Swamp Cooler for RV?

[tdst51]

If you were using it in Missouri or Arkansas, yes, it would be worthless.

I was using it in the southwest deserts, and again, it was useless.

 

[Lou Schneider]

My roof air will not lower temps on a hot dry day 28 degrees as these folks claim - so possibly it would help me out a bit. If it's 105 outside I have trouble getting the inside below 95 -- so I split and find an air conditioned mall or work at McDonald's with their WiFi. 

The key to making a swamp cooler work effectively is to recognize that it is a one pass device.  It draws in dry outside air, cools it and pumps it into the area to be cooled.  You need an open window at the opposite end of the area to let the air out so more cooled air can be introduced.

If you try to operate a swamper like a regular air conditioner and set it up to recirculate the interior air, you'll just wind up with a room full of hot, humid air.

 

[Lou Schneider]

You cut the holes only once. You install the coolers only once. With a platform, you have to wrestle it into place and put the cooler on it every time you use it. Mating the cooler to the window is likely to be a bit tricky and has to be done every time you use it. Then, when you go to move the RV, you have to undo everything.

I'd get a cooler with a horizontal exhaust like a window mount air conditioner.  Mount it on a roll around platform that's the right height to put the exhaust next to one of the RV's windows and just roll it into place with the swamper outlet next to the window, not mounted through it.

Use a piece of plywood to block off the rest of the window and you're good to go.  Swampers put out such a large quantity of air that there's really no need to achieve a perfect seal between the two.

When you want to use the RV, roll the swamper back out of the way and call it good.

 

[JiminDenver]

A swamp cooler would work well for us if we didn't dry camp with limited water.  We had one on the last house for 12 years that did great as long as the humidity and temps stayed low, those times we filled the reservoir with ice cubes to improve the cooling.

 

[taoshum]

A swamp cooler would work well for us if we didn't dry camp with limited water.  We had one on the last house for 12 years that did great as long as the humidity and temps stayed low, those times we filled the reservoir with ice cubes to improve the cooling.

The water temperature has little effect on the swamp cooler performance... it's the evaporation of water that cools the air so save your ice for a nice cool GnTonic.

 

[taoshum]

The key to making a swamp cooler work effectively is to recognize that it is a one pass device.  It draws in dry outside air, cools it and pumps it into the area to be cooled.  You need an open window at the opposite end of the area to let the air out so more cooled air can be introduced.

If you try to operate a swamper like a regular air conditioner and set it up to recirculate the interior air, you'll just wind up with a room full of hot, humid air.

And, a very frustrated swamp cooler...LOL

 

[godefroi]

The key to making a swamp cooler work effectively is to recognize that it is a one pass device.  It draws in dry outside air, cools it and pumps it into the area to be cooled.  You need an open window at the opposite end of the area to let the air out so more cooled air can be introduced.

Indeed. I once saw (during a search for a house) someone who had cut into their ductwork above their furnace and ducted in the output of a side-discharge swamp cooler, which was sitting next to the furnace and running full blast. It'd work as long as the water would continue to evaporate, but eventually the air gets too humid, and all you're doing is moving it around.

Similarly, people seem to forget that A/C units don't "manufacture" cold, they merely move heat from one place to another (and actually add a bit in the process). I worked in a building once that was having its air handling equipment replaced, and they put a temporary A/C unit in our office space, exhaust and all. Frustrated machine, indeed.

 

[alexinspain]

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

Of course, there are such devices. They use the same cooling principle and are much more compact.
There is a wide selection of devices: from large ones that need a lot of electricity and water, to small ones that spend little resources on cooling.
By the way, such small evaporative coolers have gained a lot of popularity among motorhome travelers. Because they consume electricity ten times less and are extremely compact and convenient.
They are also practically noiseless and sometimes have the functions of ionization and deep air purification.
I have two of them, I am very pleased!

 

[John From Detroit]

The key to making a swamp cooler work effectively is to recognize that it is a one pass device. It draws in dry outside air, cools it and pumps it into the area to be cooled. You need an open window at the opposite end of the area to let the air out so more cooled air can be introduced.

If you try to operate a swamper like a regular air conditioner and set it up to recirculate the interior air, you'll just wind up with a room full of hot, humid air.

Actually.... Now there is a downdside in fact 2 but set up a mister so the mist is sucked into the Air Conditioner outside.. Most air conditoners this means you need to spray just "in front" of the fan (Front si the front end of a motor home or trailer) dso the mist is blown through the condenser.. Colemans suck so you mist the OUTSIDE of the condenser... Watch what happens to the air temp at the outlet outsdide

The downside.
Most water contains chemicals like rust that WILL build up on ye old condenser over time and destroy the a/c

Unless you seriously filter the water (partiulate filters) Mister nozzles are easy to clog and hard to unclog

 

[Larry N.]

John, remember this is an 8 year old post before Alex revived it. And I'm wondering how your description is related to a swamp cooler or to what Lou was talking about. All the water usage on a swamp cooler is internal, dripping through and soaking the straw or other material in its walls, not something misted with a regular refrigerated air conditioner. It's really nothing but a squirrel cage fan with wet straw or other material which it sucks air through -- no compressor, and won't work in very much humidity.

 

[phil-t]

LOL, swamp coolers. I was introduced to them in the early 70s when I was stationed at Nellis AFB in Vegas. Our first appartment had one. The cool air was intially welcome, but then the humidity that was ducted into the appartment became uncomfortable. We were not long seeking out a place with AC.

 

[John From Detroit]

John, remember this is an 8 year old post before Alex revived it. And I'm wondering how your description is related to a swamp cooler or to what Lou was talking about. All the water usage on a swamp cooler is internal, dripping through and soaking the straw or other material in its walls, not something misted with a regular refrigerated air conditioner. It's really nothing but a squirrel cage fan with wet straw or other material which it sucks air through -- no compressor, and won't work in very much humidity.

The answer is that both Swamp Coolers (And there are two types) and the method I describe are evaporative coolers...
One type of Swamp cooler does indeed pass air through a water soaked filter.
The other is the very same mister nozzle I used to improve the performance of one of my A/C's The very same. it's sold as a swamp cooler/Mister

 

[Larry N.]

Thanks, John -- I wasn't aware of the other type, though I've had plenty of the water soaked type over the years.

 

[John From Detroit]

I have to admit I was surprised the first time I came across a mist in the air type myself.