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Old 09-21-2007, 07:35 AM   #1
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You fill your cooler with ice.... put this item on top and turn on a low draw fan and you have instant air conditioning???
Sounds good but not sure of the drawbacks!

When i was young we took a block of ice and put a fan behind it and it wasn't bad.
Sure would be great on those really hot nights with no A/C current hookup for air.
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Old 09-21-2007, 07:45 AM   #2
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Looks like a clever idea, but wouldn't this be more of a swamp cooler than an air conditioner? Just wondering...
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Old 09-21-2007, 07:50 AM   #3
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A swamp cooler cools by evaporating the water. This cools by air blowing over ice. I've seen them before but have not seen any reviews.

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Old 09-21-2007, 07:56 AM   #4
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Wouldn't it also add more humidity to the air thus increasing the "muggy" factor?
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Old 09-21-2007, 07:59 AM   #5
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A swamp cooler cools by evaporating the water. This cools by air blowing over ice.
That's semantics.
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Old 09-21-2007, 08:01 AM   #6
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Bobbie......
As soon as you said Reviews i went over to amazon.com for there reviews and they where not good at all
I should have done this before i started this thread.
Joe

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Old 09-21-2007, 08:47 AM   #7
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That's semantics.
Not at all, Donna. A block of ice cools the air around it by convection (absorbing heat from the nearby air which causes melting), not by evaporation; the state change absorbs heat. That state change requires much less energy, though, than does the one from liquid to vapor so it's less efficient.

I doubt a block of ice and a fan would provide more than 100 BTUs of cooling.
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Old 09-21-2007, 08:51 AM   #8
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Not at all, Donna. A block of ice cools the air around it by convection (absorbing heat from the nearby air), not by evaporation. It also cools by melting; the state change absorbs heat. That state change requires much less energy, though, than does the one from liquid to vapor so it's less efficient.

I doubt a block of ice and a fan would provide more than 100 BTUs of cooling.
Part of the cooling comes from sublimation, which is a form of evaporation. Donna's comment "That's semantics" is quite accurate.
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Old 09-21-2007, 08:52 AM   #9
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Not at all, Donna. A block of ice cools the air around it by convection (absorbing heat from the nearby air which causes melting), not by evaporation; the state change absorbs heat. That state change requires much less energy, though, than does the one from liquid to vapor so it's less efficient.

I doubt a block of ice and a fan would provide more than 100 BTUs of cooling.
I understand, but doesn't the fan cause the ice to melt thereby causing evaporation...just like a swamp cooler cools by evaporation. That's what I meant anyway.
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Old 09-21-2007, 09:01 AM   #10
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I understand, but doesn't the fan cause the ice to melt thereby causing evaporation...just like a swamp cooler cools by evaporation. That's what I meant anyway.
It was a leg pull, Donna, thus the

This was partly triggered by another thread about [b]too much information .
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Old 09-21-2007, 10:42 AM   #11
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Old 09-21-2007, 11:43 AM   #12
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My guess is that not much of the ice is going to evaporate by melting then vaporizing OR by sublimation. At the end of the day most of the ice will be water. As was stated, melting doesn't take as much heat as vaporizing, so the process is much less efficient. On the other hand, cooling with ice works a lot better in humid areas than swamp coolers do.

I saw once a video showing Chinese factories using large fans and huge blocks of ice for "air conditioning." I don't imagine it was terribly efficient, but it was probably slightly better than fans alone. I've tried fans blowing over frozen bottles of ice, and at least in my imagination, they were marginally better than the fan alone. But the ice did not melt very fast, which suggests limited cooling was occurring. Mine was an enclosed system- no evaporation could occur because the frozen bottles were sealed- so I don't know what would have happened if they had been open.

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Old 09-21-2007, 11:53 AM   #13
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Part of the cooling comes from sublimation, which is a form of evaporation. Donna's comment "That's semantics" is quite accurate.
Anyone who knows the difference between sublimation, evaporation, and melting and thinks it matters in this context is deeply geeky. But then again, I do.

The fan and ice thing does work. It was the only air conditioning my grandmother ever had. You got to factor in the fan here. Humidity that sticks to the skin from the sublimation off the ice, or evaporation from water helps add water to the skin. Evaporation from human skin from the moving air has considerable cooling effect. Just think about the how much surface area can be involved and you can see how much energy is exchanged.

There's your answer. Everyone should take thier clothes off.

Of course, you could just wrap a wet kerchief around your neck. But what would be the fun in that?
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Old 09-21-2007, 11:57 AM   #14
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Anyone who knows the difference between sublimation, evaporation, and melting and thinks it matters in this context is deeply geeky. But then again, I do.
LOL, can't deny it, I teach college chemistry. I think the only thing geekier is physics or computer science.

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Old 09-21-2007, 12:07 PM   #15
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LOL, can't deny it, I teach college chemistry. I think the only thing geekier is physics or computer science.

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Old 09-21-2007, 12:11 PM   #16
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There's your answer. Everyone should take thier clothes off.
In Phoenix if you take Laura's advice and then spray yourself with water you shiver. Doesn't matter what the outside temperature is. Thus the mister systems on all the restaurant patios. Better to keep your clothes on while eating however...
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Old 09-25-2007, 10:51 PM   #17
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What with Eva Poration and Sam's antics and Fanny this thread's a little windy. But the efficiency factor takes a real nose dive when you add in the price they want for icecubes these days.
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