Swamp Cooler for RV?

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Campfire RV

Campfire RV

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Ridgecrest, CA
Is there a such thing as a swamp cooler for RV's? Many of us that live in the southwest desert areas have swamp coolers in our homes to add some moisture and cool down the interior of our homes and they are cheaper on electricity.

Thanks,
Josh
 
Josh, I've only seen them on RVs in a fixed location. But try a search here using "swamp cooler" (with quotes) to see prior discussions.
 
Short answer: YES, I have seen one installed..

Long answer should include links to them but alas.. I don't have one.

I did, for some time, have a portable one that worked very well here, but alas, it wore out.
 
Like Tom, I've seen them but only on fixed RVs. They do use a lot of water so you'd need to have hookups to use one. It might be a good option for when the RVs parked at your stick house if you could rig up one that you could remove when traveling.

Wendy
 
For a while there was some place that made swamp coolers that fit in a standard 14" square roof A/C opening.  I've seen them on older rigs.  I don't believe they're still made.
 
I know that the swamp coolers do use more water as well but I guess there would have to also be a way to drain the dirty water like mine on the house. If I was at a campground with water hookups how I be able to drain the old water from the cooler then because it wouldn't be draining into the grey water tank? It doesn't sound like this is a popular topic in the RV community so maybe it's not really worth the hassle to look into. Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Josh
 
This one is made specifically for RVs: http://www.rvstuffusa.com/swampcoolerevaportiveaircoolerbyturbokool.html

Bycool used to make units large enough to use on school busses, etc. (I used to have one and they did put out a lot of cool air but that is going back a long ways). Most of the ones they make are for big truck cabs but at least one appears to be big enough to use on a bus and another is designed for campers. To see the different models, click on the names under the swan on the right side of the page which is here: http://www.dirna.com/evaporativos-bycool-ing.php

As far as draining dirty/mineral ladened water form the unit goes, there is a pump designed for regular swamp coolers that has timer that turns on every so often to drain the pan (my neighbor across the street has one installed on her swamper; I always used a bleed tee after the pump but not all of these swampers use a pump, like the Bycool I had). The output could either be allowed to dump on the roof like A/C condensate (a solution I personally do not find acceptable for even A/Cs but that is the most common one) or plumbed to a drain (the easiest one to get to would be the gray water tank vent as long as the gray water tank valve is left open when on hookups). One could use a manually operated drain pump with a remote switch and turn it on every now and then as needed (or the mood strikes).
 
I wouldn't think that the extended use of a swamp cooler in a structure that is mostly glued together, like a motorhome, would be too advisable, but I guess if you lived and traveled in an area where added humidity was a necessity, one may as well enjoy some cooling as a side benefit. 
 
I remember trying to explain what a swamp cooler does to a friend from Georgia. "You mean you're trying to ADD moisture to the air?" was her incredulous response. It's hard to explain to people with humidity over 70% :)

Wendy
 
Is there a such thing as a swamp cooler for RV's?
Click to expand...

Yes, there certainly is, or at least there used to be.  Don't know if they're still made and don't remember what they called them.  Back in the 1980s we had one on our 22' LazyDaze.  They installed them because they ran on 12-volt and were supposedly good for boondocking.  Also, being built in the southwest, it was assumed (wrongly) that they would be used in desert areas in which case air conditioners weren't as good.  To be honest, it wasn't all that great and really didn't work very well as we traveled around the country to more humid areas.  I remember boondocking in Boise ID at a friend's house and it flat out did not cool anything.  In fact, it was useless.  We were glad to have the air conditioner on our next unit.  They're much more effective!  Yes, you need 110 to operate one but most campgrounds can handle that.  Also, most motorhomes now have generators which we didn't have back then - strictly batteries and solar panels to charge!

We have a permanently mounted swamp cooler to cool the garages in our stick house and it works great when the humidity is low.  But during the monsoon season we often turn it off because it just doesn't work when the dew point gets too high.  You're far better off with an air conditioner.

ArdraF
 
Just Lou said:
I wouldn't think that the extended use of a swamp cooler in a structure that is mostly glued together, like a motorhome, would be too advisable, but I guess if you lived and traveled in an area where added humidity was a necessity, one may as well enjoy some cooling as a side benefit.
Click to expand...

A swamp cooler works only when the humidity is low, such as the SW Deserts. In AZ, during our "Monsoons" (July and August) when the humidity is higher (a whopping 20% or so), they do not work as well as at otyher times of the year. Even then, they do not add enough moisture to the air to be a problem. In places where the humidy is often higher than the temperature, they are worthless.
 
ArdraF said:
Yes, there certainly is, or at least there used to be.  Don't know if they're still made and don't remember what they called them.  Back in the 1980s we had one on our 22' LazyDaze.  They installed them because they ran on 12-volt and were supposedly good for boondocking.  Also, being built in the southwest, it was assumed (wrongly) that they would be used in desert areas in which case air conditioners weren't as good.  To be honest, it wasn't all that great and really didn't work very well as we traveled around the country to more humid areas.  I remember boondocking in Boise ID at a friend's house and it flat out did not cool anything.  In fact, it was useless.  We were glad to have the air conditioner on our next unit.  They're much more effective!  Yes, you need 110 to operate one but most campgrounds can handle that.  Also, most motorhomes now have generators which we didn't have back then - strictly batteries and solar panels to charge!

We have a permanently mounted swamp cooler to cool the garages in our stick house and it works great when the humidity is low.  But during the monsoon season we often turn it off because it just doesn't work when the dew point gets too high.  You're far better off with an air conditioner.

ArdraF
Click to expand...

Arda, go back up and read my post.
 
The cooling performance is about 20degF if the relative humidity is below 20%... above that, the cooling effect declines...at 50% + RH, they are not going to cool the air much.  Underway, there's the problem of water containment...the water tends to splash around and splash out on a bump.  The power consumption is very low compared to refrigerated a/c.

If you are living in a very dry area, the extra humidity can be helpful.
 
Arda, go back up and read my post.
Click to expand...

You had not posted it before I started typing - I posted two minutes later.  And, by the way, my name is ARDRA!

ArdraF
 
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