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I just bought the TurboKool swamp cooler and haven't found anyone local that might be able to install.
So here are my questions:
1) Does anyone know an RV repair who has installed one of these units? In the Bay Area?
2) Can anyone recommend a fiberglass shop that can create a berm on the trailer roof where the cooler will sit "flat"? My roof is slightly curved.
3) If I want this to run on solar (60amp requirement), should I consider running the solar panel directly to the cooler, or should I run solar to the deep-cycle battery that runs everything in the trailer? Right now, I have a 6W trickle charger that replenishes the power over the week.
I only run LED lights and turn on the water pump a few times a day, so my needs are currently pretty small.
www.turbokool.com
Thanks!
PF
So here are my questions:
1) Does anyone know an RV repair who has installed one of these units? In the Bay Area?
2) Can anyone recommend a fiberglass shop that can create a berm on the trailer roof where the cooler will sit "flat"? My roof is slightly curved.
3) If I want this to run on solar (60amp requirement), should I consider running the solar panel directly to the cooler, or should I run solar to the deep-cycle battery that runs everything in the trailer? Right now, I have a 6W trickle charger that replenishes the power over the week.
I only run LED lights and turn on the water pump a few times a day, so my needs are currently pretty small.
www.turbokool.com
Thanks!
PF
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SF Bay Area
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Re: Swamp Cooler purchased...now what?
Fri, June 26, 2009 - 10:02 PMI think I don't totally understand the situation. I'm going to assume you have an RV or trailer with a deep cycle battery that powers lights, water pump, and a few other misc things. What make, model, and size of a rig do you have? Do you have anything else you power? How long do you think you'll power the swamp cooler?
My swamp cooler has a fan and a water pump. I think with the fan on high is draws 4 amps at 12 volts. That is 48 Watts (VoltsXAmps) which is per hour.
If your going to hook up a solar panel you definitely want to hook it up to your deep cycle battery. I'll assume you have a charge controller.
Looking at the TurboKool website the unit draws 4.6 amps at 12 volts. You might as well round it up to 5 amps for a total of 60 watts which is what you were talking about in #3.
Have you already purchased your solar panels? What size do you have? How many deep cycle batteries do you have?
If you haven't bought your solar panels yet I would consider buying more then a 60 watt panel. I believe a panel will be somewhere around 75% efficient with direct sunlight. So it might be better to go with a 100watt panel. This will power your swamp cooler while leaving the charge in your batttery at direct light. When you buy panels you should also base the number of deep cycle batteries you purchase off the panel size so you can store the extra power in the morning when you don't really need the swamp cooler. Plus you'll need to save a small amount of power for the toilet and lights at night.
Just a disclaimer. I've been researching solar panels for the last few years but haven't bought. For me it seems buying panels didn't make financial sense. But I decided to figure things out and calculate it first. My swamp cooler will run about 4-5 hours off my single deep cycle battery and then I just start up my quiet and small kipor or hook up to a friends generator. Solar is nice but gets a bit expensive when you factor in panels, batteries, and a decent inverter to run things like a microwave.
Hopefully, I have not screwed up the above. Hopefully, others will correct me if I'm wrong so you don't get the wrong info. -
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Re: Swamp Cooler purchased...now what?
Sat, June 27, 2009 - 5:01 AMThanks for the response.
I have a 13' Trillium 4500, 1979, Fiberglass, teeny tiny. Photo here:
people.tribe.net/pantyfree...cf03706ef8
I think the customer service guy misspoke, since 60 watts makes way more sense than amps. I checked my notes from the call and he said 60 amp draw, but also said his solar array was four 15w panels daisy-chained for a total of 60 watts.
I haven't purchased any solar "stuff" yet, as I didn't quite understand it. Also, I wasn't sure how the solar panels would fit on my trailer or mount on a stand if my trailer was under a canopy on playa. The solar kit from TurboKool was $386+shipping so if it's not needed, why waste the money...
If I can run my swamp cooler for a few hours per day directly from one deep-cycle battery and an existing trickle charger (6W), I won't add the cost of the TurboKool solar kit (or any other solar kit). Only LED lights run off the battery, no blender, TV, microwave. Heat, cooking and refrigeration are all propane, so my load is very small. My deep-cycle battery gets me through a whole week now without the trickle charger.
I also have a 1000w Honda generator in a pinch, but I hate the noise and bothering other playa-dwellers... -
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Re: Swamp Cooler purchased...now what?
Sat, June 27, 2009 - 11:13 AMAfter killing two sets of batteries, I installed a 300w AM Solar setup and 4 AGM golf cart batteries. Rarely have to fire up the generator (only to run the microwave and/or the A/C on the worst of afternoons.) With a swamp cooler, I'd probably not run the A/C at all, and run the microwave off of an inverter. The 300w setup including charge controller, batteries, and 2kw inverter was $3k, so you gotta want to use it real bad. Boondocking has never been the same since. I have enough power to run the stereo and camp lighting (all LED and over the top, I might add) all night every night while on the playa for a couple weeks. I posted some solar install pics a while back on this tribe.
I can not stress how important it is to not run your batteries down past 11v, once you kill a cell, the whole thing is next to useless.
Solar panels mount with little brackets, and with a fiberglass roof, I stuck them on with 3M VHB adhesive tape. Yes, tape. The stuff is amazing; it's actually an acrylic glue (think Goop, but only 10x stronger.)
Looking at your rig, I'd guess you could replace your rooftop vent for the cooler. It looks like you still have enough room for 200w of panels.
A 200w system (including appropriate batteries) would cost $2k, is trouble-free, and can run a fair amount of LED lighting for your camp. The panels would attach using the standard VHB mounts. More info: amsolar.com/ can't recommend them more... -
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Re: Swamp Cooler purchased...now what?
Sat, June 27, 2009 - 11:18 AMI'm sorry. I think I was unclear. I do NOT want to run anything except the LED lighting. There are only six lights in that WHOLE little trailer. If I only have 5amps on the swamp cooler, what do I need, if anything? Thx. -
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Re: Swamp Cooler purchased...now what?
Sat, June 27, 2009 - 6:36 PMMy guess: You need at least a 100w panel and a charge controller, and probably closer to 120w to be safe and not kill your batteries. Let's see how it works out:
Let's say you leave all the lights on, get high, and don't return 'till dawn:
Lights: .1amp each @ 12v = 1.2w/ea * 6 = 7.2w * 8hrs = 57.6 watt/hours
Now, it's the next day, and it's a white out during the day (like last year) and you need to run the cooler to keep the air clean and cool:
Cooler: 5 amps @ 12v = 60w * 6hrs = 360 watt/hours
Since it was a white out, you didn't get any solar; you need another day of lighting reserve:
+57.6 watt/hours
This computes the amount of battery you need as:
Total demand: 470 watt/hours * 2 = 940 watt/hours reserve capacity (you can't drain a battery past 50% discharge without damage.)
So, the battery capacity would be 940/12v = 80amp/hours (methinks this is the capacity of the Costco deep cycle battery)
Now, it's a sunny day, and you've wiped off the panels after the dust storm (critical!) Useful sun is received from 10:30am to 3:30pm that time of year, so plan to top off 50% of that battery in 5 hours, an 8amp charge for that duration. Here's where the calculation gets tricky...
Normally, you would assume that 8amps at 12v is about 100w, so a 100w panel should do. It does not work that way. A panel only works at capacity IF and only IF:
1) it is clean
2) it is tracking perpendicular to the sun during the day
3) there is a MPPT charge controller running the the show
For each item you can not check above, you have to knock off 25% of performance. Yes, it sucks. If you get item 3, and keep the panel(s) clean, knock off 25% for lack of a sun tracker. There, you need a 120w panel and an MPPT charge controller, or a 180w panel with a generic charge controller. Do NOT run the panel(s) without an even basic charge controller or you'll kill the batteries.
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Re: Swamp Cooler purchased...now what?
Wed, July 1, 2009 - 8:13 AMNow that I've seen your trailer I understand the situation a little bit more.
Solar is usually mounted on top of your trailer. But I've heard of people setting it up outside on a stand. Having it on top is probably an easier way to go but the installation will cost you unless you can do it yourself.
A 15 watt trickle charger won't do much for you. It is only used to keep your battery from dying when you rig sets for long periods of time.
I'm going to guess your a bit more budget conscious. Seeing that you only run lights and a swamp cooler you could consider getting a 60 or 80 watt panel. They will run you about $500. A small charge controller will be about $50. You can probably find it cheaper if you really search. So maybe you can buy everything for $500 if your a savvy shopper.
The above setup should let you run the swamp cooler for 3 or so hours during the day and have lights on when your in your trailer without much problem. You could also buy a cheaper inverter and run a boom box without much power draw. This should let you get by without running your generator for the whole time. However, you should bring it to run in case you have a sand storm. In this case you could just run the genie during the sand storm for a little while. It is going to be noisy anyway and you could invite your neighbors in so it won;t annoy them to much.
Later on if you wanted to you could upgrade with another panel and add a better inverter if you wanted. However, you may have to change the charge controller depending on what you bought.
I can't find much info on the website about the turbokool solar panel. I have a feeling it is going to be a 30 watt panel with a charge controller. If so you can find a better deal elsewhere.
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Re: Swamp Cooler purchased...now what?
Wed, July 1, 2009 - 8:25 AMThanks!
I've completely lost my mind with this project. I've decided to head cross-country next week to attend a fiberglass RV campout with 140 other campers who have a similar style trailer. It's called Bolerama, north of Toronto. The guy who originally designed my trailer in 1978 will be one of the speakers, and he has promised me some time to discuss the situation. He will also build the fiberglass plenum I need to "flatten out" the curve of my trailer that sits directly under the unit. Turns out, he lives in Concord CA now!
So, I'm taking my new TurboKool in the box and I'm heading east up past Lake Michigan.
I'll post the findings after the trip. Cheers! -
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Re: Swamp Cooler purchased...now what?
Fri, August 14, 2009 - 6:02 PMWe run our turbo kool on house batteries charged by two 60w solar panels. It uses all output of the panels. It is a wonderfull tool for playa white outs. Seal your rig as best you can, turn turbokool on high (to throw max water on filter) and close turbokool vents COMPLETELY. Enough air leaks out of the closed turbokool to provide posititve pressure and a bit of clean air. Opening the vents allows dust in. This unit will scrub a small amount of playa air effectively. Nice, breathe deep. -
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This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.
Re: Swamp Cooler purchased...now what?
Fri, August 14, 2009 - 6:43 PMThank you, thank you, thank you! I just picked it up this afternoon and was completely intimidated by what to do next.
I just found out I will be on the solar grid powered by Snow Koan Solar, who powers Comfort & Joy and Nectar Village. I won't have to run off my own solar panels, yay!
I am worried about the dust infiltration, though. You mean the vents on the inside of the trailer, yes? I don't need to do anything with the air intake on the rooftop...right?
It was recommended that the internal water float be placed at the bottom level (close to 1" from bottom) so that there is very little water in the tank. Any thoughts there, Jason?
Thx again,
PF -
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Re: Swamp Cooler purchased...now what?
Fri, August 14, 2009 - 7:14 PMI bet either or Martini Man and Edge could help with this stuff too.
even after the playa and all.
hugs -
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Re: Swamp Cooler purchased...now what?
Fri, August 14, 2009 - 7:17 PMGirlie,
That's where I went first! Edge wants to see how it's gonna work so he can review for his own bubble.
See you soon,
PF -
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Re: Swamp Cooler purchased...now what?
Fri, August 14, 2009 - 7:33 PMhe he, and me too,,, if you get 'er going, I got a big ole RV that I would love to go solar..
Panty Free the Guinea Pig...
hugs
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Re: Swamp Cooler purchased...now what?
Sun, August 30, 2009 - 4:47 PMYes, I did mean the vents inside. Various people are looking at pre-filters to install on the roof, which I think is a good idea. Set the float at factory reccomended setting, run on high speed to fling as much water onto the filter and close those vents. Open them a bit and you will get dust. Try it. -
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Post Burn Swamp Cooler report
Sat, September 12, 2009 - 7:27 AMWell, the swamp cooler worked like a charm. I had cool, moist air in my tiny trailer the entire week. I have a new filter for the remainder of the year and will simply toss the "playa filter" each year as recommended by the manufacturer.
Several "newbie" discoveries:
1) The cooler takes more water per day than expected. I used roughly 4 gallons of water per day on low or medium speed. Brochure says 2.5 gallons on high. I kept the cooler on for only 6 hours per day maximum. So dry and hot out there than water was evaporating as fast as the pump could get it into the tank...
2) Very little dust came in from the actual cooler, but you needed to "crack a window" in order to have the positive pressure for maximum efficiency. That's where the dust came in. Need to find a better way to vent next year.
3) Power usage was MINIMAL! This was great. I used less than 4 amps running at medium speed. Ran off deep-cycle battery replenished with a small trickle solar charger.
Definitely worth the investment. My sinuses were moist and happy.
On out! -
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Re: Post Burn Swamp Cooler report
Sun, September 13, 2009 - 3:19 PMGlad to hear the cooler worked so well. We use over 5 gallons/day sometimes as we use it on hi speed mostly.
By closing all windows and swamp cooler vents, virtually no dust enters your rig. The trade off is that you don't get much of any cooling this way. When dust storm passes we open vents for sufficient flow to cool. At notburningman this year it was 100 degrees and 20% humidity outside, and 85 degrees and 65% humidity inside.
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