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Originally Posted by 77SceptreOB
Not sure on any of the specifics other than the .75 amp draw (9 watts). I haven't put a multimeter on it to confirm the power usage. Should be low enough not to kill a "starting" battery and certainly would work off a "house" deep cycle battery.
Sounds like a great idea,, but I've also heard that if you utilized that method it doesn't cool as well. The plastic surface of the bottle isn't cold enough since ice in the bottle(s) quickly get "insulated" with the warmer water that is in between the remaining ice in the bottle and the plastic shell of bottle. It lacks the intimate direct contact radiating from the cold block of ice. I'm sure it will work, and you get ice cold water to drink but in the long run I would think the unit doesn't work as well.
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The plastic bottle does slow heat transfer but it is important to figure out the optimal rate heat is transferred into the ice to provide the desired control duration. It may pay to experiment with allowing the cooler and or bottles to drain as the melted liquid contains the transferred heat and also reduces the ice surface area that is exposed.
The whole process can be tweaked to achieve the best results and it’s cool to see you guys working through it with different ideas. Just keep in mind the first principle of thermodynamics…. Heat energy always moves/transfers from hot to cold. So the heat energy in the cabin is being transferred to the cooler. The rate and efficiency of the transfer can be improved with an increase in ambient pressure which the fan provides. Maybe an experiment can be done to reduce flow on the output duct to improve heat transfer in the box.