There is such amazing awesomeness in this. Thanks for posting., Do you dare post it on Figjam's ePlaya thread about swamp coolers <https://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic.php?t=33842>, or do you think that's just asking for unkind comments
On Wednesday, July 25, 2018 at 7:23:58 PM UTC+2, Steve Upstill (Swifty) wrote: > > After years of struggling with the Home Depot swamp cooler, and inspired > by a friend of a friend, I started over, and made this: > [image: IMG_20180724_195151114.jpg][image: IMG_20180724_195216011.jpg] > > The vessel is a swing-lid trash can > <https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rubbermaid-12-5-Gal-Black-Swing-Top-Wastebasket-2007870/301227226?keyword=071691183082&semanticToken=200300+++%3E++++st%3A%7B071691183082%7D%3Ast++cn%3A%7B0%3A0%7D++71691183082+%7Bproductkey%7D+qu%3A%7B71691183082%7D>, > > and the filter holders are cheap-ass soffit vents (two wide > <https://www.homedepot.com/p/Construction-Metals-14-in-x-8-in-Galvanized-Steel-Reversible-Foundation-Vent-TW148/202092772?keyword=736223133613&semanticToken=200300+++%3E++++st%3A%7B736223133613%7D%3Ast++cn%3A%7B0%3A0%7D++736223133613+%7Bproductkey%7D+qu%3A%7B736223133613%7D> > and one narrow > <https://www.homedepot.com/p/Construction-Metals-14-in-x-5-in-Galvanized-Soffit-Vent-SV145/202093194?keyword=736223106020&semanticToken=200300+++%3E++++st%3A%7B736223106020%7D%3Ast++cn%3A%7B0%3A0%7D++73622310602+%7Bproductkey%7D+qu%3A%7B73622310602%7D>) > from > the ventilation-and-flashing aisle, both from HD. The evaporative area is > more than 50% larger than my old bucket cooler, the water capacity two or > three times greater, and since the fan points horizontally (i.e, toward the > yurt rather than the sky), it requires a fraction of the length of duct to > get to the building, so I expect higher flow AND less heat gain. I haven't > been out to the Playa with it, but I'm getting 5°F cooling at 68° > temperature and 68% humidity. > > The pump is a 3.6W 12V aquarium pump (2 for $15 at Amazon > <http://a.co/7D19LdH>), and that white thing at the bottom is a float > switch <http://a.co/iUFlZPy> to cut it off when the water gets too low. > > It has a cigarette-lighter male plug for power in, so I can either run it > off a car battery or 12V solar panels. At the top, barely visible on the > right, are simple 12V voltage regulators for the fan and the pump. I bought > a pair of these solar panels <http://a.co/2V2y5bT> years ago, and those > voltage regulators are all the control you need (I think they were $1.69 at > my local electronics depot, ad I have two, one for the pump and one for the > fan, just b/c they're so wimpy). > > The lid was a bit of a mission to build, because you want a good seal, yet > the bin has rounded corners. > You'll have to follow this link to see what I mean. > <https://photos.app.goo.gl/Qavvxp7t9V32nVqX6> > Rather than try to duplicate the bowing of the box, I exploited it by > gently forcing it straight, to provide pressure against the outside. (I > used the dado blade on my table saw to cut the channels, but you don't > really need it to be held on both sides.) For the curves, I used Bondo: > plopped it down inside the lid, greased up the bin with butter, put it in > place and let it define its own shape. I suppose you could work from the > inside and pile more Bondo up on the lip, but that felt like overkill to > me. You could also do it entirely with Bondo, allowing the box to keep its > natural shape, only if your Bondo skills are better than mine. > > So will a hot, dry Playa give me enough temp. drop to sleep in? We shall > see. It does seem to be moving a lot of air. > > Cheers, > Steve Upstill > > -- > The only cure for hate speech is more speech. The only cure for hate is > love. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hexayurt" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to hexayurt+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to hexayurt@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/hexayurt. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
