aftermarket cooled seats?

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Forum Name: General Discussion
Forum Discription: General Mobile Electronics Questions and Answers
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=107400
Printed Date: May 17, 2024 at 5:02 PM

Topic: aftermarket cooled seats?

Posted By: chriswallace187
Subject: aftermarket cooled seats?
Date Posted: September 13, 2008 at 1:16 AM

I'm wondering if anyone here knows if and where they can be found. Amerigon seems to supply basically all the OEMs with climate controlled seats, but no mention is made of aftermarket availability.

Googling doesn't come up with much either except for hideous "air-conditioned" seat covers which have a built-in fan that blows ambient air behind the person.

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C Renner's Auto Electronix
My service is cheap, quick, and good - pick any two

Replies:

Posted By: reax222
Date Posted: September 13, 2008 at 2:52 PM

If you have away to extract heat, you can run peltiers. https://www.heatsink-guide.com/peltier.htm It's been a while since I studied them, but I believe one polarity cools one side and reversing that polarity heats the same side. In effect allowing you heat or cool one side depending on which wire is grounded.

Posted By: black97mirage
Date Posted: September 14, 2008 at 5:47 PM

At a local auto upholstery supply shop (many years ago) I was talking to a guy that worked there. I noticed that they sold inflatable lumbar pads and I said something like "oh pplease, who the heck would buy them?" He laughed and said almost all the nearby police departments... Oh yeah... anyway I mentioned that in FL I bey their backs and butts would get pretty sweaty; He said no... they run rows of flexible tubing under the vinyl, these rows were connected up to a water pump with a small tank in a mini cooler in the trunk. Pack it with ice and turn on the pump... you can also make it even better by making the fluid a closed system of rubbing alcohol through some coils. Just make sure the pump is resistant to the alcohol.

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I drive a 1997 Mitsubishi Mirage LS Coupe. I love it and I've got a knack for the 12volt stuff.

Posted By: chriswallace187
Date Posted: September 15, 2008 at 2:52 AM

Thanks for the info, folks. FYI Amerigon's seat coolers use the Peltier principle, though the fact that they use several specially designed components(i.e. seat covers, foam, and integrated blowers/thermoelectric arrays) may make it impractical to attempt a custom setup in the exact way they've done.

Will have to check out my existing seat design to adapt something, but this is a good start.

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C Renner's Auto Electronix
My service is cheap, quick, and good - pick any two