diy mini swamp cooler

heres my best description i can give of my contraption, my usb cord is lost so sorry i cant post pics but this is a great idea. i got a 12 gallon storage bin and cut out two side walls, in those cut outs i placed swamp cooler pads, around the top i lined it with a drip hose to wet the pads. the bin sits on top of my ice chest which contains ice and water. inside of the ice chest is where the water pump is located. pumping the cool water into the drip hose inside the bin where it drips on the pads. a inline fan is pulling fresh air from out side then forcing it through the water soaked pads which cool the hot air from outside. this is not an invention just stoners ingenuity well what do you guys think?.

I think you might have a problem down the line with mold. Your humidity is gonna get high.

i live in the desert very low humidity. and it is also going to be on a timer blowing dry air when the water pump is off. But thanks for the input, ill keep that in mind. ill let everyone posted

Congradulations amigo! I've been on the "Swamp Cooler Bandwagon" for years. It's probably hard for most people who live in "higher humidity areas" (like back East or down South) to realize just how well these simple and inexpensive machines can operate. I live in the "Inland Emire" of Southern California and Summer days here are in the high ninties to the "one-teens" (f.), virtually every friggin" day. Normal Summer hi-temps are 98-105 (or higher), for monthes on end! Oh yeah, and I almost forgot the best part, the Relative Humidity is usually in the "teens", it normally varies from single digits to the twenties. Right now we are enjoying a breif (and unusual) "Cool Spell" with higher humidity (according to The Weather Channel), they show our local temp at 93 F. and rh at 22% @ early afternoon. I only go into this much detail to show what "perfect conditions" for a Swamp Cooler are like.

Anywhere in Southern California (or the whole South West U.S., for that matter) would have similar conditions - pretty much "Perfect Conditions" (hi temps and low humidity). Actually the "Low Humidity" is probably even more important than the "Hi Temps". The "thing" that makes Swamp Coolers such a great idea, under these condition, is that "you can kill 3 birds with one stone"!

For the "best" growing conditions you need to have several things, well, actually you need six things:
1. Proper medium.
2. Proper light.
3. Proper nutrients.
4. Proper "airflow" (to supply Oxygen and CO2).
5. Proper water (inluding atmospheric Relative Humidity).
6. Proper ambient temperature.
For "Indoor Growing", most growers use a ventilation system that involves a fan or "blower" of some sort. That takes care of number 4. Proper airflow and may help out some on number 6. Proper ambient temperature.

But here's the "thing", if you can use a Swamp Cooler for #4, it will automatically cover #5 and #6 (well, at least the "Relative Humidity" part of #5). A Swamp Cooler not only blows a lot of air, it also actually lowers the ambient temperature by about 20 degrees (f.) and adds humidity to dry air. That's 4, 5 and 6 - "Three birds with one stone"!

Swamp Coolers aren't for everybody - "You have to be in an area with Relatively Low Humidity", "The lower, the better!". But there's also an added benefit, Swamp Coolers operate at about 1/4 the cost of an "Air Conditioner" (including water and electricity).

For anybody that lives in a "low humidity" area, I would strongly suggest looking into "Swamp Coolers"! Just Google swamp coolers there's tons of information and lots of "DIY" plans.

Wow i know this is a really old thread but i also live in the inland empire of socal and my temps (inside my grow room) are around 90-95 and steady at 15% humidty (this is with water everywhere under my lights) so i thought a swamp cooler would be perfect for me! But i dont want to spent hundreds or more on a store bought one has anyone made a diy swamp cooler before? I kinda have an idea but experience would help alot!