cooling your tent or van

[missprism]

good gravy, what do you smell like when you shower?

i was just thinking of shampoo water and stuff..esp since its filtered..

[unjonharley]

good gravy, what do you smell like when you shower?

i was just thinking of shampoo water and stuff..esp since its filtered..

What would one smell like, out dancing in 95 degree weather.. A human shades there skin every 7 days.. The paper in the porta pots is not that great ether, along with coating of dust that gets every where.. And I do mean every where.

[missprism]

ehhh yeah. i see that point.

can't expect these to fix all playa issues...but it comes darn close

[FIGJAM]

i know using grey water from food use isn't recommended... but how about using shower water? would the soap suds affect anything? i think i might make my space smell nice

how are people securing the endless breeze fan to their boxes? is it heavy?

Some use brackets, bungees, or tape.

I used 100% clear silicone caulk and have'nt had any problems.

That being said, the one I built for the farmers market to keep thier veggies cool, the fan vibrated loose while they were towing it to thier camp.

Bike trailer, no shocks, bumpy playa, 2 miles!

http://www.fantasticvent.com/products/e ... reeze.html

[Shaolinskunk]

Figjam thanks for posting this! I read through several pages but didn't see it asked anywhere...would making it out of a cooler help any? I'm sure not everyone wants to chop a cooler up but if I have an extra and could make it similar to yours would the insulation and really cold water make a big enough difference? Thoughts please-

[FIGJAM]

The insulation will make so little difference that it's not worth considering.

Keeping your unit light and portable are much bigger plusses.

The physics of a swamp cooler make a 30 degree reduction in temperature about as good as it gets.

I get that with all my designs.

[Shaolinskunk]

Noted

Thanks again-

[Shaolinskunk]

Hey fig...did you use the same pump on the box as you did the bucket? I found the one on harbor freight but the other link just takes you to a solar site. Also what type of battery will survive out there/do you use?

[FIGJAM]

The pumps I like are dicontinued.

The HF solar pump is just enough if there is full sun.

Any 12 volt fountain pump that puts out about 80GPH and uses less than 500Ma is good.

I have a 105AH AGM battery to power the cooler, lights, and stereo that usually lasts all week.

Costco has a 115AH battery that runs about $90.

Mine are $240!

[Shaolinskunk]

Does the hf pump even need sun if you're running it off a battery?

[Rice]

Does the hf pump even need sun if you're running it off a battery?

Stating the Obvious:

"Solar Pump" - would need sun
"Battery Powered Pump" - would need a battery

If there is no sun, this device may not be necessary...

[TT120]

If you're going to use a battery to run it, make sure you get a 12 volt DC pump. There are some 110 volt AC ones out there and 6 volt pumps ususlly come with the solar panel fountain kit.

I got this one from E-Prey and it works perfect. It draws just over .5 amps.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-DC-Solar-Po ... 9747331%26

[missprism]

fig.. you used the paper clip or wire for the tubing in the bucket cooler, but what did you use to drill the holes in the pvc pipe? the holes look uniform, i assume some sort of drill bit? thanks

[Shaolinskunk]

Does the hf pump even need sun if you're running it off a battery?

Stating the Obvious:

"Solar Pump" - would need sun
"Battery Powered Pump" - would need a battery

If there is no sun, this device may not be necessary...

Solar power is 12v so are the batteries we are discussing so I assumed this was a 12v pump which COULD run off a battery I found one I think will work for me though.... Thanks

[FIGJAM]

Does the hf pump even need sun if you're running it off a battery?

Stating the Obvious:

"Solar Pump" - would need sun
"Battery Powered Pump" - would need a battery

If there is no sun, this device may not be necessary...

Solar power is 12v so are the batteries we are discussing so I assumed this was a 12v pump which COULD run off a battery I found one I think will work for me though.... Thanks

The HF pump dors'nt have a battery backup and IS 6 volt.

For drilling the holes in pvc, I used a 1/16th bit.

[aresvalles]

Figjam & all,
I just wanted to thank you and this thread for ruining my Burning Man experience! After reading this thread and making my own cooler, I set up my hexayurt and cooler on Monday. When it got hot Monday afternoon, my wife and kid and I took a nap and slept through Burning Man. Thanks a lot!

In reality, we were well rested throughout the week, thanks to the Figjam Cooler. We brought our 9 month old daughter to the playa and\ I was afraid we were going to have to leave early if the little one couldn't get comfortable. We were comfortable the entire week, almost too comfortable. We had to remind ourselves that Burning Man was out there beyond the yurt walls and it was soooo nice inside, we had to worry about being too comfortable and missing everything. Great problem to have.

I used the suggested pump, the Endless Breeze fan and the Costco 115 Ah battery and we never ran out of juice. We even ran the fan on 2 and 3 for a few hours at a time towards the end of the week with no issues. I can't thank you enough, it made all the difference. Cheers! See you at home.

[FIGJAM]

WARNING!!!

Don't hibernate at burning man!!!

[missprism]

lovely! what kind of box is that?

[Koumori]

A long overdue Thanks to Figjam. Bucket cooler worked like a charm for my 6 person tent. As I built it outside my apartment building, my neighbors and my roommate thought I was nuts.

The first day I had to turn it on to sleep a little longer, a gasp from my companion came from the tent "OH MY GOD, I'M GOING TO MARRY YOU FOR THAT!" That made it worth it alone.

This year I'm bringing a bigger tent, maybe a yurt. Project Box Cooler is on for this summer! thanks again for posting all of this and making it easy for the rest of us.

[unjonharley]

You guys keep up this nice stuff to the Fig. He will break his arm patting himself on the back..

If you want to do some thing nice for him.......... We can get together on the playa and piss in his cooler.. That way he can have happy dreams of a golden shower..

[FIGJAM]

I think they're called a-kool-aids unjon, but I've never had um before, so I can't be sure.

[Earthwalker]

We'll have a MH, a tent at the back of it, and a minivan. In which would you put the bucket cooling contraption? I would think vanmaybe because the cool air wouldn't escape. But, while it would be good for napping, I don't really want to spend time hanging out in a minivan

Thoughts?

[FIGJAM]

A common misconception is that you are trying to trap the cool air in the space.

With these coolers you want them to completely replace the air every 1 to 3 minutes.

You can even have it setting next to your chair blowing on you and be perfectly comfortable during the hottest part of the day.

I demonstrated this all week at my camp and collected 100 hugs!

[Earthwalker]

Thanks Figjam! I'll be building one a few months down the road so I'm sure I'll have more questions, assuming they're not already answered in this huge thread!

[FIGJAM]

PM me if you don't find what you're looking for.

[makingaswampcooler]

I want to get a battery powered pump and I see the recommendation for "Any 12 volt DC fountain pump that puts out about 80GPH and uses less than 500Ma is good."

Does anyone have a specific brand and model recommendation for a pump?

Also, does anyone have a recommendation for a good low end battery to power all of this? I like the idea of a cloudy day option...

This is the best tutorial I've found on the internet for a swamp cooler - I super appreciate it!! Thx!!! -Emily

[FIGJAM]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12VOLT-DC-SUBME ... 0319561078

Costco has a 115AH deep cycle battery for about $90, but they don't advertise it online.

https://www.greenlivingforu.com/products/fountains

[FIGJAM]

RECAP!!!

The basic idea for the bucket cooler is just a smaller version of Yellowdog's cooler made from a rubbermade garbage can.

An evaporative cooler will reduce the tempature by 20 to 30 degrees.

Keep in mind that there is more than one way to skin a cat. (WARNING! DO NOT SKIN A CAT, IT WONT HELP THIS PROJECT AND WILL IRRITATE YOUR PUSSY!!!)

All the ideas that people came up with on this thread are a perfect example of radical self relience! (Bravo!!!)

Get a 5 gallon bucket and lid.

Have your trained mice naw some holes in the bucket, or use a hole saw, or 50 caliber sniper rifle. (Honey badgers wont work, they don't give a shit!)




Find some cooler pad.

I like duracool pads.

http://www.simsupply.com/Items/426741

If your area does'nt have them, find a national chain DIY hardwear store and see if they will order some for you.

This may save you shipping cost. I use home depot.

Cut the first pad 33 1/2x13 inches.

Roll this pad into a tube and silicone or hand stitch the seam.

This will give you a tube 13 inches tall.



Because the bucket tapers out towards the top, you will not need to line the bucket with shade clothe.





Cut a second piece of pad 24x13 inches and roll into a tight tube.

You wont need to seam this one.



Sleeve this inside the first tube.

The reason for the double pad is to have a wide space to set the drip line on and adds more evap surface.



1/2 inch Drip irrigation line works ok to soak your pads, but poly hose is more flexible and you can buy it by the foot.

I like the T connectors that fit inside the line. I cut the ends of the T shorter so I could keep the holes in the line close enough together so there wont be a dry strip on the pads.

This hose is 3/8 inch.





The holes in the line need to be uniform for an even flow on the pad.

Drlling holes works, but I found that heating a piece of wire melts a nice, more uniform hole.

I used a piece of 10 gauge copper wire.

Heat the wire with a torch, or the burner on your stove, then press through the line.

Sliding the wire in and out till it cools will make a happy hole! (Don't even think about it Yggy, this is serious!)







To pump the water through the line, buy a pump.

This is the solar pump.

http://www.harborfreight.com/solar-powe ... 66093.html

I like this pump instead because if it's cloudy, it will still let the cooler work.



https://www.greenlivingforu.com/products/fountains

The 3/8 inch line fits this pump perfectly.

Nice even flow of water.







When the lid is put on, the line will be pinched between the lid and the pad, so it wont move around.

FANS!

The key to a good cooler is a powerful fan.

CFM=cubic feet per minute.

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

I used this one.

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8556/ ... d=TMxuD2fh

It uses more power, but makes the bucket cooler very effective.

Calculate the cubic footage of the space to be cooled, then get a fan that will replace the air inside the space every 3 to 5 minutes.

I use a single fan cause it suits my design perfectly.

Cut a hole in the lid of the bucket to mount the fan.

I put mine on the bottom of the lid to keep the unit compact and to make ducting easier.



Any 120mm fan will fit inside the top of the pad tube.

I spliced the wires from the fan to the wires from the pump. (both are 12volt)

Then ran the wire out through one of the holes in the side of the bucket.

Now with the lid on the bucket, I used a 4 inch septic line connector gooped to the lid over the fan.







Now you can use 4 inch septic line to duct the air into the space to be cooled. You don't need to glue these piceces together.



These parts are at the hardwear store.

Outside temp!



Air temp coming from the cooler!



Water temp inside the bucket!



This cooler uses 2 gallon of water every 5 hours.

It uses about 1.45amps per hour.

My 105AH deep cycle battery will run this cooler for 47 hours before needing to be recharged.

So running 4 or 5 hours a day, it will let you nap in the hottest part of the day, all week without recharging the battery.

If you need more cooling than this, build the box cooler.

You will need to vent the air out of the space for circulation.

HAPPY NAPPING!!!

[FIGJAM]

Last year people tried to make the bucket cooler do more than it was ment to do, with moderate success.

The main problems seemed to be a powerful enough fan and how to duct the air into the space.

My box cooler worked great and I never use anything but the low speed on the fan.






NOW INTRODUCING THE UNICOOLER!!!!!!!


No duct work needed!!!

Build a box 17wx30hx9d.



If you cant build a simple box, try to find something waterproof with roughly the same dementions or this.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... ce2010a-20

If you can find something that does'nt have tapered sides it will work better.

Cut a hole for the vent cover. ($11.00)





Cut a hole for the fan. (Endless breeze fan $60-$80)



I used 100% clear silicone caulk to stick these to the box.



The vent louvers are facing down and into the box to keep the water channeled toward the inside.

I got some angle trim and siliconed pieces to the inside of the box to act as a pad retainer.





This is the pump.

https://www.greenlivingforu.com/products/fountains



The pvc just lays on the top edge of the pads.

Then I went to the bin (16489-j "junk" subheading A "awsume") and found some handles.





Then make an air tight lid.(figure it out)

Finished cooler looks like this.





I call it the universal cooler cause you just shove the pad side against any opening in a tent, bus, travel trailer, yurt, or playpod and it will cool up to 3000 cubic feet of space. You can even set it on a table outside for use.

Add some foam stickon wheather stripping for a good seal around a window.

Fill it with 7gals. of water for 8hrs. of cooling. So once a day depending on how much you use it.

105ah battery will run this all week on low.

You may have to recharge if you use medium or high speed on the fan.

I'm confident that this will cool even a school bus without useing a genny and its a lot quieter than an air conditioner.

As always I'll try to answer any questions you may have.


HERE'S TO A MORE COMFORTABLE BURN!!!

That being said, scroll down to garyt's design on this page.

http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic. ... start=1590

By making it wider, he can take full advantage of the endless breeze fan on high.

The unicoolerI designed tended to restict air flow due to not enough intake area.

[FIGJAM]

This is the box cooler made of wood instead of FRP.





After the box is glued and screwed, I used regular painters caulk on the interior joints before putting a heavy coat of the Henrys elastomer roof coating on the whole thing to seal it inside and out.



To install the intake panels, I ran a heavy bead of 100% silicone caulk on the registers and screwed them in place.

Make sure these are all the same distance from the top as they will support the pvc for the water, and to get an even flow you'll want them the same height.





When I installed the pads, I added some wire to secure the pads to the registers.

14 gauge copper or bailing wire will work for this.

It will make sure that ALL the air has to pass through the wet pads.



The wire goes through the pad at the corners of the registers and bends up on the outside of the cooler.



The lid is hinged on the side away from the fan for easy filling.

I added some weather stripping (siliconed) for a good seal, and a small chain so the lid would'nt tweek the small hinges.







Once the endless breeze fan and the pump get here I can finish this cooler.

This is my favorite pump.

https://www.greenlivingforu.com/products/fountains

It will hold 12 gals of water and there's room for a case of beer in the bottom.

It will use about 3/4s of a gallon of water per hour on the low fan speed.

It will cool a space up to 3000 cubic feet on high.

Power needed will be...

12 volt DC

1.5amps on low speed (250cfm)

1.92amps on medium speed (500cfm)

2.82amps on high speed! (900 cfm= to 10mph breeze)


Hope this helps you enjoy your BURNNNNNNNNNNN!!!