cooling your tent or van

[trilobyte]

playatime is irreplaceable and you don't need to be fooling around with the cooler when you could be fooling around with somebody else

words to live by!

our use cases are different

As the thread's subject suggests, the use is cooling your tent or van on the playa.

[FIGJAM]

messer, you live in Tucson.

I live in Apache Junction.

When I grew up in Mesa (in the stone age) all we had on the house was a swamp cooler.

Even now with AC, I use a swamp cooler as long as the humidity is 10% or less since it saves me $4 a day in power and works just as well.

Yesterday was 107 with 8% humidity and the cooler did great.

Today it's 107 with 12% humidity so I'm running my AC to get the same cooling as the swampy did yesterday.

It's not just the cooling effect, but the moving air in the space that helps keep you cool. (think light breeze)

If you start with the basic design to see how it works for you, you can tinker with it to customize to your needs later.

You'll save time if you have a working model before engineering to your needs.

Good luck.

[FIGJAM]

As for your rv, the easiest way to mount it is a narrow shelf in front of one of the rv windows.

The cooler is inside the space with the pad side against the screen.

This keeps it removable easily for other uses.

[attachment=1]409069199.jpg[/attachment]

[messer]

As for your rv, the easiest way to mount it is a narrow shelf in front of one of the rv windows.

The cooler is inside the space with the pad side against the screen.

This keeps it removable easily for other uses.

409069199.jpg

Way easier to add water too so no float valve necessary Good idea I just have to figure out a window that will work

[FIGJAM]

Back window works well as it lets the air flow freely through the entire space.

[katcron]

Hi all,

First-time Burner here, very excited and incredibly grateful for all the knowledge and wisdom shared in this forum!

I have a few questions about staying cool in our converted minivan (Ford E-150).

Since this is our first Burn, I’m trying to understand what’s acceptable and what works best in terms of camp etiquette and logistics:

1. Our van doesn’t have RV-style AC, so we’re considering running the car’s AC for a few hours each day (likely in the morning) while parked.
→ Is it generally acceptable to run a vehicle for cooling purposes within a camp setting?
I’ve asked our camp and am waiting to hear back, but wanted to check here as well.

2a. If it IS okay, I’ve calculated that we should have enough gas to run the AC for 2–3 hours per day without affecting our driving needs. Is that enough to get through the morning hours perhaps?

2b. If it’s NOT okay, does the temperature drop enough at night to make it tolerable to sleep in the van without AC?
3. I feel a bit intimidated by the idea of building a swamp cooler and since we’re flying in from Europe, I’m wondering:
→ Is it crazy to try to survive the week without one?

We’re not sure yet when we’ll be sleeping or what the rhythm of the week will be. Our goal is to be respectful of the environment and our neighbors, while also being realistic and, well… not dying

Would love your input. Thank you so much and please forgive me if these are silly questions

[Popeye]

It's not as hard to withstand the heat as everyone exaggerates.
A couple of years ago someone died from fumes (carbon monoxide) while sleeping in camp. People do sleep in the morning. This is unusual but...
It would be effective to build some shade over your van, a battery operated fan will help, make it rechargeable.

[trilobyte]

Currently, BRC temps are daytime highs in the 80s (29-30c) and nighttime temps in the 50s (12-13c). I wholeheartedly agree with Popeye, people exaggerate the heat and need for AC. Mostly, I attribute that to Shiftpods, which are (in my opinion) the dumbest alternative to a tent I've ever seen in Black Rock City. The camp that begat that terrible business "cooked them up" as a fundraising ploy 10-ish years ago. And by cooked them up, I mean came up with the idea of getting a bunch of ice fishing tents contract manufactured with a silver colored cover.

Interesting fact about ice fishing tents. They are very precisely engineered to keep the insides warm.

Interesting fact about the color silver. While it's cool, it is not inherently magical and imbues no magical temperature controlling properties to the material that is colored silver.

Shiny silver stuff like mylar, or silver/reflective tarps are a little magic, in that they reflect away a lot of the UV and heat from the sun. Shiftpods, however, were not coated with reflective silver anything.

Fun fact about Shiftpods, the number one selling accessory for them is an air conditioner.

Okay, my personal Shiftpod rant over....

You should have no trouble sleeping in a minivan during the night and into the morning. You can make the entire situation even more comfortable if you're able to get your hands on or design a carport shade structure, which will block a lot of that UV and heat intensity during the day.

I should add that you should know that, in a sense, you will be trashing your vehicle. Living in it/out of it will mean the doors are opening up more often, and invariably playa dust will blow in or get tracked in. Playa dust is super fine (think cake flour, not sand), and playa dust is corrosive (it's alkali dust). Running your car's fan or air conditioner for any amount of time while on the playa will almost surely damage it.

My partner and I camp in our big-ass cargo van, and it works for us. First, we fully understand what we're doing to the vehicle. Second, ours is a pure cargo van, there's no fancy rows of seats or upholstery or whatever to put at risk. Third, we never ever run the fan or AC once we turn off the highway. And fourth, just as soon as we get back from BRC and get the vehicle unloaded, we get the thing detailed by a pro who is familiar with Burning Man cleanouts. He knows to use a mix of white vinegar in the water of his pressure washer as well as other cleansers he's using to clean it thoroughly, inside and out as well as a super heavy undercoat spray. That neutralizes the playa dust. It doesn't make the vehicle like new, but it significantly reduces the toll that our trips to the Black Rock desert put on it.

[FIGJAM]

The main reason I designed the cooler is that there are sooooo many amazing things going on 24/7 that burners can sometimes be overwhelmed and not realize they've been up for a couple of days.

Then it hits them at two in the afternoon that they HAVE to sleep.

Or they dance all night and stay up for the sunrise and think they can sleep the next day away,

The cooler let's burners catch a nap whenever it's needed.

But if you can get to bed by midnight you can sleep comfortably till 8 or 9 the next morning.

So rest when you need to and stay hydrated.

[katcron]

Thank you wonderful people for your input, generous and thoughtful replies!

Much appreciate the reality check around the temperatures.

- Got it reg van AC - use at risk of damage
- We will have a Shade Cloth-80% Aluminum Sunblock Neting to prevent some heating
- Battery-powered fan is on the shopping list!
- Will try to sleep during cooler hours, but understand this might not work ..

Much love
@trilobyte
@FIGJAM
@Popeye

Feeling a lot more prepared!
Can’t wait to meet the dust

/K