Using a swamp cooler

Microlite Mike wrote:

wa8yxm wrote:

Now... One thing that might help (I STRESS MIGHT) might also make thigns worse is "Misting" the condenser. You want to mist the "inlet" side of the condenser (On most A/C's that is the side you can't see.. Coleman it's the side you can see)

How to do that safely is not something I wish to get into but they make mister nozzles for swamp cooling a patio. Two issues however.> Minerals can build up on the condenser clogging it. and discoloring it. and the dang mister nozzles like to clog.

I don't have central air in my house as it would be a $10K investment at this point but I do have three A/C units, one window and two portables, that make the house quite comfortable during thee 20-30 days per year that temps are above 80.

Each of these units have a "misting" system built in that merely sprays the condensate into the condenser cooling air stream. I;ve always wondered why RV A/C units don't use this same system and merely let the condensate flow out onto the roof where it dribbles on the ground where it's not wanted.

One could fairly easily provide the same effect by merely placing a portable patio "mister" on the roof, close enough to the A/C unit that the mist is sucked into the cover's openings and then through the condenser. No more dangerous than operating the A/C on a foggy day or in a light rainstorm.

Here's a $30 example available on Amazon:

As an added benefit it might provide some cooling to the roof which would translate to less heat being transferred into the living area.

The big downside to "misting" when using City Water is that Water is becoming extremely scarce in areas that are typically HOT. So much so that reservoirs are at record low levels. This may mean restrictions on this method by Park Owners.

Lastly, ANY evaporative cooling method, swamp cooler or mister, will generate a lot of mineral buildup on surfaces if the water source is not relatively "Soft". I've seen swamp coolers in Arizona that look like they've been sprayed with lime and their evaporation mats totally plugged with mineral buildup from the water used.

I use a misting setup for a roof top garden.. It helps some but not all that effective unless it is supplemented with shade. Keeping direct sunlight from hitting the RV is cheaper and far more effective solution.

Spraying a mist of city or well water into a roof A/C might sound like a good idea, but in practice if done long enough with very hard water (high mineral content) the coils will get a coat of minerals on the surface which will reduce the A/C units performance and be difficult to remove.

Natural rain water while it may have dirt particles in it, will be "soft" meaning no or very little hard water minerals like calcium, lime, iron.. The dust/dirt is far easier to remove than hard water minerals.