Desert cooler with ducts to cool entire home

prem.arora

prem.arora

Active Member
Am asking a relative query here, after reading through the thread.

I installed my first AC last year.And it's definitely good. But I don't think I can install many at home, so now am planning to go for a Desert Cooler and duct system for the drawing-dining,kitchen and other bedroom. I have seen in past, that the cooler people got made 15 years ago is still working fine. So, I also want to go for ducting and good cooler. I plan to go to Ghaziabad over weekend to find out good vendor and costing. I have a couple of quick queries, if anyone could answer them :
1. What guage iron sheet should be used for the cooler, so that it is long lasting and durable and still not very heavy. (I intend to install it in my balcony on top, means 14th floor)
2. Which fan should I buy, which could cool the whole house actually and has long life, least noise.
3. Anyone has idea about the costing of this arrangement. Duct costing is per feet in length or what?

thanks in advance for replies. SOT jee, if it isn;t alright, I could start another thread for it.

Cheers....

Mod note: This thread has been created from earlier queries and discussions here: http://www.bcmtouring.com/forum/electronics-consumer-durables-f81/enquiry-tower-shaped-desert-cooler-home-t43562/
 
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SachinOnTop

SachinOnTop

Full Use Else Lose
Re: Enquiry ~::~ Tower shaped Desert Cooler for Home

Prem,
I'm not the right person to answer to your query in a proper manner, as I'm not using such a cooler now.
I suggest to send a PM to AnupJi (Anup Mathur, a Moderator here). He is using such a tall cooler in his home, and he'll also guide you for the ducting thing as well. :)
 
anupmathur

anupmathur

Super Moderator
Staff member
Re: Enquiry ~::~ Tower shaped Desert Cooler for Home

Prem, first, there are the basic facts:

1) Desert coolers work in Delhi for barely 2 to 3 months out of the 8 or so hot months. Delhi has only these many days with low relative humidity; for the rest of the months it is only ACs that can help.

2) Many sizes/variants of desert coolers are locally produced as a cottage industry. Buying a ready made cooler is always more cost effective than having one custom made. This refers mainly to the body, the box.
You can always buy your own fan and pump.

3) Desert coolers work best when mounted outside with only the front face flush with a window or doorway. If a cooler is kept inside a room it will raise humidity to unbearable levels. This can also begin to damage delicate electronic equipment kept in the house.

With these facts out of the way, I would recommend that you buy a ready made box. Don't worry about the gauge of metal; they'll always lie to you and you have no way to measure the gauge.
Because of 'manual mass production' these are cost effective. If looked after well these last for 7 to 10 years. I am talking about GI sheet boxes, not mild steel sheets.
At the very outset you should have the water tank coated with Japan Black and then do this ritual each year. The pad frames should preferably be wooden ones with no louvres, just wire mesh. (See photo of my cooler).

Fan: 24 inch GEC Alstom low speed (920 rpm) exhaust fan is the best in the business, but again, you have to judge the cost effectiveness for yourself. I opted for this one. It has sintered metal bearings and never needs lubrication. These fans last for a decade easily!
If you do not want to make a large outlay at the moment you can opt for many similar and much cheaper fans that are in the market. Do remember to choose a lower speed fan rather than a high speed fan. Noise is the reason.

Pump: There are cheap submersible pumps available aplenty in the market today. Buy one of those; they are cheap enough to replace every summer! External pumps are prone to theft and also need more plumbing.

Regulator: Buy a solid state speed regulator of at least 600 Watts rating, to control the fan speed. Rider is a commonly used brand.

Ducting: I am not in favour of ducting. There are a few cases where ducting becomes necessary but it should be kept to absolute minimum. The reason ducting is normally not required is that these coolers pressurize the home and you can control cooling spaces by opening/closing suitable windows around the house. One such cooler can easily cool a house of even 2000 square feet area, provided the whole house is contiguous (no open courtyard in the middle!).
If you post a rough sketch of your flat I can tell whether you need any ducting at all.

The most important thing is the pads; that is where all the heat transfer takes place, and that is where most of our chaps skimp and seal the fate of the cooler! The packing thickness of the wood shavings has to be at least ¾ inch, uniformly distributed across the entire panel. You'll have to nearly fight to get this done to satisfaction, but this is the heart of the matter and the cooler-wallahs refuse to understand this! When assembled there should be virtually no daylight visible through the pads when you look into the cooler from the front.

Phew! I think this is good enough to get you started. :cool:
 
docjoe

docjoe

Sarvatra Vijay
Re: Enquiry ~::~ Tower shaped Desert Cooler for Home

anupmathur said:
Prem, first, there are the basic facts:

1) Desert coolers work in Delhi for barely 2 to 3 months out of the 8 or so hot months. Delhi has only these many days with low relative humidity; for the rest of the months it is only ACs that can help.
.....
The most important thing is the pads;
......
Phew! I think this is good enough to get you started. :cool:
Click to expand...
Fantastic stuff. Has to be, coming from an old salt (pun very much intended).

I am aghast that, with your experience, you mentioned wood shavings and not khus pads:grin:
 
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anupmathur

anupmathur

Super Moderator
Staff member
Re: Enquiry ~::~ Tower shaped Desert Cooler for Home

docjoe said:
...
I am aghast that, with your experience, you mentioned wood shavings and not khus pads:grin:
Click to expand...
There is a reason: Khus pads do not have the absorbency that wood shavings have. A thin khus pad may be used as an additional pad strapped over the regular pad, to help give that divine fresh fragrance. However, the effect does not last long.

There is another aspect of desert cooler use that will emerge at some point in the future, when, one day, much to your horror, you find your cooler blowing out an unbearable fishy odour! :shock:
What next?
 
C

cheguevara

Guest
Waiting for the solution Sir...We also experienced the same...
 
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