Fixin' to start! Now Pics added.

[Southbound_SF]

Thank you, Tegan! The solution sounds so simple, I now feel silly for ever struggling with it.

SB

 

[grumpy]

The first of three panels. When you glue them, make sure you press each fitting in "all" the way.
All pieces must be cut identically.

Second one nearly complete.Notice the "T" fitting on the upper left side
of the panel. It will play an important role towards the end of the assembly.

Third one finished and ready for padding. I used "cut-to-fit" furnace filter padding.
We'll see how well water dispersion works with this fiberglass material.

Zip-ties were used to secure the padding to the frame. It took nearly 100 to do the job.
I "wrapped" the frames front and back. Had the extra material....couldn't hurt!

All three panels are in place. I've got to add some drip-edging to the inside edges on the bottom.
Once that's finished, I should be ready to see how the water-manifold and evaporator pads work.
I would say "Dry-run"! But, in actuality, it's gonna be a "Wet-Run"!

It got up to 105 degrees today, with the humidity at 21%. It's beginning to cool down a little. I'll wait a while before going back down to the barn to do chores and work some more on the cooler.

If this sucker doesn't work.......Geez......talk about Egg-on-my-face!!
But, I can't sit still and do nothing when there's a possibility of making the rabbitry cooler and conducive to breeding during the hotter parts of the year.

Tegan: I used the small piece of sheeting I had clamped to my work bench to get my straight-line on the pipe. After that, it was just a matter of getting the pipe centered perfectly under the tip of the drill bit for drilling all of the holes at the same angle.

Thought for sure, I had all of the parts I needed to make the panels. Came up one "T" fitting short. LOL!

Grumpy.

 

[MaggieJ]

A terrific project, Grumpy... and you do great woodwork!

I'm glad you found your sweet Boots. She's lucky to have a good home... and I know what a comfort a moggie can be when one is feeling down.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Grumpy,

what are you going to do to waterproof the lumber to prevent it from warping and getting mildew?

It looks great, btw. I sure hope it works after all of your hard work!

 

[ZRabbits]

"If this sucker doesn't work.......Geez......talk about Egg-on-my-face!!
But, I can't sit still and do nothing when there's a possibility of making the rabbitry cooler and conducive to breeding during the hotter parts of the year."



I wouldn't say you had "egg on your face" for trying something. Sitting still would. Give you a lot of credit.

I had the same thought that MamaSheepdog did regarding the wood and mildew. Please keep posting. Really is coming a long and hoping that it really works for you.

BTW, like your rabbitry set up.

Karen

 

[Miss M]

It's a little messy w/all of the nestboxes on the tops of the cages.

I looked really hard for a mess, and couldn't find one!

I love how your cooler is coming! I'm going to have to show Shay! I don't know how that would work with all our humidity, but he'll be impressed anyway! :razz:

 

[grumpy]

Grumpy,

what are you going to do to waterproof the lumber to prevent it from warping and getting mildew?

It looks great, btw. I sure hope it works after all of your hard work!

MSD: I began with treated lumber. It's very nature causes it to warp horribly if it isn't "locked" down tight. I've used 3" and 2.5" screws to hold nearly all of it together. The louvers are stabilized on the backside as well. Plus, it's had one coat of Thompson's water seal.

Mold and mildew....I'm planning on adding chlorine once a week to the reservoir to combat that problem.

My biggest concern is the "pressure" of the delivery pump to the water manifold. 350 GPH is quite a bit for the manifold to handle. I fear there may be a serious "splash" problem on the tops of the evaporator panels, causing an excessive loss of water. I've decided to put an in-line valve between the pump and the manifold to regulate the water flow. By putting a restriction on the "out-flow" side of the pump, you'll cause no damage to it. However, if you restrict the "in-flow" side, you can damage the pump by it overheating.

I've already installed drip-flashing around the bottom interior edge of the cooler body. It's angled pretty good to return the water into the reservoir. It will have been 24 hours of curing time on the silicone caulk joints this morning. I'm planning on having a "test-run" of the water delivery system in my shop. If it proves successful, then it's a matter of constructing the interior holding box for my exhaust motor and going forward with positioning and installation of the unit.

I spent a large portion of my time yesterday evening going through the five blower motors and choosing the newest/strongest one for the evaporative cooler.

Pictures will be taken.....I promise!

Grumpy.

 

[ZRabbits]

Good luck on the test run. I do hope the manifold does work well with the regulator.

And thanks for the explanation on the wood and combating mold.

Karen

 

[grumpy]

Well, I was incorrect. The 350 GPH pump wasn't strong enough to deliver the amount of water I wanted to the pads.
I suppose the 5 foot water lift reduced the GPH to the point that it wasn't sufficient.

I upgraded to a stronger pump. One that pumps 560 GPH and the delivery was much better.
Note the two small bungee cords spanning the bottom of the front panel. Holds the three together pretty good!

Here's the back of the unit that will attach to the exterior of the building. Note the spacer bar located at the bottom. It really helps keeping the pads secure. That's where that "T" comes into play that I mentioned earlier.

When I designed this project, I wanted to make sure that all parts would be accessible relatively easy.
All three evaporator pads can be swung out and propped up for easy access to the pump or tank.

Here's the fan box that will be attached to the inside where the air conditioner now sets.

I've got the blower fan installed and framed in to the box. I'll hard wire this to the thermostatic switch.

I'll have to pull the ladder and remove the A/C unit before I can mount the blower box over the A/C opening.

I've got to get the ground leveled and ready for the tank. Also, I have to get the framing ready to secure
the evaporator unit to the side of the building. It will rest just under the bigger window.
That way I will still be able to use the circulating fan when the temps get cooler.
We did get the ground leveled and the tank put into place. I just forgot to take a pic of it.

Of course, "Boots" the boss seems to take all of this hub-bub in stride.
Actually, she's quite nonchallant about the whole affair.

We got all of this finished up at about Two O'clock this afternoon. Rather than open up the building and work through the hot part of the day, I decided to try and make a heavy push in the morning and have the unit installed and running before tomorrow afternoon's heat returns.

Thanks for your interest.
Grumpy.

 

[ZRabbits]

Congratulations. Truly thrilled for your project being successful. Thank you for that journey. BTW, Boots is nonchallant about the whole thing, is because he knew you could do it. So it's not a big deal. lol

Again Congratulations, and thanks for sharing.

Karen

 

[grumpy]

Here's the blower fan installed where the A/C unit was....Got a long story over this move. But, I'll explain it when I get the final pics installed.

Here's the frame and pads installed over the tank on the outside. There'll be several more pics to come tomorrow or the next day. There was a whole lot more involved with the "fine-tuning" of this project than I was aware of when I started.

Needless to say....I discovered several major "KINKS" in this project before I realized the simple fixes that were required to make it a successful venture. I would have taken the pics this afternoon and evening, but I was still "scratching-my-head" and cursing a lot trying to figure it out. Eventually, I did and the outcome was far more satisfactory than I could have imagined. The simple changes I made had a phenomenal effect on the room and on the rabbits. It was after 9PM this evening that I got finished with the final changes.

My fanny is draggin' my tracks out!! It's up early in the morn to go get rabbit feed. We scraped the bottoms of the barrels today. Plus, we got two super-good bales of alfalfa for the youngsters in the grow-out room. That's my next project....cooling that room down to a reasonable level. The youngsters won't grow-out as easily in this heat. I've got plans "on-the-board" to remedy this in just a couple of days.

Grumpy.

 

[ZRabbits]

So glad to hear that you figured it out and this project has become more than you imagined. "Scratching-my-head" and cursing a lot kind of helps me figure things out too. lol. And thrilled that you got the effect you wanted on the room and the rabbits. Will look forward to seeing the other pics and hearing the story of how you figured out the kinks.

Also will look forward to hearing the plans "on the board" for your youngsters grow out room.

Thanks again for posting your journey through this project.

Karen

 

[grumpy]

So glad to hear that you figured it out and this project has become more than you imagined. "Scratching-my-head" and cursing a lot kind of helps me figure things out too. lol. And thrilled that you got the effect you wanted on the room and the rabbits. Will look forward to seeing the other pics and hearing the story of how you figured out the kinks.

Also will look forward to hearing the plans "on the board" for your youngsters grow out room.

Thanks again for posting your journey through this project.

Karen

Karen: One subtle switch reduced the temperature in the room 6 degrees in less than twenty-minutes. I literally watched the does and youngsters begin to "come-alive" as the temps began to fall. It was amazing.
grumpy.

 

[ZRabbits]

So glad to hear that you figured it out and this project has become more than you imagined. "Scratching-my-head" and cursing a lot kind of helps me figure things out too. lol. And thrilled that you got the effect you wanted on the room and the rabbits. Will look forward to seeing the other pics and hearing the story of how you figured out the kinks.

Also will look forward to hearing the plans "on the board" for your youngsters grow out room.

Thanks again for posting your journey through this project.

Karen

Karen: One subtle switch reduced the temperature in the room 6 degrees in less than twenty-minutes. I literally watched the does and youngsters begin to "come-alive" as the temps began to fall. It was amazing.
grumpy.

Wow, that is amazing how fast it cooled the room.

Karen

 

[MamaSheepdog]

What happened to the beautiful louvres? Did they inhibit the airflow too much?

 

[grumpy]

What happened to the beautiful louvres? Did they inhibit the airflow too much?

LOL!! Nah...MSD. I just took the pic of it in place without the louvers....I'll take some more here in a little while.

They say confession's good for the soul....well, I've got a doozy. Actually, a couple of them. I'll post later with the pics and explain my blunders.

grumpy.

 

[3mina]

They say confession's good for the soul....well, I've got a doozy. Actually, a couple of them. I'll post later with the pics and explain my blunders.

grumpy.

And you're going to keep us on tenterhooks as long as you can aren't you :mrgreen:

 

[Piper]

:secret: I have this post bookmarked and subscribed - You have my attention! How long are you going to :stirpot:

 

[grumpy]

They say confession's good for the soul....well, I've got a doozy. Actually, a couple of them. I'll post later with the pics and explain my blunders.

grumpy.

And you're going to keep us on tenterhooks as long as you can aren't you :mrgreen:

Sorry Mina,
I'm at the mercy of my Missus in getting my pics transfered to my e-mail address. Right now, she's "on the phone"! Heaven knows when that will end.

Plus, I went to p/u my novel from my proof-reader for the final time. I've got to make some corrections. My cover designer has to change one letter on the back-cover. My proofer even dinged him. LOL. Just a few more days and it will finally be ready.

Grumpy.

__________ Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:35 pm __________

Okay.....I'm going to "re-show" the original installation. It looked "good" and the air felt real cool coming from the blower. But, I wasn't really super impressed with my results. Come to find out, I had several major "boo-boo's" that needed to be addressed.
Here's the first try:

The air was strong....super strong.....but once I got five or six feet away, I couldn't feel any cool air at all.
BUMMER I went back outside and rechecked the evaporator unit. Air takes the path of least resistance.
Look at the gaps in and around the cooling pads.

I made some changes: Put in flashing against the edges nearest the building. I also added a 10" apron of
padding along all three bottoms of the pads. See the additions:

Then I re-installed the louvers and went back inside to turn the unit on. AGAIN!! Nothing!! after five or six feet away.
I was really bummed out. All of that hard work...for just that little bit.

I decided to re-install the A/C unit in the window above the cooler blower.
I got that done and went over to set down and take a break. That's when I noticed the "cobwebs" on the ceiling.
They were getting splattered every where. I thought,"What in the ####, is goin' on?
Those shouldn't be doin' that." Then, it dawned on me what I had done "wrong"!!!
It was the blower!!! It was upside down. Yeah, there's an upper and lower position for these motors.
To look at it, one would never realize it. I took the screws loose,
slid the front panel out and rotated the blower 180 degrees. Take a look:

Instead of the cooled air being forced upwards against the ceiling, it traveled in a horizontal path along the floor of the rabbitry. I could feel the cool air 56 feet away where I was sittting on my tired butt!! The temp dropped 6 degrees in about 20 minutes. I was truly amazed at how much difference it made. Perfect? No...it's not. I'm sure I can do a little more tweeking on it to make it even better.

But.........that is for another day. I'll work up the figures in the morning. I'm pooped.

Grumpy (but not as grumpy as yesterday)

 

[Piper]

WoW!