• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

Check my math

Share this page

mailbox

mailbox

Jedi Knight
Country flag
Offline
Here's the deal. I want to put a better cooling device in my work truck than the little fan that does nothing but circulate hot air around the cab. I build a device that blows air across ice that works decent.(falls under the category of better than nothing) ANYWAY, I think I have come up with a way to circulate ice water thru an old window A/C unit. What I need is a power inverter to power the fan, but I'm not sure what size I need. I have looked online for the formula to convert amps to watts and think I understand but I want someone smarter than me to check my math. OK, I have a 1 amp motor at 115 volts. As I understand the formula amps X volts = watts so the motor will need an inverter of at least 115 watts. Correct?
Amps X volts = watts
watts divided by volts = amps
 
mailbox...too late...THEY CALL THEM AUTOMOTIVE AIR CONDITIONERS!!...lol
 
Not in Postal vehicles they don't. A/C are a waste of money as far as they are concerned. These things take the words "stripped down" to a whole new level. There's nothing like delivering in 98 degree weather, 95% humidity and a dinky little fan blowing 100 degree air for COOLING. Sucks doesn't even come close.
 
gives whole new meaning to "THANKSGIVING TURKEY".
 
Have you considered a "cool suit" as in racing, under your mailman uniform? /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/jester.gif
 
To answer the original question, your math is correct. I would go to an inverter of higher capacity, as there is added resistance in the circuit that would put you over the calculated 115 Watts.
Jeff
 
Jeff,
Thanks. I was going to use a 300 watt or better inverter. I think that will do the job. Thanks /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif
Mike,
No I haven't considered that. I'm in and out of the truck so much I don't think it would work. Besides, it would cost A LOT more than the $30 budget I have set for this. Great idea though. Thanks. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif
 
Hello Mailbox,

your maths are correct but the formula is wrong for an A\C motor. (That is not a motor for an air conditioner but an alternating current motor)

The wattage is volts times amps times power factor (VxIxcos thi). The power factor is typically 0.8 so the kilowatts would be 115 x 0.8 = 92watts. Very often A\C equipment is rated in VA rather than Watts but if you go for a 300 watt unit you should have plenty in reserve. What price would you pick up a 12vDC to 115VAC inverter for?

Alec
 
$30 bucks for cool?

In and out of the vehicle a bunch?

Sounds to me like you need a Ronco-matic snow
cone machine. $19.95 at your nearest participating
Walgreens store.

roncoice.jpg


d
 
Or just dangle a baggie of ice behind that anemic li'l fan...
 
Tinster said:
$30 bucks for cool?

In and out of the vehicle a bunch?

Sounds to me like you need a Ronco-matic snow
cone machine. $19.95 at your nearest participating
Walgreens store.

roncoice.jpg


d
Click to expand...
<span style='font-size: 17pt'>I WANT ONE OF THOSE!!!</span>
That thing is cool. I always wanted one of those as a kid but my parents had better sense than that. Hey, I know. I'll get some cheesy kids music and play it over some crappy radio and sell snow cones on my route. As far as inverters go I have seen one at Harbor Freight for $19.95. (Trying to decide between it and the Ronco-matic) /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif
 
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/lol.gif Now that is innovation AND economics! I bet if it were trunk mounted and ducted no-one would even know, and judging by the reactions, it sure seems to work!! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cowboy.gif
 
That looks like something you'd expect to see in Delhi, not the USA. Is it even legal?
 
Baz said:
Here you go....
A home AC in your car!
Click to expand...

hmmmm... I can't help but think that it might be a little more effective if he added ducting to suck the hot air out of the car.

GregW said:
This one is pretty funny too. Comes with it's own power supply.
poor-man-ac.jpg
Click to expand...
NICE! that car even has a "Poison Arrow" on it! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]I bet if it were trunk mounted and ducted no-one would even know[/QUOTE]
Hey, didn't Cadillac do that back in the late '40s? /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/jester.gif /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/yesnod.gif
 
alana said:
That looks like something you'd expect to see in Delhi, not the USA. Is it even legal?
Click to expand...

I hope not. I'd hate to be driving behind that idiot. Maybe if it were trunk mounted and ducted. In an accident, that thing is deadly.
 
Back
Top