'46 Chevy Shorty - Page 15

ol trunt · 09-05-2012, 12:10 PM

Hey Tango and '49, you are both welcome to relax in my rust removal tank made from an old spa tub--you'll both look like kids again---I know it works for me! Jack

Tango · 09-05-2012, 01:08 PM

You may be onto something there Jack. A day spa for tool grinders, bus builders and other highly magnetized working folk. Gives a whole new spin to "getting my nails done".

chev49 · 09-05-2012, 01:48 PM

Tango · 09-05-2012, 05:44 PM

Just picked up my new Frigidaire 6000 BTU house A/C unit at WallyWorld. The new "EnergyStar" units really are a lot more efficient these days. Though rated for twice my living area, the amp pull is less than half what a Coleman 13.5 would be ...less than half the weight...and $169 bucks vs $899 (on sale at PPL). Seemed like a no brainer, especially given the lousy track record the Colemans have mustered over the years. I know, I know...some people love'em, but I've known too many RV'ers who've had nothing but trouble and had to live with a big hole in their roof while waiting on service or parts. These puppies can be replaced for less than what most RV shops charge just to pull a Mach unit.

Next comes cutting a slot in the rear and building a box to put it in. It will be very much along the lines of what Jack is building out as a raised section with minimal intrusion into the overhead. And the actual A/C opening will be horizontal and enclosed...not up through the top. Time to make a few more sparks fly. Yee-haw!

Onward!

roach711 · 09-05-2012, 07:54 PM

What you and Jack are doing is truly inspiring. Your AC plan has given me an idea for my rig.

opus · 09-05-2012, 08:19 PM

I'm still trying to find someone that has used one of them rolling ones with the vent tube you stick out the window. I'm not too keen on cutting holes in mine.

chev49 · 09-05-2012, 08:24 PM

my younger sister has one of the rolling ones with the tubes in her apartment....
it is not very efficient..
a $99 window unit from lowes puts out much more cool air than that one...
just saying....

Tango · 09-05-2012, 08:50 PM

Yeah, I looked at the "portables" too and they are pretty lame as far as output. Plus they take up a fair amount of floorspace and the hose really needs to be disconnected and the window shut when you are on the road. The way I'm boxing mine in, the upper, outside surface of the A/C box will also serve as the rear portion of the roof deck. And...I just checked how this unit works with my little 3K Honda generator. Since it only pulls about 5.4 amps, the generator never even got out of "Economy Mode" (low idle). Sweet. That was while it was putting out 64 degree air in my hundred degree warehouse. With a little insulation, I think it should do the job nicely. Very quiet too.

ol trunt · 09-05-2012, 11:02 PM

Tango, I think your A/C idea will work out just fine. I thought about doing the same kind of thing but then stumbled over a good deal on a free standing heat pump. It is the same size as most of the free standing room A/C units but also heats. The label says it draws 11 amps and puts out 13,000btu heat and cool. Like your unit, it does not take my Yamaha 3K genny off of low speed. I'll vent the unit through the floor near the rear of the bus and also provide a vent up by the drivers seat. That will allow me some flexability as to where I need the most heat or cool. The two big draw backs are that it takes floor space and since it rolls it will have to be strapped down when I move the bus--I plan to do this with the ratchet and strap system used to hold a car on a tow dolly.

It'l be fun to compare notes on all this as we go along. Jack

opus · 09-05-2012, 11:06 PM

Ok dude, pictures when the time comes. I would have to put one in the front and rear of mine.

Tango · 09-06-2012, 01:20 AM

My bus is so small I didn't see the need to route the air...just let it flow. Hey, it's only about 10 feet from the drivers seat.

And yes...pix are in order.

Tango · 09-13-2012, 11:37 PM

After bench testing the 6KBTU unit I sent it back. Just not blowing cold enough. Ramped up to the 8000 BTU model. Only slightly larger but I will be testing it's output and generator friendly status this weekend. Don't plan on installing anything until I see how well it works. We'll see how this one does and give a report.

ol trunt · 09-14-2012, 10:22 PM

Tango. 6K should have done it--must have been a faulty unit. I'd be happy with a 40K unit if I could fit it in that way I could make ice cubes anywhere in the bus I wanted and if I got too cold I could simply shut the thing off

Tango · 09-15-2012, 10:50 AM

Yeah Jack--- I figure it was most likely just not running up to snuff, but since the other, larger unit was only about an inch larger on two measures, why not "go for the cold". And the slightly larger box I'm building for it will also give me more future options. I had originally been looking at some nifty "low profile" units that are really are much shorter in height and would leave more headroom, but after calling around, I discovered that almost no one kept them on the shelf...all "special order" items so far. The strategy here is to go with a fit that will accommodate a wide selection of plug & play options down the road. Think "KISS" (the principal...not Family Guy's favorite rock group.)

Will probably start chopping up the roof sometime this weekend. I'm anticipating a little angst going in but imagine you must have had similar feelings when you took to makin' that great big 'ol hole in yours. Aw, what the hell...

Onward!

ol trunt · 09-15-2012, 11:05 AM

Tango, Cutting the hole wasn't a problem--it was when I realized that I'd have to figure out a way to fill it back in that the stomach flips started!

No dilly dalling now, we want to see that new A/C all tucked away by the end of the weekend, Ha!
Jack

chev49 · 09-15-2012, 12:44 PM

its just sheet metal n a few braces...

Tango · 09-15-2012, 02:03 PM

Hey Jack --- how is the quality of the sheetmetal on your bus body. I'd swear my Wayne has steel that's 50% lead. Not at all like the sheetmetal used on the Chevy truck part of the body...or my old Blue Bird...or anything else I've worked on. Seems very low tensile. Maybe it's just her age, I mean my skin ain't what it used to be either, but ...

ol trunt · 09-15-2012, 10:55 PM

Tango, That is a hard question to answer. I get what you mean about half lead. the sheet metal on my Superior bus body does have that hollow ring to it as if it were lead and I'm pretty sure it hasn"t any carbon molecules mixed with it to allow for tempering etc. The metal is plenty thick (how is that for a quantatative description) and it is no problem working with it (where it is not rusted). It cuts, grinds and welds just fine--it just is awfully thick. I think the old school engineers made up for what they lacked in metalurgy with mass.

A characteristic of sheet metal that doesn't seem to have changed over the years is that nasty little razor blade that comes with using a carbide cutting tool on it. Like you, I trimmed off the skin on the side of my bus for replacement later on. Today I discovered a great use for the little razor blade left behind on the cut. I really don't need to go to the barber for hair cuts anymore--all I need to do is stick my head under the trimmed edge of my bus and look Ma, no hair--and no skin either (I'll have to adjust my aim a little)

Oh well, not the first blood let on this two year??? project!

Tango · 09-16-2012, 12:17 PM

Jack --- your metallurgical analysis is dead on. Plenty thick with little tensile strength...flexes very easily. I could walk all over the roof on my Blue Bird with no problem...this sucker will cave in everywhere you put any weight at all. And I don't know about yours, but dialing in my mig below the burnout point has been a b!tch. Even worse if you are try to weld newer or heavier steel to it. Has me a little nervous about all the new skin I have to mate to old. Have a feeling that "oil canning" is going to be difficult to control. I've been told that the best insurance to limit it is to heat the panels to about 125 degrees with a torch or heat gun, then tack'em in place thoroughly before they cool so they pull taut as they shrink back. Any thoughts or ideas you've heard in that area?

chev49 · 09-16-2012, 02:37 PM

one can kinda tell the steel composition with the hardened and spark tests which are easily done.
for other steel, etc use the machanist handbook.. esp the 1940 one like i have for the old stuff...
most early sheet steel used was low carbon.
i think the first stardards for steel were a little after the turn of the 20th century, but i havent looked in my book to see what the 1930's numbers for sheet metal are.

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