Pin it! lilmataleao, Sleven, BenjaminC and 14 others like this
There's a few different kinds of this style of cooler. Will try it in my shop.
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lilmataleao, Sleven, BenjaminC and 14 others like this
There's a few different kinds of this style of cooler. Will try it in my shop.
5 comments
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groovetrain 10 years ago
I'm not the guy that always tries to shoot holes in all of the DIY air-cooling things that you see as we near summer, BUT...
I'm confused about this… The amount of heat energy required to thaw a gallon of frozen water will be the same no matter if you put it in this contraption or not. Is the idea of this just that it's pushing more warm air around the ice/0º water, so it'll cool more air and also melt the ice quicker?
Also, there's energy required to freeze a gallon of water in your freezer, thus causing your fridge to run more, essentially putting heat back into your living space. If I've already got a bunch of gallons of frozen water or have a fridge in an outbuilding, then I guess this'd make sense.
I have a hard time believing that this would cost less to run per BTU than a $454 air conditioner, after factoring in the energy required to freeze the water.
That being said, I do realize that there are a LOT of people out there that are a LOT smarter than me, and I love to learn, so please educate me!
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Titanheart 10 years ago
I would agree about the $454 part, as you are not in fact building anything nearing that value and efficiency.
However I have seen "swamp coolers" like this one that actually do an admirable job, but none will ever cool an entire house or be enough for a single room in the Southern US. They work okay however on a back porch in the evening to bring the air temp in the shade down a few degrees for a couple hours.
I would probably try to figure the cost to freeze the water vs. the cost to pick up a few bags of ice at the grocery. Electricity costs would probably still be low as a small fan of that type uses much less energy than a full size AC unit.
Also it is worth mentioning that setups like this tend to increase humidity rather a lot. So use in a house can lead to lots of fun things growing in places you wouldn't like.
Not trying to deter, but I find it is always best to try to consider all of the factors involved.
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Chet_Manly 10 years ago
My approach to dealing with heat and humidity afte growing up and working in the south:
1. Lose weight. That solves many problems.
2. Start working outside in the early morning, even if it is just walking. As the day heats up, the body acclimates more easily if you are out and active.
3. Drink water & eat a little watermelon type food every hour.
4. Use fans.
Not scientific but it is what our family always did and I find it to be effective.
I'd only use a device like this in conjunction with a fan on a porch.
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egro 10 years ago
This should be called "How to ruin a bucket."
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mmeseck 9 years, 12 months ago
I think you guys are looking way to hard at this. I did this for my garage. I turn it on when doing some work in there and it keeps the area I am in down a few degrees. Most people understand you wouldn't try and cool an entire house. And the whole splitting hairs of cost on freezing water seems a bit much.
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