I also found that the Pittsburg (Bay Area, that is) Home Depot has upwards of
20 of them in stock. Could be a mistake, I don't know...
--
"You have to have at least one square meal a day to be a conservationist."
-- Richard Leakey
On Aug 13, 2011, at 11:08 AM, andreas wrote:
> Best price with shipping I found was a company called "sim supply".
> I'm on the road or i'd google them for you. Bu, they were much
> cheaper than amazon and shipped pretty quick.
>
> On Aug 12, 1:33 pm, Steve Upstill <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Is anybody else out there getting thwarted by the unavailability of Duracool
>> pads? Home Depot is totally out as far as I can tell (not just stores, but
>> nationally). I just paid Amazon $20 for purchase and shipping of mine.
>>
>> Alternatives?
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Steve
>> --
>> Dare to suck.
>>
>> On Jul 29, 2011, at 6:08 PM, David Kelso wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>> Thanks for all the feedback guys!
>>
>>> I've decided to convert my two bucket system in to the one bucket
>>> system (thanks for the link Andreas). I bought that low wattage pump
>>> too (thanks Richard). And I went with the endless breeze fan (thanks
>>> Ken).
>>
>>> Last thing to find is a way to get the air into the yurt. I'm hoping
>>> I'll find a 12" flexible duct somewhere and be able to skip any size
>>> conversions and just slip it directly over the fan and 5 gal bucket.
>>
>>> david
>>
>>> On Thu, Jul 28, 2011 at 12:09 PM, Steve Upstill <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>> Chasomatic,
>>
>>>> I'm looking at the Frozen CPU site and they have a buttload of 12V fans.
>>>> Any clues for getting closer to what you're talking about?
>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>> Steve
>>>> --
>>>> There is a problem when the turnover in the United States House of
>>>> Representatives is lower than it was in the Soviet Politburo.
>>>> -- NATHANIEL PERSILY, election law expert at the University of
>>>> Pennsylvania Law School
>>
>>>> On Jul 21, 2011, at 11:39 AM, Chasomatic 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
>>
>> ...
>>
>> read more ยป
>
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