Evaporative Cooler (Air Con)

thingiverse

This is based on a Chinese product I found, but with some significant upgrades - no drip tray required, no ice machine required, and higher voltage and larger fan for more airflow. The basic idea is straightforward: air is sucked in through the back, through the box containing frozen ice packs, and blown out by a fan. Designed to accommodate a 14cm fan powered by a 12v source. I designed and printed before the ice packs arrived, so I made space for three sets of 17.5 x 9.5 x 3.5cm ice packs (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00CMOZYMG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1), but once they arrived and I froze them, I found all six fit in nicely anyway. I tried a few different fans, but the one that works best is a Static Pressure type. These are generally quite expensive, but I found them quite cheap on eBay sold as New (other) for £6. Much higher RPM and forces air through the ice packs with much greater force. Works better than I thought, but you'll need spare ice packs to swap in every hour or so. Recorded a 10 degree Celsius temperature drop from 20cm in 10 minutes. UPDATE: Found that air cools better with increased airflow if the fan blows into the box, rather than blowing out (something about compressed air cooling when it is released, but I won't get into that). Not a big deal, just spin the box round. Also made the 'Grid', though it's more a Guide for the ice packs so they don't fall on top of each other and leave good spacing between each. Just stick it in with glue/tape. UPDATE 2: Modified with thinner walls, simpler lid, built-in fan grill, and removed ice block guides. Still suggest printing two of the guides to fit as you wish. Stay cool...