Ron & Nancy Hughes on wed 7 jul 04
Hi
I live in the land of swamp coolers, Arizona. That is what we cool our
home with. But in humidity it is worthless. Our month of August despite
rumor is quite humid and it is dog hot and the coolers don't help! Home
depot though has been selling small room air-conditioners. they are around
75.00. I had a Vince P. workshop to go to in June in Pnx. and a friend and I
camped out took one along to cool the tent, it worked wonderfully. Since
then I put it in my studio. My studio is about 10 feet by 15 feet, pretty
small. But it sure works well.
Respectfully Nance
Earl Brunner on wed 7 jul 04
I've lived in Las Vegas for most of my 50 odd years, and for most of that time we used "swamp coolers" instead of air conditioning. They work on the principle of evaporation. Humidity has a direct affect on how well they work. I can't imagine Florida as being dry enough. They work by pumping water over a porous screen, either aspine shavings or corrogated cardboard type material. A fan then pulls or pushes air across the screen and evaporation lowers the temperature of the air.
Ingeborg Foco wrote:Hello,
Is there anyone on the list that has experience using swamp coolers. My
studio is open in the sense that most but not all) of the window openings
have no windows and are covered with chain link fence and bug screens. The
building is concrete block - no sheet rock of any kind. It is so stinking
hot that I find it almost impossible to work.
I thought perhaps using a swamp cooler would make things a bit more
bearable. Last year while sitting at an outdoor cafe in Key West, they had
fans blowing misted air. It felt quite refreshing sitting there in the
heat/humidity. Home Depot has a similar and very simple system using a fan
to blow the water that is being misted out of a little 1/4 inch hose every
so many inches. It really cools you as you walk by and feels somewhat
refreshing. I do know swamp coolers are supposed to be for outdoor activity.
Does anyone have experience in a similar situation and could you perhaps
give your advice/opinions. Off list would be fine since this probably
doesn't interest most people.
Thanks for your inputs.
Sincerely,
Ingeborg
the Potter's Workshop & Gallery
P.O. Box 510
3058 Stringfellow Road
St. James City, Florida 33956
239-283-2775
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Earl Brunner
e-mail: brunv53@yahoo.com
Ingeborg Foco on wed 7 jul 04
Hello,
Is there anyone on the list that has experience using swamp coolers. My
studio is open in the sense that most but not all) of the window openings
have no windows and are covered with chain link fence and bug screens. The
building is concrete block - no sheet rock of any kind. It is so stinking
hot that I find it almost impossible to work.
I thought perhaps using a swamp cooler would make things a bit more
bearable. Last year while sitting at an outdoor cafe in Key West, they had
fans blowing misted air. It felt quite refreshing sitting there in the
heat/humidity. Home Depot has a similar and very simple system using a fan
to blow the water that is being misted out of a little 1/4 inch hose every
so many inches. It really cools you as you walk by and feels somewhat
refreshing. I do know swamp coolers are supposed to be for outdoor activity.
Does anyone have experience in a similar situation and could you perhaps
give your advice/opinions. Off list would be fine since this probably
doesn't interest most people.
Thanks for your inputs.
Sincerely,
Ingeborg
the Potter's Workshop & Gallery
P.O. Box 510
3058 Stringfellow Road
St. James City, Florida 33956
239-283-2775
Joseph Herbert on thu 8 jul 04
Ingeborg Foco is wishing for coolness in Florida.
Evaporative coolers (swamp coolers) are most effective in low humidity
areas. The air is cooled by contact with evaporating water so, the better
the water evaporates, the better the cooling. In desert areas the humidity
is low and the air, which could have a relative humidity of 5% outside,
comes through the cooler and picks up some moisture by evaporation, gets
cooler, and also gets wetter. Inside your building, you have cooler,
damper air. if the air ends up with 20% relative humidity, that doesn't
feel too bad.
On the other hand, in a hot humid area, the air outside may start out at 50%
relative humidity and, by gaining 15% relative humidity during cooling,
comes into your building as 65% relative humidity air. You now have an idea
of where the name came from. Even though the air is cool, it is very damp.
this creates all manner of problems with mildew and general clamminess.
In your area, you should be able to find a resident who live there before
1960. Ask them about experiences with swamp coolers. Look for cubic yard
sized louvered boxes on the tops of houses, there may be some still
functioning in your area.
the bottom line is that the water that is evaporated to do the cooling is
still there in the air and, if there is enough of it, will do other, less
desirable, things.
Good luck
Joe
carol tague on thu 8 jul 04
We use two smaller units in our studio called Quiet
Cool. When the humidity level is high, we part the
card board panels on the back and put ice cubes into
the water that sprays onto the cardboard. We then
point the coolers at the center of the wheels. This is
Florida in 100 degree weather and nobody complains in
class about it being too hot. We happen to have one of
these units in the store that is brand new.
Carol Tague
Florida Clay Art Co
800 211 7713
>
> Is there anyone on the list that has experience
> using swamp coolers. My
> studio is open in the sense that most but not all)
> of the window openings
> have no windows and are covered with chain link
> fence and bug screens. The
> building is concrete block - no sheet rock of any
> kind. It is so stinking
> hot that I find it almost impossible to work.
>
> I thought perhaps using a swamp cooler would make
> things a bit more
> bearable. Last year while sitting at an outdoor cafe
> in Key West, they had
> fans blowing misted air. It felt quite refreshing
> sitting there in the
> heat/humidity. Home Depot has a similar and very
> simple system using a fan
> to blow the water that is being misted out of a
> little 1/4 inch hose every
> so many inches. It really cools you as you walk by
> and feels somewhat
> refreshing. I do know swamp coolers are supposed to
> be for outdoor activity.
>
> Does anyone have experience in a similar situation
> and could you perhaps
> give your advice/opinions. Off list would be fine
> since this probably
> doesn't interest most people.
>
> Thanks for your inputs.
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
> Ingeborg
> the Potter's Workshop & Gallery
> P.O. Box 510
> 3058 Stringfellow Road
> St. James City, Florida 33956
>
> 239-283-2775
>
>
______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change
> your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be
> reached at melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
>
> Earl Brunner
> e-mail: brunv53@yahoo.com
>
>
______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change
> your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be
> reached at melpots@pclink.com.
>
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Kathy on thu 8 jul 04
A fan pointed outside, acting as an exhaust, is very effective in
reducing humidity. Two fans better.
I don't know why, but opening all doors on a hot and humid day, when
it's hotter outside and more humid inside, seems to somehow cool down
or de-humidify the cement block.
But this is north mid-Atlantic coast, not Florida.
Kathy Forer
Snail Scott on thu 8 jul 04
At 05:10 PM 7/7/04 -0400, you wrote:
>Is there anyone on the list that has experience using swamp coolers...
What you described is not what I'd call a swamp cooler,
but a patio mister. I'm from the desert, where swamp
coolers are a roof- or window-mounted units that blow
air through dampened pads into the building. (There are
small portable units now, too.) They are much cheaper to
buy and operate than an air conditioner, and in dry
climates, actually work better. As I recall, though, you
live in the South where it's very humid. In my experience,
swamp coolers are utterly unknown in these wetter
climates, where there's not enough evaporation possible
to create any noticeable drop in temperature, and the
main result is only an increase in humidity.
Those outdoor misters are a very different thing, though.
I once tried a cheap one at the open roll-up door in my
studio. It _was_ cooler. Combining it with a fan was a big
improvement, too. I suspect that in your climate, a fan
(or a breeze) would be essential, since otherwise you'd
mostly just get wet.
Seems to me that your semi-outdoor studio would be a
reasonable spot to try such a thing, if you've found
them to have a cooling effect elsewhere in your area.
The high-quality systems are definitely better, but
perhaps you could try the cheap version to start, (which
fits onto a garden hose for under $10,) and hang a box
fan behind it. (These hose-mounted systems work best
with full water pressure, but the connections tend to
leak, so have the connection outside if you can.) It
will give you some sense of the viability of the idea,
before you invest $200 on a good one with installation.
-Snail Scott
Edwardsville, Illinois, USA, Earth
Teresa Testa on fri 9 jul 04
I live in Las Vegas, NV. We don't have much of a humidity factor here. For
the kind of clay work I do the humidity factor greatly effects my work in the
studio. I have a humidifier to increase the humidity in my studio. The
humidifier runs almost all year round. I also have a portable AC unit which I use to
cool off the studio. This unit is only 9,000 BTU's, but it seems to cool my
450 SF studio sufficiently to keep a workable environment, (around 80-87
degrees). The problem with the AC unit is it draws moisture from the air. I
constantly monitor the humidity in the studio with a humidity monitor. I like to
keep it between 20%-30%. The combination of the humidifier and the AC unit seems
to work fine for. The only issue with the AC unit needs to be vented
outside. I cut a hole through the stucco wall and ran the vent outside. I the used
some very wet clay to seal it. In the winter I will just remove the vent and
cover the hole until next summer, when I will use it again.
A swamp cooler although a bit less expensive does not have the cooling power
I need for the environment I work in.
Teresa, Windancer Studio
Gary Harvey on fri 9 jul 04
What you are saying is true. There is however an other option. I have heard
of evaporating coolers with a drum in it. The drum absorbs the excess water
vapor and then cools the air. I can't help you as to where you can buy one
but I am sure they exist. One of our landlords from years ago had one. Good
Luck. Gary Harvey, Palestine TX
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joseph Herbert"
To:
Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2004 5:49 PM
Subject: Studio Swamp Cooler
> Ingeborg Foco is wishing for coolness in Florida.
>
> Evaporative coolers (swamp coolers) are most effective in low humidity
> areas. The air is cooled by contact with evaporating water so, the better
> the water evaporates, the better the cooling. In desert areas the
humidity
> is low and the air, which could have a relative humidity of 5% outside,
> comes through the cooler and picks up some moisture by evaporation, gets
> cooler, and also gets wetter. Inside your building, you have cooler,
> damper air. if the air ends up with 20% relative humidity, that doesn't
> feel too bad.
>
> On the other hand, in a hot humid area, the air outside may start out at
50%
> relative humidity and, by gaining 15% relative humidity during cooling,
> comes into your building as 65% relative humidity air. You now have an
idea
> of where the name came from. Even though the air is cool, it is very
damp.
> this creates all manner of problems with mildew and general clamminess.
>
> In your area, you should be able to find a resident who live there before
> 1960. Ask them about experiences with swamp coolers. Look for cubic yard
> sized louvered boxes on the tops of houses, there may be some still
> functioning in your area.
>
> the bottom line is that the water that is evaporated to do the cooling is
> still there in the air and, if there is enough of it, will do other, less
> desirable, things.
>
> Good luck
>
> Joe
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Earl Brunner on fri 9 jul 04
It's still evaporative, at least the drum ones I know of. Instead of
pumping water up to the top and gravity feeding it down through the pad
material, the pad is cylindrical and rotates through standing water, getting
wet, and then having the air pass through it before being submerged into the
water again. It's the air blowing across the wet surface and water
evaporating, which causes the reduction in temperature. High humidity will
still interfere with the process.
Earl Brunner
Las Vegas, NV
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Gary Harvey
Sent: Friday, July 09, 2004 9:43 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Studio Swamp Cooler
What you are saying is true. There is however an other option. I have heard
of evaporating coolers with a drum in it. The drum absorbs the excess water
vapor and then cools the air. I can't help you as to where you can buy one
but I am sure they exist. One of our landlords from years ago had one. Good
Luck. Gary Harvey, Palestine TX
----- Original Message -----
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