My awesome 710K air conditioning installation.
Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2020 3:30 pm
I am proud of my two years of playing with the design and installation of an AC in my 710K.
I managed to get a standard "of the shelf" cheap AC kit and install it without drilling a single hole in the trucks body, except for the gearbox access cover in the back floor.
The major challenges...
The pulley. Found a double engine crankshaft pulley in a junkyard and $300 later, a local shop made an adaptor, copying the Pinz original. I did not use the original at all.
The compressor: a lot of literarture on Sanders compressors will tell you that they are either for CW or CCW operation. The one in the kit is a chinese copy of a... SD508? (Not sure now, it has been a while since I did the research).
Since the only space I found easy to install would require a CCW operation, I hope whatever the chinese copied works in the long run. So far, it workd great. I was told that the gears inside are optimized for CW but should last a long time CCW. The compressor pistons and valves will not know the difference with either rotation.
Electrics:
I estimate the load of the compressor clutch, two condensor fans and evaporator fans at about 20A. I am using power from the radio box under the table, rated at 30A.
To make sure I lower the amperage from peak when starting the AC, I connected one of the second fans directly to power and installed a manual switch. This way I can also turn it off at highway speed to save electric juice. One fan and ram air through condenser should be enough.
Directing air to the front cabin:
The evaporator sits under the radio table.
I did have to drill the table to route air hoses to point forward to the driver and passenger. I hated to do that, but a new table is just wood and a layer of formic.
I started the AC a few days ago, and have little experience with pressures on the system, so I am still trying to figure out if the temperatures I am getting are optimum for the size of the components. So far, it cools very well and I predict driving in the summer time will be absolutely a pleasure vs the torture it used to be.
I am also planning on painting the roof light sand color, applying a light tint film to all windows (very light if not trsnsparent) to cut on radiation heat, and working on sound and heat insulation.
Power draw on the engine: so far, no difference in city driving. We'll see what highway driving gives.
I don't care much if I lose any noticeable power. In comfort I can drive much longer at lower speed. Try driving 30 minutes with all windows open at highway speed and kids complaining about heat and noise!
Photos to be attached in following post.
Jerome
I managed to get a standard "of the shelf" cheap AC kit and install it without drilling a single hole in the trucks body, except for the gearbox access cover in the back floor.
The major challenges...
The pulley. Found a double engine crankshaft pulley in a junkyard and $300 later, a local shop made an adaptor, copying the Pinz original. I did not use the original at all.
The compressor: a lot of literarture on Sanders compressors will tell you that they are either for CW or CCW operation. The one in the kit is a chinese copy of a... SD508? (Not sure now, it has been a while since I did the research).
Since the only space I found easy to install would require a CCW operation, I hope whatever the chinese copied works in the long run. So far, it workd great. I was told that the gears inside are optimized for CW but should last a long time CCW. The compressor pistons and valves will not know the difference with either rotation.
Electrics:
I estimate the load of the compressor clutch, two condensor fans and evaporator fans at about 20A. I am using power from the radio box under the table, rated at 30A.
To make sure I lower the amperage from peak when starting the AC, I connected one of the second fans directly to power and installed a manual switch. This way I can also turn it off at highway speed to save electric juice. One fan and ram air through condenser should be enough.
Directing air to the front cabin:
The evaporator sits under the radio table.
I did have to drill the table to route air hoses to point forward to the driver and passenger. I hated to do that, but a new table is just wood and a layer of formic.
I started the AC a few days ago, and have little experience with pressures on the system, so I am still trying to figure out if the temperatures I am getting are optimum for the size of the components. So far, it cools very well and I predict driving in the summer time will be absolutely a pleasure vs the torture it used to be.
I am also planning on painting the roof light sand color, applying a light tint film to all windows (very light if not trsnsparent) to cut on radiation heat, and working on sound and heat insulation.
Power draw on the engine: so far, no difference in city driving. We'll see what highway driving gives.
I don't care much if I lose any noticeable power. In comfort I can drive much longer at lower speed. Try driving 30 minutes with all windows open at highway speed and kids complaining about heat and noise!
Photos to be attached in following post.
Jerome
