OT: How to sew aspen pad netting for evap coolers?

I'd use monofilament fishing line -- maybe 20 or 30 pound test.

Good idea. I thought about fishing line but the knots never held. Probably because it was just too thick, have to get a smaller size.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

Typical Joerg problem ;-)

Why _can't_ you get the _exact_ sizes?

All the years I had an evap cooler, I never had a problem with getting pads of the correct size.

Of course, it was expensive, 6500CFM, stainless housing. ...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson, CTO                            |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
| Phoenix, Arizona  85048    Skype: Contacts Only  |             |
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     |
             
I love to cook with wine.     Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Buy them oversize and "fluff" them up like a pillow to make them fit. I used to do that with mine. They cooled better too with a thicker pad for the air to flow thru. 2" over on a 5500cfm did just fine. Art

Because it's a small cooler and I was told it's going to require some work to adapt larger pads. When I called the mfg they said to buy them at Home Depot and "adapt them". I could not fit a larger unit where it sits.

A friend has the opposite problem. He has a monster cooler and needs to overlap the largest available pads becuase those are still too small.

If you have any of the middle size you can buy matching pads.

Ours is 3500CFM or so and didn't come in stainless.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

Thanks, I will try that. Although the smallest I can get is 22" by 24" and the sides require 13" by 19". That's going to be a squeeze.

Did you do 2" over on the whole pad, like folding over and doubling up?

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

Are you *sure* you can't find the right size? Around here, they sell pads in damn near every size imaginable! Are you sure you can't buy one that's just a bit "too large" (never too small!) and cram it in place?

Avoid the "paper" pads (imagine pulling stuff out of a "spaghetti shredder" and packaging it into pads).

When we had that sort of cooler, I also found the fragments of aspen would often get *through* the pump and clog the "spider" which would cause a pad to run dry (which is worse than turning the cooler *off*!). Current cooler has a much larger, thicker (10 or 12"?) pad and moves a lot more water through it.

Previously, I had installed a *pair* of pumps in the cooler each feeding the spider through a check valve (in case one pump failed). There was a noticeable improvement in cooling efficiency!

Unfortunately, my other half dislikes the cooler (which I *love* during the first half of summer) so we have to run the ACbrrr for Summer *and* Monsoon. (I just turned power on to the ACbrrr today to make sure everything is up to snuff before we *really* need it -- though I think we're expecting to see the century mark this weekend)

From

--------------VVVV--VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

At Aircool we stock 137 different-sized cooler pads, ranging from

10 x 18 to 40 x 40, and on up into large industrial sizes. With the exception of 25 x 33, all of our cooler pads are made in even numbers, so if your pad measures to an odd number, just round up to the next even number to get your size of cooler pad!

We can also custom make cooler pads for the individual that has a rare unit or a different application. Because we manufacture cooler pads daily, we can usually custom make your pads within two days. As our reputation for a quality product and customer satisfaction has grown, our market has expanded. We now ship aspen cooler pads from Colorado to California and from Texas to the state of Washington.

Might be worth calling just to pick their brains for *how* they make them (I'd drive over and ask but have chores to attend to...)

:-| ...Jim Thompson

--
| James E.Thompson, CTO                            |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
| Phoenix, Arizona  85048    Skype: Contacts Only  |             |
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     |
             
I love to cook with wine.     Sometimes I even put it in the food.

2" wider and 2" taller. I pushed the edges in all around and then worked the center down and distributing the excess as even as I could. It isn't critical to be completely even.

In your case I'd mark the bigger pad 1 to 2" oversize then open up the netting on 2 adjacent sides. Pull out the excess aspen fibers, push the loose fibers ends back to the marks and just fold over the excess netting. Tuck the pad in the louvered frame with the folded netting against the louvers and then put in the interior wire frame. Enjoy that wonderful smell of the wet aspen when you first turn it on. God how I miss that. Art

[snip]

I don't miss the humidity... 70°F at 90% humidity ain't so swift :-( ...Jim Thompson

-- | James E.Thompson, CTO | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | | | Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat | | E-mail Icon at

| 1962 | I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Knots in fishing line are tricky, there's a technique, there'll be someone on you-tube who can show you better than I can describe easily.

--
?? 100% natural

--- Posted via news://freenews.netfront.net/ - Complaints to news@netfront.net

Yup. My favourite is the New Palomar knot, second is the jam knot, but those are both for attaching line to rings. The main thing is to arrange the knot so that if it slips, there's a loop that has to get smaller, and then put the free end through that loop and snug it down.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510
845-480-2058

hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net

Surgeon's knots ?:-) ...Jim Thompson

--
| James E.Thompson, CTO                            |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
| Phoenix, Arizona  85048    Skype: Contacts Only  |             |
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     |
             
I love to cook with wine.     Sometimes I even put it in the food.

That's what I thought. There has to be the correct sailor's knot or whatever, and it must be done under a full moon with Mars and Venus in the correct constellation or it'll never hold :-)

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

Thanks! That's the way I'll do it then. The aspen I pull out can be balled up and used for fire starters in the barbecue or next winter for the wood stove. Nothing goes to waste here if it can be avoided.

After I had installed the cooler I initially thought it was a chemical smell. Then I thought the same with a new dog bed where I even called the manufacturer. They said they use no chemicals and that it's a wood smell.

The aspen smell from the cooler comes back on every time I re-start it after a day or more of break where the pads have completely dried.

I am still wondering if I should use this sopay stuff, the brick that gets split in four pieces and goes in the water basin one at a time. My impression is that it just sludges up the pads. I have installed a discharge connection so I can regularly dump the water if if gets funky.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

90%? How did you manage to get it this high? Our cooler won't cool the house below 80F on hot days but it feels very comfortable. Actually more comfy than doing the same with the regular A/C unit. With the evap cooler the air feels much more fresh.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

In AZ I could get the house down to 64°F on occasion. ...Jim Thompson

--
| James E.Thompson, CTO                            |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
| Phoenix, Arizona  85048    Skype: Contacts Only  |             |
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     |
             
I love to cook with wine.     Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Why not just get a honkin' big needle and use twine for thread? Sacks have been stitched with such things for centuries.