Different "Evaporation Coolers/AC Coolers"

[Swope904]

Without spending the money to test these myself. Does anyone with experience wanna chime in and help me?


The normal evap cooler is like this and gets to about 65 degress




But I have been seeing this kind without the pump and filter medium that get a lot colder at around 45 degrees.




Im gonna be building some of these so would love to hear opinions and advice from someone who has built and used both.

[FIGJAM]

How much ice do you want to buy???

Here's a little info......................

viewtopic.php?f=280&t=33842&start=2670

[Swope904]

Buying ice doesn't bother me really.

And thanks for the link fig..but i have read it a bunch of times and have already used your post as reference.



I'm actually trying to get some info on how they work like my post said. And which one people prefer and their experience with them.

[LowePro]

Good luck whatever you decide.

I endorse the Figjam bucket cooler w/o reservation.
No direct experience w/ the ice version, but please accept the suggestion not to use a styrofoam cooler, they are fragile and moopy, use something less prone to disentegration, and plan for some way to dispose of all the melt water, it will be muddy due to influx of all the dust so reuse options will be limited.

[Swope904]

Good luck whatever you decide.

I endorse the Figjam bucket cooler w/o reservation.
No direct experience w/ the ice version, but please accept the suggestion not to use a styrofoam cooler, they are fragile and moopy, use something less prone to disentegration, and plan for some way to dispose of all the melt water, it will be muddy due to influx of all the dust so reuse options will be limited.

didn't plan on it. I know Styrofoam isn't welcomed on the playa. You can use normal coolers and whatever else too... Its the principal. But thanks for your 2cents anyways.

[FIGJAM]

I'm not sure the ice version CAN work all that well.

If you have a fan that is going to push enough air to do any good, the air will be moving too fast to get cool through convection.

Build the cheapest test model with ice and check the air temp.

I get a consistent 30 degree deference that I'm not sure the "ice cooler" can match.

[maladroit]

Oooo, an ice-warmer...so decadent. I used to only see those in SkyMall.

[Eric]

I'm not sure why think you need to get down to 45°to be comfortable - are you a frozen slab of meat?
The Figjam cooler is playa tested & refined, has proven to work under playa conditions, and makes anyone very cool (unless, of course, you have a medical condition that requires you to be at 45°). I would recommend something you that you know works in the extremely dry, high desert conditions your first year (the Figjam version), then you can go from there if you want to change it.

[Token]

No doubt the wise advice is provided but there is no harm in adding more drunken engineering to a winning design.

One could use Figjam's Mosquito Coast contraption as the first stage of a multi-stage cooler to get lower temperatures on the cooler exhaust.

The ice-based second stage should be rather easy to construct.

This way you can have both. A proven design that you can fall back on, and the glory of building something extra special.

A 5-day cooler of sufficient size to float two ice blocks, a pond pump, a radiator or few to increase the surface area for the heat transfer, bunch of tubing and clamp rings, and some ducting.

I'd say go for it. Fun way to tinker on something that could be very cool to share.

[Swope904]

Thanks everybody for your input!

[JayBobBoy]

I have this type of conversation often with my 15 year old son.

He is doing something for the first time, and is looking for some advice, guidance, and the confidence to move on. I provide a wealth of wisdom without hesitation, giving the most meaningful answer I can think of, with background data to back it up. The advice is then immediately dismissed and ignored...

You asked a question, and the most knowledgable people here gave you a reasonable response...which is a whole lot more than most people get!

I say buy a generator and a wall unit and be done with it all!

[dragonpilot]

I had poor results with the Figjam design...and I am perfectly will to admit that it was prolly sumpin' I did wrong. So I had lots of 2" holes and drilled more...wherever I could fit them in. I had good pump flow and good air flow...so not much I can do there to improve. I'm going to wrap some window screen (a double layer) around the cooling pad. I am taking a trip to local desert end of July for a test run...will report back.

[FIGJAM]

Make sure ALL the air has to pass through the wet pad.

[LowePro]

@ dragon, a single layer of window screen is probably enough and won't restrict your airflow as much as a double layer might. I did this w/ chicken wire and it was plenty to keep the cooler pad cylinder from drooping.

When you test your device, poke thru all the holes w/ your finger (yep) to make sure the pad is getting wet evenly (yep) all the way around. If not, cooler won't work well. Adjust your drip line to get an even distribution of water.

To test airflow, wave a lit cigarette or incense around the perimeter of the bucket and ensure that the smoke is getting sucked up evenly and getting sucked *thru* the cooler pad, not up and over.

Make sure, when you put the lid on the bucket, that the CPU Fan isn't catching on the cooler pad and squashing it down. The CPU fan should fit completely inside the cylinder. I also had an issue w/ the drip line hoop slipping down in between the two rolls of cooler pad. (I made the drip line ring a hair bit too small). But easily fixed w/ a few zip ties to keep the drip line perched on top of the cooler pad.

(You can do all these tests in any climate, BTY).
I had great luck w/ mine, but it was about attention to detail and following the specs closely.

[dragonpilot]

I like the chicken wire idea! Re testing...I thought you had to be in low humidity to get meaningful results? Anyway, at least I'll get an idea about my airflow. Thanks!

[AntiM]

You can tell if the airflow is working, even in a humid environment.

We used one last year, and it dropped the inside temp of our nylon tent nicely. 70s, I'd guess, which is about how well our big one here at home does. Enough for a sound, deep nap. We even used it as a "spot" personal cooler. Are you using the blue pads or the aspen? We always use blue, they don't get funky, and are stiffer.

[dragonpilot]

Roger the airflow...last year I had plenty of airflow...it just wasn't coming out cool at all...which prolly points to insufficient blue pad saturation...but it seemed plenty wet to me. Anyway...thanks for the tips. I'll be testing it in the desert in a coupla weeks.

[dragonpilot]

Checked airflow today...baby, she's flowing! If I'da turned the bucket upside down it would have hovered!

[FIGJAM]

If you just can't get to function, bring it by camp and I'll beat it into submission!

[Swope904]

If you just can't get to function, bring it by camp and I'll beat it into submission!

Your a damn good man.

[FIGJAM]

You don't have all the facts!!!

[dragonpilot]

If you just can't get to function, bring it by camp and I'll beat it into submission!

I will...if I get a damn ticket!