cooling your tent or van

[Shaolinskunk]

Pictures please!

I have them on my phone...I guess I need to upload them to my computer to attach? Sorry haha I've never posted a pic on a forum!

[Shaolinskunk]

PicMonkeyCollage.jpg

here it is! the fans are from frozenpcu and draw .40 amps each while moving 110 cfm each. The holes just happen to lineup perfect with 4" flanges so i screwed them right on... i have 10 2" holes for intake but need to add a few more. I got my pump from greenlivingforu its only 5w / 70 gph but works well. It was in the mid 80's in my sunroom when we tested the output temperature. The pic on the bottom right is a piece of paper being sucked up against the intake holes. Im pretty pleased with it so far..... thanks fig! you are kinda good-

[FIGJAM]

It looks great!!!

Now, how are you going to duct it into the area you want to cool?

[Shaolinskunk]

I have 90 degree elbows and also tried dryer vent hoses...they seem to flow ok. I only put the intake holes on one side to try to minimize the ducting needed.

[tattoogoddess]

Ok so I am just going to make the first one posted. Use the same pump and fan ect. My tent is like 6x6 and about 5 feet high.what battery should I get?
The one you posted at Costco seems like over kill, am I right?

[FIGJAM]

The costco battery weill run the cooler for 6hrs. a day for 7 days without a recharge.

If you bring a genny, you can use almost any 12 volt battery and recharge from the genny as needed.

[tattoogoddess]

I wonder if same club would have that one or something like it. No Costco near here really, SAMs is 30 minutes.

[tattoogoddess]

Hey do you have a pic of how you connected the batteries to the wires?

[FIGJAM]

The easiest way is to just use alligator clips on the cooler wires to connect to the battery.

This is how I did it.

When I wired the playapod for 12 volt, I used regular wall outlets.







If you look at most outlets these days, one side has a slightly wider slot than the other.

Now look at the plug.

One prong is slightly wider than the other.

I wired the plug so that the wide prong is the possitive, and the narrow one is the negitive.







This makes it easy to plug or unplug the cooler, and the plug will only go in one way so that it can't be pluged in "wrong".

Some like to use car outlets like a cigarette lighter, but my way was cheaper.

[tattoogoddess]

so i could take the pump cord and the fan cord and splice them together and then gator clip them onto a battery? am i reading you right?

[FIGJAM]

That's how I did it, but you could keep them separate so you could run just the fan for when you don't need the extra cooling, or add switches.

[tattoogoddess]

What is the best way to pump the air into a tent? Get like metal flashing then magnets? Clip it to a screen on a window. Give me some ideas cause that's all I have.

[FIGJAM]

Look at the picture of the finished cooler on page 60.

Most tents have a double zipper on the door.

When you're going to use the cooler, set it just outside the door, and zip the door closed around that top pipe.

Then open one of the windows just enough to vent the hot air out so the cooled air can come in.

[Earthwalker]

Ok, now that I've got the MH figured out (still needs some work), I'm going to try to tackle this thing. Gotta admit I'm a bit scared. I'm going to try and figure out as much as possible on my own so as to not annoy you, Fig, but imma need some help, dig? I guess first question would be (and I already sort of asked this, so sorry):

this is ok for a MH, right? A lot of people are talking about ducting the cool air into their tent or van. I don't plan on doing that. I plan on putting it in the middle of my MH and just have it blow towards the general seating area.

Is that cool? (pun intended hardy har har)

[junglesmacks]

What is the best way to pump the air into a tent? Get like metal flashing then magnets? Clip it to a screen on a window. Give me some ideas cause that's all I have.

Use flexible dryer ducting tube material to blow the air where you need it. Seal around it.

[kstlfido]

[quote="Earthwalker"]

this is ok for a MH, right? A lot of people are talking about ducting the cool air into their tent or van. I don't plan on doing that. I plan on putting it in the middle of my MH and just have it blow towards the general seating area.

Is that cool? (pun intended hardy har har)[/quote]

I'll chime in- is your MH enclosed or open at the ends? The idea is to get dry outside air into the cooler. If your MH is enclosed, then you will need to get outside dry air into the cooler. If not, it might work OK in close vicinity (like lying in front of the fan) but far less effective than an enclosed space.

[BBadger]

kstlfido: Go into your account profile settings and enable BBCode under Board Preferences -> Edit Posting Defaults so that your quotes work.

[kstlfido]

kstlfido: Go into your account profile settings and enable BBCode under Board Preferences -> Edit Posting Defaults so that your quotes work.

Done, thx for the heads up!

[FIGJAM]

Earthwalker, if you're building the bucket cooler, it will do for one person sitting in a chair in the shade.

The output of the fan is'nt enough to do more than that in an open space.

I give demo's in my open shade on the playa and people get chilly sitting in the chair by the time I've discribed how it works, but it's a concentrated flow of air directed at the chair.

Just follow the simple instructions and it will work.

[Earthwalker]

Interesting. So I suppose people could take turns in the chair. Or I could duct it into a tent then people can go pile in the tent to cool down, like getting in a car with the AC on. Maybe I'll set it up so it's tubed out into two directions, so two people can sit next to each other and both be cooled.

or I'll just cool myself and be happy.

thanks fig

[Earthwalker]

And I suppose the thread is called "cooling your tent or van", not your monkey hut, or your entire camp.

[FIGJAM]

It depends on how much you want to cool.

If you can bring the power and water, I can make a design that will blow 30 degree cooler air through the whole monkey hut!

[Earthwalker]

Well, good sir, I am not trying to turn the fine desert into something it isn't (Seattle). What I'm really trying to do is to provide a small space where some members of my camp can go to get a much needed respite from the heat and related exhaustion. Of course I want to cool myself too, but I mainly want to build the cooler as a gift to my camp that is doing so much for me by setting up, DJing, etc. I imagine seeing people crashed out under some silly shade structure, looking like they're considering going home early, and being like "hey, follow me...trust me". I bring them to a chair or two seating area, they sit down, close their eyes, exhale, then just look up with a smile and say "thank you"

(The philosopher would ask...so, are you doing that for them, or for how it makes YOU feel? To that I say, shutup. Quit analyzing things so much. I was a philosphy minor in college and I quit b/c I already way overanalyze things on my own. Circular thinking leads nowhere. Open your third eye....man)

[FIGJAM]

That's the nice thing about the bucket cooler, it's completely portable.

The cord is about 15' long.

Set it next to a tent door and zip the door closed around the vent pipe and you're cooling the whole tent. (up to abot a 10'x10' and open a window to vent the hot air out.)

Wanna set out where you can watch "goings on", move it out by a chair.

[tattoogoddess]

Ok sooooo I think I may have a bit of an issue. The pump I bought. I though it has the same specs but no way with this little of a guy. Help?

[Earthwalker]

Those pumps should be kept away from hot flame, including lighters

[tattoogoddess]

Lol noted.

Also would black or white be a better cooler for the bucket? Not in style..... Effectiveness.

[FIGJAM]

150cm=4ft9in

200L=52 gallons

I think it will work.

[TT120]

Looks like the input voltage is 4.5 to 10 volts. 12 volts might be a little much for the cute little feller.

Unless of course, you're running it off of 4.5 to 10 volts, in which case....Never mind. For some reason I thought you were going to run this from a deep cycle marine battery.

[tattoogoddess]

Nope just solar. The fan will be off the battery though.