How well will this work?

[Echo_X]

Fan. Copper tubing, Plastic tubing, Ice Chest, fountain pump, Zipties, Hose clamps.

 

Loop the copper wire over the outer rim of the fan. I have a specific technique in mind but lack the ability to describe it, so imagine a spiral towards the middle.

 

Join the tube onto the fan with zip ties.

 

Atatch plastic tubes to the copper pipe with hose clamps. Drill two holes into cooler, prefferably on the side instead of the lid.

 

Feed in the "outlet" hose into one of the cooler holes.

 

Attach the fountain pump to the the "inlet" hose.

 

Atatch another "feeder" hose to the pump, and slide it down to the bottom of the ice chest, securing it with water safe glue, or, an anchor of some sort. perhaps one of those bricks with a hole through it.

 

Fill chest about 1/4 way with water. add ice... <using a filter of some sort to keep ice from clogging the line might be s good idea>.

 

Turn on pump. turn on fan.....

 

Will it work?

[Credit Please]

whats the plan?

[Quit Screwing Me]

Yes.....it will work. There are a number of plans exactly like that demonstrated on YouTube.

[Credit Please]

Yes.....it will work. There are a number of plans exactly like that demonstrated on YouTube.

 

So, it was a rhitorical question, I see.

[Tigz]

er......what are we making? If it is a space ship....well, I don't want to know who the passenger will be.

[Echo_X]

Yes.....it will work. There are a number of plans exactly like that demonstrated on YouTube.

 

So, it was a rhitorical question, I see.

 

I meant would it be functional. Its kind of like a jerryrigged air conditioner. The ice water draws heat out of the air flowing around the pipes, cooling it, additionally the pipes condense, the air flow causes the condensation toe vaporate, further cooling the air. It is a sound theory. but I do not know if it will actually work or not.

[Echo_X]

er......what are we making? If it is a space ship....well, I don't want to know who the passenger will be.

 

Perhaps I am trying to create a ship to assist something in returning to it's home planet of Uranus?

[Quit Screwing Me]

There is an even better, cheaper, easier and less messier way to do this though.

 

Get a large styrofoam cooler. Just a couple bucks.

Get a cheap, 5", 9", whatever size fan. Just one of those little desktop ones. Just a couple bucks.

Save about a dozen milk cartons or jugs after use.

 

Fill the styrofoam cooler with frozen jugs.....use half of them. Cut two holes in the top of the styrofoam cooler.....one about 3" round. The other the size of the fan. Place the fan face down in the hole and plug it in. The wair arm from the room is sucked in and forced over the frozen milk jugs and comes back out the smaller hole. After however many hours it takes for all the frozen ice to melt, you simply take them out and replace them with new ones from the freezer. Since you're using milk jugs the water doesn't leak out, you don't have to dump anything. You won't have condensation dripping all over the floor from the copper tubing. The expensive copper tubing.

[Tigz]

There is an even better, cheaper, easier and less messier way to do this though.

 

Get a large styrofoam cooler. Just a couple bucks.

Get a cheap, 5", 9", whatever size fan. Just one of those little desktop ones. Just a couple bucks.

Save about a dozen milk cartons or jugs after use.

 

Fill the styrofoam cooler with frozen jugs.....use half of them. Cut two holes in the top of the styrofoam cooler.....one about 3" round. The other the size of the fan. Place the fan face down in the hole and plug it in. The wair arm from the room is sucked in and forced over the frozen milk jugs and comes back out the smaller hole. After however many hours it takes for all the frozen ice to melt, you simply take them out and replace them with new ones from the freezer. Since you're using milk jugs the water doesn't leak out, you don't have to dump anything. You won't have condensation dripping all over the floor from the copper tubing. The expensive copper tubing.

 

Wow....that is a pretty cool idea.

 

(excuse the unintentional pun)

 

Wouldn't it be better to put one on the holes on the side of the cooler? That way the cool air won't end up getting sucked back into where the warm air is being sucked in.

I don't know....just wondering. Also, wouldn't a secondary (regular) fan near the outflow work to circulate the air around the room?

[Quit Screwing Me]

For the exhaust, you could simply put a piece of PVC elbow pipe in to give it direction. As far as a second fan, I wouldn't do it. If the intake and exhaust are not in exact sync, which they most likely wouldn't be, too much suction or push from one could cause a strain on the motor of the 2nd. I don't see why you couldn't put the exhaust on the side though.

[Echo_X]

I don't see it working that well. I am sure that it does work, but it could be a much better mechanism. The problem is heat transference. In physics, there is no hot or cold, only different levels of energy, or rather, atomic vibration. Ice has very low atomic vibration, which is why it is solid, to phase change the solid <ice> into a liquid <water>, the laws of thermodynamics demand that the ice borrows the energy from something else, and in doing so, lowers the energy of the matter which the ice draws that energy from.

 

Kind of like a sponge soaking up fluid. And once the sponge has become saturated, it ceases to absorb more fluid. Same thing with energy.

 

So in order to cool the air enough to make the effort worth while, you have to transfer a lot of heat energy into the cooled solid, and do so quickly. The waxy or plastic cartons which most fluids come in are just abysmally resistant to this process. Now if you took a series of copper pipes which are relatively wide in diameter, but also relatively thin..preferably thin enough that you can dent them with your finger tips, seal one end, fill almost full with salt water, and seal the other end, this would be effective for this purpose. Though you would need to make a fairly large number of them, and change them practically every other hour..

 

You could also use copper pitchers filled with ice and salt, though the salt would likely get expensive after a while, and I am not sure you could make ice fast emough to keep up with your need.. of course you could get a bunch of copper ice trays...

 

I know, I said copper a whole lot of times.. but copper really is the best conducting metal there is.. especially for heat sinks..

 

I am sure you have tried this and the physics are sound enough to have noticable effect, but it could be a much more efficient device with the one relatively expensive, but minor tweak. To really get it running at max proficiency, you might as well just use the coling tube method for the expense.. How ever you might live in an area that isn't as revoltingly hot during the summer which would make the extra effort superfluous....

 

Strictly speaking i probably should not expect too much from either..

[Tigz]

OR...................

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You could just go out and buy and air conditioner.

[Echo_X]

 

You could just go out and buy and air conditioner.

 

Funny.. I seem to recall having one. Anyway, fact of the matter is, theres no place I can put one. I have to vent it somewhere... I guess i could knock a hole in the wall or something but I don't think you would approve..