Tim, I was thinking the same thing initially. I could add a tube off the end of the return and route the water to wherever, but then I remembered that high G turns and braking are gonna mix it up pretty well. :D

I will be adding some protection for the pump cause I plan on using blocks of ice or frozen water bottles and they have been known to break the pumps. :(

Fritz, I'm in. One of each male and female. Will PM you.

If you want to drain the shirt after an event, you'll need two of these.

http://www.quickcouplings.net/osc/images/PLC17004.jpg
http://quickcouplings.net/osc/produc...0bf45c5000cc67

If you only plug in one, it won't drain because there is no air vent. So attach two and blow into one of them. Or use your compressor. :)

I'll add them to the order.

How about making an attachment for your air hose with the other end of the quick release??

A toothpick snapped in 1/2 works too. Gently prop both valves open hold one hose well above the other and the shirt will syphon drain. One end stuck in the hose of a shop vac for a few min will pull out much of any remaining water. Running a shot of alcohol through the cooler pump lines and shirt to clean the lines and kill the bugs works too.

DIY Cool Suit Cooler
 

After borrowing VA Steve's cooler for race school at VIR 2 weeks ago, I decided it was time to build my own.

Note that there are two non-compatible types of hose connectors, the FAST brand, and the Cool Shirt brand. Make sure your shirt matches the connectors.

As background, there are very inexpensive medical coolers similar to a cool shirt cooler for sale on eBay. Search "cold therapy" on eBay. I bought one sight unseen. It has the same dry break hose connectors as the FAST system, and the Rule 360 gph pump. It would have been perfect, but the liquid capacity was only 5 quarts, so that wont' work. I did take the pump out.

The best cooler I could find is the Engel 19 quart cooler. It is available from www.austinkayak.com for $41.99, shipping included. This is one of the few coolers that is sealable.

As to the pump, I had the Rule 360 gallons per hour. This is what is used in the genuine Cool Shirt system.

The design required figuring out how to get a waterproof connection through the side of the cooler. I went with what is called "Faucet Extenders". These are used to connect the water supply to your kitchen faucet through a thick counter top.

The toughest part of the job was drilling through the cooler. The cooler is weak Styrofoam with thin brittle plastic on each side. When I was drilling through it using a wood auger, the outer plastic cracked. So, I used 1" washers which repaired things nicely. I found that it is best to drill using a spade drill bit, as shown in the picture.

As to the electrical connection, Pep Boys sells a male/female 12 volt plug called an alternator connector. I bought this in order to wire in VA Steve's cooler to my car, so I already had it on hand.

So the parts I used were:

Engel 19 quart cooler - $41.99
Rule 360 gph pump (I had this)
FAST system hose ($100, I had this as I bought it at VIR to get Steve's system to work)
Set of Faucet Extenders - $8.68
Set of 4 #10 X 1/2" stainless screws to mount pump $1.18
(2) 1/2" to 1/4" hex bushing $5.60
(2) 1/4" barb to 1/4" pipe $4.58
1 PVC right angle 1/2", threaded on one side $0.36
2" piece of 1/2" PVC pipe $0.94
6" of clear 3/4" tubing
2 1" washers $2

Total Price Without Hose and Pump $65.33
The hose previously cost me $100, but you could go much cheaper if homemade. It was nice having the FAST system hose, as I didn't have to mail order the connectors or mess around with that.

Its like deja vu all over again!

Looks good. There is no right or wrong way, unless of course it doesn't work and sets your car on fire. ;)

Uh, I should have read your thread yesterday. Didn't see it, but yours looks a bit more sturdy then mine. It took a lot more time than it should have, didnt it?

If there is a way for the moderators to move my post into your thread, might make it a little easier for people to find it all in one thread.

Meh. Its a bilge pump in a box. They'll both work just like a bought one. :)