The summer heat can cause a bad mood, since fatigue and overheating are not good for the body. To make hot summer days a joy, you can buy an air conditioner, or even better, make it yourself. Moreover, there is nothing difficult about it. To do this you will need an old unnecessary refrigerator. Many will immediately wonder how to make an air conditioner out of a refrigerator, what is needed for this and why is it necessary if you can go and buy this thing.

In order to do this or that thing you need to know its operating principle. Without this knowledge, it is difficult to imagine a diagram of a future product that will be assembled by hand.

Operating principle of the air conditioner

In order to make an air conditioner from a refrigerator, you need to understand the general principle of operation of air-conditioning systems. If you remember physics, the principle of operation of any air conditioner will be immediately clear: the liquid, evaporating, absorbs heat. When it comes into contact with the skin, you can feel the coolness. Conversely, when condensation occurs, heat is released.

The air conditioner is a sealed box in which a specific substance moves - a refrigerant, the main agent of which is freon gas. The refrigerant takes heat from the room and, after compression occurs, releases it in the form of condenser liquid.

The refrigerant exchanges heat with air using heat exchangers - these are small copper pipes that are equipped with thin intersecting aluminum plates. To increase the speed of the heat exchange process between the refrigerant and heat exchangers, air is circulated using fans. If you look at the process, you can understand why these two elements are called a condenser and an evaporator. When the air conditioner cools the room, the evaporator performs its functions in indoor unit, which is located indoors, and the capacitor is located outside. When an air conditioner is used as a heater, these processes are reversed.

But what is the trick here?

But the fact is that cold itself is not generated, but heat is transported from one point to another using a refrigerant. This is where the name “heat pump” came from.

The principle of operation of a refrigerator is similar to that of an air conditioner. It also has a closed circuit in which the processes of evaporation and condensation of the processed heat take place. The refrigerant also plays a major role in the operation of the refrigerator.

Refrigerant circuit transport scheme: Thanks to high blood pressure When the compressor operates, the refrigerant gas is pushed into the condenser, where it undergoes its physical changes. The refrigerant changes its gas state to liquid. After which heat begins to be released. Many people have probably noticed that with back side refrigerator, you can feel the circulation of warm air.

In order for the liquid refrigerant to be converted back into gas, it needs to travel through a capillary tube. The passage of refrigerant liquid through this tube incurs a loss of pressure that was produced by the compressor. After the refrigerant liquid has been able to squeeze through, it enters the evaporator, where it boils.

The evaporator is connected by tubes to the freezer. This is the center of the generated cold. This is where the cold air is distributed along the walls of the refrigeration unit. And the refrigerant has no choice but to return to the compressor, where the procedure will be repeated.

Old refrigerator - a find for craftsmen

Old refrigerator this is an aggregate from which “homemade people” can create many useful things. For example, a smokehouse for meat and fish dishes, a doghouse, a cabinet for garage tools, a compressor for rocking car wheels, and also make your own air conditioner.

Advantages of a homemade air conditioner:

• Significant savings cash family budget
• You can create comfortable conditions in country houses, since it is not advisable to install an expensive air conditioner in them, because when winter months, the owners leave for the city, and the air conditioner can become the prey of thieves.
• Positive emotions from something made with your own hands.
• New experience and gaining knowledge on how to make an air conditioner from a refrigerator.
• There is no need for expensive maintenance and preventive maintenance.
• Creation comfortable atmosphere using air cooling.
• Increased performance, everyone knows that the heat tires you out very quickly. And the cool air invigorates and makes you feel more energetic.
• There is no need to buy or change filters, since the refrigerator air conditioner does not provide them.

The process of converting a refrigerator into an air conditioner

In order to get started, you should stock up on some tools that you will need in your work; all these things are very affordable and are sold in any construction supermarket.

1. Household jigsaw. With it you can easily do figure cutting on a metal base. Which will be very useful when you need to make your own air conditioner.
2. An old refrigerator or freezer, but always in working order. If you don’t have your own, then you can place an ad in a newspaper or on the Internet saying that such a refrigerator is required. Most people do not know how to dispose of such large items and will only be glad to get rid of old trash. Another option is to find a cheap refrigerator from an ad.
3. Sewer pipe, best choice corrugated pipe, since its weight will be much less than that of other pipes made of a different material.
4. Insulation insulation or polyurethane foam.
5. Fans (two pieces) to create air flows

Air conditioner manufacturing process

Making an air conditioner will not be difficult at all, and step by step instructions will help in this matter.

First of all, a round opening is cut out in the freezer or refrigerator door using a household jigsaw. The round opening should have a diameter of about one hundred millimeters. Removes from below rubber seal. This is required in order to ensure free access to air.

In the made round opening, insert a round sewer pipe. In order to maintain a tight seal, it should be wrapped with insulating insulation or foamed with foam. After which the fan is installed.

To blow air through the refrigeration compressor, you will also need to install a fan.

The pipe is placed inside the house.

Another way to make an air conditioner using a radiator from a refrigerator

In order to make your own air conditioner, you should use a four-row radiator from an old refrigerator and hood.

The installation sequence is as follows: The radiator must be installed from the rear side of the hood. This is done so that the hood can draw air flow through the radiator. Accordingly, when the hood is operating, the air will come out cooled. You can secure them using homemade coasters. You need to place any tray under your homemade air conditioner to collect liquid (condensation). When the tray is filled with condensate, it must be emptied. This can be done by drying an ordinary rag or simply scooping it out with a ladle.

After connecting the hood to the radiator, you need to connect two hoses, one of which will go to the sink, and the other from the plumbing system.

Operating principle homemade air conditioner consists in the fact that air masses are blown through the radiator through which the tap water. It will be ideal if the water used is from a well or a cooled well. Apartment water that runs through a regular water supply system will not be very effective in cooling the room.

Conclusion

Thus, it is clear that there is nothing difficult to do with your own hands, as it would seem, such a complex technique. You just need to understand the principles of operation of the air conditioner and refrigerator. And stock up on the necessary tools and then making an air conditioner with your own hands will be a pleasant experience.

Homemade air conditioner - a myth or reality? How good is such a device? How to make your own air conditioner? In this article, we will answer the above questions by examining several designs of homemade air conditioning units that operate with the same efficiency as industrial air conditioners.

DIY air conditioner

How does the air conditioner work?

A typical climate control system consists of the following elements:

• Radiator-cooler , which lowers the air temperature due to the evaporation of the refrigerant.
• Injection unit – fan pumping warm air to the cooler.
• Radiator-condenser , which condenses refrigerant vapor and releases the energy of warm air into the atmosphere.
• Compressor , pumping refrigerant from the cooler to the condenser.

The essence of the air conditioner is to absorb the energy of warm air by evaporating refrigerant. The continuity of the process of evaporation of the refrigerant is ensured by a compressor, with the help of which the circulation of the medium is looped, and a condenser, which condenses the gaseous refrigerant vapor.

How to make an air conditioner with your own hands?

A homemade menopausal unit can be constructed using just two components of a classic air conditioner:

• Cooling unit , lowering the air temperature.
• Pressure block , ensuring the distribution of the cooled environment throughout the room.

Other components of the design can be discarded as unnecessary. After all, the condensation unit and compressor play only a supporting role, ensuring the continuity of the air conditioner operation.

True without a condenser and compressor homemade installation will only work as long as the temperature of the cooling block is less than the temperature of the cooled air. Therefore, during operation, the owner of a homemade air conditioner will have to solve the problem of restoring the low temperature of the cooler. And in most cases, this problem is solved by physically replacing the contents of the cooling unit.

Three design options for homemade air conditioners

Based on the above diagram, you can actually make an air conditioner with your own hands. After all, you don’t have to deal with volatile refrigerant, a sealed circulation system for this substance, and a complex compressor. All you need is cold, air flow and creative idea. And further in the texts we will analyze three ideas for building highly efficient homemade air conditioners. So, meet:

Option one: ice + draft

In this case, the role of the cooling block is played by a plastic bottle with frozen water. And a regular fan is used as a blower unit.

Example of an air conditioner made from ice bottles and a fan

A lightweight version of this “air conditioner” involves placing the bottle on the table, in front of the fan blades. A more advanced version includes a wire basket attached to the fan grille. A bottle of frozen water fits into this basket.

A more advanced version of this “conditioner” involves replacing the plastic bottle with a “cold accumulator” - a container with a special liquid that is used in cooler bags. The effectiveness of such an air conditioning system depends on the volume of the ice container.

Therefore, the maximum performance of a homemade air conditioner built on the basis of this idea is ensured by the following assembly diagram:

• Take a plastic container of the largest possible volume, equipped with a sealed or tightly fitting lid.
• Two holes are cut in the lid - the first larger diameter, matching the dimensions of the fan protective grille, the second - with a diameter of 50 or 100 millimeters.
• An angle fitting of 50 or 100 millimeters is installed in the second hole, as a result of which an L-shaped outlet will appear above the cover.
• A fan is mounted in the first hole, fixing the grille to the cover with self-tapping screws.
• Bottles of frozen water, crushed ice or cold accumulators are placed in a sealed tray container.

As a result, the fan will “pull” warm air through the ice-filled container, blowing a cool stream through the corner fitting. Moreover, if the body is thermally insulated, the ice will melt very slowly, providing cooling for a fairly large room throughout the day. Well, at night you can freeze a new portion of the cooler in the refrigerator.

The strength of this solution – low cost of construction.

Weakness – the need for too frequent restoration of “cold accumulators”

Option two: fan and cold water

In this case we again use a fan and water. But instead of a frozen static environment, we will use the low temperature of a dynamic flow flowing through the copper radiator grille.

Simply put: the fan will direct air to a coiled copper tube through which cold tap water will flow at a consistently low temperature - about 14-16 degrees Celsius. As a result, we will get an almost endless source of “cold” with a consistently low temperature.

Homemade air conditioner from a fan

However, you need to pay for water, and in order not to overload utility bills, we suggest using the following design option:

• Into the body plastic barrel, through the lid, two hoses are inserted - long and short.
• A compressor for the aquarium is fixed at the neck of the barrel, the suction pipe of which is connected to a long hose that goes down from the lid to the bottom of the barrel.
• A fan is attached to the lid of the barrel, on the grille of which a spiral of copper tube is fixed.
• One end of the spiral is connected to the pressure pipe of the compressor, and the second to a short hose immersed in the barrel to a quarter of its height.
• Connect to the end of the short hose check valve, eliminating the movement of water from the barrel to the hose.

By activating the compressor, we will fill the cooling coil on the fan grille cold water from the bottom layer of the barrel. Moreover, after passing through the spiral, this liquid will merge into top part, where it accumulates relatively warm water. As a result, only cold liquid will flow to the fan blades.

The strength of this design – duration and autonomy of work.

Weakness – the need to cool water in a barrel, which sooner or later will warm up to room temperature.

Option three: second life of an old refrigerator

This method of building an air conditioner is only suitable for experienced DIYers. Since the basis of the design of a homemade climate control system is in this case is an ordinary refrigerator, which has its own cooling radiator - a freezer, and a refrigerant - freon, and a radiator-condenser - a grille on the back wall, and even a compressor.

An old refrigerator will be useful for a homemade air conditioner

To build an air conditioner based on an old refrigerator, we will have to do the following:

• Remove the doors covering the refrigerator and freezer compartments.
• Very carefully, trying not to damage the walls of the freezer, install an electric fan in this area of ​​the refrigerator.
• Drill a series of through holes in the sides of the case (in the lower part), with a diameter of at least 15 millimeters.
• Move the condenser grille outside the cooled room. To do this, just place the refrigerator in a door or window opening, sealing the space between the body and the edges of the opening with plastic film.

If the last step is not possible, then you will have to open the freon supply line and take only the radiator-condenser outside the house using copper tubes. However, after this you will have to pour a new portion of freon into the system.

I will not write about the residents of the cities of the European part of Russia languishing from the abnormal heat, because this boyan is a bandit. If you personally don’t belong to them, or you love the heat and feel great among hot concrete and asphalt, then just don’t read this post.

So, it's getting hot. Not everyone can afford a “real” air conditioner, and it’s not just about money. The queue for installation of split systems is scheduled as much as a month in advance, and does not require installation floor air conditioner is an agramad noisy fool who will stupidly and uselessly occupy the precious space of a city apartment for 9-10 months a year. Fans are of little use, because... They continue to drive the same hot air, which does not bring relief.

But, as you know, the new is the well-forgotten old. There is such a thing - an evaporative air conditioner, which, due to the simplicity of its operating principle, can be built with your own hands. There are descriptions of such homemade air conditioners on the Internet, but the proposed designs are relatively labor-intensive to manufacture, and a modern metropolitan resident has so little free time... And not everyone dares to drill, saw, plan, and paint in their apartment.

But there is a way out! Being an equally busy city dweller, I came up with and tested an evaporative air conditioner, which is molded from shit and sticks of scrap materials in literally 15 minutes. Tools you will need:
- hands - 2 pcs.;
- screwdriver - 1 pc.
Materials:
- exhaust duct fan- 1 pc. (can be purchased at any construction market);
- flexible corrugated aluminum ventilation pipe - 1 pc. (bought there)
- wire with plug - 1 pc. (again there).
The total budget is several hundred wooden ones.

Use a fan with maximum performance. I found the most powerful of the household ones at 300 cubic meters per hour, all the more powerful ones were industrial, and therefore noticeably more expensive and noisier. Please note that it must be exhaust, i.e. blow in the direction where the pipe connects to it.

So. We slightly stretch the pipe and bend it as shown in the photo (it bends, stretches and holds its shape perfectly). We attach the raised end of the pipe with tape or self-tapping screws to some kind of stand (I used cardboard box from under the same fan). We connect the wire to the fan and insert the fan into the pipe.

Pour some into the pipe cold water and loosely, loosely place cotton rags in the water. When they are saturated with water, add water so that there is a little water above the rags. In total, the layer of water and rags I got was one-third to one-half of the cross-section of the pipe. All. Let's turn it on!

After half an hour of work, when the water had cooled, the temperature difference at the inlet and outlet of the pipe was as much as 5 degrees - the improvised air conditioner lowered the temperature from 31 to 26 C! Pouring snow and ice scraped from the walls of the freezer into the pipe on top of the water gave another 1 degree. YES!!!

To catch up. It is impossible to drag a pipe with water inside (it bends), so it makes sense to improve the design by securing it to some kind of stand. You can simply tape everything to a suitable board with tape, or you can come up with a more elegant holder - it all depends on your imagination.

Yes, as you know, cold air, being left to its own devices, goes down, so it makes sense to direct the outlet section of the pipe a little upward, and place the structure itself not on the floor, but on a table or bedside table, in order to cool not only your feet.

With a pipe diameter of 150 mm, a length of the part filled with water of 450 mm, and a fan of 300 cubic meters per hour, my device, of course, was not able to cool the entire room. However, it is quite capable of creating a comfort zone around the workplace or bed. Now I’m sitting at the computer in a pleasant coolness :)
How to improve productivity if necessary? You can increase the length and cross-section of the pipe, install a more efficient fan, or assemble several devices into a battery. In addition, I have not yet experimented with the amount of water and rags and their material. Overall, there is great potential for improvement!

How to make an air conditioner with your own hands? Is this really possible and effective? Here are some recommendations from the section « make your own air conditioner » . And they will really help cool the air in the room.

What are DIY air conditioners made from?

Videos of self-assembled air conditioners fill the network on hot summer days. Inventive home handyman can build an air cooler from empty plastic bottles, a metal tube, an old car radiator, and even a bunch of thorns. And aerobatics is constructing an air conditioner with your own hands from a refrigerator at home.

Air conditioner made from pipe or hose

How to make an air conditioner from a copper tube? It bends easily and conducts cold well, but you can even use a rubber hose for watering. We twist the tube in a flat spiral, avoiding kinks. We connect one end to the water supply, the other to drain the water.

We attach this structure using wires to the front grille of the room fan, and turn on the water at low pressure.
The air passing through the cold tube will also be cooled. Watch the video for more details on the process. The air conditioner is assembled and working!

Air conditioner from used containers

Make your own conditioner from plastic bottles. What could be simpler!

IN plastic bottles pour ice water (you can even freeze them), place them in front of room fan, leaving air gaps of approximately 1 centimeter. Turn on the fan and enjoy the coolness.

An ideal way to cool a small room.

Place a tray under the bottles to prevent condensation from dripping onto the floor. Add a little salt inside the bottles, then the water will stay cool longer.

Air conditioner from a car radiator

We attach two tubes to the radiator from the car (with a fan): water flows into one, and water flows out of the other.

The system is connected to the network using a 12-volt network adapter. Water is passed through the tubes at low pressure, and a fan circulates cool air.

This is the most effective way building a home air conditioner from what is at hand.

Air conditioner from refrigerator

Assemble your own air conditioner of this type not that difficult. You need to take: 2 fans, a corrugated pipe whose diameter matches one of the fans and polyurethane foam.

• We drill a hole in the freezer door, insert the end of the corrugation and one fan into it. Carefully foam around;
• We install a second fan to blow the compressor;
• We extend the end of the pipe into the room that needs to be cooled.

The simple system works flawlessly.

If you have been thinking about buying an air conditioner for a long time, but are not ready to spend a large sum on this purchase, the master class will be especially useful for you. A homemade air conditioner made by yourself will keep your home cool at any time of the year. To construct this invention, a minimum of experience, time and financial investment will be required.

Advantages of a mini air conditioner:

• Low cost (500-1000 rubles). Compared to the equipment offered by manufacturers, a home air conditioner is at least 20 times cheaper and does not require subsequent additional investments.
• Speed ​​of production (1.5-2 hours). If you really want to get an air conditioner today, in the best case scenario, manufacturers will deliver and install it in a few hours, when you can do it faster with a homemade air conditioner.
• Availability consumables. You will find most of the materials and tools for your air conditioner at home, but you will find the rest at the construction market or department store.
• Low energy consumption. Experts have calculated that an air conditioner without an energy-saving system operates 450 hours a year, which costs 1,000 rubles. Not much, but a homemade air conditioner will cost even less.
• Possibility of rearrangement to any place in the apartment. A homemade air conditioner is lightweight, so it can be moved from the kitchen to the bedroom, from the bedroom to the living room, and periodically change its location.
• Safety. The air flow coming from a homemade air conditioner is not so powerful, so it is impossible to catch a cold under it. This guarantees the safety of you and your children.

Consumables:

• Computer cooler – 2 pcs.
• Large plastic or cardboard box – 1 pc.
• Outlet pipes – 2 pcs.
• Power supply (12 W) – 1 pc.
• Plastic bottles, cut in half - 2-4 pcs.

Additional tools:

• Superglue.
• Silicone glue.
• Insulating tape.

The manufacture of an air conditioner should begin by connecting the power supply and computer cooler. At first glance, coolers are capable of cooling the insides of a computer and their power is not enough to provide a similar effect for an entire room. In fact, the powerful air circulation occurring inside the box creates a strong flow that instantly spreads over the entire area. If the connection is made correctly, the coolers will work immediately after they are connected to the outlet.

Insert the cooler into the cut hole and secure with silicone glue to prevent air from escaping through the cracks. If you have chosen a plastic box to make the air conditioner, you will have to work hard to cut out the hole: place the cooler on top and trace it with a pen, and then strictly follow the marks to make a hole with a knife or scissors. It will be easier if you make marks on the plastic with a thin drill, and then start cutting according to the marks.

Using long screws, screw the second cooler to the first. Instead of two small coolers, you can use one powerful one. The power of the cooler directly depends on the degree of cooling.

Remove the cover and start cutting a hole for the outlet pipe. The structure should be fixed with silicone glue.

Put on a second pipe that will direct the air flow. It should not be fixed with glue, otherwise you will lose the ability to twist it and direct air. You can make two holes for the pipe so that the air spreads faster throughout the room.

Put the lid on and make sure that the air entering the box comes out only through the pipe. If small cracks are noticeable, they should be sealed with silicone glue.

Now all that remains is to get it out of freezer several ice cubes. Ice placed in 1.5-liter bottles will melt within an hour and a half after the air conditioner starts operating, so try to freeze the water in advance. How more ice– the more powerful and cooler the air flow. The air conditioner works well without the ice pack, but then you get the equivalent of a fan.

If you were unable to find a suitable plastic box, you can assemble it from thick paper. Cardboard box quality characteristics It’s in no way inferior to plastic, although it looks less attractive. The situation can be corrected by covering the old cardboard with film. The ice, which rapidly evaporates inside the box, will soon render the cardboard unusable, so a cardboard box will last you for a maximum of one season. For convenience, insert the ice blanks into a plastic bowl so as not to damage the cardboard again.

You have the right to change the number of coolers or pipes, or the shape of the box. The main thing that you get in the end is a convenient and practical design that can cool small room and become an excellent alternative to a fan or expensive air conditioner.