cooling your tent or van

[FIGJAM]

Hey Guys
Maybe someone can help me out on this... pardon my ignorance but Im building a swamp cooler and following these plans, which are pretty great.

Does the swamp cooler need to be outside of my tent, or can it be inside in the corner? If I need to keep the cooler outside of the tent, I assume I need to cut a hole in my tent and Im trying to avoid that.

Is there an option for cooling the tent without having anything outside of it? Beyond a basic fan, does anyone know of any options to cool the tent from within?

Thanks!

Keep the cooler outside!

Don't cut a hole in your tent.

Zip the door closed around the duct.

[FIGJAM]

Yes! That's a great idea man, having the swinging door in the opening? Just Maniacal!

K, I fully understand what's up with the door and mounting the fan thru the "wall" and all that - but you DO think my bucket should be outside, correct? And I should also have a vent to the outside - how important is size?

Now, lastly - if I do have my cooler outside - what happens if I use an even larger fan? More cooling still?

My camp has quite a bit of power and no issues with the water, either.

Regards,

CM

Having the bucket outside makes everything easier, so leave it outside!

Make the hole for the vent the same size as the intake.

This will create a little possitive pressure that will keep the dust out.

The 160cfm fan you posted should be fine.

You can go bigger, but it will be louder and I don't think you need bigger for that size space.

[Colonel Monk]

Having the bucket outside makes everything easier, so leave it outside!

Make the hole for the vent the same size as the intake.

This will create a little possitive pressure that will keep the dust out.

The 160cfm fan you posted should be fine.

You can go bigger, but it will be louder and I don't think you need bigger for that size space.

Cool (pun intended) thanks alot for the info. I suppose with my camp's power grid and I could just go with a little AC unit, but I'm looking at my cooler as a modular deal that I can use for Black Rock Rendezvous and Juplaya when we don't have power. I'll just build another lid with 12V fans for that and duct it into my rig....

Thanks again. I'll be taking your 2" stryo design to heart and I've no doubt that the door will be much much easier to deal with than rolling the door up and down.

Another satisfied customer,

Col Monk.

[melodiousdirge]

Coming along slowly. Still waiting on pump and pad (Can't get either locally)



It sits on top of a hole I've cut in the floor and pulls dry air in from outside and vents out a ceiling vent I installed. I'm thinking it'll be more than sufficient to cool the trailer bedroom/pod with extra capacity to cool the rest of my dome if I leave the trailer door open.

[melodiousdirge]

Plan is to add a bulkhead fitting with some clear tubing to the side of it to serve as a sight glass and fill port. I love overcomplicating stuff.

[captain mcguiver]

Here's my current working Truck/Camp/Cooler design. The Round hole is a closeable plug for ducted exhaust, and the square hole is the intake for the CoolBreeze fan and Unicooler. Notice the 55 gallon drum close for easy filling. In this picture the cargo door is raised up a bit off the door plug. I fit a nice shower area in the square made between the truck and carport. My backup 120volt pump might become an electric shower via inverter!

[FIGJAM]

Try to keep the intake and exit vent as far apart as possible.

I would put the intake as far left as you can get it.

Shift the water barrel to the center, and put the exhaust vent on the door.

Or leave it as is, but run a short piece of flex tubing from the exhaust to up near the roof. (just hang with a wire or rope)

You won't need another fan as the air will find it's way out.

[Canoe]

... I think the big deal on a box truck might be covering the roof more than anything. I checked out a local truck in the middle of the day and the roof would burn you to the touch. A bunch of reflectix on the roof would probably help cooling big time in a truck.
Oh yeah, am I wrong or is it possible to have the swamp cooler 100% inside the truck and behind the Rmax with only the Coolbreeze exposed pulling in dry, hot air from outside? ...

Big time on the roof. Especially if there's the typical white plastic area that lets natural light in. You want that covered. You can cover it on the inside, but if you've got the means to cover it on the outside it works better. Reflectix is one option. The foil-sided fibre-reenforced foam board is another (like the hexayurts use). Whatever you use, make sure it's secure. This means gaffer's tape or ropes/straps of some kind.

You can plumb the cooler so it sits inside with the fan drawing air in, but the cool air goes all over unless you build an outer enclosure to capture it and direct it into another duct to direct it where you want it to go. You don't want the cool air "short-circuiting" and going out the top, but to circulate around the space. If the cooler sits outside, more of the noise is outside. But, depending on where you camp, you may never hear the cooler over BRC noise.

[captain mcguiver]

Thanks for the responses guys!

Fig- Yes, I was planning on ducting the Exhaust up to the roof on the inside. The water was moved to the left side because there is only one handle on the right side of the truck to aid in getting up 5 feet to where the door starts- those tailgates are tall!

Canoe- My truck has the Aluminum metal roof. When I checked it out locally, it was baking in the sun and felt like an oven. My plan is to put an entire roll of reflectix on the roof of the box. Maybe held tight with poly rope tied off to the tires. I don't see gaffers tape surviving a major wind gust and dust, and getting to that roof for careful taping sounds hard.
My other option is covering the whole truck with a parachute, but my white and yellow chute let in a lot of UV and light and would probably keep more hot air in, than do any amount of shading.

As far as fan inside, I see what you mean about air going everywhere. I wanted it inside mostly because the tailgate looks precarious to put the cooler on, there isn't much of a lip I would have to build/strap it on. And also, I felt that it might survive better out of the dust. There's also the ease of rolling down the door in a severe whiteout. I plan on being able to slide the plug back and lock the door for security without any real dis-assembly. I'm not very happy about my waste bin options at the local stores. I'm seriously considering making a new FIgjam ™ model, that's an offspring of the bucket and big trashcan- the MiniCan®. Take the smaller sized trashcans and make a bucket cooler, mounting the Coolbreeze fan on top of the reversed lid, and ducting the air like a Can cooler. Small, compact, ductable, with a large surface area.

Thanks for all the great ideas! Keep em coming. I really need to prove to this camp how Generators and AC is not the only option. I don't get it, I haven't used AC once and survived fine, this is the first year I've planned on any cooling because I'm crusty and old now.

[FIGJAM]

This is the design you need and you can have the cooler inside the truck.

It's the unicooler made shorter and wider so you can have one big wide pad on the intake side, then just shove it against the intake hole in your panel.

This really is the best way for your set up.

[captain mcguiver]

Maybe I will go with that design Fig. Haven't got the cabinet yet, but the fan came today. I could probably find A Bin or cooler that would fit pretty well.

The Coolbreeze is Amazing. I hooked it up to some old scooter batteries holding about 12.5 volts. The thing put out more air at setting #1 than a standard box fan on 120v.

[FIGJAM]

[captain mcguiver]

Can I just send you parts? I've got a 3 week job out of town, I have a week after I get back to do everything!

[FIGJAM]

You can do it!!!

It took about 2 hrs to build that box, now picture a version where the three square panels are all on the side opposite the fan.

About 40"s wide and 9"s deep and 24"s tall.

Shove it against the intake hole on your panel and you're good to go!

It's really not as hard as finding a box to suit the dimentions you want.

[captain mcguiver]

So I assume the fatter box compensates for only having like a foot before the fan worth of water. Seems kind of short, which I like because it doesn't SEEM take as much space being fatter. I wanted to go with a pre-built box so I didn't have to deal with all the sealing and coating of the wood. Not to mention My saw is about dead after many burns, cutting wood is not so easy at the moment.

[FIGJAM]

Changing the dimentions does'nt affect the amount of water much.

The one I'm builing now will hold around 10gals.

[beer]

Thank you FIGJAM for creating this thread and keeping up with it for so long.

Im in the process of putting together the bucket cooler, and the fun started today as the last piece I was waiting for (the fan) arrived this afternoon. Following the suggestion posted a dozen or so pages back, I did not buy the fan linked in your first post.

Old part number...
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/12959/fan-859/Delta_120_x_38mm_High-Speed_PWM_Fan_-_19048_CFM_AFB1212SHE.html?tl=g36c435s1108

New part number...
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8547/fan-529/Delta_120_x_38mm_High-Speed_Fan_-_190_CFM_FFB1212EHE-F00.html?tl=g36c435s1108

The first fan is claimed to be 12v .75a, and the new one is 12v and 2a according to the specs on their site.

The new fan, is really 3amp fan.



This isnt an issue for me as Im not counting amps, this will be running off my motorhome house batteries and theyll more than likely be recharged daily. But if anyone else is counting amps now you'll know.
This fan puts out a ridiculous amount of air. Way more than I imagined.

For the pump, I ventured out on my own. I found a 12vdc pump rated at 35gph @ 2ft/head (and they have another rated at 30gph @ 36") and they only draw .2a. If it works Ill post up the info.

k.

[FIGJAM]

You could have had this...


http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7920/fan-493/Delta_120_x_38mm_Super_Extreme_High-Speed_Fan_-_24096_CFM_AFB1212GHE.html?tl=g36c435s1109


The first fan you listed is not my fan.

I checked and the part number is actually AFB1212SHE-CF00.

!90cfm for 1.25 amps.

But who knows what they'll change next.

[captain mcguiver]

For anyone looking for a 12volt pump, I got this one off Ebay, from a domestic distributor. Got here quick, and Tested in the bath tub with a 12volt scooter battery and I got plenty of flow for a cooler.

The title was "Indtec Submersible Fountain Pond Solar Water Pump 12V DC "

Profile:
This is brand new water pump S-400A, can be used on submersible or above water, high quality and reliable.
Suitable for: Aquarium,solar-panel circulate system, fountain, electronic refrigerator, water heater etc...

Features:
Voltage: 9VDC ~ 12VDC
Current: 450mA / 550mA
Capacity: 6.6 Liter / Minute, 400 Liter / Hour, 1.75 Gallon / Minute, 105 Gallon / Hour
Noise: <=35dBA/10cm
Working temperature: -35°C ~ +80°C
Service life: 26000 hours up
Motor: DC brushless motor
Pump: Centrifugal pump
Weight: 172g (6.08 oz)
Inlet: 9.8mm
Outlet: 5.5mm
Size: 72 x 59 x 50mm (3" x 2-3/8" x 2")

[FIGJAM]

Not a bad price either!@


http://www.ebay.com/itm/105Gph-12V-DC-Submersible-Fountain-Pond-Water-Pump-/230830226510?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35be8dbc4e

[beer]

The first fan you listed is not my fan.

I checked and the part number is actually AFB1212SHE-CF00.

!90cfm for 1.25 amps.

But who knows what they'll change next.

Oy.

This is the link to the fan in the first post in this thread. This is a PWM style now, right ?
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/12959/fan-859/Delta_120_x_38mm_High-Speed_PWM_Fan_-_19048_CFM_AFB1212SHE.html?tl=g36c435s1108
190cfm AFB-1212-SHE
The page description says 190cfm, but the specs down below say 151cfm, .75amp, and 17.74 pressure.


I went with this one...
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8547/fan-529/Delta_120_x_38mm_High-Speed_Fan_-_190_CFM_FFB1212EHE-F00.html?tl=g36c435s1108
190cfm FFB-1212-EHE-F00
3amp, 17.78 pressure.


Now you post this one ?
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7920/fan-493/Delta_120_x_38mm_Super_Extreme_High-Speed_Fan_-_24096_CFM_AFB1212GHE.html?tl=g36c435s1109
240cfm AFB-1212-GHE
3.24a, and 37.48 pressure ?

Dang. I would have ordered that if I knew that the one I did order was a 3a fan and not 2a like it says. I'll consider it an upgrade opportunity if 190cfm isnt enough.


k.

[FIGJAM]

Yeah, I made a mistake in the very first post, but this shows the fan.

The CF00 is under the main part number.



Now I don't even know if they still work, but mine does.

[captain mcguiver]

For those building all but the smallest of coolers, I would really go for the endless breeze fan. I think you could mount it to even a 5 gallon bucket if you wanted to, and we are talking some serious low-amp high-CFM output. The Endless breeze is listed from 800-900 cfm vs. the best of those muffin fans at 200cfm.

I found an old special that still works and got the fan for a steal.

Check it out here it just worked for me. I've never seen anything close to this cheap for one of these! $55

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-c ... t-fans.htm

[FIGJAM]

Lets see if I remember this right.

Low=250cfm for 1.16amps

Med=500cfm for 1.65amps

High=900cfm for 2.52amps

[captain mcguiver]

Those numbers for Amps are NUTS compared to the power of it blowing.

My auto-mechanic cousin didn't believe me that I was making a cooler with those specs. Muahahaha!

[Jared]

I'm trying to build one of these to cool a 60 cubic foot structure. The problem is that I'm in Canada: we seem to suffer from a lack of small DC pumps and I don't want to wait for one to make it across the border. Would a small marine sump pump work? Example specs:
Attwood Tsunami T500: 360 GPH at 40" for 1.4 amps
Rule Pump 24: 240 GPH at 40" for 2.1 amps

[FIGJAM]

Those are kinda power hungry and pump 3x the water you'll need, but they will work.

Try craft stores and see if there are any fountain contractors that you can talk to about their sources for pumps.

[captain mcguiver]

Yeah, I don't trust the bilge pumps to go on endlessly for hours. They seem more like a short term pumping device. Maybe I'm wrong, but the other pumps seem to be designed for constant use. That and they take a lot of power for a DC system. Probably noisy as well.

There are pumps in the garden section of Home Depot and Lowes stores. They are in the fountain section, or by irrigation. For about $30 U.S. you can get an AC pump, but I haven't seen a DC pump in any store that works, including Harbor Freight. The Internet is really your best source for DC pumps. Most come from China (eww) but I posted the one I found that ships from the U.S. and arrived fast for cheaper than any other options.

You may also try Pet stores, specializing in aquariums. Again, probably only find AC and not DC though.

[Colonel Monk]

Cap'n

Thanks for posting this, it's the only thing I'm still lacking in my cooler.

But, it doesn't mention the amount of head it will put out. I'm sure it will suffer some, but how much?

Mind doing a small test for us? If you could note how many gpm you get thru a hose from ground to 2,3,4,5 feet I'm sure that would cover most of the bases here.

Thanks?

Monk

For anyone looking for a 12volt pump, I got this one off Ebay, from a domestic distributor. Got here quick, and Tested in the bath tub with a 12volt scooter battery and I got plenty of flow for a cooler.

The title was "Indtec Submersible Fountain Pond Solar Water Pump 12V DC "

Profile:
This is brand new water pump S-400A, can be used on submersible or above water, high quality and reliable.
Suitable for: Aquarium,solar-panel circulate system, fountain, electronic refrigerator, water heater etc...

Features:
Voltage: 9VDC ~ 12VDC
Current: 450mA / 550mA
Capacity: 6.6 Liter / Minute, 400 Liter / Hour, 1.75 Gallon / Minute, 105 Gallon / Hour
Noise: <=35dBA/10cm
Working temperature: -35°C ~ +80°C
Service life: 26000 hours up
Motor: DC brushless motor
Pump: Centrifugal pump
Weight: 172g (6.08 oz)
Inlet: 9.8mm
Outlet: 5.5mm
Size: 72 x 59 x 50mm (3" x 2-3/8" x 2")

[jeskalgh]

Well I got it all together and running except for one crucial piece.....the cooler pad!!! Definitely not found anywhere on the east coast... Duh! Which of course makes sense now that I think about it. You should have seen the weird looks I got when I asked the Home Depot people where the cooler pad was. I will just have too keep my fingers crossed that I can pick some up on my way out to the playa. I wonder if the Lowes in Fernley with have some in stock by the time I get there.