Hey Chasomatic We built an impromptu chest on the side of our yurt in 2009, and it was most definitely worth it.
If I recall, we took a 4'x6' panel (result of a cutting mishap - our first yurt), and cut it into 4 pieces: 4'x2' 4'x2' 2'x2' 2'x2' _______ |______| |______| |___|___| With the remains of the fourth tape roll, we boxed in an area against the shadier side of the yurt, and put a lengthwise hinge 2/3 back along the top panel. Took all of 20 minutes, and our chests were puffed out for days. :D In went the coolers for the duration of the burn. It went a long way to extending the life of our precious ice. The temp in there was noticeable cooler, as long as we resisted going in/out of it too often. Once the box was opened, the inside temp very quickly equalized with the ambient temp. Still, it kept the sun off in the afternoons. (*terrible* visual here http://prntscr.com/2g997) If you've got a scrap panel to spare, I highly recommend it. -Mark On Jul 21, 3:39 pm, Chasomatic <[email protected]> wrote: > I use the Home Depot bucket style of swamp cooler. > > My pumps come from Harbor Freight and they're Solar powered fountain > pumps for outdoor gardens ($19.95). They have a pressure head of at > least 3 feet and their own solar panel. Net power consumption ZERO! > My fan comes from Frozen CPU, I can't remember the exact numbers right > now but it's specially designed to give a column of air not the normal > dispersal pattern. It draws 0.7 amps to run and puts out around 120 > cfm ($31 with shipping). It shoots the air out of the pipe. > > I think my total power use will be about 1.0 (.3 pump+.7 fan) amps per > hour. Last year I didn't run the SC very late into the evening but it > may be hotter this year. Maybe 8.5 watts per hour from my 10 watt > solar panel/battery. It's close, but I may be a balanced power > system. > > My first effort for this year's swamp cooler was a little weak, but I > still have it. Has anyone built a chest from Hexayurt panels to keep > beer cool? I think my small SC would be enough to work but I don't > know how to calculate the potential temperature drop (would it be > worth it?). > > any ideas > > On Jul 10, 8:20 am, Richard Ginn <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > another way to have water flow down over the material is with a large > > reservoir (plastic garbage can) above it that you refill by hand (bucket) as > > needed. 50 gallons would trickle down all night maybe? > > > On Sun, Jul 10, 2011 at 3:31 AM, ken winston caine < > > > [email protected]> wrote: > > > ** > > > Pretty amazing amount of pumping for 6 watts, Richard. > > > > Still, if I'm running it 24 hours a day (along with the fan) during the > > > current 100-plus degree days and high 70s to high 80s nights until about 4 > > > a.m. when finally it starts to cool down a little, I'm using 282 watts a > > > day. That's 1/5 of the total electricity I have available each > > > non-overcast > > > day from my solar system. That's a pretty big bite and I can probably > > > afford > > > it only a day or two a week and keep the system healthy. > > > > It's NOTHING if you're on the grid. And a wonderful savings compared to > > > typical pumps. > > > > Best, > > > ken winston caine > > > > P.S. Am going to look into it, anyway. Because it would be really nice to > > > be able to use it if only from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. or so when the inside of > > > my > > > RV heats up into the middle 90s most days this time of year. My > > > self-wicking > > > coolers bring the air right in front of me and on my face down to the mid > > > 80s while I'm working at my desk, which is much more tolerable than mid > > > 90s. > > > But if I could force more water into the pads, and add pads, I could get > > > better cooling. > > > > Have been meaning to hook up the Kill-a-Watt meter up to an aquarium pump > > > and see what kind of wattage it draws. If it's less than 6 watts, I'll > > > report that here. (Doubt that it will be.) > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > *From:* Richard Ginn <[email protected]> > > > *To:* [email protected] > > > *Sent:* Saturday, July 09, 2011 10:21 PM > > > *Subject:* Re: [hexayurt] Windows and COOLING on the PLAYA > > > > For 6 watts you can power a 12-volt CPU water cooling pump that is rated > > > at > > > 132 gallons per hour, and then you don't have to wick the water at all: > > > >http://www.frozencpu.com/products/6073/ex-pmp-53/Danger_Den_DD-CPX1_1... > > > > On Tue, Jul 5, 2011 at 5:11 PM, ken winston caine < > > > [email protected]> wrote: > > > >> Jack, I've experimented with developing a 7-watt, self-wicking swamp > > >> cooler > > >> that works pretty well. > > > >> Haven't experimented with EVERY fabric known to man, but did find, > > >> surprisingly, that absorbant paper towels tended to wick better than > > >> about > > >> any cloth fabric I could test.But even., then, they tend to wick up only > > >> about 6 inches above the water surface. > > > >> What really helps is to hang them with open pleats facing the air source > > >> and > > >> allowing a tiny bit of air space between each hanging wick. That allows > > >> the > > >> air to pass between them a tiny bit. If using a high-efficiency, > > >> low-wattage > > >> 12v fan made for use in RVs and campers, having the open end of the pleat > > >> facing the fan's exhaust also helps the pleats balloon a bit and speeds > > >> evaporation. > > > >> My design provides 8 to 10 degree cooling for about 5 feet in front of > > >> the > > >> swamp cooler exhaust. So it's a personal cooler, not a room cooler. > > >> Although > > >> it does noticeably help cool the room a tiny bit, so long as you have > > >> fresh > > >> air vents in the room bringing in occasional super dry gusts. That's when > > >> you notice the moisture evaporating in areas of the room other than > > >> directly > > >> in front of the cooler. > > > >> The more folds of wicking material you can fit in your box (if buidling a > > >> swamp cooler) the more cooling effect you'll get. > > > >> Have yet to experiment with putting the fan on the top of the box, > > >> ponting > > >> down at the wicks and water tray on the bottom. Am planning to test that > > >> next. > > > >> Have tried quite a few variations. Have found that the fan BEHIND the > > >> wicks, > > >> blowing air through them, provides better cooling than locating the fan > > >> in > > >> front of the wicks so that it *draws* the air through the wicks. > > > >> Also have found that having a larger intake opening than exhaust opening > > >> seems to help a bit, too. About a 2::1 ratio has seemed best in my > > >> experiments. > > > >> You can do these with cardboard boxes and duct tape and rubber maid > > >> shoe-box size plastic containers. > > > >> The type of fan I use is this: > > > >>http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/fan-tastic-endless-breeze-1... > > > >> I also found at the end of summer about six years ago at a Wal Mart in > > >> Albuquerque a season closeout price on Wal-Mart's "Ozark Trails" version > > >> of > > >> this fan and bought seven of them for $4 each and am using those in two > > >> of > > >> my swamp cooler. They actually use less wattage than the Endless Breeze, > > >> but > > >> push slightly less air through, too. > > > >> May have been four years ago I wrote here about Buckminster Fuller's > > >> proven > > >> "cooling effect," but have not yet heard of anyone experimenting with it > > >> on > > >> the playa with hexayurts. > > > >> Fuller proved that putting a rain-capped stovepipe in the center of the > > >> roof > > >> of his circular dymation house or at the apex of the roof of a geodesic > > >> dome, and then having open vents about 1 foot above floor level around > > >> the > > >> walls of the building created an amazing, counter-intuitive cooling > > >> effect. > > >> The ratio of low-wall vent airflow capacity to roof vent was about 4 to > > >> 1, > > >> if I recall correctly. > > > >> What happens -- and Fuller demonstrated this multiple times, including in > > >> a > > >> dome at the equator built for the U.S. military -- is that as the ground > > >> around the building and the walls of the building heat up as the sun > > >> beats > > >> down, this creates a flow of warm air rising around the outside of the > > >> building. That rising air creates suction at the floor level vents, > > >> pulling > > >> air out of the building. That causes a rush of air to be pulled down into > > >> the building through the roof vent. > > > >> Fuller said this phenomenon extends for hundreds of feet into the air > > >> above > > >> the building. So you have hot air rising in a circle around the building > > >> and > > >> COOL air from higher in the atmosphere hundreds of feet above the > > >> building > > >> being sucked down the center of the invisible column. > > > >> The cooling effect was commonly reported to be in the range of 20 > > >> degrees. > > >> That is, the air coming in through the root pipe and dropping on the room > > >> had an effect of cooling the room by about 20 degrees from its > > >> temperature > > >> with the vents all closed. > > > >> Pretty amazing. Completely passive (other than opening and closing > > >> vents). > > >> And, other than the initial cost to build (the pvc or stove pipe and rain > > >> cap and dampers), free. > > > >> I say that this is counter intuitive because normally we expect interior > > >> heat to rise and exit through a roof vent. And normally it does. And that > > >> certainly helps exhaust heat from the room or building. But it doesn't > > >> bring > > >> in a nice, steady, flow of cool air that drops on the room from the > > >> ceiling. > > > >> Hope that helps inspire someone to experiment and report their results. > > > >> Best, > > >> ken winston caine > > > >> ----- Original Message ----- > > >> From: "Jack Senechal" <[email protected]> > > >> To: <[email protected]> > > >> Sent: Monday, July 04, 2011 3:19 PM > > >> Subject: Re: [hexayurt] Windows > > > >> I've used metal tape to fix a plexiglass panel to the outside, and it > > >> worked great. You could do two for better insulation, one inside and > > >> one out. And if you have two panels of plexiglass, you can bolt > > >> through them for extra solidity. But I think that might be overkill > > >> for the Playa. Having the cutout in there to block the sun during the > > >> part of the day when it shines in the window directly would probably > > >> be a good idea. > > > >> Regarding ventilation, I suspect that it would work well to generate > > >> an updraft by installing a black chimney pipe in the roof. That would > > >> draw air up when the sun shines on it, pulling it in through your > > >> vents below. > > > >> As an added bonus, you could put a damp cloth over the vent so air has > > >> to pass through it, which would cool it down and moisturize the air. > > >> You'd need a course fabric for that, something that's absorbent and > > >> loosely woven so air could pass through well. You could drape the > > >> bottom into a bucket of water, and it would wick it up continuously. > > > >> I haven't actually tried those ventilation ideas to work out the kinks > > >> yet, but I intend to do that this year. > > ... > > read more »- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hexayurt" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hexayurt?hl=en.
