on making this model will not take much time if everything you need is stocked in advance. When making such an air conditioner, you will not have to solder or make complex connections of individual parts - you will only need to cut and glue. A similar air cooler, equipped with a system to be manufactured, will operate on the same principle as the previous model.

So, the first step is to cut off the bottom of all six bottles, focusing, for example, on the label - the cut line will run exactly along it.

The next step is to prepare the base. On cardboard or plastic you need to draw a circle that will correspond to the diameter of the fan, and then carefully cut it out using a stationery knife.

Next, the cut parts of the bottles are installed and evenly distributed on the resulting round panel, with the funnel down. Each of them needs to be circled with a pencil. Then the intended windows are carefully cut out with a knife.

The result should be a round panel with even holes corresponding to the diameter of the bottle.

Now, the cut parts of the bottles need to be secured to the panel holes with tape so that they do not move when they are glued. Having fixed the parts in one position, they are glued with silicone hot glue using a gun. The glue is applied around the circumference of each of the six windows on both one and the other side of the panel.

Prices for popular air conditioners

Next, closer to the edge of the round panel between the bottles, you need to make two holes at a distance of about 30 mm from one another. Plastic clamps are inserted into the holes, with which the structure will be secured to the fan. How the tightening is threaded is clearly shown in the illustration.

Now all that remains is to secure the panel to the front grille of the fan using clamps, the remaining free ends of which must be cut off, otherwise they may interfere with the rotation of the fan and make an unpleasant sound when it operates.

The result is a design as shown in the illustration. The convenience is that such an air cooler can be directed to any area of the room, moved to another room, it does not require additional consumables, and also that the panel can be easily removed if desired.

In addition, for such an “air conditioner” you will not have to buy any expensive parts, and it will consume no more electricity than a regular fan.

In conclusion, it must be added that there are other models of homemade air conditioners, which can be simple or complex. If the task is to choose the optimal one, you should start experimenting with the simplest and least expensive ones. To expand the information received, watch the video below