No Air Conditioner to Fight This Wicked Maine Summer? Make One!

My air conditioner broke this year and well, I never replaced it. Until I made one.

This summer has been brutal. Last July was one of the wettest ones on record, according to WGME13's Chief Meteorologist Charlie Lopresti. I don't remember the last time it rained significantly this summer. But it's not just the lack of rain, it's the heat. That heat that Maine and Mainers just aren't used to. Sunday, August 7 was in the 90s for most of Maine. Getting in my car, this is what I found.

Damn. That's some heat and with the added bonus of humidity, well...let's just say I needed more than a fan. So, I gave my homemade air conditioner a whirl. And ya know what? It helped!

Yes, it's from TikTok.

Now before you attempt this, fair warning. Good luck finding a friggin' styrofoam cooler. I spent way too much time doing that. I finally found one that I had from an ice cream delivery. Your cooler has to be good-sized.

Once I had the right cooler, it was pretty easy. Although, I didn't find it all that cheap. The fan was $50 at Lowe's, the PVC elbow was $9 bucks and ice isn't cheap for being frozen water. The big bags were $3 each and I needed 3-4. Then there was the Exacto knife for another $9...if you are doing math in your head I'm almost at $80. Again, not the cheapest.

I added some salt to 'make the air cooler' and cranked it. I put it right in front of me. Is it as cold as a real air conditioner? Hell no. Did it cool me down? Hell yes! Did it cool the room down? No. But to be honest, I wasn't looking for that...I just wanted to stop sweating for an hour and that did the trick. Better than a fan! If you want a fun project, I say go for it. If you want to invest your $80 in getting an actual air conditioner, well, that's not a bad idea either!