alternative "refrigeration"

[maki2]

I came across a mention of an evaporative cooling unit that was fairly common in the Australian Bush areas a number of years ago before solar power was around. They were commercially made but many people made their own. Here is a WIKI article about the Coolgardie food safe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coolgardie_safe

 

[Qxxx]

Cool, then you get 100% humidity inside the van. Actually, they might help if placed outside in the shade, however, the common info is you need to keep your perishable food under 40F for proper preservation, so will they do that well? The article doesn't say so.

OTOH, evaporative coolers are widely used in the southwest to cool houses, and they work very well and draw much less power than air conditioners. They only work in dry areas like the s.w. and would kill you in the east where humidity is high.

So an idea :idea: is one might jury rig an evaporative cooler on a van rather than installing a regular air conditioner like you see in dozens of youtube videos. Just need to contain the water from leaking inside the van and be sure to vent the humidity to outside. It might be possible to build a fairly small box, say 2'x2'x2', that you could hang outside on a window.

 

[highdesertranger]

that's very cool Maki. it's very similar to the coolers the Tin Can Tramps would place on their running boards to keep the perishable foods cool. thank for posting that.

actually I have been thinking of making something similar for storing fruits and vegetables. during the hot part of the year as most of them don't store well in a true refrigerator and don't keep well in higher temps.

little FYI, there is a ghost town in San Bernardino County named Coolgardie. it was also a gold mining town, I used to have a claim a couple of miles from there.

highdesertranger

 

[Qxxx]

"ghost town in San Bernardino County named Coolgardie."

Louis L'Amour worked a mining claim near there back in the 1930s or 40s. HDR, do you have an evaporative cooler on that big wall tent of yours?

 

[highdesertranger]

no I don't have a cooler for my tent. the Military has engine driven AC/Heaters on trailers for them. they also make insulated walls, floors and ceilings for them. I have one of the solid fuel(wood) stoves for the tent.

wow Louis L'Amour had a claim out that way. interesting I am going to have to look into that. I heard from some old timers that it was quite the place back in the 30's. also the Gold Stone deep space array is out that way my claim was about mid way between Gold Stone and Collgardie.

highdesertranger

wiki link on Gold Stone,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldstone_Deep_Space_Communications_Complex

 

[maki2]

Those evaporative coolers are not intended for things that have to be stored at 40 degrees or lower. They do need to be place in the shade and they do need at least a slight breeze as well so that the evaporation is effective. There will be some water accumulation in the drip pan.

They had no real choice other than tin back in the old times. But now we have lots of plastic pans around and even plastic mesh too. I am thinking it would be very quick and easy to modify a plastic clothes hamper that has lots of open area into one of these types of coolers.

 

[Qxxx]

LL'A was a young wandering bo at the time and worked the claim for someone living in the town of Barstow. He discusses his early life in his book Education of a Wandering Man, which I read recently. Not super interesting, as much of it is interminably long lists of the many books that he read. Any more I buy books on ebay rather than amazon, as shipping is generally much less.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?&_nkw=Education+of+a+Wandering+Man

The 2 books I did track down from his lists are The White Company by Conan Doyle and The Walking Drum (not a western) by himself.

 

[Qxxx]

The way the evaporative house coolers work is they have a water pump that runs water over a special type of filter material, and then a 1/4 HP motor with fan pushing air through the filter. So some sort of pump and fan arrangement should increase efficiency. Maybe use a bath towel for the filter.

I am beginning to think that the idea of an evaporative cooler hung outside on the window of a van would be a nice addition, for people in the west. Solar powered in the hot sun.

 

[highdesertranger]

yeah, I am not interested in cooling my living space only my veggies. highdesertranger

 

[Qxxx]

I might be. Actually they already sell some for the car.

https://www.google.com/search?q=evaporative+cooler+for+auto&tbm=isch&sa
https://www.instructables.com/id/Portable-Evaporative-Cooler-swamp-cooler/

 

[Qxxx]

OTOH, it would be useful for someone currently out boondocking to build one for their veggies and make some temperature measurements. If it's useful, Bob could mention it on youtube.

 

[highdesertranger]

wonder how that solar is working in the shade. highdesertranger

 

[B and C]

And dirty.

 

[maki2]

The higher humidity along with the cooler than ambient temperature extends the length of time you can keep produce without low temperature refrigeration.

In a compressor refrigerator the humidity is pretty low which is why they make special bins to keep the produce from drying out. Of course you can also use zip lock bags or sealed bins. But even in Arizona in the winter time if the humidity is low then an evaporative cooler for fruits and veggies would help extend time between trips to the grocery store for someone who does not have an electric or propane fridge.

In parts of India where there is not a lot of available electricity they use a different type of evaporative cooler. They have two clay pots, one several inches smaller than the other. The void between the size of the pots is filled with sand and water is added. They do put a lid on the pots.
Of course you do have to keep charging the sand with more water to replace what has evaporated. Keywords for more information on this "Zeer Pot"

 

[maki2]

I might be. Actually they already sell some for the car.

https://www.google.com/search?q=evaporative+cooler+for+auto&tbm=isch&sa
https://www.instructables.com/id/Portable-Evaporative-Cooler-swamp-cooler/

This thread is posted in the food and cooking section. Please do not post about evaporative coolers for keeping people cooler.  You can of course start a thread about it in a more appropriate area of the forum and I encourage you to do so as it will no doubt help people.

 

[Qxxx]

I had already thought about the idea of combining both ideas into one unit. Adding a plastic box for holding produce.

Both devices use the same principle. A home evaporative cooler would be utterly useless without the filter, water pump, and blower. With those parts, the efficiency is no doubt 100 times or more greater than a passive device. Something like that for a van could likely be run off a 25W solar panel and inexpensive 35AH battery.

So far I've been reluctant to go to 300W of solar just so I could add a refrigerator to the van - ie, at a cost of roughly $1500-2000 total, frig plus solar plus batteries, just to keep produce from wilting. There might be another way.

 

[maki2]

I don't need 300w of solar to power my little Engel top opening portable fridge

Although a potential issue for keeping produce outdoors in evaporator cooler overnight has occurred to me. It might well well attract rodents and other creatures to both the food and the source of moisture. Especially the moisture in a dry desert area. Because by its nature it is not an airtight container the smell of the food will also attract creatures look for a lovely snack. But if they are after the food at least they won't be focused on your vehicle wiring.

 

[XERTYX]

Where I am in in the woods in north GA the issue with keeping produce outside is slugs. They LOVE a nice ripe tomato. I'd love to build an evaporative cooler for produce. I cant keep onions very long and I like to use them in cooking. The possums and raccoons go after everything else.

 

[Qxxx]

In the NF west, you have bears to raid your cooler if not placed in a good secure place at night, and in the east, the raccoons are probably the worst offenders. They're smarter than most campers, and certainly smarter than a bunch of college kids. I remember being on an "organized" college outing years ago in the Okefenokee swamp, and all the food was stored inside one van. The raccoons got in through a window and devoured everything in the night.

 

[highdesertranger]

"I cant keep onions very long and I like to use them in cooking."

really I find onions keep real well. unless you are talking Green Onions. those don't keep well at all. I just got me some freeze dried green onions I am going to try. I will let you all know how they work out.

highdesertranger