Summertime means heat, and that can make living not so easy.

The good news is you may not need to run out and buy an air conditioner. We have a dirt-cheap, low-tech way to turn an inexpensive ice chest into an AC unit that will keep you cool until the weather turns.

Materials

You need only a few items to build a DIY air conditioner. None is expensive, and some you may already have around the house. They are:

• A cheap Styrofoam ice chest
• Two dryer vents or PVC joints
• A small fan
• Ice to fill the ice chest

Preparation

Follow these steps to ready your materials for assembly:

1. Set the vents on top of the ice chest lid, facing down, with one vent on each side of the lid. Space them far enough apart that the fan will be able to fit between them.
2. Trace around the perimeter of the vents, creating two circles on the ice chest lid.
3. Use a serrated knife to cut out the two circles, creating holes for the vents. Make sure the holes are sized such that the vents will be able to fit snugly inside them.
4. Cut out a hole for the fan, making sure this hole is a bit smaller than the fan itself. You want the fan to be able to rest on top of the chest but not fall into it.

Assembly

To construct your air conditioner:

1. Fit the vents snugly in their holes.
2. Place the fan on top of its hole, turning it to face down so it will blow air into the ice chest.
3. Fill the cooler with ice.

Then, all that’s left is to turn on your air conditioner by turning on the fan.

The fan will force air into the chest, over the ice and out the vents — which you may wish to angle in a particular direction. As a result, you’ll feel cold air blowing out of the chest. It should be around the same temperature as air from a traditional air conditioner — until the ice melts.

If you keep a few water-filled milk jugs in your freezer, you’ll always have a free supply of ice blocks that will last a long time in the cooler.

Now, what if a heat wave knocks out your electricity? Don’t sweat. Instead, get a battery-powered fan, and your air conditioner will work in a blackout as long as you’ve got ice.

For more ways to beat the heat, check out “5 Odd but Effective Ways to Keep Cool Without A/C.”

What tricks have you discovered to stay cool and healthy in the heat? Share with us in comments below or on our Facebook page.