[Tfug] Tfug] *Way* OT: Swamp coolers, ACbrrs, etc

Joe Blais joe.blais at pti-instruments.com
Tue Jun 19 12:30:04 MST 2007



> -----Original Message-----
> From: tfug-bounces at tfug.org [mailto:tfug-bounces at tfug.org]On Behalf Of
> johngalt1
> Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 10:42 AM
> To: Tucson Free Unix Group
> Subject: Re: [Tfug] Tfug] *Way* OT: Swamp coolers, ACbrrs, etc
>
> > 2.  Don't switch between swamp cooler and air conditioning in the same
> > season, as this may rust your furnace.
>
> This doesn't make sense to me. Please explain
>
>

I notice in our house, when we run the cooler, it adds moisture to the air,
and to the house.
 The house doors and frame start to absorb moisture and swell, and begin to
jamb.  At that point, it's probably close to monsoon and the outside RH is
up, so we switch to the AC.  Before the AC can be efficient, it needs to dry
out the house itself (watch at the liquid drain from your AC, it best be
rust proof even if you don't have acooler!).  After the house is dried, it
will start to cool more efficiently (extra energy used just to dry the
house).

When the outside day/night temperature difference is 25 or more, (low RH)
the swamp cooler works good.  You can get a good idea of how the cooler will
work by putting a cotton wick/sock around the end of a thermometer, make it
wet, and take it outside and blow air past it.  This will give a temp
reading of the best your cooler can be expected to do.  Check out "sling
psychrometer" or something on the web.  RH is calculated using the "wet and
dry bulb" temperatures (the mercury bulb at the bottom of a thermometer).

Don't forget your water bill.  Your power bill will go down, but your water
will go up - ours seemed to go up $50

AC recirculates air, so if you smoke or pass other greenhouse gasses, the
house can get stale.  A cooler is blowing air past a wet filter and then
THROUGH your house.  As long as the water stays clean and the filter doesn't
get moldy, your house air can be cleaner.  A cooler must flow through the
house, you can get "up ducts" that allow the cooler air to escape out
through the attic (up ducts can allow flame to get into an attic so I don't
know about codes, but they sell them at home depot).  This cools the attic a
bit before it passes heat into the house.  The attic must be vented so you
don't get it all muggy and growing from all the moisture.  The ducts have
one-way flappers on them to prevent hot and dirty air from re-entering the
house when the cooler gets to temperature and stops.  Without the ducts, you
need the open doors and windows which allow stuff to come back in.  I have
one in one room, but I don't know if it really does as advertised.

What I'd like to see is vents on refrigerators, or rather in the kitchen
where it's installed.  No matter what type of cooler or AC you have, you're
paying to move that heat twice.  A vent, like on a clothes dryer has, could
push the heat from your food refridge out once and for all.  If you have a
cooler, the displaced air isn't a problem.  If you have recirculating AC,
the vent would be pulling hot outside air into the cooled house through some
other opening, but at least you have some circulation.

joe







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