Portable "Evapolar" A/C?

[NOMADeline]

Hi, all. Does anyone have experience with something like this? (It's essentially a small swamp cooler.) If not, what do you see as the pros and cons?

https://evapolar.com/en/evachill

I'm taking a two-week, cross-country (WA->NH) road trip with my 23' Forest River Flagstaff Micro-Lite in August and will sometimes be dry camping (no access to shore power). The "EvaChill's" product description says it consumes 7.5w.

If I'm running on a fully-charged trailer battery (I have 100w portable solar too, if that matters), could I run this thing for 8 hours or so and not drain my battery? (Sorry for the newbie-style question, but I am what I am.) ;-)

Thanks in advance for your advice!
Madeline

[Jim_HiTek]

I think you could dry camp and use it quite often with that 100 watt solar panel. Do you have a generator too? That would be best if you had one of those small generators, say 1KW, because it's best to have a back up.

You might want to get 2 of the coolers in a 23 footer.

[johninsd]

Evaporative coolers only work in dry climates. Washington to New Hampshire route likely doesn't go through many deserts so I wouldn't think this would do much good except as a fan. If you want to try it there are several much cheaper units available on Amazon. They should all be about the same, it's just a fan and water reservoir.

[L.C.Gray]

Originally Posted by NOMADeline

The "EvaChill's" product description says it consumes 7.5w.

7.5 Watts or 7.5 Amps?

7.5 Watts on 12 volt would be just over 1/2 an Amp, 7.5 Watts on 120 volt would be less than 1/10 of an Amp.

I think you better read the specs again... Says output is 100 to 350 watts. I'm assuming it has a multi speed fan is why the variance. You're not going to get 100 or more Watts output with only 7.5 Watts consumption...

[Persistent]

You can run a 7.5 watt appliance for about 48 hours. That will put a 60 amp hour deep draw battery at about 50% state of charge.
7.5 w /12 v = 0.63 amps
60 amp hours / 0.63 amps = 96 hours (0% SOC)
96 / 2 = 48 hours (50% SOC)

A Fantastic Fan vent fan is extremely efficient and very quiet. I have a Fantastic Fan portable 12 volt box fan for hot humid days.

Fantastic Fan roof vent fans do an outstanding job providing a gentle quiet breeze in my 20 foot Kodiak Cub.

I wish you good luck and happy trails ahead!

[NOMADeline]

Originally Posted by Jim_HiTek

I think you could dry camp and use it quite often with that 100 watt solar panel. Do you have a generator too? That would be best if you had one of those small generators, say 1KW, because it's best to have a back up.

You might want to get 2 of the coolers in a 23 footer.

Great advice; thanks. I think one would be fine since we'd be sleeping adjacent to each other in a queen bed (Murphy) and dinette. I appreciate your taking the time to reply!
Madeline

[NOMADeline]

Originally Posted by johninsd

Evaporative coolers only work in dry climates. Washington to New Hampshire route likely doesn't go through many deserts so I wouldn't think this would do much good except as a fan. If you want to try it there are several much cheaper units available on Amazon. They should all be about the same, it's just a fan and water reservoir.

You're right about "no deserts." I'll need to check out both the power consumption of my only Fantastic Fan (unfortunately it's in the bathroom) and that of a small oscillating fan. Neither would put more water into the space, which I hadn't considered would be a problem in these higher-humidity states in the Midwest and Northeast. Duh! Too much time living out west with low humidity...

Thanks for your advice!
Madeline

[NOMADeline]

Originally Posted by Persistent

You can run a 7.5 watt appliance for about 48 hours. That will put a 60 amp hour deep draw battery at about 50% state of charge.
7.5 w /12 v = 0.63 amps
60 amp hours / 0.63 amps = 96 hours (0% SOC)
96 / 2 = 48 hours (50% SOC)

A Fantastic Fan vent fan is extremely efficient and very quiet. I have a Fantastic Fan portable 12 volt box fan for hot humid days.

Fantastic Fan roof vent fans do an outstanding job providing a gentle quiet breeze in my 20 foot Kodiak Cub.

I wish you good luck and happy trails ahead!

Thanks for the great advice, Paul. I have just one Fantastic Fan (in bathroom). I might buy a small oscillating fan to run with that for dry-camping nights, when necessary. I remember several 80-degree nights in the high desert of eastern WA many years ago camping in our pop-up (forget about sleeping!) and am trying to avoid that scenario!
Madeline

[jcussen]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AlGfaJ5O8U

[NOMADeline]

Tremendously helpful. Thanks for posting!
Madeline

[Griswald One]

My initial thoughts would be... Moisture is the enemy! We do everything we can to keep from adding moisture to the contained environment of an RV. Any device that intentionally adds moisture seems counter intuitive to me.

[tuffr2]

I think you would be better off with a battery powered personal little fan. Google camping fans.

To me having a fan will make you seem like you are about 5 degrees cooler.

Lucky your route will most likely be cooler at night. I have camped in Pennsylvania in June, July and August and needed heat at night much more than A/C. At 2,500' night time temps were 56 - 64 degrees.

[NOMADeline]

I really appreciate everyone who took time to offer feedback and make suggestions! I've eliminated the evaporative cooler from consideration. If/when I make a road trip through the southwest, it might warrant another look.

In the meantime, I'll find a small battery-operated fan. Here are the specs from the oscillating fan (it's small, maybe an 8" blade) and a timer to turn it off after a few hours. I don't imagine it'd drain my trailer battery in 2-3 hours, right?

120V
AC 60 Hz
25W

Happy Sunday and happy trails to those who are travelling!
Madeline