shandamac Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Hi Toy family, Just getting around to thinking about looking at Sadie's water cooler/swamp cooler/evaporative air unit thingy. Since, I can't get to it for a few days, (sadly too many other projects ahead of her on the list), I thought I would ask for advice to mull over, until I'm able to tackle the cooler issue. What I know: It's a Regenair. Fan works on both high and low Water pressures all the way to unit. What I don't know. Does it have it's own cooler pump to spray water, or does a valve open when it's turned on to allow the water pump to force water through a sprayer? (I can't imagine it has an excelsior pad that wicks water from a reservoir......or does it?) Can something be fixed or cleaned or tweaked?) Any ideas are really appreciated. Stay cool! shanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 I don't know specifics about the Regenair unit. But the last 12v evap cooler I saw had a water chamber and the fan motor, through some gears, turned a drum with the pad on it. I guess some could use a water pump and trickle it down the pad. There usually a float valve to keep the water at the correct level in the cooler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shandamac Posted July 11, 2009 Author Share Posted July 11, 2009 Thanks W, Very interesting and potentially more involved than I was imagining, but fun! Thank you very much. shanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futar Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 I haven't seen a Regenair. Do you have a web reference? I am curious. I have the old Bycool. You can see it in the top front picture on my profile. It has it's own pump to pump up the water to the unit. A cylinder with media rotates in a trough to keep the media wet. There is no internal sprayer. There is a scoop in front that has to be opened. I have the manual model which is a pain in the butt to get on the roof to open the scoop. The main brand sold now is the Turbocool. I had one of those. It has a conical sprayer to spray the water over a circular media. It requires your MH water pump to pump up the water to a sump in the unit. A float opens and closes the water feed. I had to super charge my water pump with a bigger motor to get it to pump to the roof efficiently. The Turbocool is over priced but works good and is reliable. There used to be a brand called Playcool which was real neat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shandamac Posted July 12, 2009 Author Share Posted July 12, 2009 Thanks Futar, Well, I finished one of my projects early (ran out of paint) so I decided to work on Sadie's water cooler lastnight. Found out first of all that I can't spell. It's called a RECAIR not Regenair (I really should wear my glasses all the time). Second, after taking off the hood, I found years and years of dirt, leaves and debri down inside. I pulled off the fan, and saw the conicle sprayer with exactly the same set up as the Turbocool you described. I pulled out the foam tube and washed it really good, vacuumed out all the loose debri, and wiped out the inside with a damp rag and diluted bleach. Moved the float a little to loosen it up then turned on the water pump. Sure enough, water started filling the reservior. I slipped back in the foam tube, centered the fan, and flipped the switch to high. Yeehaw! Nice cool air. I let it run for an hour or so. One thing I didn't do was let the reservior fill completely. (I won't be taking her out for a while, and didn't want water to just sit.) Also, I'll need to see if I can find a shut off for water to the unit for cooler weather, but at least I know for now it works. Thanks again for your help. Safe and happy travels, Shanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 Most plumbing stores should have a small plastic on/off valve for you to use in the water supply line. BUT there should be a valve some where in the water line already , some body in the last 25 years surely has wanted to cut off the water Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shandamac Posted July 12, 2009 Author Share Posted July 12, 2009 BUT there should be a valve some where in the water line already , some body in the last 25 years surely has wanted to cut off the water Yeah, you would think. I thought it was pretty wierd set up too. Looks to me like the water is directly hooked up to the toilet line behind the tank. I've tried to feel for a faucet valve. Whoever installed it ran a copper tube from behind the toilet, loose up the back wall and out through the sky-lite. They also ran separate electric inside over the headliner. I've only used shore power, (coach battery projects even further down the list), but I did see the original power line tucked up under the headliner when I pulled the cooler's face plate to clean it. I'm not sure if they did that to bypass the battery or what, maybe a separate designation in the fuse box, or maybe had an a/c at one point since the water situation is so wonky. Anyway, I'll get a mirror to get a good look at the connection behind the toilet. I'd really like to change out the copper pipe for flex with a valve, so I can remove the hose completely from the cooler and cap it in the Fall. Isn't that how it usually works. One project leads to another, and another, and another. . Thanks W, Have a great day. S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 [ Isn't that how it usually works. One project leads to another, and another, and another. . Thanks W, Have a great day. S Your still in the amateur stage, soon when you get to pro status, one project will turn in to 3 that need to be done simultaneously Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shandamac Posted July 13, 2009 Author Share Posted July 13, 2009 Your still in the amateur stage, soon when you get to pro status, one project will turn in to 3 that need to be done simultaneously Hopefully, I've got the motorhome parked in a nice shady spot close to an Autozone when that happens. Next project: Coach battery. Have a nice week WME. s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Wacha Ya doing to the battery??? Should there be a new thread?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futar Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Recair was the original name until the Bachmans who now own it changed it to Turbocool. http://www.turbokool.com/aboutus.html You can probably get spare parts through them. I seem to remember a nut that be removed to drain the unit for the winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shandamac Posted July 14, 2009 Author Share Posted July 14, 2009 Recair was the original name until the Bachmans who now own it changed it to Turbocool. http://www.turbokool.com/aboutus.html You can probably get spare parts through them. I seem to remember a nut that be removed to drain the unit for the winter. Futar, I so enjoyed reading about the Bachmans. Thanks for that. s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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