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Bzzzzzt
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# Posted: 21 Feb 2014 05:21pm
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I just thought I'd share this here. You have to have a facebook account to watch the video since they don't have it posted on youtube, but it's definitely worth looking at.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=286405328179429
Basically, for those of you without facebook, it's a 5 gallon bucket with a Styrofoam liner that they've put a gallon jug of frozen water in and then cut some vents into and then it has a fan on it run by a solar cell setting outside. The fan forces air into the bucket past the gallon of frozen water and thereby blowing out cool air.
Looks like a worthwhile project. I was thinking it might work just as well with a block of ice you could go buy at a convenience store. You could make the thing however you decide but it's a good off grid way to stay cool for short periods.
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 21 Feb 2014 05:42pm - Edited by: bldginsp
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Must be a way to make a simple off-grid swamp cooler. So long as you had enough electricity to power a fan and a pump it would make cool air, and you don't need to constantly buy ice. Swamp coolers work by the cooling effect of water evaporating on a surface.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Evaporative_cooler_annotated.svg
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 21 Feb 2014 06:45pm - Edited by: MtnDon
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I know someone in CO who made one for use in a small travel trailer (6.5 x 11 feet). He still has it in his garage but the TT now has a refrigerated type of air conditioner. His problem was getting enough air flow. BTW, he's no dummy, he's an engineer.
Swamp, or evaporative coolers work best when the humidity is no more than 10%. We had one for 20 years on the house roof. Couple of problems or issues though. They don't work worth a crap when the humidity goes up. Monsoon (rainy) season here in NM is July - August. Just when the temperatures are the hottest it rains and the coolers do next to nothing. Not only do they only drop the temperature about 10 degrees from the outdoor temperature, they raise the indoor humidity which is the opposite of what you need. We've had reefer air for almost 10 years now. It costs more to operate but it works.
So if it never really rained here in the summer it would be mucg better for swamp cooler use. There's a cooling chart I've attached below. It shows outdoors temp and humidity and how many degrees maximum you can expect.
There's a rule of thumb for sizing the blower.
1. Determine the square footage of space you want to cool.
2. Multiply this figure by the height of your ceilings.
3. Divide that number by 2.
4. The result is the CFM rating for the evaporative cooler you need.
Take that into account when making a DIY'er. The air flow is the reason Bruce's homemade cooler was not very effective, IMO.
FWIW, our swamp cooler used about 7 gallons an hour when running on high in low humidity weather. That's a lot of water.
FWIW#2, when we changed to a higher efficiency furnace and the reefer A/C combined unit the total of our electric, gas, and water remained about the same as the previous year. We used more electricity, less gas and a lot less water. Desert water is not cheap.
Anyhow it could be fun to play with. They also can work but they are not magic for all folks.
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 21 Feb 2014 08:52pm
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I see now why they are used primarily in extreme climates, like Iran or Arizona, where the humidity is so low
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 22 Feb 2014 12:41am - Edited by: MtnDon
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I got around to watching the video; I'm not a facebooker and it worked for me. The advantage of that over a swamp cooler is no moisture is being added to the air, as that ice is in a jug. How efficient is it though, to use refrigeration to freeze water for the DIY cooler? Especially if you are off grid. How effective will it be when it is 95 F outside and you want to be inside but not tied to a chair / location where the cool air flow is being directed? Mind you the first reefer train freight cars were quite similar; containers of ice and rock salt in the ceiling areas of box cars plus fans, brought fruits and vegetables from CA to the midwest and east way back. Chicago shipped meat in a similar fashion back in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Back then ice was harvested from lakes and rivers in the winter and stored in heavy timered building under hay or straw. It's how Chicago became the slaughterhouse capital of the country.
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 22 Feb 2014 10:07am
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I just bought a swamp cooler from amazon.com. Its like one of those roll around AC units in size, just add ice, turn the fan on, blows cold air. I leave it stored in my attic.
http://www.amazon.com/SF-609-Portable-Evaporative-Cooler-Ionizer/dp/B000R48G5K/ref=sr _1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393081614&sr=8-1&keywords=swamp+cooler
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