cooling your tent or van

[FIGJAM]

12 volt deep cycle battery.

[LadyOcelot]

Jyman,

Love the clear bin. Question: how do you plan to compensate for the inward slope of the bin vs the flat wall of your structure? I'm in the same boat and would love your thoughts.

Mr. Figjam,

Is there a reason why you use PVC instead of poly tube for the top of the drip line?

Cheers.

[FIGJAM]

Any place I have a straight run, I like the pvc.

Easy to drill the holes uniformly.

I just set the pvc on top of the pad.

Others put brackets or hangers to hold it in place

It's easy to use bread ties to ancore the poly to the top of the pad to keep the flow lined up with the pad.

So I use poly for circles and pvc for straight runs.

[FIGJAM]

The easiest way to compensate for the angle on your container is to stick some foam rubber around where you want to seal it to the wall.

The foam will give enough for you to just push the cooler against the hole in the wall for a good seal.

[captain mcguiver]

The easiest way to compensate for the angle on your container is to stick some foam rubber around where you want to seal it to the wall.

The foam will give enough for you to just push the cooler against the hole in the wall for a good seal.

I'm thinking this and a combination of using that spray foam crap that expands. Make a nice little mold for it.

[Bama]

Hey Figjam, just wanted to say thanks for the awesome design and continued info.

Ive been wanting to make one of these since my first burn. Made a kilt last year, so I decided to try my hand at the cooler this year.

So Ive got it built, and got it packed to fly out in the morning. I just wish I could hear the TSA agents comments when it rolls through xray! Wires, and fans, and motors, and tutus? Gotta be a first for Birmingham airport.


Swamp_cooler by Conor B Davis, on Flickr

[ShreddinPB]

I have two questions about powering these..

I went ahead and nerded up my bucket cooler.
I added a Arduino micro controller, photoresistor, and a float switch.

Now the cooler will turn on when it gets light enough outside, and if there is water in the cooler so I dont run my pump dry!
My main question is next I am planning on adding a way to check battery voltage. At what point should I stop drawing from the battery and charge it up?
I have heard 50%, what voltage is 50%? do I take the battery down to 6v??

I already have a second pump that is very energy hungry 4Ah is there a way to limit it to say 1Ah?
That way I could hammer together a second cooler using two case fans maybe.

btw, I also added a PIR motion sensor that will turn on my LED light strip in the shade structure at night only at 50% power at first, then I will have a wall switch to turn it on normal.
I am trying to get my vrbot voice recognition going also, but I dont think there will be enough time lol

[FIGJAM]

Depends on the battery.

This chart shows 12.06 as 50% discharged.

Full charge at 12.7.

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

Not sure hoe to put your 4amp pump on a "Diet".

[Jyman]

Cool bin, where did you pick that up?

Got it at Petsmart. I went on a mission to find a ready to use case...couldn't find this online anywhere. Was pretty pricey though..$50. Doesn't leak at all.

As for the slight taper on the box...I tried resting it on my inside Yurt wall and it seems flush enough. The picture makes it look more tapered than it really is. The tapering is under an inch from top to bottom. The lid sticks out a little but if I have to I'll yurt-tape a seal around the vent to around the intake window.

[Jyman]

Jyman,

Love the clear bin. Question: how do you plan to compensate for the inward slope of the bin vs the flat wall of your structure? I'm in the same boat and would love your thoughts.

I think the camera on my phone exaggerates the perspective a bit. The slope isn't as bad as it looks. But if it is a problem I'd think a small extension (about 2") from wall to vent would compensate. When we did a test build of our yurt the cooler seemed to fit well against the wall

[Nicky Pickles]

Hey all, I just put together my 5 gal, solar pump, with a 12v/0.32A fan, and put it under the sun to see what happens.
Result is running water, but no fan action.

My thoughts are:
-The components are in series, I'm considering swapping to parallel.
-My fan was a used fan salvaged from an old PC power supply, so I'm also considering the fan being faulty and trying another salvaged fan from a PC Power supply.

What suggestions do the epayans have?

[FIGJAM]

Disconnect the wires to the fan and do a touch test to the battery.

Sometimes they only work in one configuration.

Make sure the fan is DC.

[Nicky Pickles]

I connected to a DC 12v battery and still had no motion on the fan, must be a seized fan. replacement is en route

[sjs]

Hello my beautiful swamp cooler people. One last reminder:

Cooler-Con at 5:00pm on Tuesday at Camp Bioluminati (we are the "Pimp Yr Bike" folks). We are located on the 5:30 road between Alyssum and the Esplanade... basically near the "p" in "Center Camp" on this map:

(click the image for more detail)

So, as noted on PlayaEvents and in your What Where When book:

Bring your swamp cooler or come to learn! Meet the fabulous people from the epic eplaya thread! Fix, troubleshoot, and invent!

Bring your own battery if you can, but still come if you can't (we can share).

[captain mcguiver]

Great seeing those of you who showed up to CoolerCon 2012!

My Swamp Cooler worked almost perfect. The only thing wrong was it let me sleep TOO much! The interior of my truck was so cool, I didn't even have to install the reflectix on the roof. Whenever I felt hot, I just turned on the cooler. Having the 55 gallon tank next to it made filling a breeze. I charged the battery once all week. It came home in one piece with my door plug. Looks like I will be re-using it next time, I may even try it here at home.

On a funny side note. Would you believe my neighbors next to me ( I think they were israeli ) basically gifted me two store-bought swamp coolers they didn't want to lug back home. Yes: two. So my truck came home with 3 swamp coolers total. It's funny how they are basically Unicoolers with some bells and whistles. Instead of Duracool Pads they use a "unique cellulose based" pad, which to me looks like card board. They have an Ionizer mode as well. The fans inside of them pump out 1000 Cfm. Pretty cool. Now what am I going to do with 3 of them? I guess I will have 2 really good friends at camp next burn. They are Newair brand, and can be seen at http://www.air-n-water.com/product/af-351.htm.

Here's some pics of my door plug and cooler in action on the playa.

Door Plug (Rmax 4x8 with magnetic front door, closeable cooler plug, and exterior vent hole):

Inside View next to 55 gallon tank

Guts (12volt lighted switch for pump tied into fan power, 5 gallon capacity, duracool pad + pvc)

Exhale (dryer duct vented outside starting from highest point in truck)

[gjenkins]

Dang, I missed CoolerCon. My bucket cooler worked well, and allowed for comfortable sleep in our tent during any part of the day

1. The no-pump/wicking filters worked as long as I prefiltered the inlet air. Otherwise, they turned to a mud-bog quickly.
2. I ran off of my car battery, while recharging from a small solar panel and idling my car every other day. (monitored with a digital volt meter).
3. I almost chopped the tip of my finger off ... that FIGJAM recommended computer fan is strong.

[FIGJAM]

LET'S HEAR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How did your cooler do?

Mine worked great, to the point where I had to nap under a fleece from 1 to 3pm saturday.

When I was at camp during the day, I had the bucket cooler blowing on me and call people of the street for some "cool air".

You would think I was a magician who just pulled a buzzard out of my ass.

The expretions on peoples faces were priceless.

They would sit in my chair while I explained the build and how they worked.

By the time I finished they were getting "chilly"!

100 hugs burn!!!

[ShreddinPB]

Sadly, I missed cooler con also, and it was at pimp your bike, and I had a pimp bike, but had trouble with the batteries

Well, our standard bucket cooler worked AWESOME! I am going to step it up to a box cooler next year tho. I am also going to either use a deep cycle or solar to run it. I had 4 12 SLA 12Ah batteries, and they would run about a day and a half. I would just rather not have to think about it.
The "Camp Controller" Arduino I set up worked like a charm also! The float switch kept the pump from running dry, and the photoresistor turned on the swamp cooler when it got light outside. This, by the way, was a GREAT thing! It was very cold in the morning when the sun came up.. so the swamp cooler would turn on and flood the yurt with cold air. As long as we kept an eye on keeping the door shut, the super cold morning air would last inside the yurt till about 1pm!

One thing I didnt do that I found out I should.. I didnt put a furnace filter vent on the other side of the yurt.. I think the cooler was blowing so much air in and couldnt let the hot air out.. it was pretty funny cause you would open the yurt door and it would FLY open from the air pressure inside hahahah.

I will take some pictures of the camp controller and float switch and post them here, along with the very basic arduino code.

[FIGJAM]

Yes!

There has to be a place for the air to escape or the cooler can't do it's job.

People keep confusing the cooler with AC.

With AC you try to contain the cool.

With the evap coolers the air should get completely replaced every 1 to 3 minutes for the best results.

[gjenkins]

My next upgrades:

1. 12v Deep Cycle Battery
2. 50 watt Solar Panel
3. Complete rebuild to increase capacity

Question: Does the circulating water design scrub all of the particulates from the incoming air? and wash them into the bottom of the bucket/box?

[FIGJAM]

Yes.

The dura cool pad is very porse and the flowing water is a very affective filter.

My pads are on their 3rd year.

My pump started making a little noise about half way through the week. (it's 3rd year also)

It pops apart easily, so I popped it apart and there was a thin film of sludge on the interior.

Rinsed it with clean water and everything was fine. ( again, first time in three years)

If you're not getting full flow from the pump, make sure the plug on the impeller is all the way in place.

The vibration on the drive in dislodged mine a little, but it pushed right back into place.

[ShreddinPB]

Hey figjam, to make a good box cooler, how much GPH do you need?

Maybe there should be a post/tutorial for a box cooler also, all in one post.. 57 pages is a pain to sort thru hahahah

[unjonharley]

I want a NASCAR type cooling helmet with a Homer bucket cooler for the trike.

[FIGJAM]

YURT ALERT!!!!! Ok you dont have to have a yurt, but I liked saying it. Swamp cooler 2.0.



I made the box out of some left over material from my tub surround. I dont remember what its called, but its water proof and light. Fiber glass or plastic panels will work if their thick enough, but if you are patient, look in the thrift stores for a plastic or lexan display case with roughly the same dementions. 15x15x24in. Then you wont have to build a box.



The endless breeze fan is awsome. I thought I had a problem with it, but it turns out that I reversed the connection which made the fan run backwards, so it wasnt pushing much air. Now I can feel the breeze from 10ft away when its on low(1.18 amps 250cfm) medium 500cfm 1.68 amps, and high is 900cfm at 2.50 amps. Great for a 12 volt fan. The cheepest price new that I found was $60. Mine was a display and I got it for $25.



1/2in. pvc and three 90s and a cap.



The feed line was a little small till I put a short piece of pvc in the 90. with a little sillycone, its perfect. No need to glue the other pvc parts together.





By folding the pad instead of cutting individual pieces, It gets a snugger fit. The piece of strap keeps the pad snug at the front of the cooler. This is needed because if your fan is real strong, it will try to vacume your pad away from the sides. The pad retains its shape real well, so folding the inside corners is perfect.
The black tape is there because I got a little high on the sides with my holes and you want all the air to be drawn through damp pad.




Im waiting for the little bit stronger pump so I can test, but it should work fine...........FIGJAM........Oh .....check rv places to locate this fan. I sillyconed all the joints on the box exept the lid and this unit holds 8 gal. of water. Theres room for a case of pbr in the bottom. I have to check, but I think the water temp when running is close to 40 degrees. Unite dry wieght 13 pounds.

Instead of holes, use the registers!

Their better at keeping the water in.

Water use is about 3/4gal. per hour and the pump moves 80gph.

[FIGJAM]

The pumps just arrived! I installed one on the new cooler and I cant think of any way it could be more suited to this purpose.





It uses .23amps and has a built in filter. Cost $14.95. Heres a pic of the pad to give an idea of how porse it is.



If you want your controls to be inside your structure cut the box with an extention where you will attatch the fan. this is how I set mine up.





I didnt need an extention. I tried it without the shade clothe first. When I had just the pump on there was minor leaking untill I turned the fan on low and the leaking stopped. If I sand the holes it may stop that entirely as any little snag tends to direct a small leak. And now the best part.....





The cooler on low (1.4 amps with the pump) is setting on the desk in the background and is about 4ft. away, but I couldnt get a good pic of the temp with the cooler in the shot. But damn AM I EVER HAPPY HAPPY WITH THIS THING...............FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGJAM............

You can use some small pieces of wire to hold the pad against the registers to keep them in place.

[gjenkins]

Oh yeah, we had a bad experience with non-clean melt water from the cooler. It is not pleasant to sleep in cool cooked chicken air! I do not recommend gray water

[FIGJAM]

Keep your ice in big ziplock bags to keep it from being contaminated.

After using it to cool your food, use it to cool YOU!

[grenadine]

Thanks Figjam, just wanted to introduce you to Vanilla Ice, the swamp cooler! I'm going to probably get a stronger fan and better venting, but for my first time out it did a fine job of keeping my tent bearable.

vanillaicecooler.jpg

[kstlfido]

Finally home!

CoolerCon was great! Thanks all that showed up in our Pimp Your Bike area to exchange cooler ideas. A big thanks to sjs for putting it together!

And a HUGE thanks to figjam for spreading the word and getting us all into swamp coolers!

Report- My box cooler worked like a dream, more than I expected. An unexpected benefit was how it also removed virtually all the dust from the air, even in a duststorm. Added with the positive pressure from the cooler, I had a virtually dust-free yurt all week.

Data on the hottest day-
Outside- 94.3 F (in shade, of course), 22% humidity.
Inside- 68.5 F (!!!), 45% humidity.

Proper exit venting in imperative. I had two 10" x 20" vents w/ filters and one 5" x 5" 'flap' to release air. Without these, inside the yurt started to feel muggy.

I used meltwater extensively. But only meltwater w/ NO meat juices. I did put a teaspoon of bleach in a few times during the week to be safe.

Water usage was 2-3 gallons a day. I kept fan on low for most of the time, only going to high intermittently.

Cooler bottom and pads did accumulate some dust, but very little to what I was expecting. No caking or mud layers.

It also made an excellent cooler for drinks!

I'll post picks when I find some..

THANK YOU for the inspiration! Coolers are a WIN WIN WIN on the playa!

-Kent

[captain mcguiver]

Nice meeting you Kent. Yes, your Yurt felt extremely cool and was pretty dust free.

In my box truck I could run my finger across a surface and not find playa dust, up till about Thursday when my feet dragged most of it in.
I can say I was the cleanest I have been in 10 years of BM. Pretty amazed at what the cooler, and a rug int he truck did for keeping me clean all week. Never a tent again. Maybe a Yurt.

Got home with the two gifted store-bought coolers and one of them just leaked water when you turned on the evaporative part. Pulled it apart and found that a section of the water feed hose had melted or caught itself on the fan motor. Replaced that part of the hose with extra BM parts, and I got the second swamp cooler working! Been using it here. It's been like 94F and the cooler has been cooling the house down rather well. No need for AC. The fan rocks on these too. Probably a tiny bit better than the Coolbreeze fan. If I didn't have these guys, I would probably be trying to run my 12v Cooler in the house. I've daydreamed about a truck installation.