Electric AC compressor

[redhotcomet]

This is an interesting idea. From the small amount of research I've done, the Prius system runs off the main battery pack at somewhere around 40V. I'm not sure the specifics on it though.

Just some quick calcs...a holiday trailer A/C will run off a 20A, 120V circuit...20*120=2400W, so to run it off 14V, 2400/14 = 171 amps. That's not really feasible. Thats also ignoring efficiency losses.

Johno, I see the appeal of experimenting with EAC, but have you thought about converting to a serpentine belt system? Some systems work in pretty tight engine bays, like the 96-01 Explorer. I think thats what I would use. Might be another option.

[poboyjo65]

Go for it John! What Ron was for EPS you can be for EAC! You know...."To boldly go where no Cometeer has gone before"! (Besides, I want to know if it works so I can add it to my list of to-do's along with the EPS. )
Jim

Jim though Ron may have been the first guy you heard about that had done EPS,there were others that had already done it, & you could buy kits, though they are expensive, but were & are available for mustangs & other cars. a guy on ebay was already making a controller box for the EPS & parts. Another guy name Waid had brought up the Idea on TFFN,& is where Ron learned about it, Waid told what parts to get from the junkyard & from which cars you could get them, he told about the ebay guy with the controller & that it could be done for under a $100. he also showed where a guy had put one on a nova. here is a link to the thread
http://tffn.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=32444
I don't want to be the first space traveler, I want to find people who have done it already. finding a thread like the EPS thread but for EAC that tells all the parts you need & from what cars to get them & where to get a controller box to retro fit it to these old cars would be awesome, & is what I want to find. Seeing the ad for the Eac compressor in jegs with controller made me think it might be already being done somewhere, & is what I want to discover,,,,ALL of the answers!

Redhot I have thought about a serpentine system, & may be the way I end up going. when I was mocking up this motor, which is a mid 70's truck block & all it's brackets & PS, W pump ,alt & pulleys/belts. the fan would not allow a crank pulley with an extra groove, so I decided not to worry about it until it was time to install the ac. But if I could stay with all that like it is & go elec it would be nice.

[Comechero65]

If the Prius system uses 40 v to power their ac then apparently they must have a dc charging system capable of producing 40 v to maintain the battery pack. Maybe an alt off prius would work but it would need to be added to the engine. Sort of like replacing a normal ac comp with another alt so not much will have changed. One belt driven device replacing another. Then you need a place to locate the dc powered ac unit. I hope someone figures it out and tries it.

As far as doing the eps install it was kind of a parallel project, I was working on mine while some guys on a mustang forum were doing theirs. Waid is the guy who basically started it on both forums. I just happened to be the guinie pig on the forum I was on. By the way Waid is going to be here in August so I will get to meet him finally.

By the way the original article "PS for $100 Or Less" is right on. My total cost when I did mine was less than $100.
Ron

[redhotcomet]

I found this thread discussing the prius compressor. Turns out it runs off 206V, not 40. I'm not an electrician or electrical engineer, so I don't understand most of it.

http://www.priusonline.com/22-toyota-pr ... ork-2.html

[poboyjo65]

I'm not either of those Red & dont understand it either but it doesn't sound good. but the fact that others are thinking the same thing is encouraging. It would seem like an electric car would have one that did not use so much power,,that takes away from the bat charge & limit distance of a charge. Maybe a hybrid would be better.

Thanks for the input!!

[SASSY]

I'm in the process of working out my AC.
I'm using a combination of 89 TBird, 65 Merc, and Vintage air pieces.
I noticed this note in their online catalogue.

Tech Topic: Is an Electric Compressor a Good Option for My Hot Rod?

Over the years, we have received a number of questions regarding electric compressors, and whether or not they are available through Vintage Air. Since the 1990s, our engineers have tested numerous electric compressors as part of Vintage Air's comprehensive research and development program, and we have used them in several all-electric vehicle applications, including the 1990s-era Ford TH!NK.

With that being said, Vintage Air is committed to selling only the best-performing aftermarket air conditioning components. As a result, at this time we do not offer an electric compressor in our catalog because we do not recommend their use in your muscle car or hot rod.

More reading here
http://www.vintageair.com/Tech%20Articl ... essors.pdf

[poboyjo65]

Yea Fred I've been reading about the same thing from a few other sources. Maybe the technology will get better some day. high cost & using too much power to operate are the main obstacles. If they use that much power I'm sure they would like to find a better way for electric cars, since that would help lengthen the distance that a charge would be good for. I was hoping they already had. Hey maybe hidden solar panels in the roof & trunk lid!

Fred why don't you put your ac work in your build thread? It would be interesting to see where you put all that.

[Comechero65]

That article kind of substantiates what Roy and myself have said that it's not real practical at this time to consider electric ac. Technology needs to progress a little more yet I think.
Ron

[SASSY]

Fred why don't you put your ac work in your build thread? It would be interesting to see where you put all that.

SOON! I hope to have something to post. The major stumbling block last time I was at this was getting out of the stock TBird compressor
and into oring AC lines,, well Vintage Air solved that and when I get my hands on one I'll share.

[CALIFORNIA CALIENTE]

John;I know you don't want to change the drive on your engine,I understand why!! I did help a friend do a 65 Falcon [same underhood as a Comet],we used a serpentine system,mounted the compressor low on the passenger side,used Vintage air pieces and it works great!! The Falcon has an all aluminum 620 HP 427W with an AOD,we also had to use an electric Fan as we used up all the room!!My Comet had Factory Air back in the day [only option on the car],worked great!! ROY.

[poboyjo65]

mine will be on top driver side above the PS pump if I do it. I believe my last thinking when I was mocking up the belts/pulleys was to run it on the same belt as the PS, maybe with an idler pulley between them. If I can't figure something out I'll look at serpentines.
I'm sure I don't want to move my motor. headers,borgesen ps & altered z bar,all interacting together, I had em all mad at me & now the motor is where it wants to be, & throws a fit anywhere else. it even insists on leaning a little, after quite an argument I started listening to it.

[Comechero65]

mine will be on top driver side above the PS pump if I do it. I believe my last thinking when I was mocking up the belts/pulleys was to run it on the same belt as the PS, maybe with an idler pulley between them. If I can't figure something out I'll look at serpentines.
I'm sure I don't want to move my motor. headers,borgesen ps & altered z bar,all interacting together, I had em all mad at me & now the motor is where it wants to be, & throws a fit anywhere else. it even insists on leaning a little, after quite an argument I started listening to it.

John, That's the way i had set mine up originally using only two belts. I used the same belt for the ac and ps pump. Just needs a longer belt. Comp just needs to be moved back to line up with the other pulleys. No idler puller needed. The ac comp was fixed and the ps pump being adjustable was then my adjustment to tighten the belt. Works very well using this design and being one less belt means less crowding of the engine compartment. I ran the same setup on my mustang for many years with never a problem.
When I eliminated the ps pump with the eps install I had to hinge the comp to make it the adjustment for the belt. If you use the Sanden "shorty" comp it has the same capacity but is shorter in length so it takes less room and makes fitting it in much easier.
Everybody kept telling me that setup would wear out the bushing in the ps pump. but after driving it for over 20 years that way the bushing in the pump was as good as ever.
Any pics or advise on what to do will be glad to help.

Staying with a v-belt system takes less space than a serpentine drive system.

Mine in its' final setup.

Ron