Swamp coolers have been around for many secades. I remember my father having
one in the early 60's. His was a universal one. It consisted of a metal pan,
about 10"x15" by 4" tall. Inside the pan were sponges about the size used for
washing dishes. Every other one stood up, the other half lay down. Water was
added until all the horizontal sponges were under water, but not enough water to
slosh. The top of the box was weatherstripped to bhe bottom of the box. The
top of the box had a squirel cage fan set up to blow air into the box at one
end, and adjustable vent was on the top at the other end. I don't recall how
long the swamp cooler would work on one filling, but it seemed to work for us.
It should be easy to build something like this with a larger volume for water
if needed.
There is an antique car museum in Rosanke, Tx, near Bastrop that has a cooler
exactly like the one that we had decades ago, but I think that the sponges were
missing.
Peaece,
Pat
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