Cheap Evaporative Cooler

[n bicalcarata]

i was going to use 2 so would 2 help lower the temp too

 

[Sundrew]

They are both going to cool to the same degree, and if you have multiple units running at the same time all that will happen is that it will cool faster. Depending on the size of the chamber, one may not make the whole chamber whatever temperature the unit is cooling to in a single night. Two units may do the job in enough time. However, I would try one (you can adjust the power of the fan and size of the pad if you want) before adding a second.

 

[BioZest]

Aidan, thats pretty much the whole point, to cool the air.

How it works is that when water is at its boiling point, it doesn't just instantly evaporate. It needs more energy to change into the higher energy state of matter (a gas) and so it gets that energy from heat around it, and thus can be cleverly used as a cooling agent. I'm not saying that the cooler is going to be boiling water, but it still takes energy for the water to evaporate. It probably won't do too much for humidity.


I learned this all in physics...I can't believe I remembered all that...

 

[n bicalcarata]

oh i was also going to add a fogger to them

 

[Sundrew]

If you add a fogger, it may not cool as well. You will have to add it inside the chamber, so that it does not make the air interacting with the cooler any more humid. And this does in fact do a lot for humidity. Look at the original post for my results.

 

[n bicalcarata]

i was going to have the unit inside but vent the air in from the outside

 

[n bicalcarata]

i think ill just go with a regular humidifier unless i can get it to go down to 55 degrees f at night year round for my highlanders

 

[BioZest]

If you add a fogger, it may not cool as well. You will have to add it inside the chamber, so that it does not make the air interacting with the cooler any more humid. And this does in fact do a lot for humidity. Look at the original post for my results.

oh sorry 'bout that skimmed over that part.

 

[Sundrew]

@ n bical: I would keep the unit outside the chamber and duct the air inside.
@ BioZest: No problem. I thought the same thing too at first.

 

[MurphysLaw]

Swamp coolers are really only effective in arid environments as a means to cool an area. That is why they are used primarily in the desert southwest of the US to cool homes. As explained earlier, as the water evaporates, the warm air displaced by warming the water as it evaporates. The benefit is that the process also raises the humidity in the area due to the moisture being blown into the area you are cooling. Using a refrigerated cooling system has its drawbacks as well,. They dry the air, and will lower the humidity in the area you are looking to cool. So additional humidifiers are needed in the area that you are cooling to prevent the air from drying out your plants.

 

[BioZest]

I stumbled upon this thread, and I think I want to build one of these coolers. I bought a fan, but it's only 40 cfm...I'm not sure if I should buy another or if that might be an OK rating. Any thoughts?