I have a swamp cooler. I will provide all the background information first and put the real questions at the bottom for those who want to skip the volume of text.
It currently works as follows:
40 quart cooler containing tap water and ice jugs, drilled to fit input and output hoses.
[pumps via submersible water pump to --->]
rubbermaid roughneck trashcan, 1 inch drain bulkhead 9 inches from the bottom
[drains via 1 inch ID vinyl hose back to --->]
40 quart cooler.
A ranco controller monitors the water outside the fermenter and turns the pump on and off when cold water is required. Maybe one day I'll invest in one of those stainless steel temperature probe fermenter bungs, but for now I don't like the idea of putting more stuff than I have to into direct contact with my beer. Call me crazy: I know it's nuts.
Right now room temperature in that room can get up to about 85 F or possibly higher. Ice doesn't last long in the cooler. I suspect because it's drawing up heat from the fermenter and through the uninsulated trash can. To fix that I've cut the trash barrel down to 18 inches tall and I'm building a heavily insulated (and constructed) wooden box to fit the barrel inside. I'm also going to make an insulated cover to try to eliminate as much air convection as possible. There will be a hole in it so the airlock can poke through, so it's obviously going to have a draft.
QUESTIONS:
1) Salt changes the freezing temperatures of water. It also supposedly makes ice water colder (who knew?) and causes ice to melt slower (talk about counter intuitive). Will using salt water in my cooler improve it's efficiency?
2) Would salt water wreck a pond pump?
3) Do you have any other insulation, efficiency, or swamp cooler tips? If so, why are they?
Thanks as always HBT.
It currently works as follows:
40 quart cooler containing tap water and ice jugs, drilled to fit input and output hoses.
[pumps via submersible water pump to --->]
rubbermaid roughneck trashcan, 1 inch drain bulkhead 9 inches from the bottom
[drains via 1 inch ID vinyl hose back to --->]
40 quart cooler.
A ranco controller monitors the water outside the fermenter and turns the pump on and off when cold water is required. Maybe one day I'll invest in one of those stainless steel temperature probe fermenter bungs, but for now I don't like the idea of putting more stuff than I have to into direct contact with my beer. Call me crazy: I know it's nuts.
Right now room temperature in that room can get up to about 85 F or possibly higher. Ice doesn't last long in the cooler. I suspect because it's drawing up heat from the fermenter and through the uninsulated trash can. To fix that I've cut the trash barrel down to 18 inches tall and I'm building a heavily insulated (and constructed) wooden box to fit the barrel inside. I'm also going to make an insulated cover to try to eliminate as much air convection as possible. There will be a hole in it so the airlock can poke through, so it's obviously going to have a draft.
QUESTIONS:
1) Salt changes the freezing temperatures of water. It also supposedly makes ice water colder (who knew?) and causes ice to melt slower (talk about counter intuitive). Will using salt water in my cooler improve it's efficiency?
2) Would salt water wreck a pond pump?
3) Do you have any other insulation, efficiency, or swamp cooler tips? If so, why are they?
Thanks as always HBT.