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Hybrid Veskimo Cooling System


realshelby

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Veskimo cooling systems have been out for years. You might wonder why a chilled water cooling system for motorcycle riders isn't common knowledge or at least a more common topic.

The kit they offer is simply not going to work on a typical touring bike! Those that spent the money on their cooling vest, then either of the two reservoirs, probably don't use them after a few tries. Current price for a vest and their larger reservoir is $460. Claims of up to 8 hours cooling are misleading. They recommend frozen blocks of ice to extend cooling duration. That is very true, frozen blocks last a lot longer. But you cannot find handy frozen blocks of ice to fit their cooler on a trip.

I have been using this system for two summers now. Not willing to spend well over $200 for what looked like a small lunch cooler, I built my own. About twice the size of their larger cooler. I bought a few 12v dc water fountain pumps off ebay. I bought a bait well timer off ebay. Veskimo will sell you the fittings that go through the thin plastic walls of these type coolers, as well as the hose. I bought their extension hose and cut it to fit. If you wanted to try this, not using the expensive timers can be avoided with a simple on/off switch. That will actually work quite well. As the project evolved, even with the much larger cooler, I was not getting the duration of cooling I wanted. My final version is shown here. Ozark Trails 30qt cooler from Wally World. $19. Actually not as tall, but is wider than the other one I tried. This makes it easy to put gear under, or on top of it for trips.

I can go a full tank of fuel now and still have adequate cooling. It will hold a 20 lb bag of ice. Depending on temps and how long you have ridden, sometimes 10 lb bags are plenty to add. This is the game changer and what makes this hybrid setup worth using. Just about anywhere you stop for fuel has bags of ice!

How well does it actually work? If you have ever put on an evaporative vest you know that "ice cold" feeling when you first put it on. This hybrid system is very similar, but it stays that way for hours. You know that feeling of riding in heat, you get a bit lethargic, maybe not as alert as you should be. Certainly not comfortable. The heat can drain your energy and enthusiasm! This system works so well I use it when temps are in the mid 80's as it just makes you feel like it is cool out. Is it like A/C in a car? No, but you don't ever get that " I have to get out of this gear before I pass out" feeling. On a recent trip I ran for hours with the temps between 102-105 degrees. I was quite comfortable, never feeling like I wanted a break from the heat. The best testament I can give to how it works is this: coming up 285 in New Mexico the temp gauge was ready 102-103. Fresh blacktop. Traffic stopped.....I was stopped there on fresh asphalt for nearly 1/2 hour. I turned the bike engine off and left the cooling system running. Full gear/helmet. I realized that I was just fine and not getting too hot! Under ANY other condition I would have had to pull off and take off gear to prevent heat exhaustion. If you wear full gear, you know the feeling.

 

Here is the current cooler/pump setup.

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I use my Gerbings gear power outlet for power:

 

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I put three wire ties through the cooler outer blanket on both sides and use a RokStrap to hold it in place.

 

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I cut a slit in the outer cover to run the hose and power.

 

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Using the handy wire ties I mounted the bait well timer where I can easily reach back and adjust timing.

 

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This is where the fittings are in the top/rear of the cooler.

 

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I mounted the pump to a piece of plastic so there would be no holes below those for the hose inlets. I fabricated a sump cover to keep ice chunks from getting to the pump inlet.

 

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This cooler has a small velcro secured closure in the top. You just don't know how good a bottle of water, ice cold, tastes/feels at a rest stop! You can see the plastic cup I leave in there to dip water out before I refill with ice.

 

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Front view of the mesh Veskimo vest. You can see the tubes running through it.

 

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Rear view of vest:

 

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This is a pic of the vest hose hooked to the cooling system hose. The quick disconnects are very easy to use. You do have to remember you have the hose connected when dismounting. I usually just disconnect it first.

 

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One important thing is that the cooling vest needs to be insulated a bit from direct airflow. Not important with an Aerostich, but with my mesh gear I simply put my old evaporative vest over it. Seems to extend ice life as you are not working the system as hard.

 

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To close I will add what I learned about gear. You can run an Aerostich suit in 100+ temps in comfort. As long as you are moving! Your legs and arms can get very uncomfortable in slow/stopped conditions. Wide open mesh, the kind that most mesh jackets use, is probably going to flow a bit more air than is good. You are trying to create a micro-climate. The best compromise I have found it my Motoport mesh kevlar jacket and pants. They don't flow as much air as most mesh gear. My evaporative vest keeps air off the vest. My arms and especially my legs stay comfortable. Remember, if you keep your core cool, the rest is going to stay cooler too. I have this system working well now. I won't be taking trips without it, where temps are going to hit 90 degrees for instance. Is it the answer for commuting? Could be, but it is a bit of a pita to get it iced up for small commutes/trips. Where it shines is all day trips where fatigue is your enemy!

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that looks great. I was wondering why something like this didn't exist, but I can now see that it does, when I was riding across Texas earlier this year. I would add a bag of ice to the pockets of my stitch at each gas stop and they would last for a while but this looks like the thing for next year when I ride to Utah. Thanks

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Been using the Veskimo for the last 5+ years...I sucked it up and bought the large ice reservoir from them and you are right, the ice does not last more than about an hour when traveling throughout the desert.. And when the ice melts, you get hot quick. I use it with a Kilamanjaro jacket which I use during winter. It does create that microclimate you speak of. As long as you are pumping cold water through the vest. I like mine....I might check out making another reservoir to see if I can extend the time that it stays cold. To me, the time frame is the only hiccup in an otherwise great design.

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Heck, you already have all the parts you need. Get the $19 cooler from Walmart and transfer your pump, wiring, fittings right into it. Might need new tubing as the pump will be further from the ports, but that is available about anywhere. It is actually very little work to set this up with what you already have!

It really does make ALL the difference when you can run it pretty much full blast for a whole tank of fuel.

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What's the function of the timer? Does it work like a sort of open-loop thermostat, cycling the pump on and off to try to maintain a set temperature?

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What's the function of the timer? Does it work like a sort of open-loop thermostat, cycling the pump on and off to try to maintain a set temperature?

 

Yes, the one I have is used for running the air pumps in bait wells. Since those are battery operated, cycling them extends battery life. I use it to cycle the pump to modulate comfort. The knob adjusts how long it runs, from 3 seconds to like 7-8 minutes. It is off for 5 seconds and that is not adjustable. This is something that could be improved. I would like to vary how long it is off as well. I probably have it on for 25-30 seconds at a time when it is hot out. In the 80's or low 90's maybe less. As the ice/water temp raises you can run it longer. I think it would work better with longer "off" cycles. Maybe I will look into that this winter. The pump is only 5 or 8 wattss, so something quite light duty ( and maybe smaller?) would work.

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The next step, if I may suggest, is to eliminate the ice altogether! Many years ago, when this subject came up in the other forum, I had thought of using a peltier device for cooling the water! FYI, a peltier device is a solid-state device that will have a hot and cold sides, when electrical energy is applied. It is what is used in portable coolers that one can buy to use in a car. The cold side will lower the temperature down by (if memory serves!) 60 deg. of the ambient temperature.

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I know about those, and it seems they would be a good way to cool the circulating liquid. I think the amount of power and the size/number of modules might be the problem. There is a LOT of energy being transferred by the ice cooling system. In a cooler you have a sealed/insulated environment, not so much with my setup!

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What about using "dry ice" in the cooler in place of the water ice. You would still need some water in the cooler to act as a heat transfer. Frozen carbon dioxide (-109.3 F) would hold significantly more "cold" (less heat) than water ice per pound, plus when it melts, it evaporates, or turns into CO2 and is gone. Less weight to carry, and smaller cooler. Insulate those hoses, too. It's cheap.

 

Wally world usually sells dry ice, plus lots of other retail places, grocery stores, etc.

 

I find a mesh jacket with a long sleeve cotton knit shirt underneath and a quart spray bottle of tap water will last for hours of riding, and accesable while riding.

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I know about those, and it seems they would be a good way to cool the circulating liquid. I think the amount of power and the size/number of modules might be the problem. There is a LOT of energy being transferred by the ice cooling system. In a cooler you have a sealed/insulated environment, not so much with my setup!

I think that it is very do-able! I had looked at various ones available, back then, and made some heat calculations as well. The power draw won't be too bad. No more than what your heat gears draws! It was a long time ago when I made those calculations, and quite frankly I don't have any needs for it, and so no incentive to look now.

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What about using "dry ice" in the cooler in place of the water ice. You would still need some water in the cooler to act as a heat transfer. Frozen carbon dioxide (-109.3 F) would hold significantly more "cold" (less heat) than water ice per pound, plus when it melts, it evaporates, or turns into CO2 and is gone. Less weight to carry, and smaller cooler. Insulate those hoses, too. It's cheap.

 

Wally world usually sells dry ice, plus lots of other retail places, grocery stores, etc.

 

I find a mesh jacket with a long sleeve cotton knit shirt underneath and a quart spray bottle of tap water will last for hours of riding, and accesable while riding.

Problems with dry ice is that it's too cold, and don't last very long! You want something that will last a long time, and provide adequate cooling!

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I think that it is very do-able! I had looked at various ones available, back then, and made some heat calculations as well. The power draw won't be too bad. No more than what your heat gears draws! It was a long time ago when I made those calculations, and quite frankly I don't have any needs for it, and so no incentive to look now.

 

I am not qualified for these type calculations, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express....A 20 lb bag of ice at 0 degrees F takes about 2890 BTU's to melt and be at 32 degrees F. Since the cold water still provides cooling there is additional BTU's involved but not calculated. At the BTU's to melt the ice it would be about 850 watts of power. Let's use 4 hours time as that seems to leave very little ice left. That, if I am doing this right, is about 212 watts per hour for 4 hours. Which is a LOT of energy, probably most if not all of the reserve power of the RT charging system. Assuming there is a decent loss of energy when using the Peltier devices, I think the load is too high for the RT charging system. The cost of enough peltier units to provide the cooling would be quite high. I also suspect the room they would require is larger than my current cooler.

 

Where is Joe Frickin Friday?

 

What would work is an A/C compressor, condenser mounted on the bike. Then a rear mounted evaporator to run the cooling fluid through. That could be made quite compact. I have visions of a cooling suit with tubes that also cover the thigh area of the legs and part of the arms. This could be made to work. But, I have other projects waiting on me....

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Nice job!

You should look at CPU liquid cooling apparatus. Pumps and heat exchangers are usually top quality. Also, to add a second pump and heat exchanger could create a second loop avoiding putting freezing water into the vest. I think this will help your ice last longer.

 

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Edited by EddyQ
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In further discussions with the company I referenced further up this thread, they expressed that their cooling modules might not be up to the task from a durability standpoint in the MC environment so I didn't pursue this. It also looked like building a system could quickly get out of control $wise.

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