New and improved Evaporation Cooler designs (swamp cooler)

[macksfield]

If you've looked into evap coolers, I'm sure you've heard of the legendary figjam evap design.

Classic 5 gallon bucket, one fan. I've made a few of these, and a couple double wide versions in a square container.

I've seen designs that horizontal that use boat blowers to blast through. I've seen trashcans with giant box fans.

As I gear up to build yet another evaporation cooler (probably another double wide) - I thought to myself, maybe there is a better design out there after all these years.

What say you, my fellow swamp people, is the figjam design (or similar) still the best way to go?

[macksfield]

To aid with deciding on a design, I will begin compiling a list of quality options I've discovered:

• The OG, FigJam 5 gal bucket: https://imgur.com/gallery/hcxD48a, or https://www.instructables.com/Easy-Mode ... mp-Cooler/
• The "Yurt Cooler": which uses a boat blower: http://yurtcooler.com/
• The Unicooler: https://imgur.com/gallery/hcxD48a (basically a box fan)
• The Beeg Boi: https://www.instructables.com/Portable- ... mp-cooler/
• The PVC tower (looks like easy packing): https://graywolfsurvival.com/3467/diy-p ... nditioner/

[kubikubz]

Hey macksfield, the link for the OG 5gal bucket and "unicooler" is the same. Do you have a working link for the unicooler (hopefully with pictures ;P)

[Papa Bear]

Both are in the same thread, as is the “box cooler”.

[FIGJAM]

[attachment=0]DSC01811.JPG[/attachment]

[FIGJAM]

[attachment=0]DSC01818.JPG[/attachment]

[FIGJAM]

[attachment=0]DSC01815.JPG[/attachment]

[FIGJAM]

[attachment=0]DSC01813.JPG[/attachment]

[FIGJAM]

[attachment=0]DSC01814.JPG[/attachment]

[FIGJAM]

[attachment=0]DSC01817.JPG[/attachment]

[LowePro]

Depends on your application, for a small structure or tent, the 5gal bucket cooler is hard to beat and playa tested to hell and back. The other versions are just larger iterations of the same thing. More water, more electrical power, and more cooling. That yurt cooler doesn't have a pump to run fresh water over the evap pads so while that is a simpler design I don't know if it would cool as well. The insulated hexayurts are pretty good at reflecting heat so it might work in that application. 5gal bucket cooler, built exactly to spec, works for me for 8+yrs.

[unjonharley]

Putting my evap. in a cooler. Intake side pump water. Center pad screen. Output side a small ice (food) container and pump water. Cooler and cooler.

[fastgaz]

Figjam cooler is still the best if you have 100 sqft of hexayurt space or less to cool. Beyond that (or in a tent without the insulation) it's not sufficient. But I'm not sure bigger evap cooler is the way to go - the amount of water and power you need is a lot, so at that point you might as well switch to an air conditioner/generator. That's 60 lb for AC and genny, vs. 50 lb of water per day - so 200 lb of water you need to haul in for the week. Plus the swamp cooler plus a large solar panel.

One improvement everyone should do is to use a 7.5 gal bucket instead of 5. You don't have to refill nearly as much.