cooling your tent or van

[FIGJAM]

I did'nt know you were going to run the pump on solar.

That pump may be marginal if the sun situation is'nt perfect.

[Martiansky]

Figjam, I have a question about batteries.
What is the difference between a Deep Cycle and a Marine battery and which is better?
Something about solid lead plates and corrugated and cold cranking amps and it still didn't explain a difference.
I tried to find the answer online but it was really vague and didnt answer my question.
Oh, and what does the 115AH mean on the battery you have because I havent seen that on any batteries that Ive looked at?
Thanks FJ!

PS The local HD does NOT carry the evap pads.

[FIGJAM]

"Marine deep cycle batteries" are made for starting engines AND running accesseries on boats.

They're 1 step up from a car battery.

A true deep cycle battery has got still thicker plates in it for exactly what we use them for.

They're made for RVs, home solar power systems, and golf carts.

If they're taken care of, they can last 10 years.

115AH is how many hours of power the battery has available, but for long life you never use more than half that before recharging.

That gives you 57.5 hours if what you have plugged in uses 1 amp per hour.

The coolers as designed use just under 1.5 amps per hour, so you could run your cooler for 5hrs a day for 6 days before recharging without shortening the life of the battery.

You will probably have to order your pad online.

http://www.amazon.com/Dial-30X36-Duracool-Evaporative-Cooler/dp/B000BODUG6

Always happy to help!

[tattoogoddess]

If your going total solar for the pump, it might be a good idea to add a aaa battery box into the circuit in case of clouds. It should be fairly easy to do.
The busted toys at goodwill will have a ton of the battery boxes.

Taking time to read a lot on here as most of my parts have arrived now....

Like you saw mine is totally solar. Do you have a pic or a step by step on this?

[tattoogoddess]

I think you still have time to order this pump.

http://www.siliconsolar.com/replacement-12v-solar-pump-p-103.html

I think they are based in Ca. and I got mine in about a week.

I think with the shipping it was $19.95?

Inverters cost you power.

No such luck bringing this link up for the $20 pump I'm thinking I'm needing a back up. Help?

[FIGJAM]

I don't do solar, but there seems to be agreement that a battery between the panel and whatever you're running is a good idea.

That pump actually went down to $8 when siliconesolar sold out thier stock.

It's now $40, but is very dependable.

This will be my pumps fourth year at the burn!

https://www.greenlivingforu.com/dc-submersible-water-fountain-pump-use-12v-solar-panel-or-battery

[Martiansky]

Figjam, thanks for the durapad link. I ordered one.
I kick myself that I didn't pick one up a couple summers ago when I was out working in Utah at the L's there.
Could've saved the s&h charges but oh well.
Thank you for the battery info as well.
Now I will be back-reading the pages when I begin the build process.

AWESOME info you have here(and elsewhere) btw!!!

[TT120]

Hey TG, if you still need cooler pad, I have enough left over for one more bucket cooler. If you want it, PM me your addy and I'll ship it to ya.

[tattoogoddess]

I'm good on the pads. Ordered 2. One is here already. I'm just worried about the solar fountain not being strong enough. Going to be working on it this weekend.

[FIGJAM]

Put the pump in the bottom of your bucket.

Put some water in the bucket and put the tubing on the pump.

Take it out in the sun and see how well it works.

Now pass your hand over the solar panel to see how mich the pump slows down.

A little battery backup will keep the pump running at max if there are clouds or dust blocking the sun.

[theCryptofishist]

IThis will be my pumps' fourth year at the burn!

[unjonharley]

IThis will be my pumps' fourth year at the burn!

Now, that is fucking funny.........

mark on the wall for fishy....

[TT120]

I'm good on the pads. Ordered 2. One is here already. I'm just worried about the solar fountain not being strong enough. Going to be working on it this weekend.

Ok, no problem.

They're still out there, if anyone needs pads for a bucket cooler, let me know, I'll ship em your way.

[andrew0180]

I'm planning to build the bucket cooler to cool the van I'll be bringing, and was looking for some advice.

I found this 12v solar panel kit...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005LR ... MW0P13QZ5V

If I attach this to my car's battery to supply power to the bucket cooler, do you think it will keep the battery charged without problems, assuming I'm running the cooler for 5-6 hours a day?

I understand the Costco deep cycle battery is 115 AH, How many AH does a standard car battery offer? Any other limitations to using a car battery instead of the deep cycle battery?

Thanks!

[FIGJAM]

A car battery is equal to about a 50AH battery, but car batteries are not made to be used this way.

It will work, but may shorten the life of your battery.

[tattoogoddess]

Got it all set up, does not work(the pump)so going to have to buy something else. Damn it! It only pumps the water half way up the tube.
Now can you clip 2 things on one terminal? If I get that pump you have listed?

[FIGJAM]

The pump I linked has a 15' cord, so I spliced the fan to that.

That way I have just one pair of wires to hook to the battery.

The nice long cord just wraps around the duct on top for easy storage.

[tattoogoddess]

Ok soooo I got the fan today... Yellow red and black wire. I'm connecting it to a 12v cig adapter. Red and yellow go into the came clip right and black to black?

Like this.


If I get that pump can I splice that in here or put it into the clips with these?

[TT120]

The yellow wire is the rpm sensor. You won't need to hook that one up to anything, just tape it off. You will only use the red and black wires.

[tattoogoddess]

Ok so before I clamp these on, can that pump be clipped in with the other wires?

[TT120]

Yeah, if you get the 12 volt pump Figjam listed, you can just splice the pump to the fan and then to the ciggy adaptor. Keep all the reds together and all the blacks together. As long as the total current draw from the pump and fan don't excede the fuse rating on the ciggy adaptor, you'll be fine.

[tattoogoddess]

Clingy thing- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016L ... uctDetails

To the battery- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00065 ... UTF8&psc=1

Fan - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001JK ... UTF8&psc=1

? This cost me a bit so I don't want to blow it up. What do you think? Will it? They say 1 or 2 amp fuse inside.
My fan is 0.60 amps and the pump is 3 to 6 amps ? Or maybe I'm reading that page wrong?
I read I can replace the fuse? God I'm so not educated in this kind of stuff.

[FIGJAM]

Cut the hole bigger to match the size of the fan.

The fan says .60 amps.

When the new pump arrives, the wires will be brown and blue.

It uses .3 amps.

Somewhere in the thread it says which is + and -, but just test it like you did the other one.

It will work no matter which way you test, but one way will pump twice as much water.

[tattoogoddess]

Looked at the pic. Blue negative brown is positive.

So with the one I have that adapter is fine.. 0.9 .

[FIGJAM]

You could put a higher amp fuse in.

I have no fuses, and no problems in 3 years.

[tattoogoddess]

Almost done with mine. 2nd pad got here today. Waiting on the pump and have to get some goop and vent hose. Yay! Can't wait to try it out. Thanks for all of the help everyone!

[minuss69]

Hello everyone! I am looking to possibly build 2 large versions of the unicooler for my camp this year. I'd like to be able to cool the camp lounge which is about 4000 cubic feet. I have previously built a trash can cooler using the tooyellowdogs design and that has worked pretty well cooling my old 19' RV but I use solar and batteries to run that. The camp has a generator to run lights, sound, and our freezer so we would be able to use that to run a stronger fan and pump. I'm looking at making the coolers out of this trash can or one like it. Alternatively I may just a regular round rubbermaid like my previous cooler is made out of if I decide the square one won't work.

http://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-Commer ... arbage+can

I'm not quite sure what fan yet and that is what I'm here to ask about. Would a regular box fan work ok or are their better options? I'm looking for lots of air flow and less power pull as we are still burning gas to run it. We're also not a rich camp and budget is definitely an issue. I would like to spend $50 or less per fan. I have considered an attic ventilation fan but I have no clue which would be the best. Using the can above or a round rubber maid, I'm confident anything up to a 20" fan would work. Any suggestions would be helpful! Thank you in advance!

[unjonharley]

Just find a second hand swamp cooler and a generator..

[FIGJAM]

For that large of a space you will need a fan that will push at lease 1000 cfm of air.

You have the power for that, but the problem will be hauling enough water to feed the cooler.

For something that size will use 2 or more gallons PER HOUR!!!

This fan might do it.

I think someone said it can put out 2400cfm.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200514348_200514348?cm_mmc=Google-pla-_-Alternative%20%2B%20Renewable%20Energy-_-Solar%20Heating%20%2B%20Ventilation-_-25367&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=25367&gclid=CMqu3MfoorYCFcc-MgodADAAGA

[psychoalpha]

I'm afraid that this is probably a stupid question.

I like the first design of the three - with the bucket. But, since it needs to be outside, what's the best way to run it into a tent? I'm pretty sure I'm doing the tent-inside-the-carport system this year. Seems like I might need to look into a different system?