Any MacGuyver's out there try this?
Here is my thinking:
I have a location with the typical issue of a requirement for a small amount of network gear and no place to put it.
Building is in LA - has a/c, but I doubt they'll want to cool the whole building.
The Magikal Money Solution would be a Netshelter with built in a/c.
But the pricing is not in line with my budget - did I mention not having one?
I could use something like the Tripplite portable unit, but it's frankly not that compelling.
It's just a portable a/c with a duct adaptor.
I'd have to replace the ducting anyway, since the supplied ducting is leaky and thermally abysmal.
Instead, I was thinking of mounting a casement a/c in the bottom of an enclosed rack.
I'd be giving up about 12U.
Mounting it would be a matter of making a fascia plate from sheet metal to seal the front and rear of the a/c, and separating the front intake/exhaust to force circulation in the rack.
Only challenge I can think of would be whether or not the unit would resume on power failure/restore.
I *could* put it on a UPS - even a runtime of 15 minutes with the compressor going would likely be sufficient.
I should be able to put it together for about $1500 for a 24U enclosure, half usable, with built in a/c.
Maybe about $100 for various bits and pieces, like some closed cell foam sheets to seal the vented panels.
I have a bit of a/c conversion experience building chillers for hydro systems out of old window a/c's.
That required moving coils around slightly, which would be unnecessary in this implementation.
Only down side would be that replacing the a/c when it fails might be beyond the abilities of the people on site.
Depends on how elegant I can make it.
It's possible that I can design it such that a standard casement unit slides in the back to press seal against an internal plate, secured with two strongbacks with a couple of wingnuts.
That would give me superior cooling, with a/c unit replacement being a simple process using a locally sourced replacement.