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Bus Discussion => Bus Topics ( click here for quick start! ) => Topic started by: Zephod on June 05, 2015, 08:27:24 PM

Title: Musings of a mad woman
Post by: Zephod on June 05, 2015, 08:27:24 PM
Modified swamp cooler. I was thinking about a modified cooler. I don't have a drawing program on my tablet so I'll just describe my idea...

Take one 15 gallon drum, lay it on its side. Best to use one that the end can be removed from. Next take some one inch aluminum tubing and snake it horizontally along the lower quarter of the drum. Air goes in from the one end and out the other.

Water goes in from a filler cap and there's an evaporation tube.

Now the physics bit... As water evaporates, it takes heat away meaning the water takes heat away from the air in the tube.

Simple, cheap and should reduce the temperature by 10 degrees.

Add a safari roof and traditional ac will not be needed!
Title: Re: Musings of a mad woman
Post by: eagle19952 on June 05, 2015, 09:13:31 PM
In Nevada.... ;D
Title: Re: Musings of a mad woman
Post by: Lin on June 07, 2015, 02:54:02 PM
I am not sure that I understand.  Are you saying the water goes through the tubing which acts as an evaporator to cool the air that is blown over it? Or is it that the air goes through the tubing and is cooled by the evaporation of the water around it?
Title: Re: Musings of a mad woman
Post by: Brian Diehl on June 07, 2015, 05:01:30 PM
I think you will need more surface area for the air flowing through the water.  You would also need some sort of fan blowing air over the water to speed up evaporation. 

I like your thinking.  It would be worth mocking up something like this to see how it worked.  Would definitely work better in the southwest low humidity than in the mid-west high humidity.
Title: Re: Re: Musings of a mad woman
Post by: Zephod on June 08, 2015, 10:36:32 AM
Quote from: Brian Diehl on June 07, 2015, 05:01:30 PM
I think you will need more surface area for the air flowing through the water.  You would also need some sort of fan blowing air over the water to speed up evaporation. 

I like your thinking.  It would be worth mocking up something like this to see how it worked.  Would definitely work better in the southwest low humidity than in the mid-west high humidity.
I'm just playing with ideas right now. I am still on the basic internal construction. I imagine that'll take a couple more weeks due to the heat. Yesterday I had to stop work because the heat was making me very disoriented.

I will put some kind of cooling system in though whether its before or after the electrics is another matter entirely.