Down south, it's gotten so hot that it's impossible to wear proper gear. One thing I'm considering right now is to try to jury rig up a vortex cooling system for my bike. The idea is, I stuff a portable bike pump to my electrical system, then attach the pump output to a vortex cooling vest. In theory, it should work, provided my motorcycle can output enough power for the vortex generator to work. But I haven't heard of anyone trying to do this before, so, any input?
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Vortex Cooling Vest?
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beemerphile
New member
^This^
I have used vortex coolers industrially in many applications and it would take quite the bike mounted compressor to make significant cooling. Someone had a luggage rack mounted item a few years ago that was kind of bulky. Google motorcycle air conditioning to see what the latest directions are. I just take summer off from riding (mostly) and ride the other three seasons. Heat is easier to produce than cool air.
I have used vortex coolers industrially in many applications and it would take quite the bike mounted compressor to make significant cooling. Someone had a luggage rack mounted item a few years ago that was kind of bulky. Google motorcycle air conditioning to see what the latest directions are. I just take summer off from riding (mostly) and ride the other three seasons. Heat is easier to produce than cool air.
AKsuited
New member
One of these?
<iframe width="650" height="488" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uf9vjugI0tw" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
http://www.veskimo.com/
Still a challenge how to carry this system and camping gear, etc.
<iframe width="650" height="488" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uf9vjugI0tw" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
http://www.veskimo.com/
Still a challenge how to carry this system and camping gear, etc.
Yeah, you're right.
http://www.allegrosafety.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/8450-Low-Profile-Vortex-Air-Vest.pdf
Needs around 10 CFM to work, unfortunately...
https://www.aircompressorsdirect.com/Oasis-Manufacturing-XD3000-12-Air-Compressor/p3942.html
This is enough to overload any motorcycle electrical system, if you could ever find a place to mount it.
I was told vortex vests were 10x less efficient than other forms of cooling, I didn't realize it'd be so inefficient as to be unusable.
http://www.allegrosafety.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/8450-Low-Profile-Vortex-Air-Vest.pdf
Needs around 10 CFM to work, unfortunately...
https://www.aircompressorsdirect.com/Oasis-Manufacturing-XD3000-12-Air-Compressor/p3942.html
This is enough to overload any motorcycle electrical system, if you could ever find a place to mount it.
I was told vortex vests were 10x less efficient than other forms of cooling, I didn't realize it'd be so inefficient as to be unusable.
beemerphile
New member
This is true. I've used them in electrical enclosure cooling in a couple of areas where it made sense. It could provide purging and cooling at the same time. It is never an economical way to cool something though. Compressed air is an expensive utility.
Not sure what's going on here. Is it a case of workers stealing from managers who don't realize how expensive the compressed air is? I can't believe Chinese labor can be so expensive as to justify personal AC, however.
http://english.sina.com/china/2013/0814/618855.html
beemerphile
New member
It has advantages in some applications that sometimes outweigh the economics. Keeping a worker working is easy to justify. If you have a handy air source to hook to, disregarding the "fuel cost" it is inexpensive and easy to implement. No bulky gear to carry around. However, the cost per btu removed is still much more expensive than conventional air conditioning equipment. Otherwise, we'd all have air compressors running vortex tubes to cool our houses. Here is some math:
6,800 btu / hr in a vortex cooler takes about 100 cfm
a ton of A/C is 12,000 btu / hr.
a ton of A/C would take 176 cfm of compressed air
a typical 3 ton home A/C would then take 529 cfm
at 4 cfm / hp @ 100 psi, that would require a 132 hp compressor.
vs. (using Kyle's converter) 3 tons of A/C takes 14.09 hp. This is very close to the 10:1 that was previously quoted.
The way I imagine it makes sense is through local cooling. If you have a large area where less than 10% of the space is occupied by workers, or you have a heat-source (such as the welders) that makes traditional air-con expensive, you can achieve cost savings through a compressed air pump because even if you expend 10x the energy, you are putting the cooling where it matters.
Still, I'm wondering what the thermodynamic limits are for vortex cooling. The high portability is promising, it's just annoying that it's impossible to get sufficient compressor power to fuel it from a motorcycle.
On the other hand, look at this:
http://entrosys.com
They claim to use electromagnets to achieve cooling.
Still, I'm wondering what the thermodynamic limits are for vortex cooling. The high portability is promising, it's just annoying that it's impossible to get sufficient compressor power to fuel it from a motorcycle.
On the other hand, look at this:
http://entrosys.com
They claim to use electromagnets to achieve cooling.
Realshelby
Addicted to windshields
The "off the shelf" Veskimo system won't really work well on a motorcycle. Ice won't last long enough. They are big on solid chunks of ice to extend time, but where do you buy that on the road?
I am currently working on a better container to hold the ice. This one works quite well, but I want something a bit easier to deal with when packing other gear along with it. It REALLY makes all the difference. I use it from 85 degrees and up.
Hybrid Veskimo Cooling System
I am currently working on a better container to hold the ice. This one works quite well, but I want something a bit easier to deal with when packing other gear along with it. It REALLY makes all the difference. I use it from 85 degrees and up.
Hybrid Veskimo Cooling System
Assuming 100% efficiency, to output the negative BTU needed to cool a 200 lb human (including gear) by 25 degrees Fahrenheit you'd need 5000 btu or an 18 hp compressor. The 5 hp compressors I've seen are compact, but big enough that it wouldn't make sense on anything below a K1300GT.
