Portable Evaporative Cooler

[EllPea in CA]

Hello all,

I’ve been looking into some kind of AC for my garage in this awful heat wave (so my poor freezer doesn’t die). I have stucco exterior which I don’t want to cut into to install a wall unit, and really hate the idea of a window unit, or even one of those little evaporative things with the big hose going outside.

I just came across this one, which doesn’t seem to need a vent hose:

https://www.amazon.com/hOmeLabs-Evap...ews/B089KQWY4V

Reviews are decent… and I’m not trying to totally cool the garage, but just keep the heatwave down to a dull roar.

I’m posting here because I also wonder about using this in my trailer in desperate situations. I realize there would be humidity, but of course we have to ventilate with this anyway…

Any thoughts from the FGRV brain trust here?

[Darwin Maring]

Only work in extreme low humidity areas.

[thrifty bill]

Typical swamp cooler. In a garage, the added humidity is a negative, can promote rust on tools, etc.

Myself, I installed a mini split, which does require a hole in the wall. But the mini-splits are the way to go IMHO. Here, the humidity is way too high for a swamp cooler to make any sense. Not only are mini-splits very efficient, they can also provide heat.

[Glenn Baglo]

I think a swamp cooler can cool humans, but would not cool a garage.

[David Tilston]

For those of us in low humidity areas, I like this. Full disclosure, I am a Ryobi nut:
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ryo..._EN_UXR843EXPB

I'm not sure I would use it indoors, but the garage should be fine.

[EllPea in CA]

Originally Posted by thrifty bill

Typical swamp cooler. In a garage, the added humidity is a negative, can promote rust on tools, etc.

Myself, I installed a mini split, which does require a hole in the wall. But the mini-splits are the way to go IMHO. Here, the humidity is way too high for a swamp cooler to make any sense. Not only are mini-splits very efficient, they can also provide heat.

Yes, I'm familiar with the mini-splits, and while I love my freezer I don't love it THAT much. The expense is truly overkill for my garage.

And while we are not desert here, our humidity is low. IMHO, with a window cracked and the awful heatwave, I think any humidity from the cooler would self-destruct in self defense!

[slowpat]

We moved into a mobile home when I was a kid. Technically, we lived in a desert. (East side of the Cascade Mtns.) My dad put a swamp cooler on top of the trailer and it did cool off the inside so it was tolerable. Also, a friend's mom kept a portable swamp cooler going inside their house and it always seemed so much cooler than our house that had nothing to cool it. Insulation has improved since those days so maybe it would work even better.

Rust? Not a problem. Humidity? Not a problem.

I had a portable one for a bit and if I sat in front of it, was cool. That was also in a dry climate. I did have to fill it with water quite often.

Now, I have central AC but also have a room AC that is portable and vents out a window with a dryer hose. It is noisy, but it keeps my bedroom quite cool and I'm not cooling the whole house at night. It is ten years old but keeps going.

Hope this helps.

[EllPea in CA]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

For those of us in low humidity areas, I like this. Full disclosure, I am a Ryobi nut:
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ryo..._EN_UXR843EXPB

I'm not sure I would use it indoors, but the garage should be fine.

Well, I'm really enchanted with this thing! Frankly, I think it *would* be too wet to leave blowing in the garage, but I could definitely imagine using it outside on hot evenings, on the patio!

Local restaurants here have big industrial misters they use outside to make patio seating possible in the dead of summer, and outside that moisture and cooling is very welcome.

And since it is battery operated, I could see using it outside at a swealtering campsite as well!

For long term use at home, though (not in garage), I wish it would just PLUG in; I have several battery tools (lawn mower for instance), and while the tools and convenience are great, the batteries are expensive and a pain.

[EllPea in CA]

Originally Posted by slowpat

Rust? Not a problem. Humidity? Not a problem.

I had a portable one for a bit and if I sat in front of it, was cool. That was also in a dry climate. I did have to fill it with water quite often.

Thanks Pat, that's what I was thinking. I don't have to cool the entire garage, just the front area where the freezer is, and possibly the laundry sink/work area where sometimes I do some quick projects. (Thank goodness the laundry area itself is indoors)

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by EllPea in CA

Well, I'm really enchanted with this thing! Frankly, I think it *would* be too wet to leave blowing in the garage, but I could definitely imagine using it outside on hot evenings, on the patio!

Local restaurants here have big industrial misters they use outside to make patio seating possible in the dead of summer, and outside that moisture and cooling is very welcome.

And since it is battery operated, I could see using it outside at a swealtering campsite as well!

For long term use at home, though (not in garage), I wish it would just PLUG in; I have several battery tools (lawn mower for instance), and while the tools and convenience are great, the batteries are expensive and a pain.

The misting function and fan both have two speeds.

This just became available in Canada. I have been waiting for it for two years. I just checked the homedepot.com, (American) site. It is currently only available with a battery and crappy charger for $89.97 USD:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-ON...F01K/312025245

The tool only version, for $59.97 USD, is not available:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-ON...F01B/313313435

Occasionally stuff is less expensive in Canada than the states. This is one of those cases. In Canada, the mister only is $68 Cdn. Were it available, the US equivalent at $59.97 would be $74.36 Cdn, (at the current 1.24 US to Canadian conversion)

Did I mention that I am a Ryobi nut?

[EllPea in CA]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

...It is currently only available with a battery and crappy charger for $89.97 USD...

Did I mention that I am a Ryobi nut?

Ryobi nut but don't like their chargers?

I don't suppose chargers from other makers (Like Black & Decker, which I have) would work with these batteries?

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by EllPea in CA

Ryobi nut but don't like their chargers?

I don't suppose chargers from other makers (Like Black & Decker, which I have) would work with these batteries?

No, they make a couple of fine chargers:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-18...P135/206892719

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-18...P117/100634343

It's just that the one that comes with their, "swamp cooler" is the worst one they make.

The one I think would really rock for use with a fibreglass RV is this:
https://www.ryobitools.com/products/...s-power-source (not currently available)

It is both a 150W inverter, and light. Plus, if plugged into a USB-C power source, (like a cigarette lighter adapter) it can charge a battery, in your car.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by EllPea in CA

Hello all,

I’ve been looking into some kind of AC for my garage in this awful heat wave (so my poor freezer doesn’t die). I have stucco exterior which I don’t want to cut into to install a wall unit, and really hate the idea of a window unit, or even one of those little evaporative things with the big hose going outside.

I just came across this one, which doesn’t seem to need a vent hose:

https://www.amazon.com/hOmeLabs-Evap...ews/B089KQWY4V

Reviews are decent… and I’m not trying to totally cool the garage, but just keep the heatwave down to a dull roar.

I’m posting here because I also wonder about using this in my trailer in desperate situations. I realize there would be humidity, but of course we have to ventilate with this anyway…

Any thoughts from the FGRV brain trust here?

We bought a Bonaire 350 from Home Depot for under $200. We went to the store and bought it off of the floor. If you order one have it delivered to the store so if there's a problem you can return it to the store. It does a decent job. We turn it on in our bedroom and sit a fan next to it with a window open in the late afternoon. Cools down to a comfortable level by bedtime. Our bedroom is on the west side of the house and gets sun from about 2PM to 8:30PM with huge windows in the room.

[thrifty bill]

On rust here in the SE USA where humidity is high, it’s a problem. And I have my bicycle workshop in one garage, with lots of tools too. So I have a mini-split in that garage. My other garage has nothing.

[Captleemo]

I would only consider buying a swamp cooler if I lived in a real dry area like Elpaso TX. for example. That is the kind of envirement they are designed for. Freezers will work in the garage but it is not an ideal envirement and will shorten the life of them. If you air condition the garage what will be the cost of the AC unit and how much electricity will it use?

[Jennifer Minogue]

How about adding insulation on the outside of the freezer that doesn't interfere with getting rid of the heat from the coils? So it doesn't have to work as hard.

Styrofoam panels, blankets, old chair cushions, air pillows out of those Amazon packages, whatever.

[wilyoung]

First of all know that an evaporative cooler (swamp cooler) cools by evaporating water into the air. They only work worth a hoot where dry air from outside can be brought in through them in fairly large quantities and the same quantity of air can be exhausted out a window or some other opening. They require relatively low humidity air for a source. In any closed space, whatever the humidity is to start, the "cooler" will bring the humidity up. As the humidity rises the cooler becomes less effective (less evaporation). Soon the closed space will have warmer and warmer soggy atmosphere. Very uncomfortable.
In desert, or near desert climates you will see big box swamp coolers up on roofs. They work by sucking dry outside air through wet pads and into the house. That same amount of air must exit the house, usually through windows remote from the cooler. Cool relative humid air travels through the house and out. No humidity build up. Works good.
OK, if you sit directly in front of a small one in a fairly large closed area you may feel cool air - at least for a while. But even that will fail when the humidity starts to rise. Other than that, in a closed system they just don't work. Period. Laws of physics.

[slowpat]

The big swamp cooler we had was mounted on the top of our mobile home. I think it was a 12x60 model. The kitchen and living room were in the middle of the trailer, and the swamp cooler vent was in the rear hallway. A hose that was attached to a faucet ran water up to it and kept the pads wet.

As I think I mentioned before, we were living in Eastern Warshington which meets the requirements of a desert environment. It is not humid. It is dry and we go through lots of chapstick and such. Our trailer was surrounded by irrigated alfalfa so it may have been more humid than it would be without, but it was still arid.

The cooler kept the metal clad trailer livable.

And I do remember, whilst living in the same climate, my friend's mom had a portable swamp cooler. It was the size of a medium window air conditioner and was on a wheeled cart. She would fill up the reservoir and move it around to where it was needed. It felt great when we came indoors on a hot day. I found the same to be true when I purchased one for the E. Warshington climate and took it to Northern AZ. I sold it at a yard sale. It went quickly. I was moving to a rainier and more humid area of the West Coast and was sure it would not work there.

Right now is not the time to buy AC or a fan or a cooler. In fact, I bet the stores are sold out, or really close to it. It was 108 at my house today. However, when I lived on the side of the state where "you don't need AC" and we were having 100 degree days and suffering, I was able to buy a room AC on line from Walmart. Went to the store, which was a good hour away, and picked it up and began sleeping again.

[Borden]

Originally Posted by thrifty bill

Typical swamp cooler. In a garage, the added humidity is a negative, can promote rust on tools, etc.

Myself, I installed a mini split, which does require a hole in the wall. But the mini-splits are the way to go IMHO. Here, the humidity is way too high for a swamp cooler to make any sense. Not only are mini-splits very efficient, they can also provide heat.

So true Bill

[slowpat]

A way to try it out at a lower price.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJN3lwVLGxs

Then, heaven forbid, if we have another smoke season, you can put an air filter on the back of the fan and have a cheap air cleaner. My niece did this last year and had to change filters a few times because it was working.

Just got back from a bicycle ride in 90+ heat. I used evaporative power to keep cool. I have a scarf from Costco that keeps the neck cool when the scarf is wet. Once again, I live in a desert climate. My neck will not rust, nor will my bike.