cooling your tent or van

illy dilly · Post by **illy dilly** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 11:51 am

Alright, I wasn't planning on making an evap cooler. I was totally happy with my little battery fan, and a spray bottle.
BUT......
I got these fans for free.
They are Middle Atlantic 'QFAN' or more spedifically NMB-MAT 4715ms
Manufactured by NMB for Middle Atlantic

My only issue is that they are AC not DC.
I'm probably gonna get bombarded with 'thats really dumb' but what would happen if I connected the AC fans to a DC source, with out an inverter?
Would they even work?

Typically I wont screw around with mixing AC and DC but these are just little fans pulling .11 amps.
They only provide 60 CFM (I think), so I'll need to use a few at a time.

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 11:59 am

I'm pretty sure it will fry them, so take pictures.

illy dilly · Post by **illy dilly** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 12:03 pm

OK. Worth a shot.
There are 4 more that someone cut the power supply cord to. So, I could always switch them out if it fries them.

I might wear the safety goggles for this one

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 8:05 pm

If you got the power, heres the bucket cooler fans!

http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l2/g36/c43 ... y_CFM.html

TT120 · Post by **TT120** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 9:32 pm

DC voltage wont run an AC motor. You would have to use an invertor.

illy dilly · Post by **illy dilly** » Sat Jun 18, 2011 7:52 am

These are $40 Middle Atlantic Fans. But sadly, since I don't have an invoice or bill of sale they are almost worthless. I wish I could trade someone for them. Sadly the only people that would appreciate the 'perceived' value would probably want to buy them new. These are top brand equipment cabinet fans.

I'm going to try to find someone that will trade me. Or at least give me a few bucks for them so I can buy some DC fans.

Thanks for the link and help, gang!

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 4:53 am

Last day bump!

Janet Planet · Post by **Janet Planet** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 11:56 am

[i]"This is a fan that Connie found and I really like it for the bucket cooler.

http://www.axiontech.com/prdt.php?item=57484 "[/i]

I want to hook one of these up to a solar panel. (I'm getting one of those solar pumps from Harbor Freight this afternoon)

Sorry y'all but I'm too restless to read through the 19+ pages on eplaya to find out how to do this (I'm sure it's been discussed).

Figgie baby, could you pretty please with bacon on top make a synopsis of instructions for the latest, greatest iteration of the 5Gallon bucket swampy for all of us who are just jumping in today?

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 12:07 pm

After the rupture!

Packoderm · Post by **Packoderm** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 12:38 pm

I'm working on cooling my truck, which happens to have a camper attached to it. I still have to cut the legs about a foot shorter, and I will be anchoring the whole thing down. I can barely place my hand on top of the roof when it is in the full sun, but it is nice and cool with the shade covering it. The winds here got to about 20 mph yesterday, and the shade mesh didn't even flutter at all in the breeze. I ran the swamp cooler today, but I can't tell if it is the shade or the cooler doing the job.

percussivepaul · Post by **percussivepaul** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 2:57 pm

Thanks for an awesome thread. This project looks really do-able.

I'm stuck on powering the fan right now. I don't own a battery or a solar array and I am trying to figure out the best way of doing this. I don't mind spending a bit more for quality parts that I can re-use in the future, but not sure I can afford a good battery this year.

Is there any room to trade off fan power against air temperature? Like if I am willing to accept slightly higher air temperatures can I use a lower-powered fan? Or does it not work that way... with an underpowered fan maybe I will just get no air movement.

Has anyone been able to run the fan directly from solar? without a battery?

Or am I best off just finding a battery this year somehow? (I can maybe recharge with the camp's generator)

Also, I'm contemplating just using a small battery-powered fan inside the tent to move the air -- no cooling, just blowing the air around. Seems like it would help a little but I haven't tried it. Any benefit to this, or would it be just like blowing a hair dryer at my face?

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 3:35 pm

Packoderm wrote:I'm working on cooling my truck, which happens to have a camper attached to it. I still have to cut the legs about a foot shorter, and I will be anchoring the whole thing down. I can barely place my hand on top of the roof when it is in the full sun, but it is nice and cool with the shade covering it. The winds here got to about 20 mph yesterday, and the shade mesh didn't even flutter at all in the breeze. I ran the swamp cooler today, but I can't tell if it is the shade or the cooler doing the job.

How humid was it when you did your test?

I the air coming into the cooler isn,t dry, it wont work well.

I remember you saying that your feed was "drp drip drip" which isn,t enough water.

You need a consistant trickle of water with an even distribution on the pads.

Because your cooler pulls air on all four sides, this can be a little tricky.

Increase the flow as much as you can without it actually spraying.

Weather it's in the shade or not, you WILL feel a difference when it's working properly.

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 3:42 pm

percussivepaul wrote:Thanks for an awesome thread. This project looks really do-able.

I'm stuck on powering the fan right now. I don't own a battery or a solar array and I am trying to figure out the best way of doing this. I don't mind spending a bit more for quality parts that I can re-use in the future, but not sure I can afford a good battery this year.

Is there any room to trade off fan power against air temperature? Like if I am willing to accept slightly higher air temperatures can I use a lower-powered fan? Or does it not work that way... with an underpowered fan maybe I will just get no air movement.

Has anyone been able to run the fan directly from solar? without a battery?

Or am I best off just finding a battery this year somehow? (I can maybe recharge with the camp's generator)

Also, I'm contemplating just using a small battery-powered fan inside the tent to move the air -- no cooling, just blowing the air around. Seems like it would help a little but I haven't tried it. Any benefit to this, or would it be just like blowing a hair dryer at my face?

A powerful enough fan is key to a good cooler!

Are you driving to the playa?

You can use a car battery to run the cooler, but you may need to run the car for an hour every couple of days to recharge depending on how much you use the cooler.

Costco has a 115ah battery for $80 that would run a bucket cooler 4hrs. a day for the week.

magdelyn · Post by **magdelyn** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 9:55 pm

Copying some of the designs on here, here is the swamp cooler I built.

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:16 am

magdelyn wrote:Copying some of the designs on here, here is the swamp cooler I built.

It will work better with many MORE holes.

ConnieH · Post by **ConnieH** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:38 am

percussivepaul wrote:Has anyone been able to run the fan directly from solar? without a battery?

Or am I best off just finding a battery this year somehow? (I can maybe recharge with the camp's generator)

This is my summer project, I have a bunch of solar yard lights that my dog chewed up (solar cells are still good), I'm going to try connecting them into one panel (I think I'll need 10 or more to get to 12 volt) and see if it will run my fan without batteries. The fan will slow down when a cloud goes over, but then so will my water pump, so maybe it's a wash. My biggest worry is too much power going to the fan from the solar panel and frying the fan, so I'll probably need some kind of charge controller. If this doesn't work, attaching the solar array to a 12v rechargable battery should work, and if you don't plan to run the cooler all day long it should charge up enough while it's off. I'm trying to go solar without dropping $60++ on a solar panel.

We lugged an 80ah deep cycle battery to the playa last year and I think it was overkill for just the cooler - we never had to charge it, which was nice, but I think a much smaller battery that you can charge by solar, or off a genny a couple times a week would work fine, too, and take up less space.

HandJamMasterC · Post by **HandJamMasterC** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 9:49 am

I'm going to try using one of these solar / battery powered fans in your box cooler, with a solar powered fountain pump.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200422029

2400 cfm !!

Packoderm · Post by **Packoderm** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 10:01 am

FIGJAM wrote:
How humid was it when you did your test?

I the air coming into the cooler isn,t dry, it wont work well.

I remember you saying that your feed was "drp drip drip" which isn,t enough water.

You need a consistant trickle of water with an even distribution on the pads.

Because your cooler pulls air on all four sides, this can be a little tricky.

Increase the flow as much as you can without it actually spraying.

Whether it's in the shade or not, you WILL feel a difference when it's working properly. 8)

Under the shade, the interior of the moho is 100 degrees. After 15 minutes with the swamp cooler on, it is 85 degrees. The water actually flows pretty good from about 40 holes set around the cooling pad. Last September, one of those really expensive swamp coolers for RVs came on sale on craigslist for $75 (like the one shown below). I was short on money. I now wish I bought it.

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 10:21 am

HandJamMasterC wrote:I'm going to try using one of these solar / battery powered fans in your box cooler, with a solar powered fountain pump.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200422029

2400 cfm !!

If that thing preforms as advertised, it may be the all time champeen cooler fan, even at that price.

You may have to go bigger on the box with a bigger opening for more pad.

Please let us know how well it works.

HandJamMasterC · Post by **HandJamMasterC** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 10:52 am

I'll give you a full report when finished. I'm using the Harbor Freight solar fountain pump too. The goal is a totally solar powered version of your box cooler !!

ConnieH · Post by **ConnieH** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 10:56 am

HandJamMasterC wrote:I'll give you a full report when finished. I'm using the Harbor Freight solar fountain pump too. The goal is a totally solar powered version of your box cooler !!

I'm very interested to hear as well...I staggered when I first saw the price, but if you add up the cost of a new solar panel and battery, plus a fan, it's really not that bad in comparison.

HandJamMasterC · Post by **HandJamMasterC** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 11:00 am

Ya, when I priced batteries per Figjam's specs in this thread, they cost as much as this fan. Or more, for good ones.

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 2:39 pm

I would suggest you make the box wider rather than taller so the pump will still have enough head to supply enough water.

That fan is pushing almost as much air as the smallest full sized cooler for a small house!

A lot of evap means a lot of water.

HandJamMasterC · Post by **HandJamMasterC** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 3:29 pm

Looks like it has 2 or 3 speed settings though, so no doubt 2400 CFM is max. I'll have to play with it and then see how to integrate it into your design..

ConnieH · Post by **ConnieH** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 3:43 pm

Could you guys give me your opinion and let me know if my math is correct? I've been looking for an alternative to the big 80ah deep cycle battery - would this work for my .6A fan:
http://1000bulbs.com/product/56363/BAT- ... seShopping

Now, if I were to buy or build a 5 watt solar panel to charge it, and assuming I only use the cooler 2 hours a day (really all I need for naps in the yurt), I'd be drawing 1.2A out of the battery each day - assuming I only get 50% of the 10ah, I could run the fan for about 4 days without a recharge, right? If the 5W solar panel put back .41A per hour (5w/12v=.41a) I'd only need about 4 hours of charging per day to put back what I use, correct? Or am I all wet?

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 3:51 pm

That sounds right to me, but if you're going with a 10ah, you might check into a lithium or NICAD as I think you can run them down 100% without hurting them.

ConnieH · Post by **ConnieH** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 4:01 pm

Thanks Figgy, I'll check into that - my camera just died, maybe I'll do a test with that battery. I'd like the fan to run off 100% solar like the pump, but reality is setting in that a battery backup would be a good idea and provide more of a steady airflow.

Janet Planet · Post by **Janet Planet** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 3:13 pm

HandJamMasterC wrote:I'm going to try using one of these solar / battery powered fans in your box cooler, with a solar powered fountain pump.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200422029

2400 cfm !!

Check out the Q and A on their site, where someone asks "Will the solar panel drive the fan without the battery inline?" and is answered "You need the battery to keep it running smooth and efficient. With out the battery it will run erratic and sometimes not at all."

HandJamMasterC · Post by **HandJamMasterC** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 3:38 pm

Ya, and it comes with it's own battery.

Martiansky · Post by **Martiansky** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 4:55 pm

I had an idea on fans to throw out there.....
Instead of messing with a big battery and having to charge it, what about using one of those battery operated camping tent fans?
Im not sure how good they are on little batteries, but maybe it'd be worth it?

cooling your tent or van

Solar powered Fan? Synopsis of latest instructions?