Homemade Evap. Air Cooler! - The DIY "Planter Box" AC (air cooler) - up to 30F drop! - Easy Instr.

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Published 2014-04-30

Homemade Evaporative Cooler. This DIY Window/Planter Box Air Cooler is simple to make, very sturdy and powerful. cools air up to 30F. full easy instructions. made using: plastic planter box, towel, one 2x3 (96") board, one 3/4" (48") wooden dowel, 12 2.5" wood screws, a fan and water. holds 2+ gallons. just add water, rotate towel to saturate and turn on fan. works best in dry climates (the drier the better - as it adds humidity to the air). cost: about $10.00 not including fan ($1.98 for board, $2.98 for dowel, $1.99 for towel, $1 for flower box and $2.29 for the wood screws). tips: use the thickest most absorbent towel you can find. rotate towel frequently (every 30 to 90 mins), try using cold water or adding ice for extra cooling. dry out towel after a days use. wooden dowel just slips out, so it's easy to remove (or replace) the towel. the wooden stand can be used with any standard plastic planter box (18" 24" 36" etc... just alter the length of the wooden dowel). planter box in video is 24". towel used was 49" long by 29" wide originally. (i trimmed the width to 18.5" and kept the length the same). just sew the towel end to end). cut the 96" (8 foot) 2x3 into 8 pieces: Two 3.5" lengths, Two 4.5" lengths, Two 15" lengths and Two 25" lengths. cut the 48" (4 foot) 3/4" wooden dowel into 2 pieces. (approx. 19.5" each - but measure that carefully to fit your stand and flower box ). i used a 3/4" spade bit to cut the holes for the wooden dowels. drill about halfway through. the 12 wood screws are 2.5" long. i used a standard 20" box fan but all sorts of fans can be used. finally, this could easily be run "off-grid" using a DC fan (or fans) directly connected to a solar panel (or an AC fan connected to a small solar panel/battery system). note that the main body of the video is only 7 mins long. last 4 mins just show the second (a duplicate) wooden brace being built.

All Comments (21)

@AndreBellCopywriter 4 years ago

Thanks. I took a cue from this and your other video "Homemade Evap./Swamp Air Cooler - DIY AC (air cooler) - Low tech. Very Effective!" and cooled my 98-degree room to low 70's. I dropped a 20-quart canning pot filled with water into my tall clothes hamper and hung two towels off of a sash rod and a pvc pipe from the top. Now is the coolest room in the house. AC in homes of this community is rare because the climate is almost always a bit cool. Today is an unusual National Service heat advisory for the area. So I deseparately Goolged for a fix and found your videos. No emergency AC needed and no more caught off guard suffering. Thx!
@17025601 9 years ago

Good idea, Fear, about the freezer blocks. Could also fill an empty box wine bladder with water, put the spigot plug back in, freeze it, and use for longer cooling. Works for coolers, too.
@digitaljigga 6 years ago

Brother, thanks for the inspiration!!
@ColinMill1 3 years ago

Thanks - very interesting. It is useful to know as over here in the UK swamp-cooler pads are not readily available but I want to use one to humidify a greenhouse (the spray nozzles I'm using at the moment wet the plants too much and induce the growth of moulds) and this looks like a workable alternative.
@pascalvotan7413 9 years ago

thanks for posting this
@Fatmaj7 9 years ago

Great video. By your name I would guess that you live in a desert climate. Our weather here is very humid most of the year. I wonder if you can come up with something that would work as a DIY fix for a dehumidifer?
@Ph0t0bug 8 years ago

Love the idea! What about using a 1" PVC pipe where the towel dowel is with small holes in it and a small cheap fountain or bilge pump to pump the water from the planter to the pipe to constantly change the water in the towel.
@toddweller 9 years ago

Great idea !
@HarashiKalou 9 years ago

Genius
@rabbitfarmhobby7161 9 years ago

great ideal.
@ahmadsmusic-2114 5 years ago

i live it .. i will try it
@krmntuxedo 8 years ago

Good idea/ buena idea !!!!
@naeem.hussain 10 months ago

We can use the mini water pump to keep towel wet all the time
@LutfulAmin 8 years ago

Good idea :)
@cym1963 9 years ago

Good idea! Try the same thing but use freezer packs hung vertically by string. Cools the air for at least six to ten hours and it does not prevent air flow? Also good in your window if you have a nice breeze just hang them there in your bedroom!
@ismaelabed4836 8 years ago

cleaver man and excellent job.
@theowenshow7 9 years ago

I'd like to see you make the ice maker drop the ice into the solar ac cooler and recirculate the melted water back to the ice maker until the water completely evaporates...making it a totally solar off grid ac ice system. Do you think that's possible?
@SlippstersVideos 9 years ago

I like the way you do your videos, and your projects are viable, good food for thought. :))
@AshwinPatel-ke8gy 8 years ago

can anyone sujest what size cooling system would be needed to cool a room size 15' × 15 ' × 10'.
@Emily-rg3ww 2 years ago

Love you vids!!