Greenhouse Evaporative Cooler Build
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- Опубликовано: 30 сен 2024
- Hey, Guys, and Gals! As promised, here is the greenhouse evaporative cooler build. Took longer to edit the video than to do the actual build. I hope you enjoy the vid, and it helps you! Listed below is the complete material list for the project. God Bless!
MATERIAL LIST
Industrial Grade 4KAY8 Cooling Pad, Kraft Paper, 30-3/4x36x4
Part# 4KAY8
$41.14 + $9.03 Shipping = $50.17 (Amazon)
NDS 4Ft. x 5-3/4 in. x 3-3/4in. PVC Channel Drain
Model# 400 SKU# 460544 (Home Depot)
$26.37 x 2 = $52.74 (Home Depot)
NDS Spee-D Channel 4in. End Cap
Model# 247 SKU# 217680
$3.59 x 4 = $14.36 (Home Depot)
Dietrich Industries 3-5/8in. x 10ft. 25 -- Gauge Steel Track
Model# 360081135 SKU# 651307
$4.48 (Home Depot)
Everbilt # 8 1/2in. Phillips Pan-Head Sheet Metal Screws Stainless Steel (100-Pack)
Model# 24762 SKU# 252719
$4.24 (Home Depot)
Loctite 0.85 fl. Oz. Plastic Epoxy
Model# 1360788 SKU# 234058
$5.47 (Home Depot)
GE Window and Door 9.8-oz. Clear Caulk Silicone
Model# GE5000 24C SKU# 362646
$5.92 (Home Depot)
Charlotte Pipe 3/4in. x10-ft. 480 psi Schedule 40 PVC Pressure Pipe
Model# PVC 040007 0600 Item# 23971
$2.19 (Lowe's)
Mueller Streamline 3/4in. PVC Schedule 40 Pressure 90 -- Degree S x S Elbow
Model# 406-007HC SKU# 187976
$0.47 x 4 = $1.88 (Home Depot)
Mueller Streamline 3/4in. x 1/2in. PVC Schedule 40 Slip x MIPT Reducing Male Adapter
Model# 436-074HC SKU# 294020
$0.87 x 2 = $1.74 (Home Depot)
Mueller Streamline 3/4in. PVC Pressure S x S Union
Model# 164-634HC SKU# 451762
$3.56 x 2 = $7.12 (Home Depot)
Homewerks Worldwide 3/4in. PVC Sch. 40 Slip x Slip Ball Valve
Model# VBVP40E4B SKU# 784893
$3.05 x 2 = $6.10 (Home Depot)
Mueller Streamline 3/4in. PVC Schedule 40 Pressure Slip x Slip Coupling
Model# 429-007HC SKU# 188077
$0.27 (Home Depot)
Mueller Streamline 3/4in. x 3/4in. x 1/2in. PVC S x S FIPT Reducing Tee
Model# 402-101HC SKU# 187933
$0.86 (Home Depot)
3/4-in. Schedule 40 PVC Pressure Slip x FPT Adapter
Model# 435-007HC SKU# 188107
$0.56 (Home Depot)
Dorman -- Help Oil Filler Tube Grommet 1 inch
Part# 42306
$2.99 x 2 = $5.98 (Advanced Auto Parts)
Raindrip 052010P 1/2-inch x 100 ft. Poly Hose
Model# 052010P
$9.97 Free Shipping (Amazon)
Apollo 1/2 in. Polyethylene Drip Irrigation Elbow
Model# AIFE12 Item# 215079
$0.99 (Lowe's)
Orbit 1/2 in. MNPT x Barb Adapter
Model# 37160 SKU# 651470
$0.38 (Home Depot)
Orbit 3/4 in. MNPT x 1/2 in. Barb Adapter
Model# 37161 SKU# 690880
$0.48 (Home Depot)
Rain Bird Faucet Connection Kit (25 psi Regulator Kit)
Model# FCKIT-1PK SKU# 527004
$17.99 (Home Depot)
Homewerks Worldwide 1/2 in. Brass MPT x MHT Quarter-Turn Hose Bibb Valve
Model# VHBQTCC3B SKU# 244231
$8.84 (Home Depot)
Viagrow Submersible Pump, 925 GPH
Model# VHL-3500F
$40.24 + $8.50 Shipping = $48.74 (Amazon)
Kerick Float Valve and Float W/Adjustable Arm
Item# 4DMD3
$13.25 (Grainger)
Trimaco 1-Gal. Elastic Top Strainers (2-Pack), To Cover Pump Inlet
Model# 11572/36WF SKU# 295859
$2.48 (Home Depot)
Defiant Sunsmart Heavy Duty 15 Amp 7 Day 2 Outlet Plug-In Digital Timer
Model# 49808 SKU# 457864
$14.97 (Home Depot)
*Minimum 9 Gallon Reserve Reservoir Required For This Build*
Great video Keyplayr61 Greenhouse Hydroponics And Gardens! We're sending interested folks your way from our new video: ruclips.net/video/dnLgL3KdXxg/видео.html
Bright Agrotech Thank you! I appreciate the link promotion in the video!
Great video, detailed but concise explanations, great audio (thank you for doing voice over instead of live audio) and I love that you showed as much of your process uncut as possible. As someone who does projects by myself all the time, this is easily one of the best DIY videos I've seen. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for the kind words, Morgan! thanks for watching!
I like watching people working because I'm a novice and I learn to use a certain tool for a certain job. Thank You sir.
I'm glad you liked the video! Thanks for watching!
I'm in east TN, so I assume our humidity can't be much different from GA. Have you you heard of any success using this without outside air flow in small greenhouses?
David Sparks I don't know how it would be possible, since air needs to be pulled through the pad, and expelled outside in order to be effective. The plants in the greenhouse need fresh co2 from outside as well!
I have to thank you. This video and the material list are incredible. I really appreciate the work and ingenuity you put into this. I am building 2 10'x5' coolers right now, and I saved thousands on what it would have cost to buy from Farmtek, etc. If you're ever in Chicago, come visit our vertical farm - It would be a great pleasure to meet and talk hydroponics with you. Best of luck to you, and thanks so much again.
+UP Farms (UP Farms) Thank you for your kind words! I am glad that it helped you out! You are very welcome, my friend!
brother.........Awesome! Thank you for sharing
Thank you, Scott! I'm glad you enjoyed it : )
You should consider selling these! Thanks for a great video!
+TheDezertRatt Thanks for the kind words, and for watching!
Its doesn't matter who does what, there will always be someone out there that will critize how you do the work, and usually the one that critizes doesn't know the first thing about what he is critizing about. Keep up the good work, seems to cool your green house so whats to critize about. LOL
Thanks, Aida! That is very true, but I just try to explain how it all works to the best of my ability! I also post the end result, so they can believe whatever they want, but I know what works ; ) Thanks for watching!
COOLING WATER IDEA: Had a few more "possible" thoughts on keeping the water cool. If you had a used/cheap refrigerator you can get your hands on and put the water container in the refrigerator with drilling a hole through the side (w/out causing damage to wiring) to run pipe to pump water to cooling pad ... could it work? AND ... perhaps a separate refrigerator could be used for hydroponic nutrient liquids in the hottest part of the summer. I've been told you can grow cool crops (lettuce/greens) in the hottest part of the summer if your roots are kept cool and the temp of inside of the greenhouse was maintained. Your thoughts .... ?
It may help a little, but I think the same problem with the water exchanging faster than the reservoir could be cooled would still exist. Yes, if you can keep the greenhouse temps down to 80° or lower, you could possibly grow lettuce year round without it bolting too fast. If you are going to use the Kratky bed method, the nutrients shouldn't get too terribly hot since the sides are pretty thick, and the top is Styrofoam.
I have both a question and a comment. What size is your greenhouse? Knowing this and your results will help me in planning my cooler. Back in the middle 1960's my mother managed a commercial hydroponics greenhouse operation in Albuquerque with multiple greenhouses. They used the same concept you are using here with one exception. They mounted their fans on the far wall and used them as exhaust fans. creating a vacuum and pulling the cool air all the way across the house. I think you may find you got better performance if you tried this. Loved the video.
Hi, Paul! My greenhouse is 14'x20' What you, as well as some others have seen in front of the evap. pad is the electric heater. I have a 4500 CFM shutter fan at the opposite end of the building that pulls air through the pad! Evaporative cooling cannot work without expelling the heated air molecules outside of the structure! Thanks for watching!
Thanks for posting. My husband and I are building our *first* greenhouse, 16x48 in March 2019. We live in lower Mississippi, zone 8. We have some pretty HOT and HUMID summers. Would dropping FROZEN 2-LITER BOTTLES in the water help LOWER the TEMP? I want to grow hydroponic lettuce year round. Also, does the cooler need to be like a window air conditioner, front facing in and ext. facing outside? Or, can it *all* be mounted to the interior of the greenhouse? Thanks for your help.
Hi, Bridget! Yes, the frozen 2 liter bottles will help, although they may not last very long. The cooling pad should be setup to pull in air from the outside from the opposite end of the greenhouse so it can effectively cool the hot air molecules before expelling them to the outside. Mine is located on the inside, but is sealed to a set of automatic louvers that open when the thermostat calls for it. You should also make sure to have a float valve in your reservoir, because it will go through a lot of water through evaporation, hence the name "evaporative cooling"! I hope this makes sense. Thanks for watching!
What do you think about using an aquarium cooling pump to chill the resv. tank? They're a little pricey, but it "might" be worth the headache of constantly chilling the water.
It all depends on how fast it can reduce the water temp. I don't really think that it will be able to keep up since the exchange of water is pretty substantial. I would just make sure that you have a cooling pad large enough for your exhaust cooling fan. The pad that I built for mine really needs to be twice the size that it is. I know this because the shutters on the fan end will not open completely unless I go open a window, which would be defeating the purpose. It still brings the temp down regardless. I just know that if it was bigger, it would be much more effective! I use no method of chilling the water, and our temps, and humidity are comparable to yours.
Would it have worked better by putting your side pad covers inside of the bottom tray or gutter or is it holding up ok as you did it?
Chuck
+Fensterfarm Greenhouse The sides are working out fine! The only problem that I've had with it is the small holes that I drilled in the gutter get stopped up over time so they should have been a larger size. Other than that, it's been working great!
@@keyplayr61greenhousehydrop14 It won't matter how big the holes are when it comes to trash, the resivour collect trash from your surrounding and the pads deteriorate over time. Best advice is get you a piece of copper wire that fits the holes, open your end drain valve, punch all the holes out, turn your water back on and let it drain through the pipe and push all the trash you got out of the holes out the end of the pipe. when the water looks clear again, turn off the valve and you are good to go for a while. At some point you can make the holes too big and lose water pressure, so I'd be careful about increasing the diameter of the holes.
Where did you get the water cool radiator looking material?
Hi Michael! The complete list of materials is in the description box of this video. Just click show more and it will show all including the cooling pad.
I am about to Build one of these, this is a great video have watched it at least ten times now to make sure i am mistake free lol new subscriber here mate from Australia
You can do it!
you are losing a ton o cooling by not having the entire cool cell pads covered by a fan. Your fan frame should be the same size as the entire pad system. Only the part covered by the blower/fan is effective cooling. The rest of the water on your pads has no air flow to help evaporate the water on the rest of the pads which will cause them to rot. I'm a poultry farmer and I use 70ft. cool cell systems on my houses and I have 20 years experience with such systems. Get you a fan that completely covers the entire pad system. It looks good other than the fan setup.
Lots of viewers seem to be confused by the electric heater that is in front of the cooling pad. That is NOT the main fan that pulls air through the pad. I have a 4500 cfm fan on the opposite side of the greenhouse that pulls the air across the entire pad. You have to expel the hot air from the building in order for evaporative cooling to be effective. Thanks for watching!
@@keyplayr61greenhousehydrop14 That is true, I have Fifteen 54 inch fans which are 30,000 cfm each, 500 feet from the cool cells at the end of each poultry house. I thought you were using this setup as someone would in a garage, like the ones you buy at lowes and other big box stores. My bad, carry on.
Nice video. Really helpful since i am going to be building a new(larger) greenhouse. I was wondering what you are using to keep mold at bay with the pads? I noticed the bubbles in the water. Also do you think it would help with mold on a swamp cooler(not the wet wall kind)
Thank you, Josh! There are a few things that you can do. The most important thing you can do is to let the pad dry before nightfall. I have mine on a thermostat so that the pump will cut off before the cooling fan does, so that it will dry the pad. If you have a large reservoir, you can add a little chlorine to the water, and I mean a little! I have not had to do this as of yet, because it uses so much water during a hot day that it is replenished, and does not have time to grow algae. I don't use the evap. in the winter time, since the outside air is so cool, it's just not needed. The foam you were seeing was because the pad was new, and has since calmed down. Thanks for watching!
Thank you so much for this video! I appreciate all the time and effort you put into making this available including the parts list - it is first class! I am going to make a version of your evaporative cooler for my workshop cooling after seeing how expensive purchased coolers from Port-A-Cool are. I also saw your other information on building a greenhouse. I am a fairly skilled handyman - but imagine I will have some questions. In particular on this project I am thinking I will have them about water flow through the media (kraft paper - which I see is about double the cost you listed) and how it holds up over time and what other options there may be - including some material I took out of an old salvaged/recycled mattress. I"ll figure out this youtube/google system and try to PM you. I like you try to save materials/resources wherever I can! Also, as a believer I appreciate your expressions of faith.....
Thank you for all of the kind comments! I really do appreciate it! Please feel free to ask any questions you may have, and I will answer them to the best of my ability! Thanks for watching!
E.H. Uwe Beltz you do realize that the video and materials list was already over 3 years old at the time you posted your comment and there aren’t many things in the forestry products division that haven’t doubled or tripled in price in the past few years.
I’m sure you didn’t mean any harm from it but the way your comment comes across and is interpreted by others is thane wasn’t being completely accurate with the prices he posted for the cooling pad and that it was double what he posted.
I’m sure he posted exactly what he paid for all the materials and this was an increase in product cost over 3 years. Did you see what plywood and OSB prices did during that time? 3 years ago I was paying $4 & $5 a sheet for OSB and today it’s nearly $16.
Just please keep this in mind sometimes because other folks don’t understand as well as some of us do and will misconstrue your comment as him not posting accurate info.
Take care and hope your system turned out well
Somehow I turned off notifications from you, so I'm just now watching this. GREAT job! We just finished the 30x72 hoop house at the Itsy Farm, so now the REAL work begins! Got lotsa plumbing, beds, and things like this to build. Looking like a busy spring coming up for us!
Hey, Karl! I've been wondering about you guys! I have sent P.M's trying to make sure ya'll were alright, but no response! It's good to see you, and I hope you are doing good. Glad the hoophouse project is coming along good, and I hope to see some videos of it soon! I'm glad you liked the video, and thanks for the kind words, and for watching, my friend!
So I have read all 319 comments! Great information. I have a question about what to do in the winter time. You have your fan at the front of the building pulling air in your shutter which flows through your pad. Do you have other vents that open? In the winter time when you have warm days where the vents and fan need to work, you're not using the evaporation. wall? not running water through it during the winter? Is your shutter motorized? Not sure I'm communicating my question very well. I"m in Middle TN and probably have similar humidity to your area.
Thank you for the kind words! I do not use the evap system in the winter, since the cold air from outside is more than enough to cool down the greenhouse in a matter of minutes! The shutter is motorized, along with the cooling fan that are on a thermostat. The greenhouse is also heated which only runs at night. Thanks for watching!
Great build. We built one similar to this in our high school greenhouse years ago. Our pad went all the way acr
oss the back of the house with a awning that could be closed in the winter. Our reservoir tank was a plastic drum buried to ground level which worked out great.
+Garry Chason Thank you, Garry! Yeah, the "wet wall" is the most effective way to go for sure!
Can simple cooler convert ed into evaporative coolers
I'm not sure that I understand you question?
Does the water in the reservoir get hot? Have you ever added an ice block to the reservoir? I ordered 2 of the cooling pads and plan to eventually get 2 more, I have two 3' x 6' windows in my greenhouse I plan to cover.
Hi, Wayne! Not really, I have it in a location out of the sun, and with the constant replenishing from the float valve, it seems to be just fine! If you are concerned about the res. over heating you could always insulate it, or make it out of an ice chest! Adding ice would help, but become cumbersome!
This is the most thorough video I've seen on this topic.
Thank you very much for taking the time to share your knowledge and experience.
Thank you, Paul! I'm glad this this video helped you, which is what was intended! Thank you for your kind words, and for watching!
Awesome video, thanks so much for the information! One question I had was about pre-wetting the pad. How necessary is it? I want to hook everything up to a thermostat, but that would make the water pump and exhaust fan come on at the same time. I think you mentioned a thermostat that had a pre-wet cycle. Did you find that, and if so do you have a part number for it? Thanks again, very cool stuff!
Hi, Marc! What I did was set the pump thermostat to a lower temp than the cooling fan is set to come on. That way the pad gets pre wet before the air is passed through it. You can get one with the pre-wet feature, but this worked well for me.
I'm very confused as to why you are gluing PVC to PVC and using epoxy and not PVC cement?
As a former 30 year plumber, PVC glue is used to solvent weld snug pipe joints together. It is not strong enough to support a butt joint with any stress on it. That's why I chose epoxy instead. All pipe joints were glued with PVC glue.
Damn, you delivered on this one.
Hi, great job, very doable. I do have a question though, will this raise the humidity of the air in the greenhouse? I often fight high humidity.
Looks store bought, I don't know of a better complement. This could make such a difference for me, thank you!
Edit: I see in the video the humidity went from 23% to 57% if I am seeing it right. What happens if the humidity is already high, like 70%? Last fall was horrible here with 110 degrees with 70% humidity, would this still work?
Thank you.
+Wayne Kinne Thank you for the nice compliments, Wayne! Evaporative cooling works by cool molecules being pulled through the greenhouse, picking up heat, and then expelling them outside of the opposite end! I have not experienced any increased humidity, in fact, it sometimes even seems lower than if the cooling pad wasn't even running! Anyone who is familiar with Georgia, they know that the humidity is terrible here! I would not worry at all about an increase, as long as you have adequate air flow!
How has your evap cooler been working as of late??
Working just fine! Been away for a while, so the greenhouse is shut down at the moment!
Wow, what an excellent video.
Just wondering how big your greenhouse is. I am putting my 40x20 greenhouse together and my plan was to have 2 4x4 builds in the side wall. It was great to find your video because I have been struggling with quite how to put it together as my idea is very close to what you have already created. I think the main thing is to have enough cfm pulling air out of the opposite end wall. What do you think? I'm in Prescott Az. It gets in the upper 90's in the summer and we get as low as the single digits in the winter with snow.
+Patrick Wilcox Thank you, Patrick! My greenhouse is 14'x20'. My fan pulls over 4000 cfm, and I honestly could have used a bigger cooling pad to take advantage of that! I can tell that the fan is not pulling enough air because the louvers are not fully open, until you either open a window or the door, then they are wide open! With the low humidity that you have in AZ, evaporative cooling should work great for you! The lower the humidity, the more effective it becomes ; )
great work
can you please explain that , will it work fabulously @49 celsius. and inside room where ventilation of air is low & high humadity place ??????
+Afzal Khan Hi, Afzal! Thank you for the compliment! In order for evaporative cooling to work, you must have air being pulled from outside through the coil, pass through the entire building, and then expelled back outside. The water molecules pick up heat from the air, and the exhaust fan will remove them from the structure.
We're in eastern Oregon (high desert) I'm thinking of doing this in our bathroom window. Call me crazy but maybe using the reserve tank on the toilet.
william brown That can work ; )
Hello. Was considering making one of these, and love the parts list, although the pricing is a bit dated.. I was searching for a schematic or diagram without success, and wondered if you had one. Kindly let us know..
Unfortunately there are no specific plans for this, since the sizes vary according to each greenhouse size needs.
The Pad is too big for the fan. and the fan is too small for pad.
Actually, the pad is NOT big enough for the fan! It needs to be twice the size that it is now.
Keyplayr61 Greenhouse Hydroponics And Gardens I wonder if enclosing the front(or back) necked down to a squirrel cage in reverse would draw more volume out of it. Is it better to pull or to push air through to get cooler temps? Regardless, amazing work man.
What kind of fan is that
Very nice.. very intelligent design... hi from TX
Thank you, Andrew! Thanks for watching!
Have watched this many times over the past few months. Trying to figure out if I want to build one now and cut the back out of the cover on the greenhouse I have now or wait until I need to replace that cover with greenhouse plastic and frame that back end. You seen my setup so you know what I am dealing with here. Not sure how well this will help me with all those windows the old cover has. Thank you for your thoughts and ideas.
I will help tremendously if you can close those windows! If you are pulling air from any other place other than the cooling pad, you are wasting your time. If you feel that the cover is not going to last too much longer, and you cannot close the windows, you may want to just wait until you re-cover it. I also recommend that based on the size you said it was, I would make it twice the size of mine! I need to make mine that large in order to have better control of the temps, plus I know that the current pad is not big enough to support the CFM's of my cooling fan, because the shutters in front of the fan won't open 100 %, unless I open a window or two! That tells me that it is not as efficient as it could be, even though it's doing a good job of bringing the temps down! I just wanted to share that with you, since our greenhouses are close in size!
Thanks buddy. Think I better wait until I replace the cover. I can close those windows but would have to cut the back out to put the cooler in. I'm sure when I put a razor to it then it would split the whole thing open. Pretty cheap thin cover on it.
A 1 1/2 "unibit drill bit will be another option while you drilling.
I need 12 of these in a 48”x48” wish I knew someone to build these
Great job, where do I pick up the tin that support the sides.
Thanks, Marvin! You can get them at Home Depot. They are steel framing studs.There is a complete list of materials that was used, along with where to get them in the description box below. Thanks for watching!
I have modified your design to fit my greenhouse. I ran into an issue with the 3 5/8" steel track vs the 4" wide cooling pad. The channel is 3/8" too small, so the pad does not fit without modification. I decided not to use the steel track and used 1.5"x1.5" aluminum solid angle in each corner. Thanks for the design!!
Glad everything worked out for you! Thanks for watching!
Thank you for this video. Reading the comments I am not sure if your fan or the cooler were not up to the challenge. Some where someone named a place to size the exhaust fan just can't remember where. As a side question what temperature should your hydro mix be when going to the buckets. Have you seen any effective cooling systems.
You're welcome! The fan is sized properly. The cooling pad is not big enough for my application, and does not allow enough air to pass through it! That's the nice thing about the design is that you can make it any size that you need according to the size structure that you are trying to cool! I just simply did not make it big enough. I just basically made it the size of my inlet motorized shutter, but did not take into consideration the airflow resistance of the pad! This IS an effective cooling system when sized properly! The temps are still 10-15°F lower than they were without it, even at the cost of restrictive airflow, which I intend to correct this fall! I made this video to show that an average homeowner, with some basic tools, and skill can build their own evap system with locally sourced materials, and much cheaper than you could buy already assembled! I do not claim to be an HAVC expert, so for the mis-calculations of the pad size, vs. cooling fan CFM. The ideal temp range of the nutrient solution would be 75-82° I don't really worry about the reservoir temp too much, as I have not had any problems with any plant growth, deficiency, or production!
Thank you for your response. I was not intending to be accusatory just trying to not make mistakes in my own design. I just today watched a video showing an input air filter; it restricted air flow of the fan by about 30%. Thank you for the 75-82 degree nutrient temp. I have noticed many folks burying the return tank, and discussing the need to prevent heat absorption, having a "safe" range is appreciated. Being from west central Ga I will have similar humidity/temp issues, so I really need to get this right.
It's all good, my friend! I was just simply trying to point out that I am not an expert on this stuff, but I do fully understand how it is supposed to work! I think the Greenhouse megastore site has a pad calculator, which I did not use, as I didn't buy the pads from them. Being that you live in "Humid" GA, like me, the results are always going to be unpredictable because our weather swings no matter how well you try to plan! I would oversize your build, as opposed to undersizing, like I made the mistake of doing. In our state, you CANNOT make it too big! It's just going to work that much better the bigger you can make it, especially if you use a thermostat like I do. I am going to add another 30" shutter, drop the whole system down to window level, and double the pad size. I am very sure that it will make a huge difference in the temps, as well as let my cooling fan pull all of the air that it's capable of pulling! In my opinion, the reservoir temps are much more of a concern in winter, rather than summer. Like I say, I don't really worry about either one, as the plants seem to do just fine! Burying the reservoir is a good stable idea for both seasons, since the underground temps will be much more stable. I wanted to do that, but the ground under my greenhouse is comparable to 3000 PSI concrete!
Why such a small fan for such a large cooling pad? Wouldn't it be more efficient to enclose the output end with the fan built into the enclosure?
You are looking at the heater. There is a 4400 CFM shutter fan at the opposite end of the greenhouse that pulls the air through the pad to the outside.
Keyplayr61 Greenhouse Hydroponics And Gardens
Ahhhh... got it mate. Brilliant setup.
I don't quite understand, i thought you were supposed to push the evaporated cooled air into the area you are cooling, not outside? Maybe you have a better idea, but im so confused when it comes to evaporative cooling. Otherwise incredible setup, I'm in awe of the seamless quality of the design and the simplicity. I also looked online saying evaporative cooling is the only way(or the last step)scientists use to reach super cold temperatures in experiments that hvac cannot cool to. Im so interested in evaporative cooling.
Mr.Papadopolis I’ve got to say that I completely agree! Pulling the air through the pad and then outside seems to be opposite to what is needed!
Keyplayr61 Greenhouse Hydroponics And Gardens oh shit I and im sure many others assumed the heater to be the fan,lmao. Nice work.
Thank you so much, great video
Thank you, Colvin! Thanks for watching!
😂16:42 same here I use KY for all my " ass embly "
You went to a lot of effort to build a really good cooling pad but I don’t understand why you don’t have a much larger fan in front of it with a shroud to make all the air that the fan is pulling come through the cooling pads. The small fan and the gap between the fan and the cooling pad is allowing a lot of warm air to circulate into the system.
The thing in front of the cooling pad is the heater. I have a 4500 CFM cooling fan at the opposite end of the greenhouse pulling air through the cooling pad.
I'm in north ga. where dd you source the pac drain material? seems home depot and Lowes does not carry such. may be a bad search? much appreciated
Hi, Josh! The drain troughs came from Home Depot. They were in the garden center close to the fence materials. If they still carry it. Mine came from the Fairview store near Stockbridge GA
Good and very nice work sir, but may i ask where is the fan sir used to drag or pass air in the cooling pad. Bacause it looks like there is no fan
Hi, Rene! There is a 4000 CFM exhaust fan on the opposite side of the greenhouse that pulls the air through the cooling pad. Thanks for watching!
Amazing work man, looks professional to me.
Thank you for the kind words, and for watching!
i c that u put the fan right in front of the cooler and i notice on another vid that is better to put the fan in the other side of the room where´s blowing out so all air flow will be going in thru the cooler and out thru the fan making it way better
The thing in front of the cooling pad is the electric heater. The big shutter fan is on the opposite end of the greenhouse pulling air through the cooling pad all the way across the structure.
Would it be possible to just hook this up to a garden hose if using in a greenhouse? Just turn the water on just enough to do the same thing as the pump?
You can do that, but I don't know where the excess water would go. That's the reason to use a reservoir, so you can recycle the water that drains out of the unit. If not, you will be wasting 100's of gallons of water! The tote tank, and pump are the cheapest things about it.
you said word for word ( 've been using k y jelly for years ) is their a secret your not telling us?
Nelson Dacosta There is no secret to hide! I have a female wife, and have no hang ups about buying her tampons at the store, without fear of embarrassment! Like I said, it's all a matter of where your mind is! KY makes a great water soluble assembly lubricant, especially for rubber parts because it will not deteriorate them like a petroleum based lube would!
amazing.. you have god blessing true green revolution
Manish Shrivastav Thank you very much!
I took your wonderful video and modified it to fit my greenhouse and it works beautifully! Thank you so much for all of the detail and advice as to where to get some of the items. It looks like yours except for the water reservoir had to be placed into the floor of the greenhouse! Awesome video! Thanks again.
Thanks for the video.
I wonder if this would work in humid environments as we can't add cool humid air to an already humid environment.
Did I miss the parts list?
Robert Madden Click the show more in the description box, and you will see it.
Ahhh, didn't know you could do that. Thank you so much.
Thank you, by chance you have a pays list?
Robert Madden ????
Hate auto correction, sorry. I meant parts list
ces hev to ac
Idk why the buy them for thousand of dollar and there so easy to make cost about 100 bucks at the most
Very much agreed!
Very nice video. I WAS considering doing and earth battery (geoheating/cooling) but after seeing this idea, I am not so convinced. I live in the pacific NW and humidity is fairly low. Have you done much research on the gas heating you mentioned in a previous comment? I have a house that runs on propane and it wouldn’t take much to run a line out to the green house.
Hi, Dan! Yes, I did do the research on gas vs electric heat. Gas is WAY cheaper, and more efficient than electric. If you have the resources to do gas heat, do it! The gas furnace will cost you more initially, but will easily pay for itself quickly!
Wouldn't bulkhead fittings would be A LOT easier?... tell your local hardware stores to step up their game and carrying them.
I appreciate your input! The reason I didn't use bulkhead fittings, particularly for the drain, is I didn't want to have any water left suspended in the bottom channel that could grow algae in the system! Bulkheads wouldn't allow for a flush bottom drain outlet, so the reason to epoxy a pvc fitting there. The only other fittings that were needed, were to have grommets for the top spray bar, which bulkheads weren't necessary for that application thus cheaper.
+Keyplayr61 Greenhouse Hydroponics And Gardens thanks. that makes sense
Impressive build. It was nice talking to you yesterday. I'm a jazz lover myself. Who are some of your influences on the keys?
Hey, Trace! Thanks for the compliment! Yeah man, I really enjoyed the hangout with you guys! My favorite keyboard players, hands down would be Tom Schuman of Spyro Gyra, Jeff Lorber, Chic Corea, Jazz Hammond organist, Tony Monaco, and Joey DeFrancesco. I could go on, but these are my favs!
Opening with a blazing Limehouse Blues. There's other live videos and they did a couple cd's too.
very nice video, i also making some project like this i use cardboard as medium
Thank you! Thanks for watching!
Man super professional job, loved the drain. I think I would use half a union for the glue in drain piece so its more flexible if you ever decide to move it
Thank you, Max! I put the union on the horizontal run after the 90° elbow. I did not have enough clearance for my location to put it on the vertical. Thanks for watching!
Thank you!
Thank you for watching!
Have you had any rusting of the side panels>
The side panels are galvanized so they hold up pretty good
When the cooler is installed inside the greenhouse, does air from outside pass through the pad? Didn't see from outside the greenhouse.
Yes it does. It is sitting in front of the motorized shutters, and is sealed to prevent pulling in any inside air through the pad.
Slow and uninformative.
Yeah... like your brain
So I see the setup cost you about $250, that is without the fan i belive. Is it good enough where you wont need to have an AC unit as well. Mybe if I had a few of these. Im just thinking maybe spending 500 on an AC is bette. Any idea if I have a point?
Brandon Okman SO the fan isnt hooked to the macking at all its just blowing air out of the room and in turn pulling cool air through
Brandon Okman Hi, Brandon! AC simply won't work in a greenhouse environment! It would work itself to death, cost hundreds to run, and not supply any fresh air, or co2 for the plants! You would not want to recirculate the inside air, unless you want to evenly redistribute diseases!
Brandon Okman Exactly! Evaporative cooling means just that. Outside air is pulled through the water coil, molecules pick up heat from the air, and expel it back to the outside, thus lowering the greenhouse temperature!
Wow. Really nice. I've been wanting to construct a cooler for my RV. A small version of this would be perfect. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
When you say clock it to 11:30 does that mean the holes on the pipe should be facing upward?
That is correct. You want the flow to the rear of the unit because of the force of the air being pulled through the coil, so it won't spew out of the front.
Keyplayr61 Greenhouse Hydroponics And Gardens 💚 thank you!
Hello there, great job, and video! Kudos! However, it seemed as though the fan was perhaps too small... for the size of the pad. I was wondering what the fan you used, it's make and model, and why you did not use a larger one, closer to the size of the pad? I presume you had a reason. Perhaps that would make it too cool?
Sargent Pepperland Thank you, Sargent! Actually, it the other way around! The pad could actually be double in size! The fan is pulling more air than the pad can pass through. I know this because the shutter on the fan side is only about half open. I can open the windows on the pad side of the greenhouse, and the shutters will open all the way. It's doing a good job as is, so I'm not really concerned that much. The fan is model# VPES20 from Greenhouse Megastore, and pulls 4,220 CFM.
Thats a beautiful piece of work mate... I would love to have one as I'm not as dexterous as yourself. I'm living off-grid at Angledool NSW where the temps get to 45c for weeks on end. We just got a bore water system for our village so I have enough water for an evaporative system.
Big pass on my appreciation.
Thank you! Thanks for watching!
Great video! We will be building a couple of these 3' X 4' to cool a 16 X 24 hoophouse. The one question I have is, what are you using for a pump? Thank you.
PipeRain Thank you! It's a Viagrow submersible pump that is listed in the description box of this video, along with everything that you would need to build this pad, including prices, and where to buy ; )
May want to look into bulkhead fittings. You can find them at the aquarium store. They use them to plumb pumps and drains through the glass. Cheap, too. Thanks for the video. Very informative.
Bulkhead fittings will work, but I didn't won't anything protruding up above the trough bottom that would prevent all of the water from draining out, and causing slime buildup on the bottom. Thanks for watching!
Great project - just what I was looking for my dIY greenhouse in South Mississippi. does it matter alot the position or height of the cooler on the back wall of the GH? i've read that is best to cover the entire width of the GH? Do you/anyone have experience whether width or height matters that much. Also, have you done any passive GH heating projects. like solar, etc?
Thanks for posting .
Thank you! Yes, it would be best based on my experience to make a complete wet wall, or in my case, I am going to make mine twice the size that it is now because it is not passing enough air through the pad to match my fan's CFMs. I know this because the shutters in front of the fan will not open completely unless you open a window, which is defeating the purpose! As far as height location, I feel that it should be in the center of the wall, which would put it more at plant level, thus more effective. I have not tried any passive heating, or the like. I would like to switch over to natural gas for heat when funds allow, because I can run a 40,000 BTU gas heater for a fraction of what the electricity is costing me to run an 18,000 BTU electric heater!
How about an update. How has your cooler lasted? any changes? What is the temperature difference attributed to the cooler?
It has lasted well, with proper maintenance. I recommend cleaning the pad every season by running a pad cleaning solution through the reservoir. The temp changes were around 20° F drop. It would be more if I had a bigger pad, because the pad I'm using won't flow as much air as my fan will pull through it. Thanks for watching!
Wow...very clean work...love it! I need one here in Vegas now...most veggies and fruits aren't fans of 115 degree heat :)
Shawn Thank you, Shawn! It's really doing the job in my greenhouse! With the dry air you have out west, it should do a fine job for you!
Sweet build, Appreciate the video. What evap pad was that? Seems most pads here go with a model number for a specific cooler. So curious which one this is, if you can recall.
Thanks
Hi, Eli! You can check the part number in the description box below this video where all of the parts list for this build are located, and that should give you some info. Thanks for watching!
Great video, you are a Martyr!
I was wondering if you've noticed an mold or algae build up anywhere, cooling pad, reservoir etc. and have used bleach in the water to clean things up? We used to run bleach in an outside fountain from time to time and it seemed to work out pretty well...
Thank you, Jeff! I don't have a problem with mold or algae, primarily because I use a product called cooler cleaner twice per year! It has a mild acid, along with wetting agents. It seems to do the trick! I wouldn't use bleach for fear of ruining the kraft paper coating!
excellent build, to those that did not like this, you just cannot expect this to perform like a refrigeration unit, especially in humid climates, but is about the best you can do without spending hundreds for a comparable store bought unit. Thanks
Thank you for the kind words, Marcos! You know how it is, as hard as you may try, you can't please everybody ; ) Thanks for watching!
Are you in a humid or dry climate?
Humid in summer dry in winter
wow, this is golden. Kudos to being really comprehensive w/ the info
what was the size of your green house?
+Thomas Tucker 14' x 20' x 9'
Very Informative. How thick were your cooling pads, 2",4" or 6"?
Thank you, Steven! They are 4" pads
Is it necessary to regulate pressure with the faucet connection? I have never done that before.
I was thinking of putting a kick off back into the reservoir to control the pressure. What do you think?
No. It is not necessary to regulate the water pressure. I just knew that 65 psi wasn't needed to keep a reservoir topped off, and considering the plastic float valve, and the poly pipe that was used, I thought it would give me some piece of mind while unattended by not putting undue stress on the components, since I kinda went on the cheap for them ; )
How do you prevent mold and algae from growing on the cardboard wall?
I use an algae maint. solution that you add to the reservoir. You can get it from amazon.
Thanks. No mold issues?
What kinda temp drop are you getting and what % shade cloth are you running? I have 2 GH one 55 and one 100 I need to do this to here in SC!
If the humidity is around 40-50%, I can get about a 20°F drop! Here lately, the humidity has been 70-80%, so not as much! I am really undersized for the CFM that my fan is capable of, since the shutters won't open all the way, unless you open a window, or two which defeats the purpose. I am planning on expanding mine, but it won't be an easy task with the gambrel style of my building! I believe when I do, the temps will be way better!I am not running any shade cloth at all. My greenhouse is not full sun all day. Probably 7 hours is all I get.
A have only one question, how you service this unit?, I'm talking about the pads.
There are a couple of ways to clean the unit. I installed it with unions to make it easy to disconnect, and take down so you can spray the pads off, and anything else you want to service. I have also used liquid pad cleaner in the water reservoir, following the instructions on the bottle, with good results!
A very good design. It may be of value to add white viniger to the water to suppress the growth of algae and fungus.
Thank you! Yeah, that would probably work for the algae, but I don't know about the smell that it would produce ; ) Thanks for watching!
i have a 40% shade cloth over my greenhouse. west texas heat us brutal an no trees to help shade as well. do you think i would need additional shading for resevior also..i plan on using 100 watt solar panel an 2 solar fans an pump to run mine great video ..
Thank you, Stacy! I would keep the reservoir out of the sun as much as possible, or insulate it! Mine just happens to be in a location to where the sun never hits it, so it works out pretty good! Thanks for watching!
Nice job .
Thank you for watching!
What size is your greenhouse
14'x20'
Any keys on how you size a unit for the square foot of the greenhouse.....CFM for your fans etc.
Ken Morris Hi, Ken! Here's a link that you can use for a chart for the size pad, versus the fan CFM. If you go to the heating tab in this site, it will show you how to calculate the greenhouse square footage. www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/evaporative-cooling-pads/greenhouse-cooling
I think it might be easier to drill through for the small hole and expand the small one to the big one, easier to be sure they are concentric.
It could have if I had a the right size unibit!
what pad is that you are using? thanks for the build video, will likely nesx to do this also. Do you have roll up sides?
Hi KC! If you will look in the description box under show more, there is a complete material list, including the pad! No, I do not have roll up sides. Thanks for watching!
I'm guessing you are using some shutters or louvers on the end this is installed on. What size is it/are they?
Yes, It's a 30" motorized shutter.
What cooling pad did you use? Part #, where you bought it...
Hi Joe! Just click on the show more button in the description box, and it will give you a complete material list : )
I love use Avasva Solutions for that issue.
I am trying to adapt this for my workshop in Tucson... Do I understand correctly that you have a 36 in exhaust fan that then pulls cool air through the pad? Since your greenhouse is probably airtight, this would make sense... My workshop is not, being a steel building with no insulation. If this is the case, I would have to build a more conventional EvAP cooler with the fan pulling directly from the pad. Do you have any thoughts, ideas?
Thank you, great work.
jim heal Hi, Jim! The idea behind evaporative cooling is to pull outside air through the cooling pad, and the moisture molecules pick up heat from the air, and expel it to the outside, thus cooling the inside air temp. Of course this is in a greenhouse situation. You could build this unit as a portable cooler, aka "Port-A-Cool" which sounds like what would suit your needs, and works really great, especially since it recirculates the inside air, and cools it rapidly!
Hi. Amazing video. Where you get the plastic gutter?
Thank you! I got it at Home Depot in the garden section. The entire material list is in the description box!
not entirely according your parts but build from leftovers haha.
from 105F to 80F... impressive :) thanks
Jorgen
beautyshoot.nl/fotos/Modellen/cooler/show.php
Wow! It looks great, Jorgen! Man that thing is really making a big difference! I'm glad everything worked out for you!
keyplayr61 yes it does make a difference. The only thing I did not count for was the fan. That thing takes about 3.6 amps. So thats 1.40 per day if used 10 hours. Thats almost as much as a frigidair window AC. So now I am in doubt what I shall use haha.
The thing is, using an ac unit recirculates the inside air, which you don't want to do. You want to bring in fresh Co2 for the plants! I don't think that you would get the same results, since a small unit wouldn't be able to exchange the air quick enough, in a greenhouse environment to lower the temp to a desirable level like your high volume fan will!
keyplayr61 hmmm... never thought of that. Okay haha. I will hook up a 7kw solar system anyway next year so I can run whatever I want in the future :) Thanks for this additional input. Hope I someday will be able to grow something down there haha
keyplayr61 one other question. As you can see in my pics the window with airflow is about 23x23" But the unit is much bigger. Would it help if I made the window/opening bigger to get more even spread over the paper?
And something else. I tried to search for max temperatures in a greenhouse. what is your experience? What is the max you can have for growing veggies? Or better.. what is the best temperature for veggies :)
Thanks
Jorgen
To squirt epoxy or bondo just where you want it: Take a small plastic bag (sandwich bag with no pleats) mix up your two part stuff, put it in the corner of the bag and snip off a tiny piece of corner. Voila'
Thanks for the tip!