Modified Stroller Air Conditioning Unit (Evaporative Ice Cooler)

[Smittolis]

Ok so write up #2 of the day....

This one may be a little overkill for some, I can understand that, however, being from the PNW anything we can do to make our children more comfortable and stave off the crankiness I am all for it! One of our first trips we used the usually hand held fans that push about as much air as blowing a kiss! We then moved to the ubiquitous stroller fans that clip on and have foam blades. We found they were too weak and chewed through batteries! I wanted to find something that would help keep them cool in the heat without being a huge burden.

I took my inspiration from the plethora of 'redneck' AC units you can view on youtube, but I wanted to find a fan that was battery powered, would last long enough and would push enough air to be effective. I went through a number of fans that ranged in price, but they were all too weak to push the air I wanted to be effective. I took a gamble on a fan that was lithium powered and it shifts a huge amount of air for its size and lasts for hours. Bonus is that I can run it and charge it from an external USB power pack.

Here is my Frankenstein creation:

The concept is simple, you fill the cooler with Ice, fit the fan and its insulated holder in the mouth of the cooler, the fan blows air into the cooler and through / around the ice, the pressure in the cooler builds and then exits through 2 holes in the upper half of the cooler. 2 tubes then direct this air into both of the seats of the stroller.....

I took an old Gallon Columbia cooler I had laying around as the basis of my unit, quite conveniently it had an interior 'lip' that would allow my to place some insulating board in it and prevent it from falling into it:

I then used some 'hobby insulating foam board' that you can purchase from Home Depot for $2, I made a template and cut out a circle that would fit just inside the cooler. Taking the fan i made a cut out for the fan just a little too small so the fan would be held snuggly by friction alone. While at home depot i found some flexible white tubing that would distribute the cold air. I drilled 2 holes into the side of the cooler using a circular drill bit, once again this was the same size as the interior diameter of the tube so it would be a snug fit.

I then wrapped the foam board insert (with the fan cut out) in insulation tape i had laying around from some other projects:

Here is the fan:

Here is the fan installed in the fan housing and placed into the cooler:

Filling the cooler up to just underneath the drilled holes puts a nice amount of ice in there. When the fan is placed on medium it can run for 4+hours and gives off a very decent amount of air flow, more than enough to get a moderate breeze through the tubes. In order to be efficient I would hang the cooler off the back of the stroller's handle bar, it was attached by 2 simple velcro straps. The tubes would then simply be placed into the top of the seat back area where the mesh lining is. This allows the air to be directed onto the head of the person sitting in it without having to permanently modify your stroller. I did some testing and the air temperature coming out of the ice cooler at the end tube was at least 10 degrees different than the ambient temperature. This differential obviously grows larger the hotter it is outside, when in direct sun in Florida in the parks it was an absolute godsend and our kids loved it. Putting it on high power gives a very nice air flow, but this will only last for a couple of hours continuous use. I would have a usb power pack in the stroller handlebar parent organizer to plug it into just in case. The ice would last for over 3 hours with the occasion top up from a cup of ice from vendors etc.. All the materials pack away into the cooler itself for easy storage and organization.

People would often ask what it was, I guess many people would assume it is some kind of breathing apparatus for one of our children, which it obviously is not! However, what it does do (and do very well) is provide a very nice cooling effect for children in the heat when there are just no other options. We used this a lot and I am already designing mark 2 with a number of improvements! I know its a little over kill, but as stated, a happy kid is a non whiney kid! lol And we absolutely love it!

 

[Moana of Montunui]

You definitely win coolest dad award! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Smittolis]

lol why thank you. I'll update as i upgrade and refine the design. As i already had the cooler (lost and found item) the tape, the above cost me $2 in foam, $10 for the fan and $4 for the tubing... Patience and ingenuity? Priceless ;o)

 

[lilkimmyk]

Awesome Job! Keeping the littles cooled down in the hot Florida sun makes everyone happy! Lol!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[NotUrsula]

Very nice hack. Improvement-wise, I think that insulating the tubing would probably help quite a bit; you are proobably picking up a fair amount of heat as the air passes through. Fleece fabric sleeves would probably do a nice job without adding too much bulk or stiffness.

For added effectiveness, you might consider carrying some white cotton gauze fabric: if you wet it and wring it out, it can serve as a damp "blanket" covering to protect some from the sun, but more importantly, to add to the evaporative cooling effect of the air passing from the cooler.

 

[KT0191]

Wow. This is really impressive.

 

[HopperFan]

Built something similar for a fog machine to keep fog lower to ground ..........

Have you tried to take this into WDW? Just curious if it was allowed.

 

[Smittolis]

I'll reply to both @HopperFan and @NotUrsula....

I originally had the tubes wrapped in insulating tape like the foam insert and the cooler itself. But I was concerned about it appearing to be something that it isn't when entering the parks, so i simply left it as it is. Given the tubes are white and for the most part are covered underneath the stroller, the heat exchange, while definitely there, is not as bad as i thought. It was a trade off from being allowed in the park with it and being efficient with cooling. I have experimented with a high density 'rubber' type tubing that insulates very well, but its all about the interior diameter and the back pressure created on the fan, too big and there isn't enough dwell time for the air to cool, too narrow and the back pressure slows the fan down. The gen 2 model is much different and should allow the stroller to be folded with it fitted! Stay tuned!

Yes I have it in the park, The cooler breaks down into a real cooler full of ice, the fan is a hand held fan taken in separately, the tubes i take in my backpack and they look like kids play things. So yes, it makes it through security. There is nothing wrong with it and i don't intentionally hide it, but given the focus of some of the guards, it makes it much easier to make it as inconspicuous as possible so they cannot believe it is something it isn't

 

[jtopp]

Hurry and patent that idea, before someone else does and you end up seeing it on a late night infomercial. It is simple, functional and cost effective. Well done!!!!

 

[Smittolis]

lol its in generation 2! stage right now... check out the other thread! Although, not sure i could patent the idea given the variants on the market... but you never know!