Portable AC units

ron5657 · Post by **ron5657** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 4:50 pm

Anyone know if portable ac units work on the playa? I will be trying to cool a relatively small area.

Token · Post by **Token** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 5:11 pm

Yes, they do.

ron5657 · Post by **ron5657** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 5:26 pm

Does the dust pose a problem? And is there anything I can do to keep it functioning properly?

Token · Post by **Token** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 5:32 pm

Nope. Just make sure your generator works well and is large enough.

Post by **AntiM** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 6:48 pm

Do a trial run pre-playa to see how much gas it will use up.

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 9:13 pm

How well insulated the area you're cooling is a huge factor... if it's a tent, go with a swamp cooler. If it's a solid space then A/C will work.
Your generator needs to be oversized for the load because it won't make as much power at the high-altitude desert.

Post by **AntiM** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 5:51 am

The unit most be vented to remove the warm air.... we had one in Japan and only cooled a small room with it. We had to jury-rig the venting, didn't have standard windows. It ran our electric bill sky-high,so we used it sparingly. Still have it, use it as a dehumidifier in the basement now and then.

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 6:19 am

I ran a 8000 BTU/hour AC off a honda EU2000 last year for a tent. Didn't cool the tent down unless you sat in front of the air coming out of the AC unit. The dust posed no problems to the AC unit, but it did clog the vent in the gas cap on the EU2000.

Post by **mdmf007** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 7:57 am

swamp coolers work great on playa and take less juice than an AC unit.
AC must be vented outside to work appropriately. The window mounted ones at Wallyworld work great, merely cut a hole in the side of your tent to fit, or make sure the door flap is snug around it.

uncle sticky · Post by **uncle sticky** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 9:23 am

A/C units suck a ton of power. Most small generators can't handle them. Make sure your power source can do the trick. Swamp coolers work great, and don't use up anywhere near as much power.

Marscrumbs · Post by **Marscrumbs** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 9:52 am

For my small trailer I made a small evap (swamp) ccoler last year using 12V 12"box fans I got for $10 closeout at the Carson City Walmart sitting on a square milk box covered with swamp cooler batting in a tray of water. Ran on a marine battery with solar panels and didn't nearly use as much power as a real A/C was going to hook up a fountain pump but didn't have time but hand pouring water over the battings wasn't that much work. Was just the extra comfort need to be happy in the playa afternoon. I mean if you demand total A/C comfort in the dessert why not just stay in Walmart.

Kinetik V · Post by **Kinetik V** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 10:03 am

uncle sticky wrote:A/C units suck a ton of power. Most small generators can't handle them. Make sure your power source can do the trick. Swamp coolers work great, and don't use up anywhere near as much power.

I've run a 5600 btu unit on the playa with a Honda eu2000i for 3 years running without fuss. And I tend to disagree with swamp coolers being the best way to go. I don't like the size footprint they take up, the water mess, and how well do they work in the middle of a dust storm? My A/C kept right on humming along.

The key here is planning and RTFM to know what your power needs will be. In short it's easily workable. And for transport I stack my A/C unit on the floor, the genny sits on top of that, and I hauled 4 - 5gal gas cans. After a week's use I still had gas left which I could put in the tank vs. having extra water that I would dump out and waste. Not to mention hauling all that water the one year I did it was a major pain in the derriere....

Teo del Fuego · Post by **Teo del Fuego** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 3:58 pm

we ran a swamp cooler for our theme camps chill-zone last year and it worked just fine. I think true air conditioning on the playa is fairly lame.

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 7:04 pm

I think true air conditioning on the playa is fairly lame.

Care to elaborate? That seems out of nowhere.

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 7:29 pm

AC on the playa is not lame at all, and neither are swamp coolers... both are awesome when used where they work best.
Who says having some chilly comfort space is a bad thing? Not me!
If you have a dome or tent, you can't beat a swamp cooler to cool it. Man it feels great to step into a chill dome in the middle of the day!
If you have an RV or other closed space, then A/C rules.
Man it feels great to have a mid-day nap in an airconditioned RV! Powering A/C isn't difficult. I use a pair of Honda EU2000s even though my RV has a built-in Onan, just because they are more fuel efficient and quieter.
One will work, but I think two just idling is more pleasant than one throttled up.

DrPeffer · Post by **DrPeffer** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 11:50 pm

Jeez...

Teo del Fuego · Post by **Teo del Fuego** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 9:19 am

I think true air conditioning on the playa is lame because the air has only about, what, 8-10% humidity? Burning a lot of gasoline to run a compressor to further dry that air seems a wee bit wack, when a swamp cooler uses far less energy and is better suited to the dry climate. That's what I mean. It a humidity thing.

Kinetik V · Post by **Kinetik V** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 10:50 am

You may think it's lame to use A/C out there but here's something for you to consider....what about those people who are truly heat sensitive due to medical reasons...or how about those who need air filtering to go along with that A/C that a bacteria harboring cess pool of a swamp cooler cannot provide?

In short for a handful of people A/C can mean the difference between being able to participate in the event and having to stay home. For me A/C was the critical thing in 2004 when I had some things going on...No A/C meant I would have been stuck at home.

While I have everyone's attention and since it relates to portable generators I wonder how many people are aware of the additional requirements that kick in if one brings over 20 gallons of fuel in portable cans to the playa? I'm going to post a link to the LLC's info on the subject.

http://www.burningman.com/installations ... orage.html

Liquid Fuels

* Any collection of 20 gallons or more of flammable liquid must be kept within a secondary containment area. The containment method can be as simple as a petroleum resistant tarp rolled up to provide a berm.
* A supply of cat litter or fuel absorbent should be kept on hand near any spills basin.
* All containers for liquid fuels must be clearly labeled identifying contents and hazards. Original labels are preferred.
* A safety perimeter of 30 feet must be maintained between liquid fuel containers and any camping area, and clear access must be provided for the BRCFD in case of fire.
* A sufficient amount of dry chemical fire extinguishers must be kept visible and available near the storage location of any liquid fuel.

I've seen quite a few camps that had well in excess of 20 gallons of fuel to run portable generators yet didn't come close to complying with this...and it never seems to get mentioned. I hope it doesn't take a tragic accident before it does though....the event does not need another Kathy incident.

BitterDan · Post by **BitterDan** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 1:11 pm

You may think it's lame to use A/C out there but here's something for you to consider....what about those people who are truly heat sensitive due to medical reasons...or how about those who need air filtering to go along with that A/C that a bacteria harboring cess pool of a swamp cooler cannot provide?

If you are so sensitive to heat and dust that you might die then Burning Man is probably not something you should be attending. It's pretty simple logic.

Kinetik V · Post by **Kinetik V** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 2:18 pm

Logic and Burning Man are not things you usually associate with one another.

The A/C simply adjusts for the extremes...why should 4-5 hours of heat per day keep you out of an event that runs 24x7?

I think we're just going to agree to disagree...you think it's stupid, I won't stop bringing mine, end of issue.

BitterDan · Post by **BitterDan** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 2:46 pm

The A/C simply adjusts for the extremes...why should 4-5 hours of heat per day keep you out of an event that runs 24x7?

My point was that if you are too ill to attend the event sans A/C then you probably shouldn't be going. Why should it keep you out? What if you generator or A/C unit failed (which is not so unlikely considering the conditions)?

BTW, we can't agree to disagree because I don't really disagree. If I had a structure that would accomodate an A/C unit then I would have one too.

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 6:23 am

Burning a lot of gasoline to run a compressor to further dry that air seems a wee bit wack, when a swamp cooler uses far less energy and is better suited to the dry climate. That's what I mean. It a humidity thing.

Ac at that humidity shouldn't dry the air any more. ACs typically have a coil temp around 50 deg. F, which is the dew point for about 50% humidity at 75 deg F. They are designed to dry the air to only 50% humidity at 75 deg F and if working properly, won't go past that. I know mine never collected condensate from the air.

Swamp coolers are almost always more energy efficient in dry climates, but they are not more space, weight, or time efficient. So it seems like a reasonable trade-off to consider, especially when we're only talking about probably 5 more gallons of gas for the week for smaller set-ups.

Teo del Fuego · Post by **Teo del Fuego** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:09 am

MikeVDS wrote:[Swamp coolers are almost always more energy efficient in dry climates

This was what I was saying.

I agree with the right proper proprietor of the Moonshine Tavern: if you are so sensitive to the climate that you may die at Burning Man without an AC unit, consider attending the Regionals instead. That is truly common sense.

Token · Post by **Token** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:03 am

I think my logic bridges the two opinions presented here beautifully:

The Logic:

I can afford the gas, I got my farm of Honda generators already, I have an AC unit on the Playa. I'm going to use it when I damn please cuz I just don't give a fuck if you think it is lame or not.

And to top it off with a quote from someone on a different board.

Fuck yer day!

See, that works just as good as all this "reasonable logic" crap.

Just sayin'

Kinetik V · Post by **Kinetik V** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:17 am

Amen!

There was a time that I worried about what "everyone" would think about things...but I spent so much time worrying about others that I forgot to take care of myself. And that won't sustain ya very far....

In any case moving past A/C units I wish there was a way to insulate a tent...I've been tempted to try covering the outside of the inner wall of my tent with mylar space blanket sheets and then put the rain fly over that...but I'm not sure how someone could "weld" or "fuse" multiple sheets of mylar together and get them to stay in place. Maybe it's a crazy idea...

We now return you to your regular programming....

BitterDan · Post by **BitterDan** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:22 am

but I'm not sure how someone could "weld" or "fuse" multiple sheets of mylar together and get them to stay in place. Maybe it's a crazy idea...

Super Glue!

CapSmashy · Post by **CapSmashy** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 11:11 am

Kinetic V wrote:In any case moving past A/C units I wish there was a way to insulate a tent...I've been tempted to try covering the outside of the inner wall of my tent with mylar space blanket sheets and then put the rain fly over that...but I'm not sure how someone could "weld" or "fuse" multiple sheets of mylar together and get them to stay in place. Maybe it's a crazy idea...

Start with a canvas tent.

I have made an air conditioned room within a GP small army tent before. We took canvas tarps and made walls for a 10 x 10 bedroom area and set up the a/c unit in the back door area on a stand we built that could be sealed inside the door flaps.

Kept the area "chilled" to a pleasant 72 to 75 degrees while it was pushing a 100 outside. Made a huge difference at night for sleeping except it was so humid, the unit actually froze up on us a couple of times at night.

I have a new 10 x 10 canvas tent on the way and I might do some experimenting with this idea for the wife. I have no issues with hot temps, but they give her fits and making a literal chill space for her to be able to retreat to on occasion might be the difference between a great time and a miserable one for her.

Teo del Fuego · Post by **Teo del Fuego** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 1:14 pm

Token wrote:I think my logic bridges the two opinions presented here beautifully:

Nawww, yer still off the mark.

Go ahead and chill yer space if you want to, but why not bring a fookin' swamp cooler, use less gas and do a better job of chilling your space? I mean if you want to spend MORE money, waste MORE gas, to get LESSER results, go for it. I dont give a shit.

Kinetik V · Post by **Kinetik V** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 1:17 pm

BitterDan wrote:
but I'm not sure how someone could "weld" or "fuse" multiple sheets of mylar together and get them to stay in place. Maybe it's a crazy idea...
Super Glue!

I try and keep the Super Glue in the first aid kit and leave it alone....I've had some bad experiences with it. Let me reemphasize that....BAD EXPERIENCES... and not due to anything I did, I just happened to get mixed up in someone else's stupidity. Anyway something a little less aggressive that would still hold would be ideal.

Boijoy · Post by **Boijoy** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 4:46 pm

[quote="Kinetic V"]Amen!

In any case moving past A/C units I wish there was a way to insulate a tent...I've been tempted to try covering the outside of the inner wall of my tent with mylar space blanket sheets and then put the rain fly over that...but I'm not sure how someone could "weld" or "fuse" multiple sheets of mylar together and get them to stay in place. Maybe it's a crazy idea...

We now return you to your regular programming....[/quote]

Perhaps get a big tent and put a smaller one inside it? Doesn't that create a " heat barrier" kind of thing?? Just talking out my ass really.. but I remember reading something on this website re: shade structures.

Portable AC units

Portable AC units

power usage!

The art of Cool..

Re: power usage!