# Combining a swamp cooler and a water cooler



## The Hemp Goddess (Aug 10, 2007)

I have one of those old office water coolers that use 5 gal bottles.  It works very well.  I have a swamp cooler that works mediocre because the water gets warm, but it puts much needed humidity into the room.   

I know that I can connect the outlet from the water cooler to the float valve on the swamp cooler.  I live in such a hot dry place that controlling temps without robbing your room of moisture can be a problem.  It seems logical that cold water in the swamp cooler would do a better job of cooling.  I figure that I can figure out some kind of float for the 5 gal container, hooked to the RO....

Has anyone done this?  Do you think it would work?  Suggestions?  Improvements?


----------



## ktownlegend (Aug 10, 2007)

its possible, but i'd probly just get a portable AC, and humidifier/de-humidifier. might cost u a few bucks at first but will pay for itself after the first harvest. 

never bothered to use water for cooling.


----------



## Stoney Bud (Aug 10, 2007)

ktownlegend said:
			
		

> its possible, but i'd probly just get a portable AC, and humidifier/de-humidifier. might cost u a few bucks at first but will pay for itself after the first harvest.
> 
> never bothered to use water for cooling.


 
In very hot, dry places like Nevada in the summer, there is virtually no humidity. A "Swamp Cooler" is a box with fiber mats around it that have water drizzling down through the mats. Air is pulled through the mats and the evaporative effect causes the air to be humidified and much cooler. This is drawn into the house and cools very well. The additional humidity makes it nicer too.

Typical air conditioning will take even more humidity out of the air and it costs WAY more to operate because of the compressor in the unit.

Hemp Goddess, I don't think you'll gain much in cooling. The compressor in the water cooler will jack up your electric as well. It would run almost continuously.

You might adjust the flow rate on your return in the swamp cooler. That will keep the water slightly cooler by using more and calling for re-filling.

I've thought about using a swamp cooler as a air pre-cooler for an air conditioner. That would drop the intake air to the a/c unit by 20 degrees before using it. That would almost have to increase the efficiency.

Good luck. Let us all know how it works when you try your experiment.


----------



## Cannabis (Aug 14, 2007)

Hemp Goddess, there are a lot of unknowns here, but one thing that isn't an unknown, is that supplying that reservoir with that cooler's output, is the least energy efficient method you can come up with, dear.

It isn't known if the swamp cooler's big enough to do the job on the room. 

It is known, that the ventilation isn't sufficient for whatever cooler is in place, because in a properly deployed cooler, the water in it's reservoir gets * c o l d* - NOT hot. 

It reaches a temperature called the 'wet bulb' temperature, and that temperature is defined as the coldest you can get an object, by getting it wet, and blowing air over it, evaporating off the water: in this case that 'object' is the reservoir of water in a swamp cooler.

First start proper ventilation. If the cooler can keep the room properly cool, when properly deployed, fine. 

Of course properly deployed means, drawing dry air in from out of that room, and never letting it slow down, venting it out: not letting it hang out and re-dump it's thermal load back onto the solid objects in the room.

The humidity and the temperature are two different subjects: and, a properly deployed swamp cooler can only give you about a 45% or 50% humidity out the front: there are reasons, i'm not gonna go into it;

If you have a properly deployed swamp cooler, and you desire a 'higher than 45 or 50%' relative humidity, at that point you'll need to get one of those misters they sell for patios, etc, and deploy that in the room. It's deployment is it's own  subject.

But the cooler dear, is not a good idea. That, being central to the question, i will address.

Firstly you'll have to dump not only the heat of running the compressor, but the heat off the water out of the ground, that it cools: somewhere. Secondly unless the water out of the compressor is in a very well insulated tubing, which i do not doubt you could do - it will absorb heat from the surrounding air before it even makes it to the swamp cooler: and it'll be a net gain of very small advantage: since 1/4 inch tube is usually black it'll try to absorb heat- hard. The tubing would need to be short: and well insulated. 

Even then, you're not gonna be able to achieve good results: because of the nature of the problem at hand, and  the nature of a compressor style water cooler. 

I wish you good luck, and it would be nice to know: the size of the fan on the swamp cooler, the size of the room; the number of light watts, and where you're drawing the air from, for the swamp cooler; also, the quantity of air out: if that water is getting hot, it's obvious there's very little air out, for the room. 

The swamp cooler properly deployed, whether it's big enough to cool the room or not, will never give a relative humidity out of it's front face, over about 45 or so percent. In order for the cooler to be run at max efficiency, you have to have dry air in, and equal air out of the room, not re-using the air. 

If you use a mister system, it will function as a cooling unit, on it's own: but you will need to deploy properly and very skillfully to avoid mold issues with one; what you really need is a big-enough swamp cooler, and  some skillful mister deployment. 

The mister deployment needed to achieve proper 70 % humidities, and not by the nature of how it's done, create a mold likelihood, would be a separate issue, unto itself.

Good luck Hemp Goddess


----------

