cooling your tent or van

[bl00zt00n]

Hi Figjam-

My dura-cool pad roll arrived today. You doubled the thickness on the bucket cooler. Would the box cooler benefit from an extra layer of pad as well?

BTW- I got the same 400lph pumps as the posting above. Mine seems to be working just fine. Could have been dropped in shipment to bend a shaft.

-Kent

I will say they were very quick to respond and are sending out a replacement today with a return receipt for the defective unit. Although I'm disappointed it didn't work (and at this late in the process, but I guess that's what I get for waiting until the last minute), I have to say customer service is very good.

[bl00zt00n]

Sooo, I just got my duracool pad and am about to put my cooler together. I'm doing the Home Depot bucket design. I was wondering, though, if more holes would help? I guess the main restriction would be how much water you can put in the bucket at a time and then the holes could go down to that level. Is 2 gallons enough water in your experience?

[FIGJAM]

Use to have more holes.

If the outer sleeve of pad is not touching the bucket where the holes are, (as designed) the air flows all around the pad, not just where the holes are.

Plus, no leaks!

1 row of 2 1/2" or 3" holes will work fine.

[Jyman]

Hours of reading these boards and now for my 1st post...
Awesome info here, BIG THANKS Fig!

Tried resolving my questions by reading around but time is getting slim as I'm also prepping my 1st 8' yurt along with the bucket cooler.
Though the unicooler seems killer it may be overkill for the standard yurt and I'm also on tight budget. I'm a bit confused on how to power the bucket cooler system;

1) If I understand correctly, with this pump http://www.harborfreight.com/solar-powe ... 66093.html the solar panel is included. Will this same solar panel work to power the fan if I splice the wires together?

2) A battery seems more reliable and powerful for both fan and pump and it seems to be your preference. Would you recommend a certain model battery + charger combo? No experience here with powering via battery in this way.

Thanks again! can't wait to hustle on this supply run and get it together.

[FIGJAM]

The HF pump is 6volt and is just enough for the pump.

Costco has a 115ah deep cycle battery that will let you run the cooler 6 hours a day for the whole week without a recharge.

I think they're $90.

[Jyman]

Thanks for such a quick reply! So connect the pump to the battery along with the fan and forget about dealing with any solar? Pretty solid solution...though it costs a bit. Seems worth the $$ to have it so squared away. Should be fine split between 3 of us in the Yurt!
thnx Hope to see u out there!

[Jyman]

Will this work? Seems a bit less cost

http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... CFgQ8wIwAQ

[FIGJAM]

Sure.

It's a 7ah battery, so you can run your cooler for 2 hours before that will need recharging!

[Jyman]

I see...Will do my homework next time. =] No luck finding Costco's model online. Will be going in to check tomorrow. As for hooking the battery up to the bucket cooler's pump and fan, are any additional components needed or just configure the proper wiring?

And I see people are sometimes re-charging via generator (if u need more than 6hrs /day), but can these also get re-charged by a car jump?

[FIGJAM]

They don't put their batteries online.

Ask them for the 115ah deep cycle.

Yes, just connect to the posts or get fancy and add switches for inside the yurt.

If I need to recharge, (usually for my trike) I run jumper cables and idle my truck for an hour.

[Jyman]

Perfect. Can't wait to try it out. Gonna have two 8' yurts between the few of us and aim to put a bucket cooler on both!

[FIGJAM]

Testing shows that the bucket is a little small for a yurt.

It will work, but the unicooler or box cooler is very effective for that space.

Once you build one you'll understand how they work and can design for your spacific needs.

[captain mcguiver]

They don't put their batteries online.
Ask them for the 115ah deep cycle.

Costco definitely has 115ah Deepcell batteries, after taxes and core fees it's about $100. It's in the automotive shop, which is a separate building from the main Costco in most cases. The only other battery choices that come close, are Target and Walfart. About the same price for a slightly less Ah version.

[irock]

Thanks Figjam, we made it! And will power from a car battery and also have a small solar panel to keep it charged while we aren't using it too....yay!!

From Dust we Burn.

iR

[FIGJAM]

WHAT!!!

No pictures!!!!!!!!!!!

[Canoe]

They don't put their batteries online.
Ask them for the 115ah deep cycle.

Costco definitely has 115ah Deepcell batteries, after taxes and core fees it's about $100. It's in the automotive shop, which is a separate building from the main Costco in most cases. The only other battery choices that come close, are Target and Walfart. About the same price for a slightly less Ah version.

How many volts can you run that one down to, if you want it to have a long life?

[FIGJAM]

11.9

http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm

[kstlfido]

I got a few pics of work in progress.. All parts acquired, most assembled.

3/4" ply box- Box was sized to a polypropelyne tub I found that will sit in the bottom. All glued, screwed and painted w/ elastomeric coating. Can says I have to wait 24 hours after coat but it's dry already. I WANNA get it DONE!

I'm modding the fan- using it for power routing & putting all controls on front face. Separate pump circuit with float valve and indicator light to let me know when water is low.

Hope to have it done tomorrow..so I can get the rest of my shit done!!!

[FIGJAM]

I give up!

Where do you put the dilithium crystals?

Very nice job!

Don't be afraid to go heavy with the coating.

Don't want no water to the wood warp!

[kstlfido]

The Dilithium crystal chamber has 3 coats of sta-kool elastomeric 780 siliconized roof coating.

Once the crystals are installed, the startup procedure will bake-in the coatings.

[ShreddinPB]

Where are people getting their dura-cool pads from? I cant seem to find them anywhere, specially locally
Im in LA

[captain mcguiver]

Where are people getting their dura-cool pads from? I cant seem to find them anywhere, specially locally
Im in LA

Try East LA, Pasadena, Burbank, not say- Santa Monica. In San Diego, out of like 8 Home Depot's only one had it, the one in Santee which is East County.

Call one Home Depot, and make them check their computer. They will tell you where the pads are sold closest to you.

[Jyman]

FIGJAM - I'm going for the unicooler for my 8' yurt. My question is whether to place it in or outside the yurt.
It seems that the 2.0 model is not meant for inside use. If it has 3 sides of cooling pad intake like the 2.0 model, then 2 of those sides would be in the yurt and they probably wouldn't be effective unless the whole unit was outside.

Would it be better to just have 1 panel of intake (like the 1.0) for the sake of putting the whole unit inside with the duracool side against an opening in the wall?
Or is the evaporation process better and result in more cooling if the unit is fully outside in the heat with 3 walls of intake?
I understand this may have not yet been tested but would much appreciate your insight. Thanks!

[FIGJAM]

The unicooler is designed to be inside the space being cooled.

But make it twice as wide for better air flow.

Mine only has the one panel because of the space I had to mount it.

It works fine for my limited space, but 2 to 3 square feet of intake will make it super effective for your yurt.

Both units work the same, it's just a matter of prefurance whether you want the cooler inside or out.

[poppymouse]

Thanks so much for this thread, FIGJAM. I'm building a trashcan-sized cooler for my 8' yurt.

I'm looking for some advice on the endless breeze fan placement. The most obvious place to mount it is on the trash can's lid. On top of that I can build a bending arm to direct air into my yurt -- just like this guy http://www.instructables.com/id/Portabl ... mp-cooler/.

One downside to this design, I think, is that the air speed will be reduced after going through the bend to get to the yurt. I am considering mounting the fan into the side of the yurt and then building the arm to connect the input of the fan to the top of the trash can. This would mean the fan is closer to my face, but farther from the cooler pad. What do you think is better?

Second, I bought a solar pump which worked great the first (sunny) day I tested it. Today is an overcast day though, and the water can't make it up the tube more than a few inches. I'm surprised by how bad the performance is in the reduced sunlight. In my burning experience, it will be extremely sunny, but also dusty. I'm worried the solar panel needs to be in 100% sunlight with no dust on it. Do you think it's OK to stick with this pump or should I go for something more powerful which can function in reduced sunlight conditions?

[FIGJAM]

That's what I based my first design on, but it's a lot bigger that you need.

I would build the unicooler or the box cooler.

[FIGJAM]

You are going to want a dependable pump.

Yellowdog had a powerful electric radiator fan and plenty of power to run it.

If you're going to try this, make sure the duct is as big as the fan.

I would mount the fan on the wall and be sure everything is sealed up well.

All the air needs to pass through the wet pad.

Good luck!

[ShreddinPB]

Ok guys, I have a couple questions.. I think I jumped the gun a little
I got so excited when I saw the bucket cooler that I ordered a 120mm 190cfm fan. I just installed it in the lid with a 90 elbow. I was about to drill the holes in the side of the bucket and I had a question, so I came in here to read and see if its ok to do.
I then read that a bucket cooler may be to small for a 8' yurt We are building a yurt out of 4'x8' panels.
So I guess a couple questions then.. work this all out at once hopefully.

First, I only have a 2" hole saw, I assume its fine to do two levels of holes at 2", just offsetting them so they are not directly vertical of the other row?

I was planning on using this pump since I already have it (I use it to pump my homebrew threw my 2 stage filter system)

It looks like it draws 4amps.. thats too much for one of these right? My batteries are 4 12v 12ah SLA batteries.

is one bucket and one 190cfm fan enough for the yurt?
Could I just make two buckets, and since my pump is non submersibal, just use a T coupler on both the intake and output of the pump and pump water thru two buckets with that one pump?
I have plenty of computer case fans laying around, so instead of ordering another 190cfm fan, just use 2 regular fans like in the other posts about a dual fan bucket cooler?

I have tried to read thru the thread and figure it out, but there is a lot to digest in here hahaha

finally, if I have to build a unicooler and scrap the bucket is this fan sufficient? The blades dont look like they would move much air for some reason

[Jyman]

FIGJAM thanks! I definitely prefer to have the cooling unit inside our Yurt.
Sorry, I know you said it's just a matter of preference if the unit is inside or out but I'm still confused about this;

When placed inside, a Unicooler has 1 intake vent and all air intake is from outside. But with a Box Cooler there are 3 intake vents and only 1 is against a wall sucking in air from outside the yurt while the other 2 vents only intake air from inside the yurt.
This is why I assumed the unicooler was an inside design, and the box cooler was an outside design. Am I wrong to think these 2 vents that remain fully inside the yurt would somehow be a problem or hinder the flow of things? Don't we want all intake vents to only take in outside air? I'm hoping I am wrong :>}

[ShreddinPB]

Have been doing more reading.. I should probably buy a pump that takes less Ah, since a 4Ah will drain my batteries pretty quick and I dont want to just be running around trying to charge my pump battery all the time