Installing a second a/c system in an "overlander" 4x4

[eeebbr]

Hey,
I have an old 4x4(97 nissan terrano, 125 bhp) and the a/c was never amazing. It takes a lot from the engine on warm days even when it was new, at least in the scorching heat of the desert around me.
I want to install a second system which will be electric compressor.
Powering it will be the easy part for me as I have a upgraded alternator along with 30 amp of solar charging(will probably improve to 42a soon)
My first thought was to install the whole system in sort of a cube which will make it removable when needed(and also saves a lot of hussle on installation- I don't care much for the noise as it's mainly to help the cooling and the engine on extreme days that are more frequent then ever) but it seems I miss understood how it works.
Does putting the condenser along with the evaporator and compressor inside the vehicle hurt or kill the performance to the point that it turns irrelevant?
Under the hood of the car there isn't much room for the condenser so I'm trying to think out of the box(literally).
Any idea or thought would be appreciated!
Eliran

[Carguychris85]

The condenser certainly cannot be inside the vehicle. You can mount it remotely though. A lot of van based buses as well as limos have a condenser for the rear system either underfloor or mounted in the skirt with electric fans. I have even seen 2 condensers run off the factory compressor on many of them. The factory front condenser services the factory dash unit and the added rear condenser tee'd into the discharge hose serves the add on rear unit. Those systems work a lot better than the factory dual air systems that run the stock condenser.

As for an electric compressor in my experience they are mostly junk. They do not move nearly as many BTUs as an engine driven compressor of suitable size. I would not expect much from it especially in severe temps.

[eeebbr]

The condenser certainly cannot be inside the vehicle. You can mount it remotely though. A lot of van based buses as well as limos have a condenser for the rear system either underfloor or mounted in the skirt with electric fans. I have even seen 2 condensers run off the factory compressor on many of them. The factory front condenser services the factory dash unit and the added rear condenser tee'd into the discharge hose serves the add on rear unit. Those systems work a lot better than the factory dual air systems that run the stock condenser.

As for an electric compressor in my experience they are mostly junk. They do not move nearly as many BTUs as an engine driven compressor of suitable size. I would not expect much from it especially in severe temps.

Thanks !
Just for educational purposes, why can't the condenser be inside the vehicle? Heat? Freon leak?

Since it's a 4x4 that travel a lot, I have to find a way to mount it above the seats(water crossing and such )

The two system will work together and the electric one will just have to keep the temps reasonable on the times that the engine coolant rises due to high engine load during travel.

One more thing, how much does the average BTU's that a car cooling a/c system produce?
The system I'm looking at claim to be a 22k btu and I'm thinking that if I get 3rd of that I'd be very happy. Am I too optimistic?

[Carguychris85]

The ac system removes heat from the cabin via the evaporator and rejects heat to the exterior via the condenser. If you mount the condenser inside the vehicle your system will actually have a net increase in heat in the interior of the vehicle.

If the ac system is not operating because of vehicle heat you need determine why their is excessive heat and to insulate the heat out. You might be shocked at what correcting a cooling system issue such as a weak fan clutch will do for ac performance.

You would be more productive staying cool with added insulation on the firewall, floor and roof as well as heat rejecting tint on the windows. I have a Chevy Express conversion van in the heat of Texas summers and tinting the small greenhouse worth of glass it has made a HUGE difference. The conversion package also had a lot of added insulation from the upfitter that converted it. It can be 115F outside and I end up having to knock the recirculate even with the blower on a lower speed to keep from turning it into an iglo.

A typical modern belt driven compressor moves up to ~35,000 btu. Some GMs run compressors that are over 40,000 BTU (A6) and a common V7 approaches 50,000 btu.

[tbirdtbird]

There have been many discussions about using an electric compressor in a car that was not designed for it from the ground up.I am thinking about discussions involving one of our star technicians who goes by the name Bohica.
In short, it can't be done. Go back into the archives or use the Wayback machine to locate these discussions.