12v Air Con fan for Old Tractor

[will_mck]

I have a MF 399 with no air con and it's roasting every harvest time and lately with the warm weather as well, would like to sort this before this harvest comes. I was wondering has anyone come across a useful cheap 12v AC fan which is compact and actually works to keep cool in a small cab on a warm day. This has been a topic on the farming forum a few times I see but I haven't seen any useful suggestions. Complete refit cost over £1000 which is a bit much for the couple of days warm weather in the year we get, cheap Chinese fans with a wet paper towel Infront doesn't work and a fan that blow hot air in your face doesn't cool either cos the tractor already has one of those, can't really open the window with out noise, dust, awns coming in at you. Maybe caravan or boat enthusiastics have an answer but I can't find anything useful on the internet, who ever invents a solution to this would become a wealthy individual indeed

 

[john432]

Like so many things, the air con should have been thought about in the winter. Those stand alone air con units that fit on the roof need so much eletrical power. I think you'd need to upgrade the alternator to 200 Amps?
Cheap could be done.. plenty of scrap cars about with air con systems, new drier £20.. even a big cylinder of refrigerant can be bought off Ebay for £200.

 

[Timbo]

As said the electric roof mounts are in the £ 1200 range and take well in excess of 60a to drive so factor in an alternator and wiring upgrade. They do work well enough though. A mechanical system fit up would be similar money. All parts are available still - Ive just worked on a 399 with factory air.

 

[topcat2006]

I saw one of these at the NEC in February, it was blowing cold air then.....

Transcool E3 Portable Air Cooler & Power Bank 12V/24v/240v caravan motorhome dog | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Transcool E3 Portable Air Cooler & Power Bank 12V/24v/240v caravan motorhome dog at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

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[Colliedog]

I put this in my old Clayson 1530 it wasn’t an easy job but it did work well. https://www.carbuilder.com/uk/compact-air-conditioning-kit

 

[Hesston4860s]

Like so many things, the air con should have been thought about in the winter. Those stand alone air con units that fit on the roof need so much eletrical power. I think you'd need to upgrade the alternator to 200 Amps?
Cheap could be done.. plenty of scrap cars about with air con systems, new drier £20.. even a big cylinder of refrigerant can be bought off Ebay for £200.

Only if you have an Fgas certificate, which you dont actually need if you work on mobile air con or like me service only your own equipment !.
Believe me I've tried to buy some !.

 

[will_mck]

I saw one of these at the NEC in February, it was blowing cold air then.....

Transcool E3 Portable Air Cooler & Power Bank 12V/24v/240v caravan motorhome dog | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Transcool E3 Portable Air Cooler & Power Bank 12V/24v/240v caravan motorhome dog at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

That looks good! I noticed those before, they use water or ice to cool the air. I wonder if that contraption was bouncing about in the tractor would the water slosh out and make a mess. It would be great if you could plug something straight into the cigarette lighter. Not much room in a 399 to place anything much bigger than a lunchbox

 

[will_mck]

I put this in my old Clayson 1530 it wasn’t an easy job but it did work well. https://www.carbuilder.com/uk/compact-air-conditioning-kit
View attachment 883774

We used to have a 1530, in the 10years we had it the only thing that it ever needed was one water pump, great wee combine. That's the nicest interior I've ever seen in a 1530, it looks like a custom job, ours just had a bare metal cab that we put on ourselves. Yours looks like a comfortable place to spend the day

 

[Colliedog]

I

We used to have a 1530, in the 10years we had it the only thing that it ever needed was one water pump, great wee combine. That's the nicest interior I've ever seen in a 1530, it looks like a custom job, ours just had a bare metal cab that we put on ourselves. Yours looks like a comfortable place to spend the day

It was certainly very tidy for a 40 year old machine and never let me down. Having cool air blown at you all day made the nostalgia very enjoyable!

 

[andrew480]

12v Cooling Fan | 5 Inch Fan with Suction Cup

This 12 Volt fan is ideal to use in any 12v vehicle, truck, van, motorhome, etc. 5'' 12v fan with suction cup & cigarette lighter plug fitted.

www.roadking.co.uk

 

[Timbo]

12v Cooling Fan | 5 Inch Fan with Suction Cup

This 12 Volt fan is ideal to use in any 12v vehicle, truck, van, motorhome, etc. 5'' 12v fan with suction cup & cigarette lighter plug fitted.

www.roadking.co.uk

Dear god no.

 

[Richard Devon]

i have one of those 12v a/c units, could be for sale if anyone is interested but amperage draw is quite high.....50+ if i remember right.

i was going to put in our combine but decided against it because of the power draw

 

[milton-95]

@will_mck did you ever get something sorted out,? getting a bit fed up of our tractor air con going wrong and wondering if anyone found something that works

Already have a couple 12v fans but all the do is circulate the warm air.

 

[will_mck]

Hello. No luck I'm afraid. There's no cheap handy way of doing it. I ended up just buying a 6" 12v fan for the cab, it's as good as it gets. To be fair it works well enough for me

 

[Richard Devon]

i have one of those 12v a/c units, could be for sale if anyone is interested but amperage draw is quite high.....50+ if i remember right.

i was going to put in our combine but decided against it because of the power draw

This is still for sale if anyone is interested

 

[David1968]

If you're going to have a fan, get a proper one. I have the radiator fan from a Fiesta mounted inside the roof of the combine cab. It's switched through a relay and sucks air in through the engine air filter off a scrap D21 pick-up mounted on the roof outside.

As an added bonus it can give you a cheap haircut if you stand up the wrong way...

 

[Flatlander]

Nit sure if it’s true but heard of some using propane to fill ac units. Nit sure if I’d be happy sat in a confined space if there was a leak buy at least youd be cool before the explosion. I buy the 14 oz cans of 134a from Walmart in the states. Can’t buy them here but never been stopped at the border with them.

 

[milton-95]

https://www.t7design.co.uk/siroco-6...air-conditioning-unit-60mm-12v-0300-0260.html

Came across this , not sure how good it would be though , but could possibly be fitted down the back of the seat.

 

[Timbo]

https://www.t7design.co.uk/siroco-6...air-conditioning-unit-60mm-12v-0300-0260.html

Came across this , not sure how good it would be though , but could possibly be fitted down the back of the seat.

Well, wouldn't be much use without a condensor & compressor...

 

[GmB]

https://www.t7design.co.uk/siroco-6...air-conditioning-unit-60mm-12v-0300-0260.html

Came across this , not sure how good it would be though , but could possibly be fitted down the back of the seat.

Needs to be fitted up high if you ask me, cold air doing what it does, unless the outlets are piped up to head height.
I have a unit like @Colliedog fitted, very cold cab now.