lrrowe wrote:Final setup with first test.
and that got me all motivated to go out to the shop and
do something.
I think one of the main things that kept me from going forward was no plan. So I decided to do a mockup in cardboard. I like cardboard. It's free, sturdy, very easy to work on the table saw, wood glue works great, and it's free.
First, I cut 4 pieces to form a surround, taped them together and test fitted. Oh! you gotta take a hunk out for the electrical cord, and take about a quarter inch off the bottom for it to fit. Done.
Next, I wanted to separate the return air from the cold . I needed to also leave room for my duct starter collar. That got me to here:
Cold air comes out of the opening at top right, and needs room to fit the starter collar. That's why the angle on the partition.
Next, I laid out the return intake and cold air ports to be roughly centered over the coils and the blower opening, respectively:
Next, more tape and add collars:
Needs a little better job of measuring for the surround. Just add more tape, for now.
Another view:
Taking a look at the condenser coil on the back, the fins are getting pretty bent up, and the A/C hasn't even hit the road, yet:
Anyone have a suggestion on how to protect this?
I'm thinking heavy-duty screen.
This setup passed the Bare Minimum Performance Test with flying colors.
It ran for about an hour without freezing up, all while blowing cold air out the top and sucking in room air at the bottom.