cooling your tent or van

[Canoe]

...my design is two independent ducts so I can share one with a friend...

Always sharing with a friend? Both fans running or no fans running.
Ever going to be only one fan running?

[emayess]

Thank you again to everyone that has contributed to this thread, especially Figjam! I got one of these built last night after deciding to start in the afternoon. You all really made it simple, thanks again.

After finishing constrution, I went back through the thead and saw that in order for this to work best, the cooler needs to be outside and have a vent/duct that channels the air into your structure. I was hoping to put it all in my structure (I have space and for security). My question is, would it work to reverse the fan direction, so it blows into the bucket, pushing air out thorugh the pad/holes and have a vent/duct leading to the fan that can go outside to suck in hot air?

[FIGJAM]

It won't work as well.

Set it inside the tent when your not using it OR stand a cardboard box on end and set it in the box.
with the open side towards the tent.

[emayess]

Thanks for the answer and quick response.

[jpitman]

Hey y'all -

So here's my version of FigJam's box cooler.

I'm using the Fan-Tastic Vent 01100WH Fan-Tastic Endless Breeze 12V Fan

http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... CDAQ8wIwAA

And the Silicon Solar water pumps.

http://www.siliconsolar.com/replacement ... p-103.html

All of it sits inside a 23 Gal rectangular trash can I found at Home Depot.

To seal the fan on the front, I put weather striping around the edges of the hole the fan fits into and used metal strapping tape to hold it tight. The fan comes with two small hanging tabs which I used by cutting small slits into the garbage can just above the hole for the fan. Those hold the weight of the fan and the metal strap holds it into place and keeps a good seal.

The first photo also shows the plywood top I made for the whole thing and you might just be able to make out the weather stripping I put alongside the top of the can that the lid sits on so it makes a tight seal. The second photo shows the weather stripping on the top.




I then took three 10x8 book shelf supports from Home Depot and mounted them so the tops were just below the top edge of the garbage container. I routed the hose coming from the Silicon Solar pump, tee-ed it off and twistie tied the hose to the book shelves. I discovered that the blue dura cool pads make great velcro ancors! So I used several black velcro strips and hung the dura cool pad from the hose so its right under the drip points.




The back here shows a the 12x12 to 8" vent I attached to the back. Weather stripping again between the garbage can and the duct housing.



I don't have a photo of it here, but I'm then going to run standard flexible duct hosing out to a 12x6 vent which I'll mount to the outside of my cooler. Since my dry air comes from the outside via ducts, I am planning on keeping the entire cooler inside our hexi-yurt (Julie Danger's design)

So far everything looks good. I just made this over the weekend of Aug 20/21 2011 and haven't take it out to the playa yet to field test it. The pump and fan work great and barely take any power from the deep cycle battery I have connected to a big solar panel.

My biggest concerns at the moment are:

- The amount of water my hoses get onto the pads. It's more of a strong drip and not the running like I've seen in other photos.
- Strength of the water pump. It doesn't seem like it's putting out a whole lot more than a strong drip drip right now anyways. Maybe a weak pump? The battery has a good charge. I have a second pump I'll take with me just in case.
- Dust in the water and particles form the dura cool pad clogging the outlet holes in my tubing. I'm going to put two air filters on the intake side and a small water filter on the hoses to minimize any of these problems.

I'll repost when I'm back from the playa and let y'all know how it goes. Apparently my camp mate Julie Danger has setup a visit with figjam so they can geek about yurts. I'll try to get some swamp cooler geek time out there too.

Ranger Daddy James

[FIGJAM]

Check your pump!!!

It will run no matter which way you connect the wires, BUT one way will be more water volume than the other.

I would have kept the fan and vent as high on the container as possible for more water capacity in the bottom.

Playa setles to the bottom and won't clog anything.

[brian_kadence]

anyone have any recommendations on how best to cut a hole in a tent (for connecting duct vent from outside to inside)?

have all the equipment for building the bucket cooler, but am wondering what's the best way going about getting the air into my tent, and keeping the tent strong, and the hole sealed tight, to avoid dust getting in (as much as possible).

thanks all! cannot wait to see you.

[jpitman]

Cool! Thanks for the idea about reversing the polarity on the pump. (wow..that's a cliche from how many sci-fi movies?) I wouldn't have thought of that since it was pushing water out.

On my version of the pump, there's a blue and brown wire. Do you recall which one was + and - ? I'll try swapping them and see what happens. I have blue as +

As it is, the cooler can hold more than 4 gallons. I'm only planning on running it in the heat of the day so even if it uses 1 gallon per hour, which seems like a lot, then I should be good for most the afternoon.

Thanks for the tip on the dust! I won't sweat it then. Burning Man has taught me several times to over engineer things.

Check your pump!!!

It will run no matter which way you connect the wires, BUT one way will be more water volume than the other.

I would have kept the fan and vent as high on the container as possible for more water capacity in the bottom.

Playa setles to the bottom and won't clog anything.

[MikeGyver]

Getting close to being screwed at this point. ran out of cash and still don't have a fan for my bucket cooler... might end out getting that NXTZ one again just so I have a fan for it and deal with the low pressure. since that's the best fan at my local Fry's and I cant afford the ones you've been linking to even if there was time to ship it. Any other cheap suggestions that might work better than the 200mm 166CFM NXTZ fan?

[FIGJAM]

The wire on the pump is nice and long.

The brown wire is the +(possitive) and the blue is the -(negitive) .



Three feet from the pump, I cut the wire to splice in the fan. This will give you enough slack to put everything in place without fighting it.

On the fan, the red wire is the +(possitive) and the black wire is -(negitive) .



I think I just unpluged that little connector on the fan and threw it away.

Ignore that black pigtail wire you see in the picture, I had that on there for a switch leg for the fan, then decided I did'nt need it.

I use a 12 volt deka 105 ah AGM battery.

This will run the cooler for 47 hours before you need to recharge.

[FIGJAM]

Getting close to being screwed at this point. ran out of cash and still don't have a fan for my bucket cooler... might end out getting that NXTZ one again just so I have a fan for it and deal with the low pressure. since that's the best fan at my local Fry's and I cant afford the ones you've been linking to even if there was time to ship it. Any other cheap suggestions that might work better than the 200mm 166CFM NXTZ fan?

See if fry's has a 120mm that has more pressure or a 200mm with 2k or 3krpm.

That nxts fan is such a dog that you might as well leave the cooler at home if you can't get something better.

[FIGJAM]

anyone have any recommendations on how best to cut a hole in a tent (for connecting duct vent from outside to inside)?

have all the equipment for building the bucket cooler, but am wondering what's the best way going about getting the air into my tent, and keeping the tent strong, and the hole sealed tight, to avoid dust getting in (as much as possible).

thanks all! cannot wait to see you.

Don't cut holes in your tent!

Just zip the door closed around the duct and you will be fine.

[MikeGyver]

when I was there when I returned the nxtz one the highest 120 they had was only like 95 cfm. ill look again tonight, but their fan selection kinda sucks

[brian_kadence]

anyone have any recommendations on how best to cut a hole in a tent (for connecting duct vent from outside to inside)?

have all the equipment for building the bucket cooler, but am wondering what's the best way going about getting the air into my tent, and keeping the tent strong, and the hole sealed tight, to avoid dust getting in (as much as possible).

thanks all! cannot wait to see you.

Don't cut holes in your tent!

Just zip the door closed around the duct and you will be fine.

Thanks FIGJAM! This actually relieves a little worry. I thought that making another vent in the tent was necessary. THIS is way better. Thanks for all your help!

[unjonharley]

\

Might think of unzipping one of the tent windows a little.. Keep the air moving.. Sides who wants a fat tent

[mrfunsacramento]

Finished my plywood unicooler, per Figjam's design.









Some of the details...

Had the folks at Lowes cut a sheet of high quality plywood into two nine inch slices and two 17 inch slices. They cut all of those down to 30 inches, which gave me all the pieces. I used a sabre saw to cut holes for the filter and fan.

I taped off the edges that would get glued, and painted the rest of the inside with two coats of this plastic resin.

I used waterproof glue and quite a few clamps from Harbor Freight to attach everything together. No nails or screws.

I covered all the inside seams with another layer of silicon for good measure, and used that to attach the fan and seal the filter cover in place.

I used the Silicon Solar pump, and Endless Breeze fan, I wired the pump to the fan cord, and spliced in a switch so I can run the fan without the pump (not sure when I'd want to).

I used 1 inch pvc to sprinkle the water. I drilled two series of holes on the bottom, about a half an inch apart. Seems like I get pretty good saturation, but the thing I worry most about is getting enough water.

I haven't made any special provisions to seal the lid, but it fits pretty precisely.

I'd like to thank Figjam for the concept and his generous, overwhelming support for this topic, for what appears to be several years. I left BRC last year determined to build an air-conditioned hexayurt, and this thread is what made it possible.

[The CO]

taped off the edges that would get glued, and painted the rest of the inside with two coats of this plastic resin.

I used waterproof glue and quite a few clamps from Harbor Freight to attach everything together. No nails or screws.

I would recommend you add more layers of resin, and don't be biased about using screws. Playa conditions destroy wood very effectively, more so when that would is in constant contact with water. No screws+1 bad warp=a leak that makes a giant useless box. Overbuild anything you are using on the playa.

Those of you looking for fans, check out building salvage stores. 5 of us in M*A*S*H are building (or have built) swamp coolers, and 3 of us got the fans for $5 or less secondhand.

[FIGJAM]

When using wood to build the box, use marine paint to completely seal the wood. (Boat paint)

[jpitman]

Hi Figjam:

Yep! That did it. Makes a lot more sense now. Brown + Positive, blue - Negative. And it pumps like a dream. I may put a few extra holes in my pipe now that he water flow is quadruple what it was before but I don't want to put so many in that the ends of my drain pipes don't get enough water. I'm bringing more than enough extra hosing and paraphernalia that I can completely redo my tubes out on the playa if I totally screw it up.

One other minor mishap occurred with my pump and that was that the end cap on the rotor came off. I noticed this after opening up the case when the water flow went from great to poor very quickly. I have two of these pumps. If you take off the outside cover that houses the entire pump, and look through the end of the pump with the intake hole in it, you can see the little blades that push the water up the pipe. At some point, the end cap that has the whole in it came off. It was simple to put it back on but I may tack it into place with a little silicon just so it doesn't happen again.

One item of concern I had was that I saw a lot of little blue flakes from the Dura Cool pad floating round in water and my feeder pipes, and I was afraid the particles would clog the drain holes, which did happen once or twice. I had initially put a cut open tea bag over the end of the line coming out of the pump to act as a filter but after about 5 minutes, the filter got clogged with the blue Dura Cool particles and the water stopped flowing out of my pipes all together. I took off the tea bag filter, made my drain holes just a little bigger and cleaner with a drill bit and the particles were able to flow out of the drain holes. Hopefully this won't be a problem out on the playa.

Ranger Daddy James

figjam wrote: ------------------------------------------------------
The wire on the pump is nice and long.

The brown wire is the +(possitive) and the blue is the -(negitive) .

Three feet from the pump, I cut the wire to splice in the fan. This will give you enough slack to put everything in place without fighting it.

On the fan, the red wire is the +(possitive) and the black wire is -(negitive) .

[jpitman]

Do you have any better pictures? These came out really tiny and I'd love to see your work!

Ranger Daddy James

Finished my plywood unicooler, per Figjam's design.









Some of the details...

Had the folks at Lowes cut a sheet of high quality plywood into two nine inch slices and two 17 inch slices. They cut all of those down to 30 inches, which gave me all the pieces. I used a sabre saw to cut holes for the filter and fan.

I taped off the edges that would get glued, and painted the rest of the inside with two coats of this plastic resin.

I used waterproof glue and quite a few clamps from Harbor Freight to attach everything together. No nails or screws.

I covered all the inside seams with another layer of silicon for good measure, and used that to attach the fan and seal the filter cover in place.

I used the Silicon Solar pump, and Endless Breeze fan, I wired the pump to the fan cord, and spliced in a switch so I can run the fan without the pump (not sure when I'd want to).

I used 1 inch pvc to sprinkle the water. I drilled two series of holes on the bottom, about a half an inch apart. Seems like I get pretty good saturation, but the thing I worry most about is getting enough water.

I haven't made any special provisions to seal the lid, but it fits pretty precisely.

I'd like to thank Figjam for the concept and his generous, overwhelming support for this topic, for what appears to be several years. I left BRC last year determined to build an air-conditioned hexayurt, and this thread is what made it possible.

[The Bee]

One other minor mishap occurred with my pump and that was that the end cap on the rotor came off.

This happened to my pump too. The flow dropped by about 90% and the pump rattled like it was dying. I freaked out and was about ready to return it, but my wife, being the level-headed engineer type that she is, just popped the cover off and fixed it.

[mrfunsacramento]

Better pictures...the can of Pro Flex is the stuff I used to seal it. I'm sure boat paint would work great too, but I have great confidence in this product.








I'm not sure plywood is the best material; I went with it because I have a pretty good idea how to work with it, I thought it would be sturdy enough to survive some pounding, and I felt pretty confident about my ability to attach stuff to it.

I actually built an earlier version, where I put together an internal framework, and then glued/screwed the pieces on to that, but I couldn't get the cuts precise enough, so had leakage.

I did drop it from about a foot high, with no visible damage of any kind, except the fan fell off.

I have tried it in my driveway where it seemed to work, but am still quite anxious to see if this will actually provide cooling on the playa.

Thanks again to Figjam and everyone else in this thread.

[Canoe]

... for this to work best, the cooler needs to be outside and have a vent/duct that channels the air into your structure. I was hoping to put it all in my structure (I have space and for security)...

What if the bucket was inside your structure, but inside a larger bucket that has a large sealed vent to outside through which to suck hot dry air?
If the intake duct is large enough, it should work, right?
But, you're adding complexity and more modes for failure...

[unjonharley]

... for this to work best, the cooler needs to be outside and have a vent/duct that channels the air into your structure. I was hoping to put it all in my structure (I have space and for security)...

What if the bucket was inside your structure, but inside a larger bucket that has a large sealed vent to outside through which to suck hot dry air?
If the intake duct is large enough, it should work, right?
But, you're adding complexity and more modes for failure...

That's going to get wet..

You pump damp cool air in and allow warm (inside) air to leave.
Warm air will always be on top. This is a good place to make an exit air port if possible.. It will help getting some of the damp air out also..

I lived in Az. when only the rich had AC..Use poor folk had hand me down swamp cooles.. I made hard wood bearing for everyone on the block..The shafts were so crapy you could not refit them with metal bearing.. Just burn drill a hole in tyhe hard wood block for the shaft, Drill for the hold down bolts. saw the block in half and put in a strip of felt to hold a little oil..

[FIGJAM]

... for this to work best, the cooler needs to be outside and have a vent/duct that channels the air into your structure. I was hoping to put it all in my structure (I have space and for security)...

What if the bucket was inside your structure, but inside a larger bucket that has a large sealed vent to outside through which to suck hot dry air?
If the intake duct is large enough, it should work, right?
But, you're adding complexity and more modes for failure...

I see what you're getting at, but the idea is to keep it simple and easy to transport.

You gonna put it in a rubbermaid garbage container, then duct outside air into this, then have to vent the cool air out of the bucket and into the structure?

When your not using the cooler, set it in the structure.

[vivid2012]

... for this to work best, the cooler needs to be outside and have a vent/duct that channels the air into your structure. I was hoping to put it all in my structure (I have space and for security)...

What if the bucket was inside your structure, but inside a larger bucket that has a large sealed vent to outside through which to suck hot dry air?
If the intake duct is large enough, it should work, right?
But, you're adding complexity and more modes for failure...

I see what you're getting at, but the idea is to keep it simple and easy to transport.

You gonna put it in a rubbermaid garbage container, then duct outside air into this, then have to vent the cool air out of the bucket and into the structure?

When your not using the cooler, set it in the structure.

Yup, you should keep that in mind.

[jpitman]

As long as we are all geeking out on swamp coolers, I thought I'd pass this along. I have absolutely no connection to this company and don't benefit from anything they sell. Just thought it was a cool video which includes what has to be a 4 foot x 4 foot evaporator surface. HUGE! Maybe good for some of those super big enclosed camps.



Ranger Daddy James

[robtwyman]

Not to be a pain but can someone post the link or links to the fan I should be ordering. I ordered one listed below and it came the other day broken - like cracked and the blade wont spin properly. I don't want to order the same one if I don't have to and I don't feel like reading through the whole 38 pages again to remember which fan replaced the original. Thanks for your help!

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/13560 ... _Sale.html


PS - I have everything else ready to go!

[FIGJAM]

This is the one I use.

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8547/ ... 6c435s1108

[FIGJAM]

As long as we are all geeking out on swamp coolers, I thought I'd pass this along. I have absolutely no connection to this company and don't benefit from anything they sell. Just thought it was a cool video which includes what has to be a 4 foot x 4 foot evaporator surface. HUGE! Maybe good for some of those super big enclosed camps.



Ranger Daddy James

Heres some good pics of standard coolers.

http://www.google.com/search?q=swamp+co ... 60&bih=596