Chads996

After months of testing various chilling materials and drawing up design after design, I am 90% there. I have the parts needed to prepare the prototype for testing.

As of this moment, the size of the unit will be the following:

Size: 12"W x 11"H x 7" deep.
Fluid capacity: 1-2 quarts of water
Anticipated weight: 7-10 pounds (approximately - based upon final materials)
Will it be compatible with existing "Shirts"? - Yes (I am using my own shirt for testing)

I anticipate the electrical draw will be minimal to the car as well. (figure maximum of 2.5 amps). Lastly - the pricing for the unit will still (by all estimates at this time) be south of existing driver cooling systems.

Based upon my present tests, I am confident that the cooling duration of the system will be effective for over 2 hours before the reusable chiller needs to be replaced with another. Testing the prototype in summer conditions will give me the data to be certain. At this point, it looks really good.

To those that have expressed interest, rest assured - I am almost there. I am the "measure twice, cut once" kind of person and I want to be sure this system will do what I say it will.

Timeframe for the prototype to be complete is looking to be about 2 weeks from Friday.

Stay tuned, more to come.

Chad

onefastviking

Have you seen this one Chad ?

http://shop.986inc.com/

Chads996

Yep...and mine will be cheaper and less messy. With that said, mine will be specified for the tube based shirt systems. Meaning - less costly.

C.

kurt M

2 hours duration before replacment sounds like a cooler with ice. Why is the system not self sustaining?

Bryan Watts

We're lucky if our cooler of ice lasts 45 minutes. The "endurance" ice cooler setups I've seen for 2-3 hour races are massive...much larger than the standard systems.

kurt M

I fully understand the limits of the cooler and ice systems. Moving heat around is in large part of how I make a living.

My only question was regarding the "reusable chiller needs to be replaced" part. The last thread discussed a thermocouple based system not a storage system. Perhaps this will be a hybrid that uses a chilled or super chilled heat sink to extend the BTU cap under harsh conditions and or extend the range of the TC.
Thermocouples are not rocket science. They move X heat using X energy when exposed to X thermal delta. The moved heat per $ spent is getting larger while the energy used is getting smaller over the years. $79 at Wallmart will get you a compressor free cube fridge.

The 2 hour system in the above link does not look too much larger than a standard cooler and pump rig. How they can cram that many BTUs into that space is another question. Ice chest cooler systems all end up storing all the moved heat + the heat from pumping fluids. Moving heat is simple. Storing heat is simple. Concentrating it above environmental temps and dumping it overboard is the rub.

Chads996

I checked into that. The power required to run a thermoelectric cooler was rather high. Not to mention, the size. Way bigger than I wanted.

That said, my system does not use ice. It uses a substance that stays colder than ice for a longer duration. One such test I performed, I dropped the substance (frozen solid) into a 2 gallon tub of 100 degree water and left the test outside in 90 degree ambient sun. After 30 min, it chilled the water to 50 degrees and only 25% of the solid converted to liquid. At the points where the material touched the metal bowl, ice formed on the outside.

Another key is the amount of fluid that you are cooling. The more there is, the more cooling energy needed to chill it. So far, I am on track with the amount of water needed.

I am very satisfied with the results so far. Looking forward to getting the prototype running.

C.

BC

When I have imagined these cooling shirts (when I do a track day in a non-ac car, I will need it no matter what) - I have always had the terror that maybe they would not include the helmet. A cool body and a hot head are extremely uncomfortable. Much more so, IIRC, than a cool head and a hot body.

krystar

chad, what's the target watts yer looking to move from the water? sure TEC's are inefficient...but we're not talking about cooling a furnace...

Bryan Watts

Speaking from experiencing both in a race car environment: given the choice between a cool head or a cool body, I'll take the cool body every time. A cool shirt/body does FAR more for keeping me comfortable than a helmet cooler does.

That said, some of the systems on the market blow cool air for a helmet cooler as well. You can also get cooling shirts with hoods that use cool water to keep your head cool.

Chads996

Actually, you are. You'd be amazed how efficient the human body is at producing heat.

C.

Gary R.

Chad - will it work with existing systems shirts and hoses, just requireing a different cooler/pump setup? Funny thing is I never have a problem maintaining cold water in my 12Qt Cool Shirt cooler. I use about 2-3 qts of water and fill it with ice and even after a 90 minute enduro its still plenty full of ice. I've left it in for 4 hours and there is still ice in there! Maybe your system will keep the water closer to freezing? I do know once i'm driving I don't notice the cold at all until i'm back in the pits, I produce a ton of heat...

Jerseybean

The hoods are a pain in the butt, I'd take a good blow any day.

Chads996

Yes. That is my intention. All that is required is to swap out the hose fittings to make sure they are compatible.

The whole point to my system - It is to be a cost effective, yet functional solution for the hobby racer. I am tired of the guys like me out there getting taken advantage of. There is no flippin reason a t-shirt has to be $300.

Stay tuned. I want to be VERY sure my system works properly.

C.

krystar

hmm.. ok yea. human body 150Watts under stress. with 10% super efficient peltier, u'd need a whole new alternator to power the TEC's hehe.