DIY Water Misting System

DIY Water Misting System

Have you ever been outside on one of those really hot summer days?

You want to spend time outside with your friends but the sun keeps you staying inside.

I’m going to show you a great way to make a heavy duty mister so you can enjoy the outdoors during those hot days.

Watch Video Version Here:

Misters are great because they provide enough water to keep but cool but do not soak your clothing.

I wanted this set up to fit under a 10 by 10 canopy tent, but this can be modified to work with any porch or building with a hose connection nearby.

I also wanted it to be easily disconnected and transported to other locations.

Items Needed:

- 10 x 10 Canopy

- (5) 1/2 inch PVC Pipe

- (4) 1/2 inch Elbows

- (4) 1/2 inch Screw-together Couplings

- (1) On/Off valve

- (1) 1/2 inch End cap

- (1) 1/2 inch PVC Hose Connector

- (20) Copper Screw-in Misting Tips

- Drill bit / Thread maker

- PVC glue

- PVC Cutters

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If you would like the video version of this Instructable and the embedded video does not appear, here is an alternative link.

Use of content for personal projects is at your own risk.

Step 1: Preparing the Pipes

Preparing the Pipes

I started with some 1/2 inch PVC pipe since it is easily available at most home improvement stores.

I also purchased some small copper screw-in misting tips that provide about a half a gallon of vapor per hour.

The first step was to measure the canopy, and the best mounting locations turned out to be at 9 feet 6 inches.

So that will be the length on each of the four side pipes.

To connect each corner I decided to use an elbow and a screw together coupling.

The coupling will allow for easy disassembly.

When gluing these pieces together I made sure the female end of all the couplings were attached to the elbows.

This will help ensure the pipes are universal to each other I then glued them to the pipes.

Next I measured the needed 9 and ½ feet on the pipes, made a mark and then trimmed the sides.

Step 2: Installing the Misting Nozzles

Installing the Misting Nozzles

Next up was drilling the holes for each of the misters.

To make this easier, I used a drill bit with the correct thread pattern (built in) to make this a 1 step process.

I found this drill bit on Amazon if you are interested:

http://amzn.to/2tkfoye (affiliate link)

Misters on Amazon:

http://amzn.to/2sNtvL8 (affiliate link)

I made several measurements and ended up drilling in five locations on each pipe at 27”, 39”, 57”, 75”, and 93” inches.

I also angled the pipes slightly so the sprayers would spray inward toward the center of the tent.

This would allow for and even distribution of mist for everyone under the tent.

When drilling each hole I had to work slowly to make sure not to overheat the plastic so it would not deform the threads.

This worked well enough that I could insert and screw each nozzle by hand.

Step 3: Adapting to a Hose

Adapting to a Hose

I then decided to add a 5th pipe facing down on one corner to easily connect the water source.

To do that I needed a hose adapter.

This can easily be found in the sprinkler section at most home improvement stores.

I also up graded the adapter by replacing the current rubber washer to a filter version to help prevent debris from clogging the misters.

In the vertical pipe I also added an on off valve so the water could be shut off quickly if needed.

At the top of this pipe I added an additional screw together coupling just in case I needed to modify it in the future.

The pipes were nearly complete.

I just needed to add an end cap to only one of the horizontal pipes to cap off the water flow out of the series of pipes.

Step 4: Hanging to Use

Hanging to Use

It was now time to hang the set up on the canopy using some zip ties.

The zip ties worked well and allowed some adjustment as needed which made the system easy to assemble.

I then glued the remaining connections making sure the angle of the misters stayed at the appropriate locations.

I also glued the vertical pipe and strapped it to one of the legs of the tent.

After giving the glue some time to dry it was read for a test.

For the first test there was a little bit of leaking at the screw connections. So I added some Teflon tape in between some of these joints, and it worked great.

All of the parts worked well together and the best part was the ease of disassembly.

Just unscrew the joints and cut the zip ties.

Then you can easily store the pipes in a car to transport.

This is an awesome project to make and my friends loved using it.

If you liked this project make sure to hit the like button and tell us about it in the comments.

Have fun building!

Comments

[pgs070947]

Where I live in a water stressed area, the water company would take a dim view of using what I presume is potable water for keeping cool.

Using drinking water for non-essential uses like sprinkling lawns etc. would immediately attract the compulsory fttting of a water meter.

If it's so hot where you are, there must be water shortages, so waste it like that?

[catprog.]

Each nozzle uses about 2Litres/hour

[matthewdabomb]

Is there a way that I can install mist nozzle on a PVC clear vinyl tube?

[DaleB77]

Any chance of seeing the nozzles in action? Would like to see what kind of misting occurs. Thanks.

[SpecificLove]

Just watch the video listed at the beginning

[Lynn Livingston]

I don't want to rain on your project, but since I have built several of these over the years I just want to point out a few things I've struggled with.

Without getting too complicated in explanation, mister systems work best when the water droplet size is so small it is actually vapor, and not mist at all. In order to get this, I've found through much experimentation, that it takes a LOT of pressure, and low volume, to get it there. It's not easy or inexpensive to do it either.

With your system, you will soon find that everything under the canopy will be wet in time. On humid days, it will increase dramatically, as on cooler days. Any wind at all and nothing in the area will be dry. I have experienced this many times with the nozzles your are using with up to 400 PSI, and also much more expensive "professional" misting nozzles at this pressure level.

I've tried high pressure and high velocity fans to disperse the droplets from these nozzles you are using to some degree of success, and pumps from a few hundred PSI all the way to a 1000 PSI pump. The 1000 PSI low volume pump was by far the best performing, demonstrably coolest vapor that I have been able to achieve. It also was the only one that will run for several hours and you and everything under the canopy will stay dry, and wonderfully cooler than the ambient temp by about 12 degrees tops. However, the wind chill inherent in a good vapor system (even at 100 deg) will make you "feel" cooler.

Now, if you don't need it to be portable, there are some other tricks I wanted to try out, such as homemade water chillers downstream of the pump (which inherently add heat to the vapor). But alas, speed costs money, how fast do you want to go? And the faster you go, further progress nets smaller gains but costs much more.

When I compared what I'd spent (some things I did find as junk), not counting the hours involved I could have just bought a commercial unit with a warranty : ) Although I did spread the cost out over several years of on-again-off-again experimentation. Oh the price of not being an engineer! : )

Thanks for the ible, I did learn from it and I appreciate you sharing it. Best to you.

[joseph.kelarjian]

Wonderful Instructable! For the sequel, I suggest you come up with a portable unit?

[ajayt7]

Great idea

[seamster]

Very nicely done!

I built a similar set-up to use with our shade canopy several years ago. It's a great little project and once you're using it, you wonder how you survived without it!

Great video, and great write-up too!

[SpecificLove]

Thank you very much

[maverick500]

This is a great idea and since my deck is near my drip irrigation system, it should be a breeze (pun intended) to install. One question, if you are gluing the corners, how is it disassembled?

[SpecificLove]

That is why I used the screw together connectors are the corners.