DIY 'INDIRECT' Evap Air Cooler! (No Humidity!) 2 Projects 1 unit! tons of info! + AC Air Cooler Comp

DIY Air Cooling! An Evap Air Cooler that produces cool air without adding humidity! it's easy to do! All Evaporative Air Coolers are classified as either "direct" or "indirect". currently, 95%-98% of the ones in use are the DIRECT type. this video shows how to set up an INDIRECT unit! Indirect systems are different in that they don't need any ventilation and, most importantly, don't add ANY Humidity to the inside air! they just pump out cool air! (*in dry or semi dry areas it feels the same as regular air conditioning). the unit itself is actually a two-part system and is made by combining two of my previous project videos (both easy DIY's). note that each project is a fully functioning air cooler on its own *but when combined they make a powerful indirect cooling unit! this video contains lots of info on how and why these systems work (plus how it compares to a "window style" AC unit). full instructions on how to build both parts (both units) are posted in separate (previously posted) videos (links to those videos are posted below).

Power Draw: 97 watts (measured with a 'kill-a-watt' meter). box fan/low speed = 47 watts. black fan/full speed = 35 watts. water pumps combined = 15 watts.

TIP: if you want to go even further you can turn this unit into a Two-Stage 'indirect' evap air cooler! (Two stage means that you're also using the humid 'exhaust air' to increase the units overall performance). one easy way to do this would be to direct the humid air onto the pipes that are entering and exiting your home. doing that adds the 'second stage' and helps increase the units efficiency.

IDEA: want a temporary blast of SUPER COLD air? drop some ice in the water. (that makes it an evap/conduction cooler hybrid for extra cooling.

NOTE: also included in this video is footage of two "solar panel powered" systems i've made. these setups can be run 'off-grid' using only a 12v solar panel (or a 12v battery)!

*** THE VIDEO LINKS ***

*Here are the youtube video links to each of my 2 projects (w/full builds, parts lists etc...).
they can also be found on the video page or in the playlist section of this channel ✔✔

BLUE CUBE EVAP VIDEO LINKS

BOX FAN WITH RADIATOR AIR COOLER VIDEO LINKS

SMALL FANS WITH RADIATORS AIR COOLER VIDEO LINKS

lastly, here's two links to the 12v off-grid (solar powered) indirect unit i made (shown in this video)

[kartoffelbaer]

the cooling master is back, right before summer! I love your videos, thank you very much 🙂

[enmiredbythelazy]

Great Video, great ideas :) One way to make use of the humid air if you're going indirect would be to let it blow on patio doors. Seems like most of the houses out here in the southwest have sliding doors, major area of heat loss in winter and doubtless the inverse in the summer. Blowing the cold, humid air across the glass should result in a bit of thermocycling that will have a similar effect to a cold day without introducing any extra humidity inside. Bonus, if you have a patio, it will probably be more comfortable in that area outside. My idea is a really weak takeoff of one I had about running swamp cooled air between the outer house wall and panels set out that connected to the eaves, with the winds here it would be an engineering feat (concrete base along house, heavy anchors, etc) to keep any panel material from blowing away so I scrapped it.

[danam.]

Im always quick to click when I see a new video drop from you 😉

[jbx]

in the 2000s i working in a taiwan factory, we had huge aircons, it was like 3 ton size and was so noisy, well i found out it was water type that cooled us, it had been cycling water to the rooftop with pumps, on the roof the was an apparatus which had the water sprinkling in the air, like a small fountain which drop two layers to a bottom reservoir, which went back to the aircon by gravity, the pump was only used to pump the water up the rooftop sprinkler, i guess the water released heat that way and returned down by gravity.

[kimmer]

Good job and clever use of parts!

I was going to make a whole house indirect cooler by using a swamp cooler to exhaust into the attic space. The gable vent fan was a Buick 12 volt radiator fan that ran from solar panels with no controls. The fan started when enough sun hit the panels and it quit when the sun went down with no thermostat, voltage regulation, no batteries, etc. That ran for 5 years unattended. The attic would be 110F to 123F on summer days.

The project stopped after I had a rigid urethane foam roof sprayed on over existing 3 leaf composition shingles. The foam is about 1-3/4 to 2 inches thick with tab mineral granules mixed in the top coat. Even on very hot days the attic temperature holds in the high 80's. I also had a 120 vac gable fan with 95 degree thermostat that used to run for hours after the solar fan cut off. The foam roof insulates so well that the AC powered gable fan never goes on any more. I removed the Buick fan and solar panels when they sprayed the roof in 2019. For the first time in 30+ years that I lived here in this house, its finally cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The open beam ceilings over 1/3 of the house had zero insulation. The foam roof cut my heating bill down by an average of 44%. Nice considering energy costs have more than doubled here...39 cents a kilowatt hour now for electric, $2.40 per Therm for natural gas. You can walk all over the foam roof without damaging it. Its rigid!


I use the old swamp cooler running on low with a total of 405 watts (pump and fan) if needed, typically 2 hours after sunset when the house starts getting warm. . The temperature/humidity cooling chart is taped inside the cabinet door so I know what cooling will be expected. The swamp cooler runs from 120 vac power that comes from a home built 7200 watt hour solar generator which also powers an isolated kitchen circuit. It's nice to run the cooler, microwave, air fryer, Instapot, and coffee maker off of yesterday's sunlight. Shaving energy here and there has become my passion. I went from 30-36 kilowatt hours a day to 12-15 kilowatt hours per day usage. The writing is on the wall and I expect the utility to charge $1 or more a kilowatt hour soon enough.

I appreciate your projects!

[XC]

I like your projects : your always very detail oriented and helpful with viewer questions regarding your projects.

[dragasan]

Hey brother, you've done a kick ass job on this stuff. I've followed you on and off throughout the years and you're always advancing - great job, and thanks for sharing.

[NotIndigentOffgridder]

I got a Hessair evap cooler last summer in a pinch to get my family cooled off, I love your DIY engineering and really appreciate all of the knowledge you share, im going to build this in a few days, thank you!

[kayit]

This just amazing! I always wanted to build an effective air cooler without the use of ice or cold water. Your solution is the answer!

[josephsteffen]

I'm digging the pvc water chiller frame.

[BrijrajJadeja]

Best video of a great DIY project I've ever seen on YouTube !! And it actually works.

[hootiebubbabuddhabelly]

Interesting. That's cold enough to freeze nighthawkinlight's cooler PCM pads. Super cool - No pun intended)

[walktxrn]

cool idea, but you should have a closed loop bringing heat out of the building, that way no bugs/debris, etc. make their way into the house feed lines, etc. Slightly more equipment needed, but much better for long term use.

[afxr]

Now I have a "cool" project to build for my solar panels. This looks like a ton of fun. !:- )

[hoyastoreindonesia]

Yeah, glad you're back, nice video!

[shyfire]

Great workl!!! I'm gonna build one asap. Only thing i would change is i would insulate the cold water input tube to the house

[XC]

You’re the expert and I always appreciate your work. I’d like to to suggest the use of an insulated ice chest with a separate internal container of water with water pump and copper tubing or plastic tubing. And then I would place frozen water bottles next to water container in order to keep the ice from melting so quickly from direct contact with water .

[TallPaul]

This sounds ideal for use at Burning Man. The primary challenge would be filtering the blowing dust of the playa from turning the 'Blue Cube' into a mud puddle. Perhaps some filters mounted an inch or so from the evaporative pads on all sides would do the trick. I would love to hear your thoughts on the topic. Great system.

[rob]

With the inline fan, you can duct the moist air out the room. Most portable AC have a "dry mode" (less power) which also push warm air out the room.

[chipstewart]

Nice setup. I've wondered for years if something like this would work. I think I'll give it a try, although I'm sure it won't work as well in Virginia with its higher humidity. It's a shame to waste the 60°F air coming out of the evaporator. Do you think a small radiator at the top would make an effective pre-chiller to increase cooling of the water?