Building a two-stage evaporative cooler


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Old 11-05-16, 11:23 PM
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Building a two-stage evaporative cooler

I want to build a two-stage evaporative cooler that can cool a 20x20x8' room. I want it to be super effective for Las-Vegas-in-July type climate, and have a footprint no larger than 1x2'.

1) I need help designing the heat exchanger that cools the incoming dry air for the second stage. I have two 4" aluminum dryer ducts I can use for this, and would like to maximize the heat transfer.
2) Would having two separate resivoirs help in cooling? My theory is the first stage water will be warmer than the second stage water, and if both stages draw from one resivoir there will be less end-cooling vs seperate resivoirs for each of the two stages.

I am looking at the diagrams in these two articles for this project:
Source 1:
Evaporative Cooling: Direct, Indirect & Two-Stage Evaporative Cooling Systems
Source 2:
Home Energy Magazine :: Two-Stage Evaporative Cooling
 
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Old 11-06-16, 12:23 PM
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Welcome to the forums.

We don't have a dedicated pro in this forum so I'm not sure if you'll be able to get the help you need.


Pretty ambitious. I'm not sure even a two stage evap will do what you want. It would appear that you are going to need a good sized area for your cooler especially running two reservoirs. Are you planning this for a rooftop or thru the wall application ?
 
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Old 11-07-16, 05:13 PM
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Pretty ambitious. I'm not sure even a two stage evap will do what you want. It would appear that you are going to need a good sized area for your cooler especially running two reservoirs. Are you planning this for a rooftop or thru the wall application ?
I want to minimize the footprint, this is for through the wall, and I'll only go with seperate resivoirs if there is a worthwhile increase in end-cooling.
 
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Old 11-07-16, 06:05 PM
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Why not use a real air conditioner? In this day and age it almost seems like using kerosene lamps. Is all the work and money worth the effort for what you will end up with?
 
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Old 11-10-16, 01:17 AM
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Ray2047, evaporative cooling uses a fraction of the energy compared to refrigerant air conditioning. And related to your username, I feel the future (perhaps in 2047) will have shortages of energy and/or really expensive energy. Water falls out of the sky, even in deserts; and I feel evaporative cooling and hydronic recirculating radiator cooling systems are the future.
 
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Old 11-10-16, 01:53 AM
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A well maintained cooler can work very well in hot, dry climates (I'm 125 miles south of LV). They also can add needed moisture to the air.

The problem is they can be very fussy about intake and exhaust air (not so great in high wind areas), pad maintenance, and water quality. They are absolutely useless if a storm blows through and the humidity shoots up but the temp stays the same. Sometimes they add too much moisture also. I noticed my tools were getting rusty in the garage after I replaced the non-functional unit that was there before. This was even while keeping the humidity down around 45% or so. I had to increase the exhaust which naturally raised the garage temp as well.

Of course the above only really applies to typical single stage residential units. The 2 stage units eliminate or reduce several of these problems, but I believe they are really for whole house or commercial use, thus the original question.

I have to believe though, that if it was economically viable, someone would have picked up on it by now. Even if the cost was higher than a small A/C or single stage cooler, many people would buy if maintenance and energy costs were reduced and comfort levels were increased.
 
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Old 01-04-17, 01:39 AM
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Two-Stage Unicooler System

Here is the design I came up with for the Two-Stage Unicooler System:
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/i...jpg%7Eoriginal

This is an off grid DIY two-stage evaporative cooler based on FIGJAMs Unicooler posted on this forum: https://eplaya.burningman.org/viewto...842&start=3780

Yes, I know it will only drop the temperature in arid places; aka the American Southwest, Sahara Desert, Gobi Desert etc. Using evaporative cooling in arid places is way cheaper and greener then refridegerant A/C, especially off-grid.
 
 

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