Forum Index > Full Moon Saloon > Air Conditioning Solutions
 Reply to topic
Previous :: Next Topic
Author Message
MCaver
Founder



Joined: 14 Dec 2001
Posts: 5124 | TRs | Pics
MCaver
Founder
PostMon Jul 28, 2003 10:01 pm 
Ok, I have to find some way of keeping my apartment cool before I melt completely or go insane. There seem to be three options, other than just dealing with it (which isn't an option): 1. Get a window unit air conditioner. 2. Get a portable (floor unit) air conditioner. 3. Get an evaprative cooling unit (aka swamp cooler). The sensible solution is #1, but unfortunately my apartment complex forbids it. Don't even get me started on that one. I have extreme reservations about #3 because I've heard they don't really work. So that leaves #2. The problem is that the cheapest portable unit I've seen is $400 or so. (I don't get that. Why would a window unit be $100 and the same power floor unit be $500? They do the same thing!) Any solutions I'm missing here? Someone has suggested the redneck way of buying a window unit and putting it on a table, then rigging up a hose to pipe the hot air outside. This avoids the apartment complex window unit ban by technicallity and effecively creates a cheaper floor unit, if I can rig it up right (I'm from Texas, so redneck come naturally). Any other ideas? I've got to do something...

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Damian
Member
Member


Joined: 18 Dec 2001
Posts: 3260 | TRs | Pics
Damian
Member
PostMon Jul 28, 2003 10:15 pm 
Whatever happened to those good old swamp coolers? My grandpa had one in his corner grocery store in Wenatchee when I was a kid. It was a big ol honker but it kept that place dang cool on a hot Wenatchee day. I remember seeing them around back then and they seemed pretty effective. I even remember seeing a model that fit into your car window, complete with water resevoir on top. It had a ram air inlet, so it only worked when the car was moving. Talk about red neck. M- For a low cost evaporative cooling system, you might consider getting naked and pouring acetone all over your body.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
MCaver
Founder



Joined: 14 Dec 2001
Posts: 5124 | TRs | Pics
MCaver
Founder
PostMon Jul 28, 2003 10:19 pm 
Damian wrote:
Whatever happened to those good old swamp coolers?
I don't think the name "swamp cooler" helps sales much, so I think they changed the name. I've seen swamp coolers mentioned in my research and they seem to be calling them "portable air coolers" now. Basically, they cool by super-evaporation by running compressed air over a water resevior. Sort of like a high speed humidifier. They advertise that they can cool dry air 12 degrees in a 7 foot radius. They only run about $80 or so and I've considered buying one, but I've found nothing but bad reviews of them on the net.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Allison
Feckless Swooner



Joined: 17 Dec 2001
Posts: 12287 | TRs | Pics
Location: putting on my Nikes before the comet comes
Allison
Feckless Swooner
PostMon Jul 28, 2003 10:21 pm 
Duh, it's like 80. Sleep nekkid, and if it's too hot, run a fan over a tray of ice or cold water. At least Halliburton and friends don't own you here. rolleyes.gif

www.allisonoutside.com follow me on Twitter! @AllisonLWoods
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Alan Bauer
Member
Member


Joined: 11 Jan 2002
Posts: 942 | TRs | Pics
Location: Fall City, Washington
Alan Bauer
Member
PostMon Jul 28, 2003 10:31 pm 
We had one of the portable air coolers that we used for 4 years at our old house. It worked very well...much better than I ever thought it would. It took about 15 minutes to absorb the moisture into the coil things from the water that was dumped in, but then it was great for cooling down the bedroom to sleep well in! You crack open the window behind it to get air flow. Not a solution for trying to satisfy multiple rooms, but that isn't your situation either so it may be worthwhile. I'd think about selling ours to you but we use it at our cabin when it is >80 inside the place during the summer (lots of glass = lots of heat inside). Alas, building our new home in Fall City 6 years ago made my choice easy: A/C !! Again, while many will say you don't need it here, we have a lot of glass and even a 65 degree day in April full of sun will get it 77-78 degrees in our house in areas. We'd fry w/o it at this house.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Malachai Constant
Member
Member


Joined: 13 Jan 2002
Posts: 16088 | TRs | Pics
Location: Back Again Like A Bad Penny
Malachai Constant
Member
PostMon Jul 28, 2003 10:35 pm 
Swamp coolers work well if there is low humidity. We had them at China Lake in the desert 10% max. and they were fine. They utterly fail in high humidity however.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
MCaver
Founder



Joined: 14 Dec 2001
Posts: 5124 | TRs | Pics
MCaver
Founder
PostMon Jul 28, 2003 10:36 pm 
marylou wrote:
if it's too hot, run a fan over a tray of ice or cold water.
Tried that and it failed miserably. The ice might as well not even have been there. Plus, I need a whole room solution. I think you seriously underestimate what a Heat Wimp* I am. dizzy.gif *Courtesy of Tom

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Hiker Chick
Member
Member


Joined: 22 Jun 2003
Posts: 774 | TRs | Pics
Location: Noriega's Bar, Panama
Hiker Chick
Member
PostMon Jul 28, 2003 10:37 pm 
The only problem with swamp coolers is that it really raises the humidity in your house. Our friends had one in Texas (West- where it was really dry) and they had all sorts of mold/moisture problems. Other than that, I don't know what to tell you. I would probably buy a floor unit, but try and get one used maybe. $400 is a lot to spend!

If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in the dark with a mosquito. Silence is golden and duct tape is silver. I don't write trip reports.
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Campy Nolo
Guest




Campy Nolo
Guest
PostMon Jul 28, 2003 10:54 pm 
How 'bout goin' campin'? Cooler in them thar hills y'know.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote View IP address of poster
MCaver
Founder



Joined: 14 Dec 2001
Posts: 5124 | TRs | Pics
MCaver
Founder
PostMon Jul 28, 2003 10:56 pm 
Campy Nolo wrote:
How 'bout goin' campin'? Cooler in them thar hills y'know.
I don' reckon my boss'd take too kindly t' that, nosiree.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
jenjen
Moderatrix



Joined: 30 Jun 2003
Posts: 7617 | TRs | Pics
Location: Sierra stylin
jenjen
Moderatrix
PostMon Jul 28, 2003 11:07 pm 
I vote for buying the window air conditioner and putting it on a table. Just be sure and use dryer hose for the exhaust and you should be fine. I'm grew up on a farm, so redneck comes pretty natural to me too.

If life gives you melons - you might be dyslexic
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
mb
Member
Member


Joined: 11 Aug 2002
Posts: 507 | TRs | Pics
mb
Member
PostMon Jul 28, 2003 11:23 pm 
put your bed or couch next to the window. then arrange windows/fans to draw air into the bedroom (may mean closing other windows and turning on a fan). get a cieling fan... so much nicer than a table-top fan. but probably unwelcome in an apartment. (my previous apt. had one in the bedroom. my current one has one in the kitchen.) humidity is 50% right now. don't know how well a swamp cooler works in that much humidity. but i wouldn't worry too much about total humidity, you'll only need it for a few weeks.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
mb
Member
Member


Joined: 11 Aug 2002
Posts: 507 | TRs | Pics
mb
Member
PostMon Jul 28, 2003 11:30 pm 
just had an idea for the true creative solution. do you have a patio near your bedroom? get a car air conditioner. stick the compressor outside with a small electric drive. stick the expansion coils in your bedroom with the fan from the car. hook it all up. of course you'll have to get the right hoses and some refrigerant. but that's more likely to work than trying to retrofit a window air conditioner to think it's outside (they have often have vents on 2-4 sides outside, you'd have to put it in a big box then force-vent that.)

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
jenjen
Moderatrix



Joined: 30 Jun 2003
Posts: 7617 | TRs | Pics
Location: Sierra stylin
jenjen
Moderatrix
PostMon Jul 28, 2003 11:45 pm 
No no no, heres what you do. On a window air conditioner the radiator is always on the back. A fan sucks air in from the sides. Duck tape a cardboard box to the back, leave a couple of inches to allow air flow and get 2 or 3 dryer vent kits. Use those to duct the air out the window. (use the rest of the box and tape to make the window insert). Just how many ducks are used in each roll of tape anyway? Just curious.

If life gives you melons - you might be dyslexic
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!



Joined: 27 Mar 2003
Posts: 16874 | TRs | Pics
Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
PostMon Jul 28, 2003 11:50 pm 
Michael, we have a floor model that Tanja bought about 5 years ago but was only used one+ summer since our house in Lynnwood stays cool under the trees. It is 9,000 BTU, very quiet, no bucket to empty since it re-evaporates the condensate into the exhaust, and was expensive at about $600. Tanja was going to trade it to an artist friend of hers but decided to keep it instead (guess why). The point is that for the $250 in trade Tanja was going to get for it, you should be able to get a similar model from someone else. They have advantages over window models beyond being allowed anywhere. They can be moved from room to room easily as they have wheels. They are typically more powerful than the cheapest window units. They can be placed on a piece of thick carpet to reduce vibration to very low levels, lower than units perched in a window. They make it easier to close and lock windows on the ground floor when you are away. Ours is called the Wind Chaser, and is a quality product.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
   All times are GMT - 8 Hours
 Reply to topic
Forum Index > Full Moon Saloon > Air Conditioning Solutions
  Happy Birthday speyguy, Bandanabraids!
Jump to:   
Search this topic:

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum