DIY "TWO STAGE" Indirect Evap Air Cooler! No added Humidity! brand new! 2 fans/2 pumps/2 radiators!
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- Опубликовано: 22 июн 2023
- DIY "Two Stage" Indirect Evap Air Cooler! No Venting and No Humidity! Two-Stage Indirect Evaporative Air Coolers are considered 'The Best of the Best'. They generate both cold-air and cold-water and both are used to maximize the efficiency of the unit (nothing is wasted). additionally, they cool the indoor air without adding any humidity to it! the biggest benefit of the 2nd stage is that it helps the unit run at top efficiency even when the outdoor humidity is in the moderate range. that's because the 2nd radiator (2nd stage) pre-cools the returning water from the first radiator (before it re-enters the tub). the unit could not be working any better. I'm getting awesome temps out of it. low wattage draw (under 100 watts). be ready for summer! easy to make and use! please comment, like and share 🙂👍
The "cube" part or "water chiller part" of the unit is a re-design of a previous model (used in earlier direct and one-stage models). I reduced its height and widened the water holes to 9/64" (9 per tube) 36 in total.
a few cool things...
🟢 these units are 3-in-1 meaning that they can be run 3 ways... as "Direct" evap units (no radiators, 1 pump, 1 fan), "One Stage" indirect units (1 radiator, 2 pumps, 2 fans) or "Two Stage" indirect units (2 radiators, 2 pumps, 2 fans).
🟢 these units can double as air humidifiers. you just use without the radiators and use the cube part indoors.
🟢 these units can double as outdoor evap fridges. you just drop your items inside the cube part. (the air inside the cube stays as cold as the pad).
🟢 these units can be DC powered (using solar panels or batteries etc.) just use 12v DC fans and pumps.
👍 for an extra blast of cold air you can add ice or ice blocks to the tub! (temporary but effective while it lasts)
🔵💦 the 9/64" water holes give the pads a fuller more complete saturation (originally 3/32"). in other words, all 4 pads now stay fully saturated no matter how hot and dry it is outside (plus the holes will never clog).
**first half of video shows the unit and its performance (including lots of water, air and pad temps). that's followed by a quick talk-thru of how (and why) the whole thing works. and lastly i show a complete disassembly of the unit and show everything that's needed to make it. lots of details and specifics included.
*Best way to get the tubes inside the home is to place the unit just outside of a window and the "fan with radiator" just inside near the window. then use a small piece of 1"x4" lumber mounted in window with 2 holes drilled in it for the tubes. works perfect. just cut wood to the length of window, feed the pipes through the holes, drop wood in and shut the window down onto it. makes a good seal.
one last thing, it's very portable. the whole thing can be disassembled and put into the tub in about 2 minutes. everything fits (other than the table fan). then just snap the lid on the tub and you can easily take it with you (camping for example). 
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Man, that’s pretty badass
hi and thanks 👍
I'm not an expert on this, but I have some ideas for consideration. I believe the radiator on the top of the cubicle unit isn't required since the water in the basin will be cooled as water trickles down the sponge. The water circuit could go like this: the water in the basin is pumped directly into the indoor radiator, and the water exiting the radiator can be pumped back into the top of the cubicle unit directly to wet the sponge and be cooled again. The basin should be insulated so sunlight and ambient heat don't warm the water in it. The efficiency might be improved using a larger radiator that allows greater flow of water through it coupled with a larger fan. Or to increase the water flow through the indoor radiator, you could couple both of the small radiators in parallel (not series) with a splitter of some sort. Thus the indoor fan can pull air through both of them.
You really know how to keep your cool 🥶
you should see me trying to edit these things. i don't always 'keep my cool' when doing that lol
Another brilliant invention ,thank you for sharing the detailed instructions of your experiments ,much appreciated .
you bet! ...i'm thinking of posting the rest of the footage that i have on this air cooler. it's probably enough for another video. i also ran the unit on low and high and took detailed temp reading of the first few minutes... and a few other things.
@@desertsun02 Looking forward to any and all updates .LOVE ALL YOUR VIDEOS , thanks for taking time to share your helpful ideas for those of us interested in life off the grid 👍.
@@desertsun02 Looking forward to your next video of this machine!
Very very good video, thank you so much. Will make it in February.
That's a fascinating production! From what I can tell evap coolers might work in Arizona but with high humidity in Florida very ineffective. By eliminating the humidity you may have expanded usage a lot. I need to study this more but recycling the hot air to deal with it and make it reusable is very cool!
It’s mini model of a commercial cooling tower system. The filters act as the fills inside of a tower which the return water is dumped in the distribution pan from the top, the fans pull the heat from the water in the fills and is pumped back to the supply.
Almost lost your video from my notification. Great video as always 👍
You're awsome dude!
Keep working on this innovation perhaps this type of air fancooler can become a affordable cooling device for people in the future.
Single stage "Desert coolers" are a common household device.
Two stage Evaporative cooling is most commonly employed by Industries everywhere (Warehouses, Animal Shelter, Manufacturing plants, etc )
Very cool , thanks for sharing , God bless !
Thank you too! 🙂🙏
Great idea, thanks for sharing
hi and thanks. glad you liked it. 🙂
Thank you for sharing. i couldn't get cool pads or other materials cheaply in my country/region, so recently experimenting I've found several layers of 30-40% shade cloth works just as well as commercial cool pads. I'm thinking, folding /pleated them would increase the evaporative cooling surface area, similar to pleated window curtains. This is a cheap way to capture huge cooling surface area or very cheap compact units.
Quite interesting, Thank you. Have an elderly friend living in south FL. on 657$ monthly. Put in a small window unit for her bedroom so she can sleep comfortably. Electric bill is rising.
Your craft should make a positive change in her life. Thank you, again.
I enjoy your channel. I realize you are in a climate that is a complete 180 from my 78% humidity lol. But a different video looks like it could work out for a little oasis while working outside. The one with the ice chest, 3 inches of water pumped through a radiator and returned back into the chest. You used some frozen gallon jugs to chill the water. I, have a whole bunch of little blue ice bags that came in shipped chocolate orders. Or even the little I think juice carton with ice in it would be nice to stick my face all up in front of lol. I just really don't need any more water in the air. It's thick enough 😆
Man that low humidity makes all the difference i got a deal on a smallish evaporative cooler and here in Central Texas with the 100° outside the air from it only gets to like 84 which is better but nowhere near 60
the lower humidity is definitely a plus. when it's 100 here i can usually get low 70's out of it (but 84 is not bad). to get air in the 60's it usually has to be between 80F to 90F outside
Great content! I think there has been other mentions but how about some capacity testing? I live in the south Utah desert in a trailer and I'm curious what it would take using your setup. I have two swamp coolers on top I took down (water damaged ceiling, make the ceiling sag, contributes to mold growth). Would be awesome if you benchmarked by leaving one room unconditioned while running your unit in another room. Just some ball park numbers so you could roughly calculate the necessary scale of a system. None the less I love the tinkering and thanks for making interesting content. A little break from political shit popping up on my RUclips.
What about pre-cooling the air inlet to the evaporative cooler? Using the water heat exchangers to reduce the dry bulb temperature before the evaporative cooling.
I live in Florida its like 90% humidity outside, you think something like this would work well enough? and or suck the humidity out of the house? Any idea on a DIY low power dehumidifier?
Here is a thought for you, how about running that tube through the side of a fridge??? I have a campervan and if i ran the tube at the bottom left side and took it out through the top on the right or left, you would be getting very cool water constantly, then put it into the box to be taken around the tube and radiators. Thr fridge would be cooling the water down to about 10c and then the box would take it a little lower, the fridge is already on and working so you will just be using something that is already cold 🤷.
How about making it a cylinder shape one along with black drip tubing to reduce the piecing of the pad and pipes.
Was thinking about making something like this for my shed I have 4600 watts off grid power. Right now I have a mini split AC unit I'm in Phoenix interesting to see what it can do in summer. I have a Mastercool for the house about 6800 cfm we run it until around July 4th then switch to a 4 ton heatpump when it gets too humid for direct evaporative cooling. This year I'm testing RO water system feeding it I think it's going to pull too much water it has a permeate pump does reduce waste water. I think next year I want to replace the evap cooler with a new one.
Do you think there would be any benefits to insulating the water container and lines to further isolate the cool water from heat uptake except at the second stage (inside)
I’d like to give this a try, just not sure about the performance in my area. I live in a humid area but in the middle of the day during the summer when I need it, humidity is around 40-50%. I know what temps a single stage will do but how much lower does a two stage get? A single stage is just around the edge of comfortable.
Could you run air through the indirect cooler and then through the direct cooler to make it even colder? Even below the wet bulb temperature?
hey, nice system man, i belive that if you use an air conditioner internal unit evaporator it will be more eficient as a heater exchanger for indoors, with a better desing too. Im planning to do this, as i have an old split ac, maybe it will require a more powerful water pump because of the small coils. Im curious to test this system performace in a wet and hot weather like here in brazil (+30ºC /50 to 60% air humidity).
What do you think. ....if I use. .....an ac ....indoor split unit ..... as a radiator and fan ..... ? Will be more effective
RV fridge usually 3 way are compressor free, just use induction as heat source, very efficient and not yet marketed, future, this is the way
Grate shear.
thank you!
Have you considered having the return water be the water that goes down the mats? If it is warmer I imagine it would improve efficiency . It would also reduce pumping needed=less electrical use and complexity
you could put the return tube at the top of the pads if you want but i'm not sure if that would add to the efficiency much or not. if you use the second radiator the water is nearly as cold as when it left the tub.
I think RUclips just ate my comment. Short version - awesome project, what was your approx component cost for this one?
So the indoor fan radiation essentially takes the place of the pad on a regular swamp cooler?
Now I want to try this with a pizio electric evaporators. Instead of pumping water over a medium.
Please show room temp first for reference to compare cooling effect. As we got 45 degree Celsius in my country.
After years of working with radiant heating I will point out that you are typically getting 10 degree F difference between the water and the measurement taken on the PEX. Your performance is better than you thought and you will have to install inline thermometers to get accurate measurements.
Wouldn't it be more effective to blow the humid cold air directly into the heat exchanger? (instead of pumping the water from the tab into it)
What if you put the radiator dry air part so it blows air on the evaporative cooler? Then the ambient temperature is lower hence lower water temps which makes a cycle of ever cooler water I guess.
What happens if you use carbon felt? Would the black colour in the sun combined with all of this push it even further?
Separate them or possibly have them in an enclosed room monitor the room temp vs separating the units
Another great video and build. Where do you get the good blue pads? I bought some and they were crap.
hi and thanks. i get them at home depot (and sometimes lowes). stores like those have lots of pads this time of year.
I'm really enjoying these dry cool ideas. Thanx. I'm curious about one thing, does the electric fan's exposure to moisture cause any loss in expected service life? Keep'em coming Friend.
it will depend on what fan you use but in general the extra moisture doesn't affect the ones i use. they are made pretty tough. that square one is a real workhorse. rated to last 20 years or something
@@desertsun02 Good to know. Thanx.
Hey desertsun! Thank you very much for the continuous improvments of thoes DIY systems! Its a great source of inspiration and solutions!
Now Ive run into a small problem though, maybe you can give a little input. I built a tube system based on the evap stack of "tech ingredients" but only got mixed results, so just a week ago I set up a big box cooler like you showed here. It has an overall pad surface of 8/10 of a square meter. Im using my ducted fan of the tube stack, with 155m^3/h of flow.
The results are still lackluster though. The water temp didnt change much. That will partly be due to the 50% humidity on that day, but apart from that I dont really know whats going wrong... Is it just the fan maybe? should I be upgrading this to a much bigger one?
I need the unit for my small attic, also indirect like you showed here. Got a selfmade copper radiator for now which works adequately I think.
hi. if you're getting good airflow then it's probably not the fan. at 50% humidity it would or should work - but not as well as in the lower humidity. you can see what temps to expect by checking an 'evap cooling chart'. those charts show what temps to expect when the outdoor temp and humidity is known. one big reason that the units sometimes don't work is that there is not enough water flowing down the pads. you may want to check and make sure the holes are not getting clogged. in this project i widened the holes to 9/64th and they flow perfect. make sure your fan is strong enough. when i run thefans on low speed it is not always enough. i usually have to run on medium speed to get unit working good.
@@desertsun02 Alright, thanks for the answer :) Ill try with a bigger fan first, then Ill try to perforate the pads a bit more (they are not 'real' swamp cooler pads, but rather aquarium filter sponges, those are the only ones I can get here) and then I might widen the holes in the pvc. Sounds like a plan!
@@lordneador3724I’m almost wondering if the aquarium mats are too air restrictive. Maybe the fan can’t pull enough through. There is cheap cut-to-size plastic mesh furnace filter material you could buy at most most hardware stores. It is plastic and can get wet. Try that maybe
@@joecool4656 good shout, I wondered the same. I'll try to perforate the ones I have. My last run gave me 42% of the potential cooling possible, according to a chart. That's okay but not great.
I would put both units inside, and then route the exhaust from the tank fan outside via duct.
Can you please go into more detail for the purpose of the fan above the cooling pads , Is said fan blowing or sucking warm air out of the water tank ? If so I understand that the warm moist air remains out side, It's just that I can't wrap my brain around that fan on top ,lol . Still a fantastic video thanks again for taking time to share .I would love to spend a week or two at your place to learn from you cuz I'm obsessed with solar energy . You and Little House Off Grid are my favorite channels cuz you keep your cool ideas Sweet and simple .Pun intended, respectfully .
hi. that fan in the main driver of the unit. it's sucking the air through the pads and pumping it up and out into the air. that is what causes the air to flow through the pads and the evaporation on the pads. the process of evaporation takes heat (so what it left behind is cold air). the pads get super cold and those cool the air and the water. we are using that cold water and a radiator to create the cold air. then when the water exits the first radiator it is warmer. so it's fed through the second radiator where it is cooled down before it enters the tub. the air that comes out of the top of the unit is then somewhat warm and humid but it is just air that stays outside.
@@desertsun02 Thank you for the quick and detailed response to my questions . Until I get my hands on some PVC ,I'm going to experiment with a couple large towels hanging over an open box like frame .The bottom of said towels will sit in the container soaking up water while the fans and pumps and possibly my tiny solar fountain do their thing ,in your configuration of course . Thank you for always inspiring us to experiment 👍
Hey there mate,
I was wondering if you managed to calculate/measure the cooling capacity of the whole system? I'm trying to estimate how big of a system I'd need to match a portable A/C unit of 5000BTU
Hi, I did a calculation once a year ago and it was around 18000 btu I think for this system, which is really awesome.
Would pre heating the air before it goes through the air cooler result in cooler water? Taking the air from a solar air heater may increase the effectiveness..?
The Principle: The higher the heat, and the lower the humidity, the better it will work. The secret is to evaporate water into the air, which is hard, if humidity is high anyways. But if humidity is low/medium, then, the hotter the air, the better. It runs on heat (and a bit of electricity), and is hindered by humidity. A solar air heater wouldd be an ideal addition.
You can further add one air-air heat exchanger to recover cool from the exhaust air and cool intake air (reducing dew point) .... whats the dew point where you test this ?
hi. i didn't take dew point at the time (but i'm guessing it was fairly low)
What would happen if you made a clone of the first stage and fed it with it's cooled water ?
Very cool design (pun intended) how often do you have to add water to the system?
you can get about 10 hours before needing to refill it (in general). it goes through about 1 gallon of water an hour and the tub holds about 12 gallons. if it's not as dry where you live you might get even longer (maybe 12-15 hours before you need to refill it).
May try honeycomb pads now ?
I have a simular idea for living on a boat. Take a small car radiator with its 12 volt fan attached. Take another radiator and attach it to the first one with long enough hoses to reach down to the cold water under the boat. A 12 volt pump brings cold water from below the boat up to the radiator with the fan.
Moisture should condense on the radiator coils and lower the humidity inside the cabin as it cools the air.
The water returns to the radiator under the boat by a second hose.
It's sort of like a home a.c. unit that gets some of its cooling by well water
You don't need two radiators just one for indoor. Suck cold water from under the boat pass it through the radiator fitted with fan. Air will lose its temp when passing through radiator, water inside radiator gets warm, dump it out back into the lake or river. Add some kind of water filter in the way before water gets into the radiator to prevent any kind of dirt, algae and what not to get into the radiator
@@lemmetellyousomething679it would work and be cheaper to build. I still like the closed loop system
It would be nearly maintaince free.
Hello, do you think using a Beach fridge instead a plastic container could keep the water cooler in a hot environment?
doing that, as well as unsulating the pipes goes without saying, of course. Here, a transparent tub was used, just so that we can see better, and comprehend easier. (just for reasons of presentation).
😎😎😎😎😎
👍
I wonder if you could find a way to reduce the surface tension of the water and increase the efficiency even more...🤔
Should freeze water in Gatorade bottles and put them in the water. Just ice it melts to fast but in these bottle they stay frozen for few hours. Are those transmission coolers or something maybe cheaper?
it's a good idea. or even frozen gallon jugs. those will give you an extra blast of cold air. (temporary but fun while it lasts)
How is the maximum dimension of the room to work with efficiency ? Thanks
i haven't done specific tests on room sizes but if you use the box fan version or a good size desk fan and radiator i think it would cool of a room pretty quick.
Pro
If you pump the water directly into indoor unit heat exchanger and use the return water trough outdoor heat exchanger then into the cooling pads, then you can get away with a single pump
Can you put water on the radiator, maybe it will be more cooler
may ask what material are those pads used? btw very nice idea video
hi and thank you! technically, they are foamed polyester evap cooling pads. places like home depot and lowes have them. amazon sells them but they are usually waay overpriced on that site. a 3x3 foot pad shouldn't cost more than 12 dollars (they were about 8 to 10 when i got them)
I have watched many of your RUclips videos on evap cooling. I'm confused on which to make for my 480 SF greenhouse. My plants need relief from this 3 digit TX heat.
hi. since plants often like the extra moisture, i would say one of my standard (or direct evap air coolers) would be the best. the best one would probably be the DIY 'blue cube evap air cooler' one. it's very powerful and easy to make. i've heard from others that it works well for their plants.
@@desertsun02 Thank you, I appreciate you.🤗
But how do you keep the cooler free from algae and bugs, lime scale etc? Do we then need an air heat exchanger connected to the evap unit?
hi. to make sure no algae grows i just make sure to turn it off every 12 to 24 hours and let the pads dry out. they will dry in about 10 minutes if you leave the fan on and turn the water pump off. (30 to 60 minutes if you don't leave the fan on). i haven't had any issue with bugs (probably because the water is moving and turbulent). you could use window screening material around it if needed. if you have 'hard water' you will get lime scale buildup on the pads. this is normal and the pads will have to be changed every few months
@@desertsun02 Thanks, that makes sense.
Very nice idea :-) I'm kinda leaning towards naming it a "split-system" evaporator instead of "two stage" :-)
And yes, it seems that enlarging the indoor radiator and/or increasing the air flow so that the return water gets as close as possible to the indoor temperature is the way to get it to it's maximum effectiveness. Maybe see whether you can apply the counter current principle on that indoor radiator.
I looked at the video a second time. Still loving the idea of this system not adding humidity. Of course that might have something to do with us living in the foothills of the Smokys where humidity is near 100% (and evaporative cooling is practically impossible).
While being the perfect backseat driver I noticed a few things. As the water in the tub will after some time become as cold as the air you are pulling out the top it seems that you can do away with some parts. Instead of using the cool air pulled out of the evaporator it seems you can just delete that outdoor radiator and directly pump the water in the tub to the indoor radiator. Then when that water returns from the indoor radiator it will be theoretically the hottest water in the system, which would make it the best temperature to drop it directly on top of the evaporative mats where it can receive the greatest cool down. That by the way, also saves you the need for a second pump. The disadvantage of deleting the outdoor radiator and the second pump is that it will just take some time before the system starts to produce the coolest air as the 4 to 12 gallons of water first need to cool down.
Of course as I said I'm the perfect backseat driver as I have no practical experience. It's just theory here in hot and humid Tennessee :-)
Oh, another thing I really like about your system, I believe a conventional system starts to foul up after some time. Algea and all sorts of bio matter start to grow but you can't add chlorine to the system because that would stink the whole house up. With your system you can just add a bit of of bleach and not worry about smells. Heck, you can add the whole bottle :-)
Adding a mini fridge on my unit I'll make sure to post a video
Where did you guy the Evap Cooler Pad?
hi. i get the pads at the local home stores (usually home depot, but i've gotten them at lowes too)
Do you know about the Coolerado cooler? That's a very good design and is multiple stage. Just copy that design and make one
hi. i've heard of it. i think it is just a standard two stage unit (or what they call direct/indirect evap cooling. one problem with those is that they still produce some humidity in the air that you are cooling (but it is lower than a regular direct unit). a direct unit's humidity is 80% and the other is 50% to 70% (going by memory). a system like the one in this video though adds no humidity at all to the indoor air. especially good for those areas where the humidity is in the moderate range (and you don't want it to be higher)
Whats the total cost of making it? And will it work in places with 80+ percentage humidity? How efficient would it be?
80% humidity is too high. these won't work in that high of a humidity. price varies a lot based on exactly what radiators and fans you choose to use (and where you buy them). pumps, pads and most other items are pretty cheap.
@@desertsun02 got ay ideas on what you can make for high humidity? i live in georgia its horrible. i dont know why people enjoy living here. the humidity is depressing. its year around it never goes away, 80 or higher precent humidity
@@michaelhead1879 Move to Chicago.
What would be the maximum operating humidity? I am from Argentina
the maximum is about 70% (if the temp is right). typically they work okay up to about 60%
im not a pro but 😅 if i wanted to build one similar...i dont know where is the fan out direction😂
My trucks AC is going to cost 1300 to fix, is there any way you could design a easy cooler for my truck
hi. make sure to check my channel for lots of other air cooler designs. some should work great for that. the easiest way to find those videos is to check the playlist section. they have their own playlist(s). so you can see them all in the same place.
Where did you buy the mat?
hi. i get those at home depot
What is the blu stuff called?
it's evaporative cooling pad. specifically, it's 'foamed polyester' evap cooling pad. (home depot/lowes are good sources for it). especially this time of year.
Where do you get your radiators at
i get them on amazon
Will the work in high humidity climate?
hi. best way to see if it will work wher eyou are is to check an 'evap cooling chart'. they will show you what temps to expect depending on your humidity
Link to the fans you are using by any chance??
hi. here is a link to the square fan www.amazon.com/AC-Infinity-Cooling-Ventilation-Projects/dp/B00I06S792/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1OFFB9U23PYMQ&keywords=ac+infinity+axial+2060&qid=1690641429&sprefix=2060+axial%2Caps%2C145&sr=8-3
the round fan is called a 'chillout' fan. i can't find a link for the exact one but here is one that looks very similar www.amazon.com/Personal-Sleeping-Powerful-Electric-Black%EF%BC%8C8-inch/dp/B08SGFC4JB/ref=sr_1_12_sspa?crid=2KG8J2HRDLS19&keywords=chillout+fan&qid=1690641633&sprefix=chillout+fan%2Caps%2C232&sr=8-12-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&psc=1
What about water dripping from radiator problem
water from the outdoor radiator will just drip back into the cube. for the indoor unit you could use a towel or paper towel under it (if needed). i don't have the condensation issue where i live.
How can I get the oil cooler?
you can find those on amazon. they're the "hayden transmission coolers". they've got lots of different sizes.
If the world ever ends this is how I’m gonna cool my house
my question is how will it cool if its 100+F outside?
hey there. it cools pretty good even in triple digit temps *if your humidity is somewhat lower. where i live i can get 71F out of it when it's 100F outside. to see exactly what it will generate you can search for 'evap cooling chart'. those charts show what temps these things will output based on temps and humidity where you are. just going by memory i think you can get 75F out of this even when temp is 110F (very low humidity)
@@desertsun02 thank you, I live where humidty averages around 50%, in summer.
50% is not too bad. these units will work up to 60% typically (and in some cases to 70%) so it may work for you. you won't get the 20 and 30 degree temp drops but you might get 7 to 10 degree drops (plus any wind chill from the fan if you're sitting in front of it).
@@desertsun02 awesome, love your channle!
operating humidity? I am from Argentina
the best way to see if it will work where you are is to check an 'evap cooling chart' (easily found online). they show what output temps to expect depending on your humidity and temp.