1.How do they work? do you add ice? cold water? 2.How well do they work? looks to be better on hwy speeds than in-town 3.ARe they still made?
They work by evaporation. When the water in side it evaporates it takes heat out of the air. Technically... the "latent heat of vaporization". It's the same reason we sweat when we are warm. The evaporation of the perspiration cools the skin. The problem is, like us, the water doesn't evaporate well when it is humid. I'm told they don't work too well in high humidity. I've never tried one.
Don t get rid of your ac. The faster you go the better they work but definetly have their limitations. In 1957 my family ,3 kids mom dad granma and grandpa toured the US in a 55 Chevy wagon with a car top rack and a swamp cooler. Route 66 to Penn. down the Eastern seaboard and back thru the Gulf Coast. It didn t matter what you put in that cooler the only one that got any cool was ridin shotgun. But now they look kool.
Now as we speak, it's 21% relative humidity here in my neck of the woods, the swamper is working real good. Yours is 57%, UGH. wouldn't work half as good today. I don't know your average relative humidity index. A good way to find out is go to the nearest trailer court and knock on some doors and ask.......... The principal is the same, on a car or on a house.
I have used one in my 56 VW Bug a few times , as long as the car was moving it worked pretty well. There is a wick type cloth inside and when wet with water the incoming air dropped the temp quite a bit. Would work great in a car with no air on a trip.
Im "restoring" one now...was a mouse nest for a while so im changing out the guts, going on my 54 when its done. To answer your questions: 1.) Yes 2.) True 3.) I Dont Know...found mine at a swap meet DID I P***??
I have one on my Ranchero and it works ok. In the 40's 50's the grand parents had a 48 chev sedan with the traditional swamp cooler and when on the hiway it was a big difference but in town traffic you had to roll the windows down. Over all the old cars without Ac would benefit with the swamp cooler.
I can't vouch for the product or vendor, but I found this on the web a couple of monthes ago... http://www.cl***icaire.com/
I have 1 form back in the 50s or 60s that sits on the hump of your floor and has a pump i think. I need to sale it befoe it gets all dented if you want a pic of it let me know
For long desert trips during the summer, I convert my heater to a cooler, using an ice box and a water pump. Total cost was around $20 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=399747 Lasts all day without refilling and doesn't raise the humidity level inside the car. It also works regardless of outside relative humidity. Like an air conditioner on low setting, but without the cost.
I have an evap cooler on my house, and I can't imagine using one for an enclosed space when the humidity is much over about 20%.
Have some fun! Make your own, this started as a fun project but it actually works well.Yes it takes up a lot of room, I used an old water cooler, it has tubes inside so the air flows through the ice not just over it, I put a blower on the seat next to me for stop and go traffic and have a scoop out the right vent window for highway speeds. I put a drain where the spout use to be so its easy to drain at gas stops, open the lid and add ice when needed, very cheep to build, not cheep because of buying ice, but everyone gets a kick out of it when they see it or they realize it blows colder than any factory AC system!
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