Mini Solar Air-Conditioner (a.k.a Swamp cooler) by ANDY!
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Here's an Instructable to make a simple, cheap, and energy efficient air conditioner with basic materials, and should cost less than $5. How it works is evaporating water in the
A/C (air-conditioner) pulls heat away, making the inside cold. The fan sucks air through the A/C, making the air cold. The warmer it gets, the more effective this A/C gets.
And it's easy on your wallet!

The materials are:
-popsicle sticks (about 20)
-cooling fan from computer
-solar panel, batteries, or other low voltage power source
-cloth that absorbs well
-scissors
-hot glue and a glue gun
-water
 
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Step 1: Cooling fan... Meet the popsicle sticks.

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You can get cooling fans free from computer repair shops and are in power supplies.
Once you find a suitable one (bigger ther better), stick six popsicle stick like the picture below.
You can trim the round ends with scissors if you want.
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Faquad says: Jun 8, 2010. 11:46 PM
does the fan blow UP or DOWN into the cloth?
ANDY! (author) says: Jun 16, 2010. 8:55 PM
down, where ever the cloth is
paqrat says: Jul 24, 2012. 11:00 PM
Wouldn't this work better if the fan pulled air through the cloth? You'd have to seal everything offso the air was being drawn through the cloth. Also if you used a highly absorbant fabric and placed the ends of it in a pan of water wouldn't it tend to keep itself wet as long as there was water for it to soak up? To those who say this type of cooler won't work in high humidity I would mention that here, in Louisiana, we have high humidity most of the time and, before the advent of the air conditioners that use freon, evaporative cooling was used extensively. In some older towns you may still see the cooling towers on top of some of the buildings. Of course it was not as efficient as the freon type but it was all that was available and it made a huge difference from the outside, un-airconditioned air.
ANDY! (author) says: Jul 30, 2012. 5:26 PM
Pushing air through works much better. Try blowing something over by exhaling, and then try to knock it over by inhaling. Which is easier?
solpredator says: May 23, 2011. 10:58 AM
There is a company right now selling "water making" machines that work best in hot, dry climates. I don't fully understand how it works yet (currently studying it) but am wanting to design my own version of this for home use. I live in Florida (Gulf-side) and from what I can see this machine would work here too.
I know it has something to do with De-humidifier and air conditioning condensation. I'm not soliciting info from other users or selling this product, just wanting to stir up some interest in our community for different design builds and open-source instructions for such a thing. ;)
ZPritz says: Mar 15, 2012. 6:11 PM
The only problem with that type of cooling unit is that it requires the hot dry air to evaporate the water in your system. Sometimes those units use a corrugated material that absorbs water. Air passes through the holes in it and that air evaporates the water soaked into it. The water that is evaporating cools the air passing through.

I was in the USCG at a small boat station on Fort Myers Beach. We tried this type of cooler when turning wrenches in the hot engine room. Only problem was that with the HIGH humidity on the gulf coast, the cooling effect was minimal at best. Basically we used it as a $600 fan. These evaporative coolers wont work when the humidity is high (which is about 90% of the time on the Florida Gulf Coast).

Hope that helps!
ugv7821 says: Oct 8, 2011. 7:58 AM
Sounds cool, I´ll try to find some info and come back :)
wkahlich says: Oct 1, 2011. 8:49 PM
how do you connect the fan from a power source? i pulled one out of an old computer(laptop) and the connecter is just a white plug....
casey321b says: Nov 14, 2011. 12:46 PM
5v is what you need. If you're not too handy with electronics, try using 3 AA batteries, and attaching them to it in a linear sequence..
Batteries should look like [+||||||||||-][+||||||||||-][+||||||||||-]
It should say on the battery, but the positive end is the one with the nub, and the negative is the one without it. Make sure the ends are touching and using some packing or duct tape to keep them together. Then, use some wire to connect it to the fan. It should have two or three wires on it. Red or white are positive, and black is negative. If there is a third wire, like you said in the other post, it is ground. Those are typically green, or in your case, yellow.
Ignore that wire.
It should work when you attach the wires. If you would want it to be more powerful, you can most likely use four AA batteries to get 6 volts. It will be fine. Don't use any more than that, though.
ANDY! (author) says: Oct 2, 2011. 10:17 PM
If there are two wires, Try putting a battery on them and switch the polarities if it doesn't work the first time. Good luck!
wkahlich says: Oct 4, 2011. 3:28 PM
what should i do if there are three :) there is one yellow one black and one red
chuanlu says: Jul 22, 2012. 10:36 AM
Just keep rotating the wires thru the various possible pairings. You won't hurt the motor or yourself. Experimentation is the best way to learn. :-)
ANDY! (author) says: Oct 5, 2011. 6:49 PM
I am going to suppose the red is + and the black is -.
The yellow wire is a ground or something. You don't need to wire it to anything but you can attach it to the black wire if you want. Good luck!
teenuvibhav says: Jul 15, 2011. 10:00 AM
Verry Good EXP. I like your exepiriment verry much.
Exelent
jignesh shah says: Sep 5, 2010. 8:14 AM
does this thing work in humid areas, in mumbai we have more than 85% humidity all round the year so it's importamt to know .can anyone please inform me.
Swix says: Jul 14, 2011. 12:15 AM
no it wont work for you... humidity must less then 50% because of evaporation try to make one like mine: http://youtu.be/jla5s_A11Pc
Hibiscus says: Jul 13, 2011. 7:49 PM
I personally add a small amount of detergent to the water before soaking the cloth. Then the breeze is not only cooler, but it is also fresher smelling!
MadScientist101 says: Mar 1, 2011. 8:41 AM
is there a more effective way or is using clothe the best?
ANDY! (author) says: Mar 13, 2011. 5:45 PM
I'm not sure, maybe something with a lot of surface area.
msageng says: Nov 22, 2010. 9:31 AM
Determining the effectiveness of evaporative cooling systems is quite simple. Psychrometrics is the study of moist air interactions, and simple calculations will allow you to determine operating characteristics over a range of condtions. The wet-bulb temperature determines the effectiveness of evaporative cooling. Effectiveness is negatively correlated with wet-bulb; as wet bulb increases, the achievable temperature drop decreases.

Using a thermometer and hygrometer, determine the temperature and relative humidity of the ambient air feeding into the cooler. Find a psychrometrics calculator or chart (like ASHRAE #1) online and use it to determine the wet-bulb temperature. You'll likely see a temperature drop of 50-75% of the wet bulb depression.

These don't work well in humid climates (coastal areas, especially). In the southern U.S. where cooling design conditions are in the range of 95 F (dry bulb) with a coincident wet bulb temperature of 77 F, the theoretical best you could achieve would be 77 F, but is usually in the range of 80 F, depending on the cooling efficiency of the system. I'd suspect that this system would be quite inefficient, owing to the ill-defined flow paths and heat gain from the fan motor.
Moonlight27 says: Nov 14, 2010. 8:28 AM
where does the fan blow?
Dr.Bill says: May 14, 2009. 2:52 AM
Ya did alright Andy. Ya got the right idea. I saw one of these on a much larger scale being used to keep food refridgerated and right now mine is keeping me nicely refridgerated.
beehard44 says: Oct 24, 2010. 6:40 AM
terra cotta beverage cooler...
i built one before
diylover_1234 says: May 29, 2009. 6:04 PM
I made this entire thing and I used hot glue and after about 2 hours the whole thing fell apart. DON'T USE HOT GLUE!!!!
NinjaJay says: Jul 10, 2009. 8:06 PM
Just an aside about hot glue--after various little projects, I've concluded that silicone (as purchased in a caulking tube for ~ $2) is far superior glue to hot glue. Yes, hot glue goes on fast, but the big drawbacks are: 1) pain, and 2) it rarely holds.
Give silicone a try. It generally dries to a workable hold in a couple hours, completely in 24 hrs (probably overstating drying times). Another nice thing about a tube of silicone is that, even if you leave half a tube sitting for months, only the tip is dried out. Give a squeeze to the caulk gun, and it comes flowing again.

beehard44 says: Oct 24, 2010. 6:39 AM
dude are your projects very greasy? hot glue works! maybe you use the glue while the gun is not yet hot enough
ANDY! (author) says: Jul 18, 2009. 7:35 PM
thanx. i have high quality hot glue. cost more
talkingjazz says: Jun 7, 2009. 8:19 AM
Use elastic bands! Fix a couple around the fan and sticks at the top and it will hold the shape well enough (as long as you don't kick it or anything) and of cause you can re-use all the bits after.
lemminggenocide says: Jul 18, 2009. 2:10 AM
"Use elastic bands" stick to jazz. just kidding, although I don't think that they would be strong enough without glue or another joining medium. But I'm probably wrong LG
ANDY! (author) says: Jun 3, 2009. 3:56 PM
It did for me.
beehard44 says: Oct 24, 2010. 6:32 AM
i made the same thing except i used a plastic cup with a tissue core (fancy way of saying putting a roll of tissue in the center) it cools! which is weird here in the humid conditions of Philippines.
greenlife says: Jul 17, 2010. 9:54 AM
funny idea. we have solar air conditioner for sell. Solar Air Conditioner CE Certification Electricity-saving 60% to 70% in Summer Electricity-saving 30% to 40% in Winter Running at -5 to 53 celsius degree Superior to frequency conversion air conditioner Solar Air Conditiner Cooling only/cooling&heating O-zone friendly freon 1,High efficiently,energy-saving,comfortable and money saving. 2,Durable and long-lived,smooth running. 3,Low-loaded operation of the compressor to extend its duration. 4,Healthy and comfortable 5,It is not frequency conversion air conditioner but superior to it. 6,Super luxurious appearance 7,Automatic open and close dustproof air outlet. 8,Easy installation
ringo1 says: Sep 22, 2010. 6:08 PM
how much is your solar air conditioner Is this actualy an air conditioner or a swamp cooler
greenlife says: Oct 20, 2010. 9:44 AM
our solar air conditioner is actully air conditioner
ANDY! (author) says: Jul 17, 2010. 11:35 AM
are you going to give me credit and royalty? ;)
gafar musa says: Aug 10, 2010. 6:07 AM
very interesting,i av bn lookin for some like this. i will try to build min.cooooool
pancho del rancho says: Sep 22, 2009. 5:59 PM
i have a fan from a ps2 the fats but im not sure what is its voltage can u help me out SOMEONE PLZZZ
toogers says: Jul 19, 2010. 11:31 AM
run it at 5v or less. i suggest using a POT switch (a turning switch) to save battery/use max performance.
Chromatica says: Oct 1, 2009. 1:06 PM
any voltage beneath 3v and slowly move your way up stop when it doesn't get any faster
ANDY! (author) says: Jul 12, 2010. 1:04 PM
it was cloth for wiping cars. It said it held a lot of water.
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