Portable air conditioning systems in small planes
It gets really hot in Florida in the summer. I have been researching solutions. Anybody have personal experience with the B Cool system that is $399 or the one Hamilton Motors has for $1499.00. To me they seem to do the same thing but it appears the Hamilton system is much more efficient if the reviews are real. Anyway any real world experience and comments would be appreciated.
Comments
As the ask included an open ended statement of any real world experience...
If not already part of the package, consider shades to mitigate heat loading the cabin. I have a set of Bruce's covers and place the white side facing outward when parking outside. Makes a notable difference.
Yes, I understand. I have already replaced all my windows with max tint and have a Bruce cover. It’s the profuse sweating during the start up, taxi and waiting 20 minutes in line to take off and then get to altitude when the heat can be unbearable.
I've been evaluating one from my Lance II. A hanger neighbor (Bonanza) got one and his comment was "it's a game changer".
I believe it is a B Cool system
Roe
I have looked at them and they are interesting. I also looked at cool shirts that are worn by race car drivers. Don’t necessarily like dealing with a cooler full of ice and water. I opted to try a Stacool PCM vest that I just ordered. For $190 it may do all I need and the reviews are very positive. Keeps cool for several hours and is for high heat high humidity areas like south Florida. Also can be getting the benefits of it will preflightig in sweltering heat. Will report back once I get and try it.
I have had the original BCool units and have loved them. I now have the double vent one, works great in my Cherokee Six. A bag of ice, a bit of water, and we’re cool for the taxi and climb out. Ice then remains enough to cool for the approach and landing phase.
Thanks for the comments on the B Cool. Will look further into it.
These aren’t difficult or expensive to make and, surprisingly, the interest in crypto mining has actually created more options. There are small radiators, water pumps, and ducting from that world plus more usable fans.
I made one from a $10 (at the time) Igloo cooler and a Walmart cutting board that fits it perfectly. I used PWM rotary switches to control fan speed and pump flow: no matter how much ice you have, the cooling ability is constrained by the calories it can absorb so the warmer you keep the air coming out (via pump flow) the longer it’ll last.
Making the lid out of a cutting board gives two advantages: first, it’s easy to remove it and reinstall the ice chest one at the other end of your trip, to use it as an regular ice chest. Second, the pump/fan unit is modular and easy to drop into a bigger cutting board (or two next to each other) with a cutout, for a bigger ice chest for more cooling capacity.
A regular 4” muffin fan won’t cut it: if the fan doesn’t draw at least 2A (12v), it won’t have the volume you need. Bilge fans are actually a great option but a bit more expensive.
Between a trip to WM for the ice chest and cutting board plus some time on Amazon, I was in for around $80, as I recall (prices from a few years ago).
From Amazon (some are “twofers”, so two people building them could save more):
https://a.co/d/bswXsfY
https://a.co/d/4tuXbCT
A bit more expensive, but very effective is this Aircraft Climate Impact unit from Aircraft Spruce: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pnpages/13-23997.php. That unit coupled with the associated battery (with safety bag) and remote control work great to keep a Cherokee Six nice and cool in 100+ summer weather. A 20lb bag of ice will generate cold air for 2-3 hours, which we've found is more than enough for ramp time and climb up above the heat where it isn't needed. The 12 volt cable can replace the battery once the plane is running. That's been helpful for long cross country trips where we used the battery on the ramp and plug-in in the air.