DIY Spot cooler
 

I have seen a DIY Spot cooler , made from a window shaker . A duct board box was built around the back / exhaust / condenser coil end . A large piece of flex duct was attached to the box & the other end directed outside . Cool air directed at what ever you wish to cool .

I am guessing the unit could be turned around and the exhaust used as a heat source , as others have described ?

God bless
Wyr

I have done just what you ponder with both portable dehumidifiers/ac units and window units. They heat and cool just fine. In heating mode, the "reverse polish" window air conditioner (turned backwards in the window) works just fine down to around 40-45 degF. Below that temperature, the evaporator will freeze up and need to be defrosted. To run it without modifying the unit, it must suck indoor air and exhaust cooled air outdoors. I found that by setting it on an end table, the exhaust vent lined up with the bottom of a window. I cracked the window and sealed the exhaust to the window opening with xps and shipping tape. The unit beat the pants off a resistance heater all winter. I caught the bug and have been hacking small capacity units ever since.

It will be good if you take help of any expert rather then doing from your own as it will create problem if you are not expert.

Booneneedham,

Welcome to the forums.

Feel free to enlist the help of an HVAC professional. From my experience, unless you are willing to pay out the money maker, you will quickly reach the end of a very short road. Most of the pros see themselves as wizards and gurus who rule the industry from their castle of secret knowledge. Tapping into the well of knowledge is an expensive and futile experience. After a certain point, the diy becomes impossible for a mere mortal to know about.

Regardless of what these professional experts tell you, trial and error still plays a big role in most custom work. Experts get where they are by tinkering with the work they perform. These tinkerings become improvements and again cost dearly to whom ever is having the work performed.

I agree completely. I thought electricians were bad, but HVAC techs are worse. I think that EPA license is granted by god himself to an elite chosen few. :rolleyes:

That's what I love about this forum. People are going to do it even if you tell them not to, so provide them some information to do it right. It's like sex education for teenagers.

I've been playing with a window unit turned around backwards for heat and it works surprisingly well. I can't understand why window units sold as "heat pumps" with a reverse cycle are so rare and expensive. If nothing else they should market 5000 BTU compressor based bedroom heaters with no cooling cycle. There are more heating days in the year than cooling days in most places in the US.

Set the window unit on the floor with the condenser facing you.

Electricians see a lot of DIY work that is DANGEROUS ! :-(

Electricity involves life safety issues . A/C and refrigeration , less so .

Just because dangerous DIY electrical has not killed you , yet , does not mean it is safe . You may earn your Darwin Award , yet .

Please , all of you , be safe !

God bless
Wyr

That does not mean that an intelligent, non electrician person can not safely and correctly do electrical work, but some electricians will lead you to believe that. The fact is it is perfectly legal, safe, and acceptable to do your own electrical work in your own home, it is not legal to do your own A/C work unless you have a license.

And more importantly, you can't do A/C work without also doing electrical work. Unless maybe you build a gas powered air conditioner....

It's funny you say that. The guy that used to own my shop building is an electrician. He owns his own commercial electrical contracting business. He did all the electrical in the building himself, and did a terrible job. Some things very unsafe, and not even close to meeting code. The main service cable is undersized, for example.

My point? That little license from the govt doesn't give somebody magical powers. There are plenty of non licensed folks on this forum doing their own A/C and electrical work without issue.

All you say is true . All I said is true .

Knowledge is the big part . And the will to do a good job and a safe job .

But many / most DIY'er lack the knowledge . And , maybe the will ?

On A/C / refrigeration , once you get the covers on , a poor job is rarely dangerous .

Now , gas / LP is a different matter .

I read a thread on a DIY forum where the OP lost full voltage to a furnace , was only getting 80 VAC , instead of 120 VAC . So , he ran a new circuit to " the panel " . When he turnes stuff on , all kinds of stuff went bad . By his own admission , when he tested the voltage at the furnace , he got 277 VAC ! Which means he went to a 480 / 277 VAC panel . This guy had no clue and had no idea how close he was to meeting his maker . :-(

480 VAC is potentially very dangerous . I have seen it blow up in a very big / bad way ! :-(

And 277 VAC does not just hurt , it burns . :-(

240 VAC is no walk in the park either . Even if you go to earth ground , which is usually 120 VAC .

This is life safety . Not the same as a lot of DIY projects .

Please be safe out there . And please be safe when dealing with gas or LP .

God bless
Wyr

Believe it or not, you don't actually need EPA 608 to work on R410a or other HFC systems.
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