Swamp cooler: Solar or battery?

[Island Brian]

Hello!

Burning Man virgin here looking for some advice in regards to powering a 5 gallon bucket swamp cooler. I see most people advise the use of a battery, and if need be, a solar panel to recharge the battery. I was wondering if anyone has exclusively used solar panels to power the swamp cooler, and if there were any disadvantages of using solar over the battery, and vice versa? For example; is the battery more reliable because it doesn't depend on environmental factors?

-Island Brian

[FIGJAM]

My battery runs my cooler all week without having to recharge!

[Island Brian]

That sounds extremely reliable.

Thanks for the response!

[some seeing eye]

Sno Koan Solar camp will charge batteries. Then you would need 2 - they charge in the day. But if you use Mr Figjam's system and sizing, you may not need charging in the week.

[Eric]

Figjam is the creator of one of the most reliable swamp-cooling systems on the playa, trust his advice. Just google "figjam cooler" and you'll find complete instructions, and there's a thread somewhere on the board with lots of details (which I'm sure Figjam can find easily!)

[chuckularone]

Here's Figjam's swamp cooler thread: https://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic ... 80&t=33842

[FIGJAM]

Here's the latest recap!

https://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic.php?f=280&t=33842&start=2430

[tatonka]

we bought a expensive marine batt to run cooler and a extra regular batt incase. We started with the regular one to see how long it would last. It ran the cooler all week. Never had to use the deep cycle marine batt.

[Island Brian]

So we've decided battery is the safest way to run the swamp cooler. Can any recommend an inexpensive but reliable 12v battery that is between 105Ah-115Ah? We found these at Walmart, but read that it's 125Ah at 1 amp which sounds like it's not nearly powerful enough to run the cooler for a week?

http://answers.walmart.com/answers/1336 ... stions.htm

http://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-Max ... y/20531539

Thank you all for the informative responses! You all rule!

-Island Brian

[TT120]

I got that same battery from Wallymart and it ran my Figjam Bucket Cooler and charged 2 phones all week long without even breaking a sweat.

If you had to, you could charge it back up from your car with a set of jumper cables in about 30 minutes.

[Island Brian]

That's awesome news! And thanks for the speedy response, TT120!

You've all been incredibly helpful, and I thank you all for your time!

[Papa_Legba]

"If you had to, you could charge it back up from your car with a set of jumper cables in about 30 minutes."

is this true? i'm finding conflicting information online

cheers!

[FIGJAM]

Connect the jumpers to the battery you want to charge and let them set for an hour.

Then start the car and let it idle for an hour.

[Papa_Legba]

thank you!

and disconnect the battery & jumpers during pt 2 when letting the car idle?

[FIGJAM]

NO!!!

The first hour is whats called balancing.

If the alternator detects a full battery, it may not throw a full charge to the batteries.

The idle hour will then charge both batteries equally.

[Papa_Legba]

much appreciated!