Robert Gammon wrote:
Well alt.home.repair appears to have missed the thread.

How about this as a Swamp Cooler idea????

High pressure water (160-200psi min - up to 2000psi) thru very small
orifice nozzles parallel to and pointing slightly away from the
condenser coil of a Refrigeration A/C. You DO not want ANY of this
spray to HIT the coils of the condenser even if you use ultra high
purity water (i.e. RO or Distilled) as mineral plating will occur. The
evaporation of this fine spray is rapid and will lower the temps of the
air entering the condenser, thereby cooling the working fluid faster and
to a lower temperature, shorter runtimes for the compressor, faster
cooldown of the dwelling, etc.

With a 160psi system I built, 4 nozzles consume about 2 gallons of water
per hour of operation. Higher pressures with smaller nozzles will
produce a much smaller droplet of water that will evaporate faster.
These higher pressures will use more water, but produce a MUCH more
impressive effect.

Rheam used to make a condenser with copper coils. They sprayed water
directly on the coils. It had a tank and pump similar to a swamp
cooler. To prevent mineral buildup, about 1/3 the way down on the
condenser coils there was a small trough that caught some of the water
and drained it off. My understanding is that with the water cooking the
efficiency improved at least 30% in a relatively dry climate.

A big factory building in Southern California had a large decorative
pool with fountains. It was the cooling pond for their air conditioner.
The water began to get too warm so they raised the fountains about a
foot or two to get more evaporation and cooling.

Another method for home in a dry climate use would be to set a window
swamp cooler on the ground in front of the condenser, cooling the freon
with cooled air.