Scotian Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 right guys. I've got a black landrover. Matt black... And its just too damn hot when its sunny. This wasnt a problem ever in the UK (ok. maybe one or 2 days a year) but over here in romania its already 28+ degrees C most days and its too hot. I painted the roof White but thats as far as I am going. I really love having a Black Landrover. Does anyone know anything about Aircon systems. I really dont mind making a bodge. I want to get the aircon out of a car in a scrap yard and fit it tothe Landrover in some way. Does anyone have any suggestions here. There is no way I will buy a Landrover Aircon system even if it is possible to fit it becuase I dont have the funds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_d Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 If you find an 87ish RRC with aircon it could be relatively easy to remove and install. There are a number out there but from the looks of mine it was not a factory install but probably installed by the dealer prior to customer delivery. There are a number of clues but the main one is that none of its wiring is in the loom. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 Strangely enough - I have done exactly this on my old 110! I doubt I've still got any photos, but if any come to hand - I'll post them. I used a mixture of parts from a Jag and from a Rangey - just because they were what came to hand. The condenser (hot bit) was mounted on the roof with a couple of fans. The slopey bit of roof above the cab directed air through the condenser while moving. Inside I had an evaporator (cold bit) matrix out of a Ford of some sort mounted such that it blew cold air towards the windscreen from behind my head. It leaked a bit (see note at end) but when it was gassed up - I could frost up the inside of the windscreen on a summers day! If I were doing it again, I would add the evaporator to the same box as the current heater matrix (make the box a little bigger) and utilise the heater fan and internal plumbing. I would adjust it such that instead of drawing air in from the wing-top, it draws in from the passanger footwell so that much of the cold is recirculated (which makes it much more efficient). This would give a neater install too. Most AC units found in old cars were made for R22 refrigerant which is now illegal in the UK (may be OK in Romania?) It has largely been replaced with R143a which works very well, except the molecules are much smaller and tend to leak out of pipes that were R22 proof. The solution is fairly easy. Use a compressor from a more modern vehicle which will have better seals and make most of the plumbing using annealed copper tube with short lengths of flexy where necessary. You can either silver solder the tube or use compression fittings - both work pretty well. There will be a refrigeration specialist near you who sells the tube, fittings etc. They may even gas it up for you. My local place were quite enthused with someone building their own AC and did plenty to help! The system in the car you remove it from will have a dryer / reservoir. This bit is cheap and worth replacing. Water is the enemy of refrigerant. It's not rocket science - and it really hacks me off when most of the responses to questions like this are along the lines of "you don't want to be messing with AC - get a grown up to help you". For those people, I can give some tips for DIY brain surgery! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco_al Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 just be careful when checking for leaks..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotian Posted May 2, 2008 Author Share Posted May 2, 2008 Thanks for that sound advice. Steve, there is more chance of me finding rocking horse plop here than parts from jags and Rangerovers so I am going to be using whatever comes to hand from the scrap yards here. Dacias never had Aircon so I'm going to have to hope that a more newly imported BMW or the like is broken in a scrappy somewhere round here. Is it worth taking any parts from a normal fridge? If so how would I power them? How did you power the units that you put in your vehicles? Just now I have my airfilter bolted to the spot that the aircon pump would go on. Is that the only place that I coud put it? What about electric power from 12v or from the 240v inverter? All thinking out loud there. Please humor me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 you're fighting a losing battle if you use 12v or, even worse, 240v, as you automatically drop efficiency in the conversion of mechanical energy > 12v >240v. Driving an automotive air con compressor off an engine powered belt has got to be the most efficient, and simplest way forward. I like the idea of modifying a heater matrix box to take the evaporator - there's not much room in a defender cab to fit the Landrover style aircon dash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt B Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 I am about to strip the (working) aircon out of my truck. I was going to offer to let you have the bits but I'm guessing the postage would be restrictive... Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotian Posted May 2, 2008 Author Share Posted May 2, 2008 Wow Matt. That would be great. err. How heavy/bulky is it all? Could it be stripped down to just the essentials for makeng work without any other bits that come with it in order to keep the weight/bulk down? If it is not too big then I could of course send you postage money if you got a quote for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 Hmmm...don't get your hopes up too much, but might be driving out to Greece in 2 weeks...not 100% sure yet though - I may fly. If I drive, I'd be more than happy to bung an air con system in the back and drop it off in Romania... Is there a record for length of forum relay? edit: That said, just looked at a map - Romania is a bit further to the right than I thought it was...ill see what I'm doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeagent Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 It's not rocket science - and it really hacks me off when most of the responses to questions like this are along the lines of "you don't want to be messing with AC - get a grown up to help you". For those people, I can give some tips for DIY brain surgery!Si You're right, its not rocket science, but you are putting together a system that will contain presurised gas, so you should be confident in your pipework abilities before you break out the blow-lamp.... ideally the system should be strength tested, leak tested, then vacuum dehydrated before charging with R134a and oil... If i were you the first thing i'd do is swot up on how car air-con works, there must be loads of stuff on the web, then you'll have better idea of what to look for... the other idea you could look at, is a little stand alone unit to mount on the roof (i saw a 110 in LRO with this a couple of years back) like you see fitted to small refrigerated vans... if you've got any questions, post 'em up... I'm sort of in the air-con/ refrigeration game.... (work for York refrigeration, in the dept that builds and supplies fridge plants and air-con for Navy ships) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 ideally the system should be strength tested, leak tested, then vacuum dehydrated before charging with R134a and oil... That's why I recommended getting it gassed upby a grown-up. If i were you the first thing i'd do is swot up on how car air-con works, there must be loads of stuff on the web, then you'll have better idea of what to look for... I agree - but other than buying a book (I'm sure there are decent books) there isn't a lot of useful info on line. Sadly, in most of the places on line where people ask this type of question - they get flamed for even considering it! Thankfully this forum is a bit more enlightened and open to people having a go at cool stuff. the other idea you could look at, is a little stand alone unit to mount on the roof (i saw a 110 in LRO with this a couple of years back) like you see fitted to small refrigerated vans... Not a bad idea - but most of them still have an engine powered compressor - so you are in the same territory with the plumbing. There are 12v powered units - but mostly a bit lame unless your truck is well insulated. The only reason I suggested using bits from a Jag or Rangey is they are have enough capacity to provide cooling in a truck made of holes with no insulation. Any big car would be fine. Don't be afraid to mix & match. Fridge bits will be a waste of time. A fridge is only transferring a few hundred watts of heat whereas a car AC could be transferring as much as 5kw. For my part - I'm not a professional. I'm self taught by experimentation. At collage I built a cool (no pun) milk cooler which used butane as refrigerant, a cheap Halfords tyre compressor and a load of brake pipe - it worked rather well! Best not to smoke too near it though! I did have some help from a grown-up - my friend 'AirCon Bob'. The whole thing was a lot of fun and I learned a lot - and for me, that's the whole point of living! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 Thankfully this forum is a bit more enlightened and open to people having a go at cool stuff. Oh dear oh dear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orange rover Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 i have a complete aircon system from a td5 defender available. and even better, its in vienna, austria, not too bad a drive from romania. cheers spec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotian Posted May 3, 2008 Author Share Posted May 3, 2008 Thanks. is that everything including the bit that bolts on under the dash? or is it the main parts that make it work? I'm not too bothered about having the vents on the inside really. how much are you wanting for it? MattB.. if you could let me know how much itwould cost to post then I could make a choice of weather to take yours or the coser one from Orange Rover Cheers guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orange rover Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 Thanks. is that everything including the bit that bolts on under the dash? or is it the main parts that make it work? I'm not too bothered about having the vents on the inside really. its everything, pipes, cooler, compressor, the bit inside etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeagent Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 For my part - I'm not a professional. I'm self taught by experimentation. At collage I built a cool (no pun) milk cooler which used butane as refrigerant, a cheap Halfords tyre compressor and a load of brake pipe - it worked rather well! Best not to smoke too near it though!I did have some help from a grown-up - my friend 'AirCon Bob'. The whole thing was a lot of fun and I learned a lot - and for me, that's the whole point of living! Si the other thing you might want to consider if you are building your own system is the size of the compressor, evaporator, condenser and expansion valve could do with being fairly well matched... i would probably go for a complete kit from one vehicle, as it'll take a lot of the guess-work out of it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast5680 Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 by all means have a go fitting the system yourself and take note of the advice given on here as some of it is sound but if your doing it in the uk be quick after the end of may you need a licence to work on automotive aircon and empty systems must be tested with nitrogen to leak test before gassing, a large fine and/or custodial sentence can occur if you get caught. getting the system size correct so you have the right amount of gas in will be the fun bit to work out, too much gas or too little will cause problems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeagent Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 but if your doing it in the uk be quick after the end of may you need a licence to work on automotive aircon and empty systems must be tested with nitrogen to leak test before gassing, a large fine and/or custodial sentence can occur if you get caught. I'd forgotten about that... in industry you already need a licence to handle gas..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotian Posted May 4, 2008 Author Share Posted May 4, 2008 Surly it would just be the same as fitting LPG? I fitted my own LPG kit then took it for testing which cost about 27 quid. then that was me all sorted with a corgi certificate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt B Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 The bits are HEAVY which is why I am taking them off my truck. The best solution would be a forum relay if that were possible.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotian Posted May 4, 2008 Author Share Posted May 4, 2008 lol. I think me and you would be the only two links in the relay from Austria to Romania .. How much are you wanting for the actual parts? Also is there any chance you could take some pics so I know what I am dealing with. Is there any chance people could post pics of a fitted aircon system too so I can start getting my head around where things are going to go and what needs to be moved in my already crowed engine bay. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast5680 Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Surly it would just be the same as fitting LPG? I fitted my own LPG kit then took it for testing which cost about 27 quid. then that was me all sorted with a corgi certificate. because its a sealed system you have to prove that you,ve leak tested it with Nitrogen before its gassed, if the Environment agency came in to my work they would ask to see our nitrogen test kit before anything else if we didnt have it-automatic fine they require proof that you can test the system. If had a system that was empty i would have to test before going anywhere near it with refrigerant you wouldnt be able to gas the system as you need a gas handling certificate and a citb licence to be able to use refrigerant. you could in theory fit the system then call in an aircon company to test and fill it i believe but it may be different where you are, local rules apply as it were Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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