Routing AC exhaust through RMH

I misplaced my window piece that attaches to the portable AC exhaust hose. So I was wondering if it’s possible to use the vertical portion of the chimney to route out the hot air from the AC. I would remove the cap of clean out that is at the bottom of the chimney that exists out.

Seems like a great solution to me. The exhaust from the little AC will be warm and humid, and therefore less dense than ambient air, so it should go up the flue without any trouble. Good thinking!

Hi Diane;  
I think it will work just fine.
Maybe use some foil to seal it where it goes into your cleanout.

If the tube/pipe size matches or if the chimney is larger go for it.  Be aware you should insulate the chimney pipe or you will be leaking part of the heat back into the house thru the walls of the pipe.  Now this might also let you increase efficiency a little as you get heat lift added.  If it has a damper be sure the damper is fully open.

If the tube is larger than the chimney be aware the constriction my damage your AC unit as it can't remove enough heat.  Most likely it won't wreck it entirely but will simply reduce its life expectancy.  

I wonder if it would be possible to cool the thermal mass of the RMH, using it in reverse in summer. Rocket Mass Cooler?

Most definitely.  because of the low temperature differentials it is less effective.  But mass for cooling is very effective.  I live in a passive solar home and if it will cool off outside at night so I can cool the house off the mass will hold the temperature to just slightly too warm inside by evening even with 110 to 120 degree indoor temps.  Day before yesterday was 117 here.  The house started at 67 and reached 83 by evening with no AC.  If it had cooled off more at night it would have stayed comfortable.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:I wonder if it would be possible to cool the thermal mass of the RMH, using it in reverse in summer. Rocket Mass Cooler?

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:I wonder if it would be possible to cool the thermal mass of the RMH, using it in reverse in summer. Rocket Mass Cooler?

I feel like this could be a fantastic upgrade to consider for anyone who faces both heating and cooling needs. A seasonal switch-over from storing heat to storing coolth, driven by a fan that could pull in cool nighttime air and store the coolth in the mass, or it could also be arranged to pull warm daytime air (from a hot attic, for instance) during shoulder seasons to reduce the need for combustion for heat.

The trick is to make it Gilligan-proof, so that it is not easy to overlook that the RMH is in "FAN-mode" not "FIRE-mode". Especially if it were to be connected via a cleanout, or some sort of bypass apparatus. A flex hose that fed into the wood feed, would certainly be a simple A/B setup, maybe not pretty, probably cumbersome... but not possible to goof?