cooling your tent or van

[Mr.Coffee]

Hey guys, just an update on the fans for the bucket cooler.

This fan: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/12959 ... 6c435s1108

MIGHT NOT work, I would advise against ordering it. It is a PWM Fan, which means compatible controllers can control the speed of the fan. This fan will work without a controller, however. The pinout is like this:

Pin 1 - ground ( -12v or "black")
Pin 2 - +12v in ( +12v or "red")
Pin 3 - Tach (sends pulses that are used to determine fan speed, usually 2 pulses per revolution)
Pin 4 - Pwm control line

here's how to tell which pins are which:

Looking at the front of the connector with the ridges up, the pin on the left is pin one. It lines right up with one of the ridges. so you want pin one and pin two (or just cut the wires one at a time and mark them).

Hope this helps.

[Qwack Masterson]

Howdy Y'all.
Has anyone tried using a plain old "accessory car fan" for this project? it would seem to be a natural fit for a 12v fan that runs off of a cig. lighter plug. Hard to find CFM numbers but i would guess 500-900CFM based on a few similar fans.

[Asherbeez]

Howdy Y'all.
Has anyone tried using a plain old "accessory car fan" for this project? it would seem to be a natural fit for a 12v fan that runs off of a cig. lighter plug. Hard to find CFM numbers but i would guess 500-900CFM based on a few similar fans.

The big concern would be the amp draw, especially if you plan on just using a battery to power your system.

[FIGJAM]

Assuming you mean the heater/air conditioning fan, jeep says 13-15 amps, ford says 20 amps.

[Korwedge]

[quote="Qwack Masterson"]Howdy Y'all.
Has anyone tried using a plain old "accessory car fan" for this project? it would seem to be a natural fit for a 12v fan that runs off of a cig. lighter plug. Hard to find CFM numbers but i would guess 500-900CFM based on a few similar fans.[/quote]

That's what I use in my rubbermaid swamp cooler.
Here's a picture of it:
12v .8 amp 10W

Works great in my 6 foot hexayurt.

I have it pulling air through the pads instead of pushing. This allows for the strongest stream of air, and I can use the rubbermaid to keep beer cool.

[Apox]

So if I want to run a 190 cfm 12v/15w fan, using 1.25 amps, with the solar powered pump from harbor freight, I need a separate solar panel that will produce enough amps to run the fan as well...

[rftek]

Hello all,

I've been following this thread with great interest, am building (2) 5 gal. evap cooler's for my camp.

I picked up a 200mm cooler master fan (110 CFM, 0.595mm H2O, 19dB (!), 0.26A) for the first prototype, will be firing up the system this weekend for testing. I am concerned about the low air pressure of 0.595mm, thus am considering adding a second fan in series. I found this interesting technical paper on the topic (see below), the gist of it being that series increases air pressure while mainting CFM (for matched pairs of fans), however if the fans are directly axial to each other then turbulence from the first fan will decrease effectiveness of second fan leading to a less than 2x increase in air pressure.

http://www.ebmpapst-ad.com/media/conten ... rallel.pdf

fan details on amazon (available at fry's for less)


Thanks Figjam and everybody for helping make this thread a monster, see you on the playa.

[Irreverent Moniker]

So if I want to run a 190 cfm 12v/15w fan, using 1.25 amps, with the solar powered pump from harbor freight, I need a separate solar panel that will produce enough amps to run the fan as well...

correct. or plan for a big enough panel to run both

[andreas97]

I'd forgotten, I was going to comment on this.....

I built a battery box from a cooler, complete with fuse block, lighted switches and cigarette lighter type receptacles for the cooler, fan and solar charger.

First, very cool setup!

But, make very sure (you may have already and I just can't see from the pictures) that you ventilate that battery box if you plan on charging that battery.
Batteries + charge = hydrogen gas.... and (especially at a burn event) a sealed battery box could end quite badly, given a source of ignition.

[Booger Presley]

I'd forgotten, I was going to comment on this.....

I built a battery box from a cooler, complete with fuse block, lighted switches and cigarette lighter type receptacles for the cooler, fan and solar charger.

First, very cool setup!

But, make very sure (you may have already and I just can't see from the pictures) that you ventilate that battery box if you plan on charging that battery.
Batteries + charge = hydrogen gas.... and (especially at a burn event) a sealed battery box could end quite badly, given a source of ignition.

Thank you for the reminder. I do not yet have a ventilation hole for the recharging times. I was considering a wee fan, but am paranoid about the gas so I will probably leave the lid open when charging...

[unjonharley]

Friend called to say she would be late.. Her battery was dead. They had to lose the battery strap to jump the car.. I was watching for her from my upstairs patio..By the time I saw the car it had been charging for about ten miles.. She changed lanes to make a left turn into my place..The battery shifted and arced.. Blow the hood right off that big old Ford.. Who ever helped her had not tied the strap back on.. It took six boxes of baking soda to clean the acid out of the engine compartment.. Didn't help the resale any ether..

[kgryfon]

Reporting in after my first build. Everything worked fine, the solar pump works great, but using the following solar panel for the fan was not quite enough power:

I have this fan (Specifications: 120x120x38 mm, 190.48 CFM @ 4100 RPM, 55.5 dBA, 15 watts, 1.25 amps, 12v DC):


And hooked up this solar panel to the fan:
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-15W-Solar-Panel ... 19c78be4d2

It works, but the breeze from the fan is weak using this solar panel. I'm going to pull the battery from my boat and try that. I'll report back!

Thanks again for all your help and advice!

[Apox]

kgryfon, What im doing is having my pump run off the solar panel (since it came with one) and my fan run off the battery. To charge, I bought this solar panel: and having it always keeping the battery charging. This panel is nice because it comes with a charge controller. When im away from my tent, I turn everything off to let the battery charge. the controller makes sure i dont come back to an acidic swamp.

[Apox]

Howdy Y'all.
Has anyone tried using a plain old "accessory car fan" for this project? it would seem to be a natural fit for a 12v fan that runs off of a cig. lighter plug. Hard to find CFM numbers but i would guess 500-900CFM based on a few similar fans.

This could actually be a fun project... I have seen mini windmills built using a spare alternator, Hook the fan to a couple car batterys up and use the windmill to keep them charged... I have seen this done mixed with solar panels to supply power to batteries in 'green' homes. this would be smaller scale of course.

Thoughts?

[Elite]

I have not been able to reach silicon solar by phone for two days to order the water pump. Being suspicious I looked at the reviews of the company. There is a laundry list of dissatisfied customers.

Is there another source you'd recommend for the aquajet pump?

Elite

[FIGJAM]

Try these. Maybe they got swamped. I had'nt heard any complaints.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=n ... pump%2D12v

[JeepBear]

Personally, I would just do the order online.
I have, 3 times in the last 5 weeks. Of all the shipping vendors I've used this season, they are consistently the fastest and most communicative. I ordered my last set of pumps at 2am MST, received the first shipping notice @ 6am and it was out the door on a truck by 9am; then on my doorstep ~72 hrs later.
http://www.siliconsolar.com/replacement ... p-103.html

[andreas97]

Weird. I've never tried calling them... but did just order a second pump to build the unicooler, and got it in 4 days flat.
Same with my first order, so I'll vouch for their shipping/product....
Never tried communicating with them, however.

EDIT: Actually, it was 3 days, and not even business days. Ordered Friday 7/29 and got it Monday 8/1.

[FIGJAM]

Glad to hear those good reports as my experience has been the same.

Are they wondering about the boost in sales?

[Asherbeez]

Glad to hear those good reports as my experience has been the same.

Are they wondering about the boost in sales?

Haha I was wondering the same thing! I was actually a bit concerned that they would be out of stock when I decided to switch from the HF to the silicon pump this late in the game. The HF will get the job done, but as soon as the light became anything but direct the flow dropped off far too much for my comfort.

Battery purchase and wiring, then I'm through!

[zaius]

To everyone making the box coolers: what are you using for a box? I can't find anything big enough with horizontal sides at any hardware stores nearby.

To those that are building a box, what materials did you make it out of? And how did you ensure it was waterproof / airtight?

[FIGJAM]

I comes in 4x8 sheets for about $35 at home depot.

I don't recall what it is, but if you ask for water proof panels, they will direct you.

In the same isle, there will be some plastic inside corner molding for 50 cents a foot.

I used Goop to put the box together, then ran 100% silicone caulk over the seams to be sure they would'nt leak.

[zaius]

Awesome. Thanks for the quick reply figjam. A couple clarifications:
* Any difficulty in cutting the stuff?
* The plastic corner molding is just to make it possible to attach the boards together?
* What's goop?

[FIGJAM]

Cuts like a dream with a jigsaw.

Yes on the corner molding.

Goop is the name of some a glue that drys to the texture of rubber gasket and damn near impossible to pull apart.

[zaius]

Thanks! I'll make a trip to home depot tomorrow. Any idea if will cut it to size for me there? Probably won't be able to fit a 4'x8' in my car. The other option is just to take a hand saw and cut it in the parking lot

[kman]

Hiya Figgy, just checking in. This thread has grown monster-sized since last year!

Sadly, I'm not able to make it to the playa this year but I think next year I'll certainly want to play with some improvements to the original design. It would be very cool to be able to actually and effectively cool the yurt, especially with an all-solar design (although my Costco deep cycle battery lasted the whole run last year... not that I ended up using the cooler much, since it was such a cool year).

Warning to those considering going solar: TEST YOUR DESIGNS! My HF pump output was great in strong sunlight during the peak light hours, but you could really hear it going up and down in output as clouds, people, the angle of the sun, etc. moved by. The slightest reduction from ideal conditions will noticeably reduce the output. The same would be true of any wholly-solar powered fans (meaning, those without a battery buffer).

Also, with solar designs in general, please keep in mind that panel ratings are for PEAK OUTPUT. This is NOT a figure that you can count on. This may not matter if you're just using the solar panel to recharge/top off a nice big battery (which could probably survive the run even without recharging), but if you're trying to run fans and such directly, plan on a LOT of variation in fan speed, and realize that you're going to need a lot more power capacity to compensate for less than ideal conditions. (read: less than high noon, panels not directly facing the sun, cloudy days, playa dust reducing overall efficiency, etc.)

The 5 gal bucket cooler is a lot of fun, but unless you're using serious fans like the big Endless Breeze, I wouldn't count on a standard 5-gal cooler effectively lowering the temps in a truly noticeable way in a full-size yurt (especially the yurts with extended 6' sidewalls compared to the standard 4' yurts). The fan will feel nice if it can be arranged to blow right onto you, but it's not going to feel truly air conditioned. I think you need one of the bigger box-style coolers, like the Unibody or 2.0, to really start cooling the larger spaces like yurts. Smaller tents have less space to cool, but on the other hand, they're not nearly as well sealed or insulated, so that's a tough call.

Mind you, none of this should stop you from having a most excellent burn anyway.

I look forward to seeing reports of actual full-scale tests!

[JeepBear]

Say Mr. JAM...which version of GOOP are you using, Marine?

[FIGJAM]

My Goop was in a blue tube whichever that one is.

Kman brought up some good points.

Look at the title to the thread.

That's what I set out to do with the bucket cooler, but with yurts being insulated, it has worked with moderate success.

Stronger fans are the key, but if you want to be sure, build one of the box coolers.

I've stated repeatedly that the reason I don't use solar is that I'm not that familiar with it, and it can still be hot if there's any clouds, so I run my set up off my battery.

Air conditioning and swamp cooling are totally different.

I think a big plus with swamp coolers is that your skin and sinuses won't dry out when sleeping.

Their alot quieter than air conditioning and you don't need a generator.

Hope this clears up any confusum.

[unjonharley]

\
Wounder how a bucket cooler would work with a wind mill driven fan..

[andreas97]

I managed to get one of those trash cans you mentioned, Figjam, and was going to use that for my unicooler, but I may just build a box.
The more I look at it, the amount of effort to build out wood to make that sit flush to a yurt wall is going to be as much effort as just getting the materials from HD and building the box.
And, then I can just use the trash can for its original purpose.