More alternative air conditioning ideas

[Gina D.]

I saw this little guy (Not so little, not so big) on eBay and thought.. "Thats about the perfect size for the Burro". (OK, I have a Goldilocks sydrome)



It's a SlantFin K-25 air cooler.. in most circles known as.. a swamp cooler.

The size is ideal, it's 19 inches wide and about 9 deep, maybe 10 tall. Runs on 120v (50w) and weighs 14 lbs. Invertor use will have to be well thought out.

I have avoided getting an air conditioner because I rarely have a need for one, but they are nice to have, admittedly. This one does not weigh in at a bizzilion lbs, and requires no installation. It will run for 20 hours on one tank of water. I have plopped it full of ice cubes and ice water and am basquing in it's coolness by my couch now. Seems to work well. If I get about 10 feet away from it, it is ineffective, but the Burro coach is only 10 feet, so it should do well.

Haven't quite decided how to stow it. Will probably go under the bed and get set in front of the closet when needed.

I need to clean the outside. Oddly, the inside was scrubbed and is imaculate, but he neglected to wipe down the outside .

Gonna go try it in there now. It's still record heat here.

[Gina D.]

It's been locked in the trailer for 1/2 hour or so. Brought the temp down 10 degrees.

started at 90, it 80 in there now. Outside humidity is 57%, so it isn't that good when it's air swimming time.

Outside temp is 80 now, it has cooled of some as the evening goes by. But t's 98 in my house... arrgh!

[Dale]

It's been locked in the trailer for 1/2 hour or so. Brought the temp down 10 degrees.

started at 90, it 80 in there now. Outside humidity is 57%, so it isn't that good when it's air swimming time.

Outside temp is 80 now, it has cooled of some as the evening goes by. But t's 98 in my house... arrgh!

I actually have one of those little swampy 12 volt coolers. It works well on my kayak trips to the southern sierra. Of course it doesn't cool the scamp but it makes it very cool to sleep at night when pointed at the bed. I might point out the humidity is around 15% or so.

[Gina D.]

Well, I actually SLEPT all nite for the first time in a week. Under the covers, without the constant sounds of panting dogs.

Yeah, I did it for them.. yeah.. right.

The combo of the Endless Breeze, open roof vent and the SlantFin worked well.

The stigma of sleeping in your driveway fades quickly when you drift off comfortably for the first time in days.

[Judy N]

Swamp Coolers are used all over southern Arizona. They work great about 10 months of the year, until the Monsoon season sets in. When the humidity is in the single digits (it does happen here in Tucson) they can cool the space down by as much as 20 degrees. It's all in the evaporation. It is like when you get out of the swimming pool on a hot, low humidity day and within seconds you are dry and have goose bumps.

Its effectiveness (is that really a word?) goes down as the humidity goes up.

Glad you're sleeping better now, Gina. How did your camping spot do in the fires?

[Gina D.]

How did your camping spot do in the fires?

It survived. I am going there this weekend. I want to go check out 2 group campgrounds that might be suitable for a rally. They are both in the area.

Will post more on that in another thread if they will work.

[Pete Dumbleton]

Don't forget that if you can keep the egg in shade it won't get anywhere near as hot during the day and will cool down fast at night, which will make any kind of cooling device more effective (or perhaps unnecessary in less-than-extreme weather). A tarp slung over a rope between two trees will make a surprising difference.

[John & Sandy M]

It's been locked in the trailer for 1/2 hour or so. Brought the temp down 10 degrees.

We used a swamp cooler when we lived in Nevada... worked great in the dry (10% Rh)! This was on the order of 35 or so years ago and we lived in a trailer in the hot desert sun. The cooler would get the tin box down to 55 degrees if we forgot it on high.

If you leave it in the camper it is going to raise the humidity toward 100% Rh at which time it will begin raining inside and the temperature will probably be higher than the outside since the blower motor will produce heat.

The swamp needs a source of dry external air for intake. It draws it through an evaporative, water soaked mat where the water evaporates and cools the air. The cooled but higher Rh air then exits the unit into the area (RV) to be cooled.

In an area like the Carolinas they are essentially worthless since the outside air is already saturated so no evaporation/cooling. In the southwest US they are a cheap and trouble free means of cooling.