Texas man makes creative coolers to fight the heatJul 24 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Edwin Delgado San Antonio Express-NewsJuly 24--SAN ANTONIO -- Almost everybody has a cooler. But do you have one that has a blender, an air conditioner, electronic device charger, LED lights or a USB port? Jacob Ybarra, a driller from Corpus Christi, saw an ice chest with air conditioning online and thought, "I can probably do one better than that." He created an ice chest-air conditioner that has a fan on top that blows cold air from inside through a couple of PVC pipes. The fan is powered by a 120 volt rechargeable battery that lasts up to nine hours. The ice inside powers the air conditioner on his ice chests, whereas other models need a radiator. "I used to work in the a Tampa panhandle seven days a week outside in the sun and after opening an ice chest I felt the cold air and it was really nice," he said Wednesday. Ever since then I wanted to do something like this." Ybarra also had another incentive. As a field director of the Corpus Christie United Little Miss Kickball League and thought it would be great for the teams to have. "We have the girls playing with 100 degrees weather and I thought it would be a good idea to have them in the dugouts for them cool off," Ybarra said. "When other people saw them, they began to ask me about them and I began to sell them." Adventure enthusiasts who like going on outdoor trips have requested about a dozen of his creative ice chests, which run about $100 apiece. "A couple that went to the river to camp, asked me if I could put LED lights in them, a USB port to charge their phones and Bluetooth speakers." Ybarra said. He can personalize them as well. Among other coolers he has made are one that features a Tennessee Titans logo in front and another with LED lights, which turn on when the lid opens so that one can see the contents inside at night. Though at first it took him a long time to make one, Ybarra said he now can make them in a couple of hours. Usually, he can make several in one day, he said. They can be seen on his Facebook page. Ybarra's no where near alone in his creation. Ryan Grepper, an inventor in Portland, Oregon, has created what KREM described as an ultimate beach party invention. Grepper's invention, the Coolest Cooler, includes a drink cooler, blender, boombox, electronic device charger, cutting board and gear tie-down. As of July 19, people from around the world have pledeged more than $6 million to his Kickstarter campaign, the TV station reported. http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=33171729& |