Summertime cooling

[Silver-Fox]

Wet T shirts for me in the days.
Wet T rowel laid on my bare chest at night .

I had a vision then realised the wet t shirt was for you and now I feel deflated

 

[rob1234]

In France at the moment...I just couldn't be here without the aircon...got it on lowest setting at Night sleep like a baby...

 

[The Old Man]

Find an air con in a bar?

Of coffee shop;

 

[Stealaway]

I had a vision then realised the wet t shirt was for you and now I feel deflated

Don't fight it big boy.
It might be better than you could imagine

 

[ChrisL]

30c inside the motorhome at 09:30 this morning in sunny Walton upon Thames, door open and a/c on full blast has cooled it to 28c so far, the cool air from the a/c is aimed at where i'm sitting so i'm fairly comfortable.

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[POH]

Wet T shirts for me in the days.
Wet T rowel laid on my bare chest at night .

the mind boggles

 

[Lenny HB]

Lovely and cool in here Jackd fantastic fan on pulling all the hot air out and drawing the cooler air in through the skylights
That’s what you get with quality Carthago!!
Save up a bit more then you can have one
Only thing better would be aircon

We have a Fantastic vent works well but I believe the Maxxfan is better.
I wouldn't want aircon too much temperature difference between inside & outside so you don't acclimatise.
In hot weather you soon acclimatise after a week or two.

 

[Elsie2010]

Of coffee shop;

View attachment 767164

Coffee shops may also be included

 

[rob1234]

We had 230V aircon on our last van. It was useless when the van was in full sun. First solution: buy a white van rather than a coloured one. Have you ever listened to coloured vans creaking as they heat up? Then close the window blinds on the sunny side as others have said. Our current van has two 12V roof fans. One is over the kitchen and the other over the rear bed. They don't make much noise on the lowest setting and are reversible so can blow air in or out depending on the conditions. They are normally used as extractors with a front side window slightly open to encourage a through draught. We have found them more effective than the air con. We also have an internal thermal blind covering the windscreen which makes a big difference keeping hot and cold air out.

Hi what unit did you have? we have the truma the large one works a treat even at 33deg

 

[dawsey]

Park facing North West (into the setting sun in summer)
Park with a large tree to your left to protect from max power sun after mid day.
external sun screen for front window
blinds and awning to prevent direct sun on van.
Both opposing windows open full to allow the prevailing summer south westerly breeze through the van
Use a high flow extractor fan if no breeze to draw air right through the van.
As the sun goes down, use the fan to continually draw the lowering temperature outside air through the van
After sunset, close windows and use A/C for a couple of hours to bring the van temp right down to outside air temp for sleep.

A modern A/C unit will run on 200a/h of lithiums for about 3 hours.

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[DexterP]

Wet T shirts for me in the days.
Wet T rowel laid on my bare chest at night .

I agree with all the above solutions plus we have a Transcool which we bought at one of the shows…plugs into 12v supply (or 220v adaptor supplied) …. Fill with water and the fan blows over a damp grill arrangement…cool air … doesn’t reduce the temperature in the van but the cool air is refreshing

 

[Richard n Ann]

In Benidorm I used to put the fan in the window and mist myself with a trigger spray. Very effective

 

[ChrisL]

Park facing North West (into the setting sun in summer)

France is still in the Northern Hemisphere the last time I checked, so shouldn't that be South West into the setting sun?

 

[dawsey]

France is still in the Northern Hemisphere the last time I checked, so shouldn't that be South West into the setting sun?

No.

For quite a long time now, in the Northern Hemisphere in summer (May, June, July), the Sun rises in the northeast, peaks out slightly south of overhead point (lower in the south at higher latitude), and then sets in the North West.

 

[ChrisL]

No.

For quite a long time now, in the Northern Hemisphere in summer (May, June, July), the Sun rises in the northeast, peaks out slightly south of overhead point (lower in the south at higher latitude), and then sets in the North West.

Well, I stand corrected, you learn something new everyday, I assumed (always dangerous) that as France is north of the tropic of Cancer that the sun would rise and set to the south east and south west but it seems I assumed incorrectly. I'm going to get my compass out and check this evening though

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[dawsey]

Well, I stand corrected, you learn something new everyday, I assumed (always dangerous) that as France is north of the tropic of Cancer that the sun would rise and set to the south east and south west but it seems I assumed incorrectly. I'm going to get my compass out and check this evening though

Well, you would be correct to assume that in winter

There even used to be a place where you could watch the sun rising in the east…

 

[Three Stars]

I can see that with the relatively uninsulated metal bodywork of a car or, putting it another way, an excellent conductor of heat, the colour is less significant. However, the white walls of our van are a sandwich containing a 45mm thick layer of polyurethane insulation. No creaks! I used to have a white boat with a black stripe down the side of the hull. On a sunny day the white hull hardly got warm while the black stripe got too hot to put your hand on.

 

[dawsey]

I can see that with the relatively uninsulated metal bodywork of a car or, putting it another way, an excellent conductor of heat, the colour is less significant. However, the white walls of our van are a sandwich containing a 45mm thick layer of polyurethane insulation. No creaks! I used to have a white boat with a black stripe down the side of the hull. On a sunny day the white hull hardly got warm while the black stripe got too hot to put your hand on.

Ahhhh thermodynamics, my favourite subject (seriously, I have an engineering degree)

It’s why our vans are always painted in reflective paints and/or light colours to reflect as much as possible (rather than absorb) the energy from the sun.

However, nothing is 100% efficient (it’s the 2nd law of thermodynamics ) and our vans will eventually heat up in direct sun. That’s why staying in the shade is recommended, ideally under a tree, and why things like awnings and those reflective silver windscreen covers work so well. The goal is to minimise the ‘solar gain’ - the amount of heat energy absorbed by the van. This in turn leads to less ‘work’ (by a/c, fans or just the breeze) to remove/reject said heat (ie cool down the van) when the sun is gone and the external temperature drops at night.

Other than the giant screens (nice views out but horrendous solar gain, think greenhouse..) a coach built camper with the typical aforementioned sandwich construction is designed to prevent heat transfer from the inside to the outside, and all that material means a high thermal inertia. It’s why they are so slow to cool down once they do get hot

 

[CleverTrevorUK]

My Earlier caravan Gas heater had a fan mounted to the back of it. This drew heat through the heater and then directed it along ducting around the caravan. The feed from the underside of the caravan was directed via a flap type valve. During the winter i could shut off the feed from the underside and in the summer could open the feed from the underside. With skirting around the caravan the temperature underneath was a good 10 to 15 degrees cooler than inside. The cool air fed from under the caravan would keep the inside at a very bearable temp during the day! I have now decided to include this to my camper, although I won't be able to include a skirt due to exhausts pointing out one side.

 

[Richard J]

For a very compact simple aid to getting through the night try a usb computer fan in a wire cage laid on the mosquito mesh above the bed. Air in or out depending on which way up you put it. £15 on Amazon, quiet too.

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[ChrisL]

For a very compact simple aid to getting through the night try a usb computer fan in a wire cage laid on the mosquito mesh above the bed. Air in or out depending on which way up you put it. £15 on Amazon, quiet too.

I have one of these which works well.

EasyAcc USB Desk Fan 5 Inch Desktop Silent Fan Air Circulator 2 Speeds 360° Rotation Brushless Motor Noiseless for Home and Office Laptop Notebook PC Desk Table Fan - Metal Brone https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07PDJPL8N/?tag=mhf04-21

 

[cyberyacht]

I suppose I should be grateful that it's only 25C outside and 27C inside, despite having made a lightweight reflective thermal screen for the windscreen and I have the internal blind down as well. All windows open and a USB fan working its socks off. The idea of OH in a wet T shirt would only get me even more hot and bothered.

 

[lorger]

Loads of good suggestions, in the past we’ve put T-towels in freezer the sat they on the fan guard (fan on tray) blows lovely and cold and if you have 3 or 4 you can keep swapping them.

 

[Rob2L]

Large rectangular sheet of cardboard mounted on the ceiling - tassels on the lower edge with light string attached to the middle. If the other half waggles her toes a lot in the night - attach light string to her big toe. Make sure she sleeps on her back by telling her it stops wrinkles… Don’t be specific in what.

 

[houdini]

A hot water bottle with ice cold water can help at night.

That’s a good idea, never thought of that, thanks.

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[Rob2L]

Park facing North West (into the setting sun in summer)
Park with a large tree to your left to protect from max power sun after mid day.
external sun screen for front window
blinds and awning to prevent direct sun on van.
Both opposing windows open full to allow the prevailing summer south westerly breeze through the van
Use a high flow extractor fan if no breeze to draw air right through the van.
As the sun goes down, use the fan to continually draw the lowering temperature outside air through the van
After sunset, close windows and use A/C for a couple of hours to bring the van temp right down to outside air temp for sleep.

A modern A/C unit will run on 200a/h of lithiums for about 3 hours.

Tried smearing factor 50 on the front windscreen but it didn’t work…

 

[ChrisL]

Large rectangular sheet of cardboard mounted on the ceiling - tassels on the lower edge with light string attached to the middle. If the other half waggles her toes a lot in the night - attach light string to her big toe. Make sure she sleeps on her back by telling her it stops wrinkles… Don’t be specific in what.

That's reminded me of the Punkah Walla in it ain't half hot Mum, i just have to find someone to sit outside and pull the string now

 

[dawsey]

Tried smearing factor 50 on the front windscreen but it didn’t work…

Ha - let’s assume someone actually tried that, it is correct to say that it wouldn’t work

It’s cos it would only filter out UV not IR. At least your van won’t get skin cancer..

 

[Blaydon]

Hi there. I worked in schools where the room regularly got to 40+ unless you took the right steps.
open windows on the non sunny side, and close the blinds on the sunny side just like everyone said. If you have a fan, point it out of an open window early, so you create a good flow of air before furniture gets too hot. Don’t have fans swinging back and forth. All you do is provide air flows for the flys to ride on. You are looking to create a change of air in the space.
we have a roof light fan which is really great if used to draw air out through the roof. It also can be set to cut in if the temp goes up, really good if you are out for the day.

 

[cliffanger]

One each - brilliant!

Portable Neck Fan, Rechargeable Hanging Neck Fan, Bladeless Amazon product ASIN B0B1V52911
We use them when driving along too, so we don’t need to put the air con on

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