How to Build Your Own DIY Air Conditioner in Minutes

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 conditioning unit. We have a dirt-cheap, low-tech way to turn a simple ice chest into an AC unit that will keep you cool until the weather turns.

Here’s how to make air conditioner units using just a few spare parts to build a DIY cooler with a makeshift DIY fan.

Materials

You need only a few items to build a DIY air conditioner. None is expensive, and some are things 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.

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Assembly

To construct your DIY 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 homemade air conditioner by turning on the fan.

The DIY air conditioner works by having the fan 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 milk jugs filled with water in your freezer, you’ll always have easy access to 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 DIY air conditioner will work in a blackout as long as you’ve got ice.

For more ways to beat a hot day, check out this handy reference, “5 Unusual but Effective Tips to Stay Cool Without A/C.”

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