How long can I leave my 2006 Dodge Van ideling without the A/C on. I will have a converter installed?
Posted: January 8th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Q & A | Tags: 2006, converter, DODGE, ideling, installed, Leave, long, without | 7 Comments »I am going camping reluctantly for 2 days and its hot. I want to run a converter with a fan plugged in to keep my tent a few degrees cooler. I think it wouldnt be a good idea to run the A/C with it just ideling but Im really not sure about this either. Thanks in advance
Tough it out, you can live for two days with out a/c or a fan. It is not a good idea to run the van that close to a tent anyways because of carbon monoxide poisoning. Good luck!
your van should idle as long as the fuel lasts…. the engine will cool itself… the A/C is for cooling passengers not the van… the inverter will drain the battery but i wouldn’t run inverter more than 25 min or so w/out running engine but be sure you are far enough from the exhaust as to not breath co2….. it is heaver than oxygen. also be aware that opening the hood will let the heat out from the engine compartment and do NOT park and idle in tall grass… catalytic converter gets hot enough to start fires in tall grass…. other than that…. enjoy
ps. try using a long power cord to run your fan to keep you away from your van noise and exhaust
drop the seats down and sleep in van HAPPY CAMPING
Get one of those hats with a solar-powered fan built into it. Not the classiest thing to wear, but at least it’ll help you feel more comfortable. Don’t know of any, but might be someone who sells a small solar-powered fan. Either of those should be a lot cheaper than using all your gas.
You could bring along a deep-cycle (aka marine) battery to run the inverter. The larger the battery the more it will cost, but the longer it will run the fan. Be sure to take jumper cables along so you can recharge the battery when needed. That would eliminate the need to run the van constantly.
With the price of gas you’ve got to be kidding me! I can’t believe you want to leave your van running! Wow.
Why don’t you just use a car battery and hotwire a fan to it (or use your converter).
What a wuss! The reason you go camping is to get away from this kind of nonsense. If you are that desperate why dont you rent a generator and bring an air conditioner with you and a fridge. Don`t forget the tv
Forget the Inverter and 120 Volt Fan… Way too inefficient.
Get a 12 Volt Car/Truck fan and a little 12 Volt “Protector”/”Battery Saver” cord to fit between the Fan and the Cigar Lighter/Power Outlet, and you’ll have a near Ideal set up.
1) The “Protector”/”Battery Saver” will cut the power to the Fan once the Voltage drops below 11 volts or so… thus the fan is there… but the Truck will Start in the AM. The Koolatron people have a couple of models in the $26.00 range that allow you to leave a 4.5 Amp cooler run, as you leave the vehicle, and would easily manage the lower 1-1.5 Amp load of the Fan. Uniden and Cobra have made these cords over the years.
2) The 12 volt set up is more conservative, and beats feeding a 120 volt source into a flammable and confined space like a Tent.
3) The automotive/12 volt fan will usually come with an accessory mount so you can use it in the vehicle to supplement your driving comfort.
Try these folks… There are several variations on the theme…
http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/ItemBrowse/c-10614/s-10101/p-100000234730/mediaCode-ZX/appId-100000234730/Pr-p_CATENTRY_ID:100000234730
• Idling your vehicle for extended periods is a really lousy Idea… Emissions… Wear and Tear… Noise… ant to mention the risk of Carbon Monoxide… a very insidious poison that could drift into your tent!!!
Cheers
Perky