Date: Thu, 1 Aug 2002 12:02:26 -0700
Reply-To: Nolan Hester <waywest@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Nolan Hester <waywest@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject: Evaporative Cooler Field report (aka swamp cooler)
In-Reply-To: <200207291424.17zi0B2LA3NZFlq0@merlin>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"
Hi all,
Back in June, I found that the archives contained nary a report from
anyone who'd actually used an evaporative cooler in their vanagon. I
took the plunge anyway and bought the Swampy T154
(http://www.swampy.net/12vcombo.html) for a week-long July trip
through the Mojave Desert and Colorado Plateau. The upshot: It worked
well and kept us pretty comfortable.
Here are the details:
PRICE
At $287, I think it's way overpriced (an ABS shell and reservoir, a
couple of fiber pads and a 3-speed blower that plugs into your
cigarette lighter socket). On the other hand, if you don't have AC
and drive in the low-humidity West, it's worth it. And it's way
cheaper than the $410-$575 Ram-Air
(http://www.classicaire.com/page2.html ).
PERFORMANCE
We were very glad to have the Swampy when we went through Needles CA
at 10 p.m. and it was still 100 degrees outside. It made an otherwise
death drive bearable. It won't put icicles on your nose but it
definitely cools down the interior. The thing will NOT work in humid
(back East) climates but for a low-humidity, desert area it works
surprisingly well.
With its 3-speed fan, it moves the cool air pretty far. With it
sitting between the front seats, I could feel it even while on the
back bench seat. Our dog definitely appreciated it and claimed the
back-pointing vents as her own.
It's small enough to easily fit between the front seats and still
leave room enough to go back and forth to the back area. At 15 inches
tall, however, the vents have trouble clearing the sides to the front
seats. Setting it on a little Rubbermaid tub, it was perfectly
positioned to get driver and passenger--plus the rub kept it from
tipping over on sharp curves. (Though it never spit or spilled any
water.) There's another model, the T304, that's 22 inches tall, which
would clear the seat sides without a boost.
POWER ISSUES
When the Swampy's fan is on high, it draws 13.9 amps. I ran it on
high at one point but it zapped the dash clock, which went entirely
blank for a few minutes until reappearing with the proper time. No
other apparent effects but just to be safe I thereafter ran it no
higher than the middle setting, which was plenty high actually.
BTW, if you have a second deep-cycle battery, the manufacturer says
it will run 8-17 hours at low or medium speeds without charging. That
means you could potentially run it overnight while sleeping--the
cord's long enough to snake the unit back to the bench seat/bed.
LASTLY
You need to allow 3 one-hour sessions to initially flush the cooling
pads, so be sure to buy it a few days before you head into the desert.
Hope that helps--and now the info's in the archive for future desert
travellers!
Nolan
87 Westy "Hanz"
