Has anyone ever made like a swamp evaporation cooling system for cars?

[desura]

I'm one of those weirdos who doesn't like air conditioning. I don't like the smell, and it's always too cold. Makes me sick.

I'm a fan of swamp cooling. It seems like it could work well for cars b/c since you're always moving, you won't saturate the immediate atmosphere with humidity (assuming that you don't live in a humid area to begin with).

It seems like swamp cooling was popular with cars up until the 1960's.

It could probably work with modern cars, right? Like, me personally I'd gladly swap out a car ac unit for a swamp cooler if it were available. Would save gas overall. Would probably be around the same weight as an AC but without eating up additional gas in operation. Worst thing would be you'd have to periodically refill it with water, which is another task you have to remember.

 

[thomsbrain]

They made add-on swamp coolers waaaay back in the day. Once and a while you see some old classic car with one hanging off the side of the car.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-OG-ACCESSORY-THERMADOR-SWAMP-COOLER-AC-CHEVY-FORD-PLYMOUTH-/190841107601?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item2c6f043491

 

[Throckmorton]

What smell are you talking about? Unless some idiot sprayed Armor All in the vents you shouldn't get a smell.

It's not too cold if you turn it down and have it suck in fresh air (not recirculate or "max AC")

 

[desura]

What smell are you talking about? Unless some idiot sprayed Armor All in the vents you shouldn't get a smell.

It's not too cold if you turn it down and have it suck in fresh air (not recirculate or "max AC")

I dunno, for some reason AC makes me sick, like coughing sick. Maybe the freon or something.

 

[desura]

So is this a conceivable possibility?

Like, have a unit on the roof. Would probably only really work with cars with roof racks, but most people don't even use those racks so there.

Have like a reflective tarp-like layer on the bottom. Absorbant sponge-like layer above it.

Clear plastic encasing entire thing.

Vents for evaporation

Pour water onto it before going on a drive. Should cool the car. Shouldn't be too heavy either, so no risk of structural damage to car.

 

[Throckmorton]

I dunno, for some reason AC makes me sick, like coughing sick. Maybe the freon or something.

The freon shouldn't be leaking out. It could be that you're riding in cars with exhaust leaks, and due to recirculate mode being used you aren't getting any fresh air

 

[jagec]

I dunno, for some reason AC makes me sick, like coughing sick. Maybe the freon or something.

Maybe there is mold or something in your vents. But the vents are the problem, not the AC; if your AC system was leaking anything into the air, it would stop working very quickly.

 

[desura]

Maybe there is mold or something in your vents. But the vents are the problem, not the AC; if your AC system was leaking anything into the air, it would stop working very quickly.

I have no idea what it is. It's very likely that I simply don't like the ultra-cold temperatures that they spit out. Anyways, I'm more interested in possibly implementing an evaporative cooler in a car.

 

[desura]

Kind of a dumb theoretical...

but while thinking about swamp cooling...

Let's say I leave a tray with like 1 gallon of water just in my car during a hot summer day. I leave it in the parking lot and the windows rolled up. in the heat of the sun, the water evaporates in my car.

When I get back, I drive away, roll down windows, etc, quickly blow air out.

Overall, my car will be cooler, right? Like, more heat would be trapped in the humid air in the car than absorbed by like the upholstry thsi way.

 

[jagec]

I have no idea what it is. It's very likely that I simply don't like the ultra-cold temperatures that they spit out. Anyways, I'm more interested in possibly implementing an evaporative cooler in a car.

You should try the AC in my car then...never any colder than a mild spring afternoon. Or just bump the temperature control up a bit until it's no longer ultra cold?

For evaporative cooling, you best best would be to go full blast on the vents, recirculate off, and attach a misting device in front of the vents, perhaps connected to the fan control. You'll get much more perceived cooling per gallon of water this way (cooling the air directly) than trying to use some sort of conduction-based approach. Oh, and roll down the real window a bit when you do so for an even greater effect.

 

[LTC8K6]

Kind of a dumb theoretical...

but while thinking about swamp cooling...

Let's say I leave a tray with like 1 gallon of water just in my car during a hot summer day. I leave it in the parking lot and the windows rolled up. in the heat of the sun, the water evaporates in my car.

When I get back, I drive away, roll down windows, etc, quickly blow air out.

Overall, my car will be cooler, right? Like, more heat would be trapped in the humid air in the car than absorbed by like the upholstry thsi way.

The humidity will probably make your car's electrical system breed gremlins...

 

[LTC8K6]

Does your car have a cabin air filter that is 8 years old?

 

[CA19100]

I'm one of those weirdos who doesn't like air conditioning.

As has already been said, why not turn the temperature knob up a little bit? It's not like a house thermostat where the whole thing cycles on and off. Turning the valve just mixes some warm air in with the cold; I usually do that (a couple clicks off of full-cold) once the car has cooled down.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Careful when you check your AC, a mouse could pop out :whiste:

 

[phucheneh]

Evaporative cooler = no defroster and death-mold in vents.

A sealed refrigerant-based system works best for environments that can be closed off. Hence its use in...refrigerators. And cars. And buildings. And reefer units (cold trailers). Ect.

Evaporative/swamp coolers are good for shops because they don't generate heat that must be dumped somewhere, and they only use a small amount of power for a small water pump (plus a fan). Protip: If you want a cheap shop fan, get a blower out of a household AC unit. There are boneyards for them. It also probably makes a good meat grinder. Don't stick your arm in it.

 

[Pulsar]

Kind of a dumb theoretical...

but while thinking about swamp cooling...

Let's say I leave a tray with like 1 gallon of water just in my car during a hot summer day. I leave it in the parking lot and the windows rolled up. in the heat of the sun, the water evaporates in my car.

When I get back, I drive away, roll down windows, etc, quickly blow air out.

Overall, my car will be cooler, right? Like, more heat would be trapped in the humid air in the car than absorbed by like the upholstry thsi way.

No.

The evaporated water will simply increase the thermal storage properties of the air inside the car. That doesn't affect how much your energy your dashboard or other interior components can store. Everything in your car will reach the same steady state temperature with or without the water. For instance, if the car interior (dashboards, etc) reached 110F without the water, they'll still reach 110F with the water. They still store the same amount of heat energy. So cycling wet air at 110F out will be no different than cycling the dry air at 110F out. They're both at 110F, so no additional transfer from the other components to the air will take place.

 

[Zenmervolt]

No.

The evaporated water will simply increase the thermal storage properties of the air inside the car. That doesn't affect how much your energy your dashboard or other interior components can store. Everything in your car will reach the same steady state temperature with or without the water. For instance, if the car interior (dashboards, etc) reached 110F without the water, they'll still reach 110F with the water. They still store the same amount of heat energy. So cycling wet air at 110F out will be no different than cycling the dry air at 110F out. They're both at 110F, so no additional transfer from the other components to the air will take place.

And the humidity will get trapped in seat foam and the like which will eventually breed mold and cause some annoying problems.

ZV

 

[Throckmorton]

As has already been said, why not turn the temperature knob up a little bit? It's not like a house thermostat where the whole thing cycles on and off. Turning the valve just mixes some warm air in with the cold; I usually do that (a couple clicks off of full-cold) once the car has cooled down.

This is exactly why I like manual air conditioning. I hated the my 1996 BMW because of A) the stupid late 80s "futuristic" tech for the sake of tech buttons and B) the fact it had a thermostat. The car doesn't really know what temperature I'm feeling. The Mustang's simple old fashioned manual knobs are much better. But now tech for the sake of tech has made a comeback and cars have touchscreen controlled AC

 

[RPD]

Working your cars AC, apparently harder than it seems.

 

[Zenmervolt]

This is exactly why I like manual air conditioning. I hated the my 1996 BMW because of A) the stupid late 80s "futuristic" tech for the sake of tech buttons and B) the fact it had a thermostat.

Even the "automatic" HVAC units in cars like your '96 BMW use blend doors. They don't just cycle between full-cold and off. The automatic climate control in my '98 Volvo (a design going back to the introduction of the model in '91) varies the vent temperature based on the differential between the desired temperature set point and the temperature sensed by the system's thermostat.

The automatic system in my '86 944 functions the same way. It's not a new development.

You're misunderstanding how the automatic systems work.

ZV

 

[LTC8K6]

Yes, the auto climate control in my 2008 Jeep uses a blend door. The system seems to work fine. It has a couple of sensors to try to determine what it should do. I rarely have to touch it. I turn it to a little cooler in the summer and a little warmer in the winter and that's about it.

It can also be used in manual mode if I want.

It rarely does the wrong thing. It's not perfect, though.

 

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

I'm currently living in a country where automotive swamp-coolers are still available. The usual setup is a roof-mounted unit, often with an integrated water canister like the old-school ones, or a split setup with the water canister mounted in any other spot at the user's requirement.

In this Kia truck, the roof-mounted module is the swamp-cooler itself, while the white round canister under the cab is for the water.

Since it's easier to install it into vehicles with a pop-up roof hatch, its usage is actually more restricted to medium and heavy-duty trucks, and agricultural machinery. Smaller vehicles can be also fitted with such device, altough it would require a roof opening.

On a sidenote, this Chevy truck from late 80s is operating in Florianópolis island, which is not really so dry.

Currently they're also prevalent in cash-transit vans nationwide.

 

[nerp]

Automatic climate control these days has improved. I don't like a freezing cold A/C blast on me either, but in my current car, keeping it on auto and temp at 75 seems to keep it nice and comfortable without any sensation of air conditioned air blowing on me. The system will roar if I start it after it has been sitting in a parking lot on a hot day, but once the temperature comes down and the dash and seats, etc, stop radiating tons of heat, it settles down and you can't hear it anymore.

What I like about it is I don't have to futz with defrost or anything. I guess it senses when it needs to clear the windows if it's really damp. And when it's very dry out and chilly, the a/c isn't running if it doesn't have to - just warm air. Keeping my cabin air filter fresh and clean keeps the air coming out smelling like nothing —*i hate deodorizers and air 'fresheners'

 

[LTC8K6]

Yeah, it becomes something operating quietly in the background and you don't notice it's even going on. Only rarely do I have to do anything. The cabin is just comfortable most of the time.