Advice on Evaporator Housing Idea

[bottleworks]

I have finished making the brackets and whatnot for my A/C compressor. Compressor is now installed on the truck and ready for the next step... I am trying to figure out an evaporator housing. At first, I was planning on only having A/C with no heat. Being that it is starting to get cooler out (surprise!), I need heat too.

Here is my plan. Buy the Heater kit from Saturn and install the evaporator with the heater core/blower section. I would then add a cable controlled heater valve to stop coolant flow to the heater core for A/C operation. The A/C would just be controlled by a switch in dash to kick on the compressor. There would be no mix/blend door. It would be full A/C or full heat. One concern that I have is the loss of cold due to all the heat under the hood. I might be able to find some 1" thick insulation to coat the under hood box and ducting with.

Stupid idea? It will simplify the A/C side of the project. I shouldn't have to crimp new hoses. I can reuse the hoses from the donor car... The heater kit lists @ $265 on Saturn's web site.

 

[ken]

That sounds like a great idea. What compressor did you use? Can you post pics? Mabye you can wrap the hose with fiberglass insulation. And use wire ties or clamps hold it on.

 

[devilman96]

I don't mean to be a stick in the mud but...

I think that much heat from under the hood would just trip the high pressure switch on the system...

If your going to drop $265 on a heater and still have to buy valves, cables, parts, pieces, etc check with Danhard and look at the 00204-HC first... http://www.danhard.com/sub11.htm... It has both heat and air plus comes with controls, valve, ducting, and DEFROST basically everything but the lines, dryer, condenser and compressor... I THINK was only $400 -$450 converted to 24V... I can give you the hole location from my install and I would suggest asking them to shorten the connecting lines for the AC by 2.5 inches from what they normally do...

What are you doing / using for insulation on the cab? Post some pics please

 

[bottleworks]

The compressor is a york. I will take some pictures on Tuesday. It's nothing too special.
The under hood heat is the big issue... However, at the same time, the fan should pull a lot of air through the condenser. I already have an entire A/C system (for free). I am always on a tight budget, so the $265 would be the most I can pay and the only thing I would have to buy. Perhaps I could add the evaporator housing just before the "distribution" box under the dash. I have not seen one of the stock heaters up close, so I have nothing to hold a tape measure to.

As for cab insulation. There is none...At least for now. I am looking at doing the same as you. It will all come down to money and time. I have neither. When I do get to that phase, I can only dream of it looking a 1/64th as good as your truck. I want to do the under side of the hood first. I would like to try knocking down the noise level more. The NAPA muffler makes an amazing difference!

 

[OPCOM]

to cool well with a ton (12000 BTU) of air conditioning you need 400CFM of fan. The M35 heater kit blower can't do enough especially in series with an evaporator.

Please post images of how and where the compressor and condenser are mounted, it's very interesting!

 

[ken]

I used rubberized undercaoting on the engine side of the firewall and under the cab. Then spray on bed liner inside. It dropped the heat in the cab ALOT!

 

[devilman96]

BW... Ditto on what Ken said...

Invest a few $ on undercoating it really does make a big difference in tempature. The parts I have finished have been moved in and out side in the sun for some cure time... In the afternoons you can not grab the un-undercoated parts, their to hot, but the stuff that is sprayed is fine to the touch, got to be at least a 30 degree difference. I would do the fire wall inside and out, but not the floor inside as it will wear off / make a mess over time. Also don't use the cheap stuff... Stick to something like 3M there is a HUGE difference in the quality, DRY TIME and in the amount of square footage it covers.

I THINK it was Cranetruck that recorded his temperatures on a trip down to FL to pick some things up... Off the top of my head the firewall was 130 and the floor 110 degrees while operating at normal temperatures... Any of that you can stop from getting into your cab will make a huge difference.

Keep something in mind while your working with this.... AC works backwards of what most think... Most see an AC condenser like a big block of ice that cools the air by the fan forcing air over top of it (evaporative cooling)... Not so... The condenser does not make air cold by being cold... It condenses the air by removing the heat as it passes over the condenser fins (condensed cooling). The system then moves the heat outside via the lines and compressor to evaporate it via the evaporator... This is why things like recycling air in the cab, insulation, air leaks, ambient heat, etc, etc, etc are so important...

Don't be fooled or in any way envious of my build... I have no children... a small apartment... and a paid for Ford... I was buying deuce parts LONG before owning one because I knew where I wanted to go with the build when I found the right truck... (loads of pre buying research and I am a STUBBORN PIG HEADED SOB, when I want something I will have it!!!) and for the past 3 months I have been willing to sacrifice sleep, money and sometimes even eating to make the build happen. I am LUCKY with my job... It affords me a decent income but in this case affords me a place to work out of.... The tooling and equipment is mine but the shop is not... I would happily burn all of it for a little peace and happiness, a family and a place to call "home".. There are trade off's to everything in life...

What about adding a heater core to your condenser box from your donor car? vs. the heater kit... Would be cheaper if possible...

 

[ken]

Dman, Can you post some pics of your set up??

 

[bottleworks]

The firewall coating/sealing/blocking is a great idea. That will be done before A/C season starts again. I am going to ponder and mess around with some ideas and figure out a game plan. Unfortunately, I could not recover an evaporator housing from the donor car. I was hoping that it would be like an Integra or TL climate control housing, but it ended up being heavily integrated into the under world of the dash.

I wish I could work on the Deuce at work. I don't have a chance of pulling it in my bay and make it between the lift! hehehe... I will have pictures by the end of the weekend. Not quite last Tuesday, I know...

 

[devilman96]

Ken I think most of these if not all are posted under the trucks thread...
Really all I need is to throw in my lines but I have a lot of things they would be in the way of right now... http://www.steelsoldiers.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&p=69778

 

[m35a2cowner]

Muffler

Bottleworks, I was wondering where you mounted the NAPA muffler. I bought one and I think its to big to put at the top. If possible could you post a picture? Thanks

 

[rmgill]

RE: Muffler

Did you see mine?

 

[m35a2cowner]

looks good

I was thinking of doing the same thing, mount down low, for vibration and looks. Were you able to fab up something to retain the expanded metal at the bottom? I want to try to hide the change. Did you find a paint that didn't burn? I keeping with the original intent of his thread has anyone tried a roof mounted evaporator like you see on some semis? I am sure you could find one at a truck junk yard. Cheap because very few people want one. I am sure with a bit of creative sheet metal work it can take on the appearance of something military like. Which reminds me some semis (especially cab-overs ) have large pieces of insulating (sound/heat) materials covering the interior engine cover. This material (some tuck and roll) should not cost a thing as no one wants it and it has no scrap value.

 

[rmgill]

RE: looks good

The expanded metal needs to be replaced with a larger unit. The new can is much longer than the expanded metal guard.

So far the OD paint keeps burning away leaving the primer which stays.

As far as engine insulation, I'm planning on adding insulation to the inside of the hood and side panels to absorb some of the sound. Insulation on the firewall is another thing I want to add.

 

[Hookin1]

That is cool...pun intended....nice work...the only thing i can see is you going to need a rear brace for the compressor...so it won't shake and break the bracket.....

I was thinking of putting my evaporator in the heater box under the hood..then just using duct insulation to wrap everything up.

 

[bottleworks]

Some Pictures... I wasn't able to do much this weekend... I had to work on Sat and it was raining on and off through out the weekend.

Below are some pictures of the dash, muffler assembly and the A/C compressor.