tent a/c r & d report

[lawman]

as some of you may recall, i became interested in running an a/c unit in a tent for alot of reasons: no trailer to tow, way cheaper, etc. i said i'd try it out & give everyone a report. i got my chance, & i took it. here's the report:

place: sera enduro near dry prong, louisiana
set up: window unit, front end propped up on a brick, stuck in the door of the tent, gaps sealed with folded newspapers, powered by 5500 watt generator
conditions: heat & humidity like something out of dante's inferno
result: works great! we slept in cool comfort, in fact we got cold in the tent, had to turn off the a/c early in the morning

bottom line: tent, $80 at wal-mart; ext.cord, $20; a/c unit, free; not having to sweat in the tent or pay for or jack with towing & parking in the woods a motor home or trailer, priceless!

 

[Timr]

Cool! :)

 

[Highbeam]

What does one of those window units cost? Did you get any jealous comments from the sweaty sleepers around you who were not cooled at night?

Good deal.

 

[Milquetoast]

The window units are about $100 but the generetor is real expensive. (A small Yamaha 1000 watt is only about $500 though)

Lawman, didn't anyone complain about the generator noise?

 

[Jasle]

I just did this same thing at Ponca. Our generator was a 2500W Coleman unit. IT cost $324 at Wal-Mart. The AC unit was $95 at Wal-Mart. It was up at 100ºF and 95% Humidity in Oaklahoma. After about an hour it was freezing in the tent. Had to turn the AC to low and zipup the sleeping bags. Our tent was designed to attach to two additional tents. We threw the AC unit in one of those entryways and used Duct tape to seal it up.
The main problem was the generator. The original fuel tank is .25Gallons and only lasts and hour. I took a 2.5gallon red can, drilled a hole in it and epoxied a 1/4" fuel nipple in it. I then hung the tank from our ez-up and ran 3' of fuel line over to the carb of the generator. Ran fine for about 7 hours at a clip when the ac was on low.
No one jealous though. There were only about 4 or 5 tents at Ponca the rest were Motorhomes and trailers.

Jason

 

[Timr]

Originally posted by Milquetoast
Lawman, didn't anyone complain about the generator noise?

We've covered this in previous threads. Only you guys up north get "upset" about generator noise. I was at the race that Lawman was at. On saturday, the high for the day was 99 with 90% humidity. Heat index was 107. Fortunately, it was significantly cooler on Sunday. Saturday night, the temperature did not drop off that much maybe down to the upper 80s with hight humidity still.

There is no anti-generator sentiment at SERA enduros. There is no "quiet" time rule against the running of generators. I'll bet there was at least 100 generators that ran all night. We were there for 2 nights and calculated that the generator on the motorhome had run for 40 hours straight.

If we were to attempt to stop the use of generators at night, nobody would camp! It sounds like the battle of Britain at one of our races. A dull humm hangs over the entire campground. I've slept at the races in motorhomes, my truck, and in a tent, and I haven't found the generator noise to be a problem when sleeping.

The weather dictates that we use generators. That's the whole reason why Lawman needs AC in his tent. It's just too damn hot!

 

[Milquetoast]

That kind of noise wouldn't bother me, but I have earplugs anyway just in case. I'm working on a generator project for my campervan and was curious about people's reactions to the noise at night, sorry to bother you Timr.

 

[lawman]

yeah, the generator is noisy, but i couldn't even hear my generator specifically, it just blended in to the general racket. without it, i'd have to stay in a motel, i wouldn't be able to sleep (i've tried it just in a tent before). i would not do this in cooler climate or in a wilderness setting; virtually everyone in a sera campground in august runs 1.

my generator has a honda engine with low-oil cutoff, cost about $1000, + wheel kit. it's more than you need for a small window unit pulling only 5 or 6 amps; i bought it to run the 13,500 btu a/c in my camper trailer. it will run the window unit all night on about 2/3 of a tank.

the tent setup has its drawbacks: you do hear the generators more, 'til you get used to it; there's no permanent storage for anything, so i use plastic storage tubs for utensils, etc.; you have to lift & carry everything--stove, a/c, utensils, camp shower, etc. for the load in/load out; it was a challenge getting all of this stuff into a pickup truck; & you don't look forward to loading all of the stuff & striking a tent after an enduro when it's 100 deg. (much less in the rain). on the other hand, i got about double the gas mileage; i had no problem maneuvering in the woods they used for a campground, unlike some of my buddies, 1 of whom literally scraped his brand new camper trailer getting in; my total investment, since i borrowed the a/c & already had the generator & stove & stuff, was maybe $100; & my girlfriend, who's never towed a trailer, could comfortably drive while i snoozed. she likes to go to the races (!), provided that she has her amenities (such as a/c & a camp toilet). i'll prob end up getting around to fixing up my camper trailer or dumping it to get an enclosed trailer, but in the meantime, the tent's doing ok & you can't beat the price!

 

[Jasle]

Originally posted by Milquetoast
That kind of noise wouldn't bother me, but I have earplugs anyway just in case. I'm working on a generator project for my campervan and was curious about people's reactions to the noise at night, sorry to bother you Timr.

Not sure how it is where you are but we have been to both the World Mini's and Ponca as well as all the Local Arizona races. At all of these events the noise was not a problem. No one even thinks twice about running a generator all night. There were about 20 camps in our little area. There were probably 16 generators running all night. a couple of the camps left theri stuff there and went to a Motel. I have heard that in the NW its a really bad idea to run all night. Here its still 90ºF+ at 1:00am so no one minds its too dang hot to worry about a generator.

 

[Timr]

Originally posted by Milquetoast
That kind of noise wouldn't bother me, but I have earplugs anyway just in case. I'm working on a generator project for my campervan and was curious about people's reactions to the noise at night, sorry to bother you Timr.

It's no big deal. I've never been to a race where generators don't run all night, so I have no idea what that sounds like. Good luck with your project.

 

[Highbeam]

It's quiet. Without the generators that is. At the desert race in Vantage this year I could hear a cat lick its butt 7 camps away and the smell of green sagebrush was floating in the air.

How about fumes. Does the tent city ever get jammed up in a valley where all the exhaust from those briggs engines accumulates?

I think it is a southern thing since it still gets down in the low 50s, even last night, up here. This morning 50s - this afternoon mid80s.

Keep running those generators, it sounds like you need them. If you were the only guy in a huge mass campground using one, I would recommend shutting it down.

 

[lawman]

low 50s! sounds like january around here!

 

[Birken Vogt]

Out in the Northern Nevada desert it can get outrageously hot in the day. 110 degrees is common. Even with these type of daytime temperatures at night the moisture content of the air is so low that it gets back to sleeping temperature.

In the winter it is the same drill only in reverse, 0 degrees at night and 32 degrees at noon, but stuff thaws though because of the all-pervading nuclear sun that hits you at 6000 feet....snowmoblile suits and skiing gloves are the order of the day.

I'd take it any time over that ole southern weather.

 

[Tod]

I have heard that in the NW its a really bad idea to run all night.

yep :|

 

[*william*]

Originally posted by Jasle

I have heard that in the NW its a really bad idea to run all night.

As it is even here in the So Cal desert. I've been warned by senior members of our district. You can run it all day and most of the night up 'till the parties stop, but you'd better shut it down after midnight or so. Or it will get shut down (and not by the stop switch) or disappear completely. :eek:

And it's not that big a deal, the dez really cools off at night.