portable air cooler...

JayDee · Guru

portable air cooler...

bgt · Guru

All I can tell you is that we went to a local Harvey Norman store to buy one here on the Gold Coast. We were steered away from them. Their logic was that they are fine in aa dry climate but not in high humidity. I have no idea if what they said was right but what they told us seem logical enough.

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

I worked for 25 years in design and development for the largest manufacturer of evaporative air conditioners in Australia.
Don't waste your money.
Cheers,
Peter

Whenarewethere · Guru

Evaporative coolers are great tools for introducing mound to your environment.

I live at the ocean edge & mould is a constant battle & we are careful, like squeegeeing the shower & trying to minimise steam when cooking.

Mould on curtains.

outlaw40 · Guru

Just what you need in a caravan .... More moisture !!

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Whenarewethere wrote:
Evaporative coolers are great tools for introducing mound to your environment.

Only when used inappropriately.

Cheers,

Peter

Meredith · Senior Member

Its an evaporative cooler, they have been around for years and there are other compact models around. The fact they their webpage has so much hype about it, and compares it to refrigerated air conditioners for power use etc when they are completely different things, just tells you they don't mind scamming people.

Mike Harding · Guru

JayDee wrote:
Wondering would this unit work in either section of our closed van.

No, not in the way you would like or think it worth the money.

Buy a decent 12V fan or two - much better cooling.

Energy is governed by the laws of physics and cannot be changed no matter how much any company would like to.

For your interest: the technique they are selling has been known since, at least, the Romans and has merit but not in the product they are peddling.

Whenarewethere · Guru

25°C in Manly today, doesn't even feel that warm. You can cut the humidity with a knife, it's just plain horrible. We put air conditioning on to reduce the humidity.

Whenarewethere · Guru

Mike Harding wrote:
JayDee wrote:
Wondering would this unit work in either section of our closed van.
No, not in the way you would like or think it worth the money.
Buy a decent 12V fan or two - much better cooling.
Energy is governed by the laws of physics and cannot be changed no matter how much any company would like to.
For your interest: the technique they are selling has been known since, at least, the Romans and has merit but not in the product they are peddling.

& even longer by the Arabic counties.

A couple of years ago we were in Midura in January. It was 47°C & we went to the public baths. When we got out of the water we were shivering. The air was so dry the water was evaporating of us so quickly we froze. But as soon as he water was gone the heat hits & back into the pool.

hufnpuf · Senior Member

As already mentioned, air coolers only work in dry heat locations, no good at all in humid locations. Also, they don't cool rooms, they cool you if you sit in front of them and have it blowing on you, but everywhere else will still be hot.

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

hufnpuf wrote:
As already mentioned, air coolers only work in dry heat locations, no good at all in humid locations. Also, they don't cool rooms, they cool you if you sit in front of them and have it blowing on you, but everywhere else will still be hot.

Well that is not quite correct....

There is no question that portable units have significant limitations and must be used appropriately to get the best benefit. The most significant requirement is that cooled air from the cooler is not recirculated back to the cooler.

Fully ducted units on the other hand are very effective and can provide great benefit in a wider range of climatic conditions. It is still essential that they are properly sized and installed and have high saturation efficiency. They can and do cool whole very large buildings very effectively and for low energy costs.

Our whole house is cooled by a unit and it is effective all year round in Adelaide.

It may also surprise some to learn that large evaporative units are used in Darwin to cool shopping centres and the like for the whole of the dry season and they only switch on the refrigerated units during the wet. They do this because the evaporative units can maintain comfort conditions for a fraction of the power cost of refrigerated units while humidity leverals are low to moderate.

Cheers,

Peter

hufnpuf · Senior Member

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
hufnpuf wrote:
As already mentioned, air coolers only work in dry heat locations, no good at all in humid locations. Also, they don't cool rooms, they cool you if you sit in front of them and have it blowing on you, but everywhere else will still be hot.
Well that is not quite correct....
There is no question that portable units have significant limitations

That's all we're talking about here, OP is talking about the bedroom of his caravan. Evaporative air conditioners on houses are a different kettle of fish to the small lightweight units you can buy for a caravan. I just bought one and used it when I was away. It was great sitting right in front, but it did nothing to cool the (small) van. I used to use a floor-standing model at home, same thing, it only worked to blow on you. It was pretty good, it blew out some seriously cool air (would have to turn it off in the middle of the night, you'd start getting cold after the temperature dropped) but you needed to have it blowing your way to get the benefit.

Shops here (like Bunnings) also use evaporative air conditioners. They work pretty well here. It's rarely humid, or very humid where you wouldn't want them on. They are great (and heaps cheaper than refrigerated aircon), but not available for a caravan.

JayDee · Guru

Thanks folks,.

Just as I thought.

We will not waste our cash on this unit, instead we will buy another 12 volt sirocco fan.

Jay&Dee

Caframo 7010CAWBX Sirocco II. Mounted Fan. 360 Airflow. Ultra Quiet, 12/24V Compatible. White, Small

Izabarack · Guru

Ryobi sells a battery fan with a misting function.

Iza.

oldbloke · Guru

There are these. 12 or 240v.

www.snowys.com.au/maxi-evaporative-cooler

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

oldbloke wrote:
There are these. 12 or 240v.

www.snowys.com.au/maxi-evaporative-cooler

Buy the Sirocco fan.

Cheers,

Peter

Mike Harding · Guru

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
Buy the Sirocco fan.

Yep: or for rather less cash this one is good too:

12V fan

Mike Harding · Guru

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
Buy the Sirocco fan.

Yep, or for rather less cash this one is good too:

12V fan

Aussie1 · Guru

Better still, buy and use an Air Conditioner ! Your Generator will run them easy. Ahh, feel the serenity

Whenarewethere · Guru

Put in a 2.5kW Daikin or Panasonic etc. These split systems are extremely efficient.

yobarr · Guru

Whenarewethere wrote:
Put in a 2.5kW Daikin or Panasonic etc. These split systems are extremely efficient.

Agreed....I have an MHI 2.5kw $700 from Good Guys.Works brilliantly.Cheers

JayDee · Guru

yobarr wrote:
Whenarewethere wrote:
Put in a 2.5kW Daikin or Panasonic etc. These split systems are extremely efficient.
Agreed....I have an MHI 2.5kw $700 from Good Guys.Works brilliantly.Cheers

Are these units like the ones you would wall mount in a house room. We are I hope, talking caravan units here.

are they 240 w power or 12 w.system

Jay&DEe

Whenarewethere · Guru

People are putting them in mobile homes as there are the only energy efficient option if running off batteries.

yobarr · Guru

JayDee wrote:
yobarr wrote:
Whenarewethere wrote:
Put in a 2.5kW Daikin or Panasonic etc. These split systems are extremely efficient.
Agreed....I have an MHI 2.5kw $700 from Good Guys.Works brilliantly.Cheers

Are these units like the ones you would wall mount in a house room. We are I hope, talking caravan units here.

are they 240 w power or 12 w.system
Jay&DEe

They certainly are house units,and mine sits on the drawbar.240 volt,and runs 24/7 off batteries. Cheers

oldbloke · Guru

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
oldbloke wrote:
There are these. 12 or 240v.

www.snowys.com.au/maxi-evaporative-cooler
Buy the Sirocco fan.
Cheers,
Peter

They would want to be good for close to $200.

1950s technology

Cupie · Guru

One of the successes of our recent trip into SW Qld in the heat was the 12v fans with speed controllers that we installed at the bed heads.

We don't like sleeping with the AC running (mainly the noise issue ).

The fans cost about $90 each and the PWM controllers about $1.50 each.

We turn them right down so that they are noiseless but blow a gentle breeze over the whole body while consuming negligible power.

I have installed a $15 240v oscillating fan at the foot of the bed that we sometimes use.

I use a 'scoop' made from an office suspension file to direct air from the AC output in the kitchen area to the bedroom. It makes a big difference.

Re Evaporative ACs in Darwin .. I noticed that after cyclone Tracey reconstruction in Darwin, many of the new houses had large AC boxes on top of the roof. Were they evaporative types?

-- Edited by Cupie on Thursday 17th of December 2020 12:42:14 AM

Mike Harding · Guru

Cupie wrote:
The fans cost about $90 each and the PWM controllers about $1.50 each.

It looks like your PWM controllers are after-market and not built into the fans? Be aware that some motors may overheat if run at low rpm and I suggest you put a hand on the motor body to test its temperature after running the fan at low speed for 20 minutes or so.

Whenarewethere · Guru

I knocked up a prototype using an extremely efficient & quiet Noctua fan.

hufnpuf · Senior Member

oldbloke wrote:
They would want to be good for close to $200.

1950s technology

I just got it's "little brother", same/similar, but a narrower and more compact design. It is good, if you're somewhere that an evaporative cooler will do you any good and you understand what you are getting. It is cooler than just a fan in our dry heat, and the van did get very hot inside, until the sun went down, and the temperature dropped. Yes, it's relatively expensive for such a basic device, but like a lot of camping gear, you pay a premium for a compact size and low weight.

The "technology" predates the 1950s, Coolgardie safes use the concept and they were in use way earlier than the 50s. Obviously the electrical part didn't come in that early, but the evaporative cooling part has been about for yonks.