Is An Evaporative Cooler Right For My Shop? Our Portacool Jetstream 260 Experience
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- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
- Price the Portacool PACJS2601A1 260 Jetstream Portable Evaporative Cooler on Amazon: amzn.to/2hOBx31
How an Evaporative Cooler Works - Before you jump to the conclusion that an evaporative cooler will not work for you, let's take a minute to understand how they work and some of the situations they work best in. Evaporative cooling occurs all around us every day. A great example is when you step out of the shower and immediately feel a chill. You feel cool because dry air passes over the water on your skin, as it passes by the dry air absorbs some of the water. The process of the liquid water turning into a gas molecules causes a cooling effect as heat exchanges from the higher air temperature to the lower water temperature. Because evaporation causes cooling, it has been used as a cooling devise.
In your shop, an evaporative cooler will use a fan to draw warm, preferably dry air, inside the unit where it passes over water-moistened media. Depending on the air temperatures and the humidity, air can be cooled up to 20 degrees. The fan distributes the cooled air through the shop lowering the temperature.
There are a few items that must be tuned for proper cooling of your shop with an evaporative cooler. First, evaporative coolers work the best in the afternoon when the temperature is highest and humidity is lowest. Your shop must not be completely closed and some air movement is needed so humidity levels do not build up. The flow of water over the media needs to be limited and not dripping in order to work best and not add extra humidity. This type of cooler does not push a mist of water or make items damp unless used improperly.
Tips for Proper Evaporative Cooling
Evaporative coolers can cool almost as well as air conditioners in the right environment. As with any tool, there are some small items that help to make it work to its maximum capability. When using an evaporative cooler, make sure you:
Use the Right Size Cooler - Choose the right type of system for your shop so you are able to move the air inside the shop properly.
Proper Fresh Air Supply- This means leaving a window or a door open in the cooling space to provide adequate fresh airflow. If you don't do this, humidity will build up in the space and eventually raise the temperature.
Adequate Maintenance - Clean or replace the cooling media periodically. Use clean water and treat the water for bacteria or mineral build up.
Dry Media After Use - Run the fan without the water pump running for 15 minutes after use. This will dry the media and stop bacteria buildup.
Portacool Jetstream 260
Armed with the information above, we moved forward with this type of cooling system for our shop. Our shop can get very warm when the bay doors are open and during long periods the heat can decrease ones want to finish projects. The Portacool Jetstream can work in the hot parts of the day as the shop warms. We will place it in front of the walk in door and open the garage doors slightly to allow for air circulation. Because Michigan is not a dry area like the deserts of the southwest, we will have a dehumidifier that runs at night to help remove any extra humidity.
Portacool Jetstream 260 Features
Efficient evaporative cooler uses approximately the same amps as a standard wet/dry vacuum
Larger drain allows for easy and effective maintenance
Equipped with KUUL Comfort evaporative media, the highest-quality evaporative media available and made in the USA
Liquid level indicator with automatic pump shutoff protects the cooler
Lifetime warranty on evaporative cooler housing against manufacturing defects and three year warranty on all electrical components
Made in the USA with domestic and global parts
This is an excellent video explaining how an evaporative cooler can work, even in Michigan. There are several shops here in California who could really benefit from a Portacool instead of just a fan.
i always loved as a kid how my grandparents didn't understand that in order for the window mounted cooler to work they had to crack windows open. the home was a swamp for years... ruined everything.
Out here in New Mexico where we get between 5 and 20% humidity, those work great! I cool a 1200 square foot home with a 5800 CFM bonaire unit. It uses less than 4 amps. As long as you allow the device to add air to the building on one side, and remove it on the other side, you can expect good results. The device works by convection. Doing 50mph on a motorcycle on a humid 80 degree day is a lot better than sitting still indoors at 78 degrees.
Good video. You covered all the bases. I knew someone who returned his that he had in a home garage because he said it made his walls sweat. He clearly didn't understand how to use it.
Good ole vertical swamp cooler Work really well in hot dry air.
I had a swamp cooler in El Paso. They are a PITA for maintenance, plus you have to leave your windows cracked open for them to work. If it's humid out, the cooling is not very effective. Try climbing up on your roof when the temperature is 110 degrees to fix a stuck valve. I hated the darn thing.
I'm surprised you got it that cool in the shop as we've been having some pretty humid days and the nights have been around, and over, 90% humidity for a few weeks now.
Just attach 1/2" or 3/4" pvc pipe to the drain with couple elbows & bring it out to the front or side of the unit with a open/close valve.
Would this work in already humid Texas climate?
DANG!!! Now that's what I call a cooler.....LOL. I've never seen one that big.
Could you explain how you use it with a dehumidifier? I see a lot of people around the internet saying they just cancel each other and not worth it out but I’m not sure why. I figured it would help each other. Also, does this make the whole room feel cool while the garage door is open? Or is it only where the fan is directly blowing on you? Looking to get one the exact same size as this for a 3,000 sqft room as well. Don’t have a door on the opposite side of the room but I have a garage door. Any advice is greatly appreciated!
So this will depend on your environment. You need a dry place for this to work well, like a desert style like Las Vegas with low Humidity. It will make your full garage feel cooler and the dehumidifier will take out the moisture after it is done being used for the day. Dehumidifiers cannot take moisture out of the air as fast as these put it in.
As large as the unit is, why not lift it off the ground slightly with your tractor/forks to make the job of draining easier and less messy. It would also allow you to drive a few feet outside instead of flooding your garage floor. Even better... if I owned that unit I think I would find a 90-degree elbow to screw into the drain hole and attach a short piece of hose with a ball valve to make draining easy.
EOSJOE You are 100% correct.... My illustration of the drain was for people to be prepared. We roll the unit into our clean up shop and drain it in our trench drain. No mess, no need to lift it. Not everyone can do that. So we are staying real world and giving the warning.
Makes sense. Thanks.
If you run a dehumidifier and this at the same time in a shop will it be able to run with the shop closed?
We have these on the production line at our facility. We have high humidity in Houston but these still have a noticeable affect on the temp, not like a low humidity day but our guys still prefer them on. #WORKSHOPADDICT
You can get to the drain kneeling. Or wear dri-fit type athletic clothing that is perfectly fine and comfortable getting wet.
crap i live in mountain broom Alabama a suburb of Birmingham with a humidity of 80 90 or 100 something during the day
i figuring now ill just do a evap wall cooler like green house
On a high humidity day, like 80%+ this will not work one bit. It will still blow air, but it will be hot, stale, humid air. Which will be so uncomfortable.
You have that right! In Michigan, a hot day is never that humid. In areas with that much humidity, like Florida, this is not a good idea.
what about using cold water or some ice I'm pretty sure that would make a difference 😐
It is not about the temperature of the water that makes the air cold. The evaporation process is what cools the air. Ice would make zero difference.
WorkshopAddict well thank you that was very informative😀
what if you just ran the fan with the water falling down with out the pads man that would be bad because it would suck the falling water on to the electrical fan wires motor and blades
Holy Jumbo Cooler ! #workshopaddict
alan j Hornung It is very, very large.
Is that basically what is called a swap cooler
Steve Smith I believe so.
I live in south Florida , my cabinet shop is only about 800 square ft , 1 bay door opening of 70 sq ft , 1 - 36” entry door and 2 windows , summer interior temps are up to 90 degrees , will this still work in a humid environment like South Florida
If you have a humid environment, Hell No it won't work! Just being as honest as possible.
You would think the fan be good enough to cool you down thats one big fan #workshopaddict
Iggy Mac It is a huge fan that moves a lot of air, but the cooling is needed to make the shop cool.
I've used it both ways. It is a great fan by itself. But with water it is a night and day difference.
i just have a patio
#workshopaddict
How loud is that thing? I have two smaller units that are about 1/4 of that and on high, the fans get pretty loud.
John Salazar The fan on high is loud because of the amount of air it moves. You can hear it running outside through the closed garage door. The fan is pretty quiet and the design of the fan does not create funky noises. For it's size, pretty quiet. We can stand next to it and talk easily.