Phase Change Material Vests Keep you COOL
Have you heard of the new "Advanced Phase Change Technologies"
such as the KV-2000PC Personal Cooling Vest manufactured by
Air Systems
International?
The advantage to using this system to stay cool on long rides v.s. the old
"freezer packs" (too cold on your skin and last 30 minutes) or a "cool
collar" (humidity takes away the effect and it gets hot and 'gummy' feeling)
is that these stay at a constant temp of about 56 to 60 degrees for up to 4
hours. This is not cold enough to cause freezer burns on your skin (at
least through a T-shirt) but cool enough to chill you down nicely. They also
do not "sweat" from condensation due to the temperature they maintain; and
only thirty minutes in ice water 'refreezes' the liquid! This means that
so
as long as you stop for lunch at least once during a long ride you could
ride in "Air conditioned style" all day! I bought two and keep one in the ice
chest so I can swap it out every hour and a half or so as needed to keep it
really cool!
SO HOW DO THEY WORK? Check out this basic description from
http://www.glaciertek.com/phasechangetechnology.htm or for a more
detailed
and technical look into the workings of this chemical wonder derived from
salt, wax and other non-toxic chemicals or you can go to a 'related'
technology page such as
http://www.teaptvm.motor.ca.com.au/th29.html to see
how the same technology is being used to transform the way we heat and cool
our homes!
To check out the 'best' (in my opinion) version of this new technology go to
http://www.airsystemsint.com/ then
click the "Product Index" and then
"Personal Cooling" links. The top choice is a "Personal Cooling Vest" Model
KV-2000PC which has packets that "freeze" in ice water and then stay cool
for up to 4 hours. Personal Air conditioning for those hot summer rides for
less than $200!
Even better, Grainger and several other
"distributors" are NATIONWIDE so you
should be able to find one of these easily no matter where you live.
Similar units are available from other companies including:
http://www.coolsport.net/index2.html
http://www.glaciertek.com/_secure/catalogpage.asp
http://www.remote-ability.org/staycool/mc-kool-j.htm
http://kappler.com/kooljacket.html
http://my.dmci.net/~watkinsrd/KoolJacket.htm
OTHER COOLING DEVICES:
Air-Conditioned Helmet?
Back in the mid 80's there was an air conditioned helmet manufactured.
They had a display at Wing Ding in Knoxville in 1987 with 2 full face helmets
sitting under heat lamps side by side under heat lamps with a 25 degree
differential. The cooling process was done electrically via Peltier junctions.
The helmet was manufactured under the brand name
Lazer. Here is a PDF which describes the technology. It uses a Peltier
Effect for cooling which is a thermoelectric method of cooling that is
used by the small 12V power cooling (or heating) chest that are available for
cars now. Of course, this means if you reverse the voltage input, you can
use it as a heating device.
http://www.tetech.com/publications/pubs/1988RJB1.pdf
Available today?
Here is an example of a real, obtainable cooled helmet used by NASCAR and not
a workable solution for most riders. Also, at $2,995.00 I could think of better
things to do with the money.
http://www.trackfresh.com/tfcokamacar.html
12 Volt Air Conditioning?
If you go to www.pumpsys.com/default.htm you will find a 12 volt air
conditioner that is used in race cars. It is attached to a helmet, but I
believe that it could also be attached to either a vest or riding suit as well.
