Bill L Seifert

I have a Cool Shirt and the Cooler that goes with it, and I really don't like the thing. It is a pain to use, especially when you are alone. On last Sat, I filled the cooler with ice, and then filled it with tap water up to the line. It did not last for the whole 25 minute qualifying period. So for the race, I took about 8 empty water bottles, and filled them with tap water, and threw them in my regular cooler to keep the beer company. Just before I went out, I filled the Cool Shirt cooler with ice, and dumped the cooled water up to the line. 26 lap race, and it still did not last the whole race. The shirt does not breathe like a regular t shirt, so I think I get even hotter, than if I dumped the whole Cool Shirt thingie. Can anyone make one of these things last a whole race? I don't think I ever have.

Bill Seifert

1987 944 Race Car
1999 Honda Civic Race Car

paradisenb

I'm interested in hearing the answers to this delimma. I just installed mine and will be using it in 2 weeks.

Mark in Baltimore

Try using a timer so the pump is not running constantly. I have zero issues with a 90 minute enduro in searing heat.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/st...=SearchResults

Veloce Raptor

A timer, or an adjustment ****, so you turn it on hard only when you really need it. Also, try wrapping the ice chest cradle in alternating layers of aluminum foil and folded newspaper.

APKhaos

Nice get, Mark! That's a neat solution, and a better proposition than the $100+ cool shirt controller!!
Comign from BassPro, it probably comes in camo too!!

Bill L Seifert

The thing that plugs into the cigarette lighter has an adjustment on it to change the voltage from about 3 volts to 14. It runs at about 7.5 volts, I think. Will adjusting the voltage down, do what you suggest, or will that hurt the pump. If you use a timer, how long on, and how long off? I usually turn it on at the 5 minute whistle, and it feels great as I sit waiting for the start, but I just leave it on all the time, which I guess is not what I should do. Home Depot sells an insulation that sticks to walls, aluminum coated, would that work if I put it on the bottom of the cooler and the sides up to about 1 inch from the top?

Bill

APKhaos

Bill,
Its a 12 volt marine bilge pump, so its most efficient at a full 12 volts. I've been running mine at 12V, but manually cycling it on/off during races, which is a pain. The timer control that Mark linked is perfect. It will let you set the on/off cycle to do just what you want. 100% on to get you cooled down, then back it down to 50% or so for the race.

jrgordonsenior

That's interesting because I've had great success with my Cool Shirt coolers. I have a 12 qt. in my Cup, next to me, and a new 24qt in my Boxster in the front trunk. I ran the 12 qt. in 105 temps a few weeks back at Cal Speedway and only had to refresh the ice once later in the day just before the race. It lasted just fine for 45 minutes grid + race. I just run a on/off switch as I always want it on. My new 24 qt. lasted all day recently (4 sessions + race ) and still had ice in it the following morning. I was pretty amazed.

I think most people put too much water in the cooler to start. You need mostly ice, and just enough water to prime the pump. I don't know where the line you mentioned is, but I put about 2-3 inches of water in the bottom. The rest is all ice. Also location is important, the front trunk does not get as much heat as the interior.

Another possibility is your shirt might be getting choked off under your left side? I have 2 identical cool shirts and one of them pinches off during a session while the other doesn't. Now I rotate the hoses to my center after I get in the car trying to keep them from pinching....

Just my $.02...

Mark in Baltimore

Thanks, Tony. Todd Bernard turned me onto it. It looks like the same unit that FAST supplies/supplied (no longer on their site).

Bill, you'll have to experiment with the best setting for you. If you allow too much time to pass before the pump circulates, your shirt will have captured too much heat, meaning that your body will receive a thermal jolt when the ice cold water pumps through the tubing. I have found this to be really distracting. My Bass Pro timer thing is set to 3:00 o'clock, whatever timing period that is. YMMV.

993944S2

I also think people put in to much water. You only need enough water to fill the circuit. I put about 30 oz of water and the rest is ice. Really, its just about 2 full beer cups of water.

jaholmes

This is what I use. Just Buy it and use it. It has temp controls that shows the temp of the water and also allows you to set the temp so that it cycles on / off. It's already DC so just splice a cig liter plug. Price is right too. It also plugs into any cool shirt.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Opti-Ice-Cold-Th...d=p3286.c0.m14

John H

I put mine on a switch I can reach to turn it on and off during the race.

Team944S2

I have been using the 12 qt system from F.A.S.T. (Fresh Air System Technologies) with the timer circuit. They tend to work best with block ice rather then bagged ice. I normally put the ice in first thing in the morning and leave it in the trailer / shade. Just before the race, I top it off with ice if necessary and then put in two 16.9 oz water bottles in. Lasts the full 90 minutes and the shirt has cool condensation on it at the end of 90 minutes. An unfair advantage to those that don't race with one in my opinion.

Tom W

Cool Shirt or Cool Suit? Like Chris I have a FAST Cool Suit (the 12 Qt version). I find it lasts all day even at ambient temps of 100 F. I fill it with ice and a bit of water at 10 am and it's still good for the last session of the day at 4ish. I use water from the ice chest to get it started and then simply keep the water from the melting ice in it. If I get ambitious, I'll drain out some of the water in the afternoon and top off the ice, but it's not usually necessary. While the cool suit comes with a timer/switch, I leave it at the fast setting so it pumps most of the time.

Brian P

Fill the cooler up with ice. Then add water (preferably ice water) to the top. That should last almost the whole day. If not, drain about half of the water mid-day and replace with ice. (This is for the 12 quart version. The 20 quart version would likely last the entire day and then some)