Car swamp coolers

[kellymoe]

Car swamp coolers or evaporative coolers

Remember the old window mount swamp coolers in the 50's and 60's? There is a company producing them again. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with them? I have looked at A/C units for my land rover but the costs are through the roof. I use my truck mainly in the desert and would not be using the unit off road, just on the highway. The customer testimonials sound good but they are the ones the company chose to post. My wife and kids are getting tired of 100 plus degree drives up the Owens Valley in the Summer. When I find the link I'll post it. Here it is www.classicaire.com

 

[kerry]

I was really glad you posted that link until I saw the prices. I've been looking for one of those but those prices seem VERY high given the simplicity of the devices.

 

[kellymoe]

Prices seem to be about the same whether it's a new unit or the old vintage Thermador units on Ebay. I would like to hear from someone who actually uses one. There is a classic car night at Bob's Big Boy in Toluca Lake about a mile from my house every Friday night. I should cruise by there and see if anyone has one on their car.

Right now our cooling system is spraying each other with misters to stay cool. I know they are not going to be like having A/C but it's got to be better than nothing, especially in a dry climate.

 

[MuddyMudskipper]

My friend has a Thermador-type unit on his '61 Beetle. I thought that it cooled the air minimally and was more of a novelty befitting the look and technology of the day. I think that if you want it to work at peak efficiency you would have to keep the cooling pads moving through the water constantly, which they don't do on their own. Which means that you're constantly pulling the tumbler string to keep the cooling pads wet. Not sure if this unit is designed different though.

 

[Robthebrit]

I have a swampy in the mog, I got it from AT. It works pretty good but only when its dry, the humidity on the west coast is a little too high. It works much better in eastern CA or AZ where the humidity stays low.

For an offroad vehicle the swampy can be a pain in the *** because it will throw water at you or all over the floor. The mog has a metal floor with drain holes so I really don't care but in a truck with carpet it would be a much bigger problem especially in warm climates because of mold under the carpet.

Those units might be better because they are outside so any leakage would remain outside but I would like to see what happens when the water hits the fan which will happen when offroad.

Rob

 

[Overdrive]

Like Muddy said, I believe you'd have to be pullin' that string all the time. And an older friend of mine, who used to travel in a car (as a youngster) when these things were in common use, said you get a "nice" spray of water immediately after pulling the string.

Some other options for you to consider (12 volt swamp coolers):
http://www.nvo.com/southwestsolar/productcatalog/list.nhtml

Or, a more elegant looking design:
http://www.swampy.net/

 

[kellymoe]

I have been seriously considering getting the 12v unit from www.southwestsolar.com but keep thinking about a self contained "real" a/c unit such as are used on motor homes etc. Coleman makes an "of road" unit that looks pretty good but comes with a hefty price tag. I dont want anything that will steal horse power from my already anemic Land Rover engine, that is why I am looking for basically plug and play units.

 

[kellymoe]

Back to considering a Swampy. The solar options just wont cool the area I wanted. I just put a bid in on Ebay for a Swampy with "off road" baffles to prevent splashing on rough roads. If the price doesn't sky rocket I'll pick it up.

 

[Guinness44]

We run the White Rim in the Burb without A/C. The temps were 110 by noon. Bring extra water and some plantspraybottles, or similar (the ones with a trigger, I found small ones, and everyone used their own.) Thats the cheap swampcooler. When stopped wett down a towel and hang into the open window and hope for a small breeze.