Best Hot Weather Advice!!!

[Swbuda]

Ever hear of a swamp cooler?

The heat doesn't bother my girls! Well it did..Until a friend turned me onto the swamp cooler idea..

It's like an air conditioner but works on opposite principles.. You can either buy/purchase one, or make one! I used the green approach, until I found a unit on CraigsList.. I put it in my coop and my girls are VERY HAPPY!! No panting, no being hot! So when it's bad outside..my girls and the ducks have a girl talk meeting, and relax in their air conditioned chicken house! No more dead chickens OR dead chicks..! :Here's how to make a temporary swamp cooler:: How to Build a Swamp Cooler

Green is in. Doing things that decrease our carbon foot print is in the news. The energy we use to cool our homes increases our carbon footprint. Building a swamp cooler is an interesting and useful science experiment to teach children how use less energy to cool a room. Swamp coolers work by evaporation. When moisture is added to the air and then quickly evaporated, the room feels cooler. Swamp coolers work best in dry, hot climates.
Instructions
Difficulty: Moderate
Things You'll Need
Sand paper 4 pieces of 1-foot by 3-foot lumber boards. Hammer One roll of screen door mesh or of chicken wire Wire cutters (if using chicken wire) Scissors (if using screen door mesh) Staple gun One bale of hay Water source Fan (box fans work well)
Steps
1Step OneAfter sanding the boards, nail the four 1-foot by 3-foot boards together to form a four-sided open frame.
2Step TwoCut two pieces of mesh wire or chicken wire to cover the frame openings. Using the staple gun, attach one piece of the mesh wire or chicken wire to one side of the frame.
3Step ThreeStaple the mesh wire or chicken wire to half the second side of the frame. Fill the space with hay and finish attaching the mesh wire or chicken wire.
4Step FourWet the hay until it is very damp. Set the swamp cooler in front of the fan and turn the fan on high.

 

[ChooksChick]

I wish that would work for us!! We are at 73% humidity right now...it's like walking into a steamer.

Brutal.

I love the easy instructions, though! Thanks!!

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

Is this for use in very dry climates or does it work if it's like 50% humidity? Starting at what humidity would you not even try this in?

 

[Swbuda]

Give it a try, you might be surprised, AND, your chickens will be happier!

 

[Swbuda]

Effectiveness
Evaporative coolers work best if the interior of the building is not well sealed. Because the cooled air is being blown into the home, a window or door left slightly open creates a pressure front, resulting in a more forcible circulation of the cooled air. The "faster" the air moves, the cooler if feels against the skin.

Evaporative coolers are more effective in regions with high temperatures but low levels of humidity, the southwestern United States. Evaporative coolers are essentially pushing wet air into the building, creating higher levels of humidity. But if the humidity is already high, and the air is already "wet," the evaporative process is slowed. The air blown into the building isn't as cool; it increases the already high levels of humidity.

If the outside temperature is 100 degrees, for example, with a relative humidity of 10%, an evaporative cooler would lower the inside temperature to 73 degrees. If the humidity were 50%, the cooler would only lower the temperature to 88 degrees. (Better than 100 or more).. NO?

 

[Swbuda]

We are at 32% humidity right now.. And their coop is comfortable.. Better than being out in the heat!

And guess where they are all at, even the ducks!

 

[Swbuda]

I forgot to mention, I've had chickens for a long time!

I have used my swamp cooler for a few years, and it works as it should. For those who fear the bad smell from a swamp cooler, replace the pad (that comes with the unit) with the blue synthetic evaporative pad that is available from Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.. Not only does it control the smell very well, it also helps improve the cooling efficiency. I sometimes use about half a teaspoons of bleach on the first bucket of water to help kill the algae that contributes the smell.

Right now, it is 104F outside, with a relative humidity of 23% (as reported by the weather service. The output air temperature is 70F with a RH of 80% (as checked by a non-contact infrared thermometer). Considering the unit only consumes about 200W max, I can't really complain!

If you plan to use a swamp cooler, make sure you have efficient ventilation. Otherwise, the moist air will just stay in one area, which can be quite uncomfortable. If your coop is enclosed put an exhaust fan at the other end to help move cool air throughout...

 

[Akane]

I'll take dry heat over humidity. Whenever it gets hot here it gets humid and making it more humid for a couple degrees cooler really doesn't help. That's why I passed up swamp coolers. Iowa summer weather pretty much goes get really humid, get really hot, get even more humid, rain, cool off, get humid, get really hot, get even more humid, rain, cool off, and repeat all summer long. Yesterday was over 110 heat index with something like 60% humidity followed by rain and 68F. 98 heat index today and 51% humidity and my weather program just alerted me to severe thunderstorms. If it's over 90 in iowa expect rain soon. That makes swamp coolers pretty ineffective.

 

[ambermarie]

Ca you please add pictures of this set-up? I'm trying to get a mental image, but can't....THANKS! Wait also, can you add link to where you can buy one?

 

[Swbuda]

Akane, I understand. Some parts of the country, too much humidity can make a swamp cooler a bad idea. You are right! When the humidity gets really bad, I just turn the cooler OFF and use the blower..still circulates the air..