A/C Condenser Evaporative Cooling Assist

dclark1946 wrote:

Chum lee wrote:

dclark1946 wrote:
Chum lee,

The evaporative cooling system I am proposing raises the humdity only of the outside air passing through the condenser unless the RV A/C is not sealed properly and allows leakage between outside and interior (conditioned) air. It should function like the home central A/C system I referred to in my original post. Not only does the humidified cooled air benefit the condenser because of the lower temperature but the denser humid cool air is more efficient in removing heat from the condenser coils.

I understand what you are doing and I agree with you. It will work. However, how much time have you spent traveling/living in an RV? Most who have realize that water is always at a premium when they are out and about. (boondocking/camping/fishing/hunting/etc.) If you prefer to stay in an RV park, generally, water/electricity/sewage are no big deal. IMO, you are trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist.

I don't know what else to say to you other than "live and learn."

Chum lee

Apparently you have not comprehended my posts with regard to where I would use the A/C assist. I listed two different specific scenarios at home where this would be most beneficial for us. We have been camping in travel trailers since 1999 and have traveled thousands of miles. We typically do not camp at locations where the daytime temperature is expected to be above mid 90's although we often stay at a commercial campground overnight (where there have been upper 90 deg daytime temps ) heading to a cooler more scenic final destination where we will dry camp and not require A/C. However on a North Texas RV website there have been multiple posts by those trying to camp in recent NT 100+ deg weather who find their RV A/C is not up to the task of maintaining comfortable temp. I think these campers might also benefit from such a system and since they are camping mostly either in state parks or commercial camp grounds water supply should not be an issue.

Yes, I do understand what you are doing. You are using an evaporative cooler to precool the air that flows across the condenser coils hoping to improve the efficiency of the AC compressor/evaporator coils. Correct? This IS NOT a new idea. It does work, but only in hot/dry climates where you take advantage of the high heat of vaporization of water and you have a readily available water source. When/if the relative humidity gets above +-30%, the system efficiency drops off sharply.

There are many currently available commercial misting systems that do the same thing without the evaporator pads/housing/pumps/sumps/etc.

Have you thought about what happens to the evaporative cooler sump water when you travel in the RV? Where does it spill off to?
(Accelerating/turning/braking on super elevated/off camber/inclined/potholed roadways) Depending on your final design you may have to drain the sump so it doesn't slosh around in the pan while driving. Most evaporative coolers are designed for stationary fixed applications. In the 50's and 60's you could buy an aftermarket evaporative cooling system for automobiles. They mounted in a partially open window and THEY WORKED while travelling at speed on the highway, but you rarely see them any more. Why do you think that is? (hint: modern automotive HVAC systems rendered them obsolete and inconvenient)

Chum lee