Table of Contents

cooling options for your tent

see also:

Introduction

Find a place to cool off in the water

Ensure your tent is sheltered from the sun and is well ventilated

Use a basic fan

Use a misting fan

Use an evaporative cooling system

  • ARE NOT USEFUL in HIGH HUMIDITY over 70% and will only worsen CONDENSATION issues
  • these small portable units are mainly to be used close to a person and are good for 2-3m2 spaces - they will not cool a room down!
  • these generally will smell on 1st use, and a slight smell tends to persist, using pure water rather than tap water is supposed to help
  • generally use 100-200mL of water per hour depending upon humidity and air temperature
  • at 40% humidity, you can expect the outgoing air to be about 10-12degC cooler than intake air, but each 10 percentage point rise in humidity, outgoing air temp will be 2degC warmer than this
  • whilst many of these will reduce dust in the air, a lot of dust around will dramatically reduce the life of the filter cartridge!
  • the BIGGEST PROBLEM with MOST of these units is the “filter” used to increase surface area for the water which may mean the units just end up in e-waste:
    • some use ultrasonic motors to aerosolize the water to mist onto a front filter
      • these will drip excess water onto a condensate tray which will need emptying and are a pain while attempting to clean the filter itself can be even more problematic eg. LEAEYFE Portable Air Conditioners Cooling Fan (CF-001) / BASEIN Portable Air Cooler (CF-006)
    • most use a cartridge style filter
      • but are these really healthy and will they not develop smells when not dried out?
  • you can use a separate fan placed perpendicular to the output of these to blow the cool air a further distance around the room

Use a reverse cycle heating/cooling system

  • these are heavy, big, expensive and use a LOT of electricity so you will need a 1500W or higher AC inverter, a 200-300Ah LiFePO4 battery or matched battery, plus for extended use more than 5hrs, a battery charger with either a 200-500W solar panel or a petrol generator
  • even only using the 420W of the Kickass, if you have a 200Ah 12V LiFePO4 battery and 1500W AC inverter, the battery will give you 2560Wh and assuming you use 500W allowing for inefficiencies of AC inverter, even this large battery will only give you 5 hours of continuous use! Of course, in low power usage sleep mode you will get more hours than this but with less cooling effect.
  • they can be noisy, at least 44dB and may be up to 58dB
  • they generally require placement of exhaust and cooling ducts (and drain tube if humidity is > 70%) and need to have at least 50cm clearance around the unit and be sited on flat ground
  • they generally have a front air intake and a front cold air duct outlet and a rear hot air exhaust outlet