🤓 I decided that I wanted to build a cooler for the PM Van that didn't require additional electrical power from what I would use anyway on a hot day. Many here in AZ use "swamp coolers" also called evaporative coolers. The one in my house is VERY efficient and will cool my house 20+ degrees on a sunny day.
Here is what I began with:
The blue stuff is DuraCool evaporative cooler pad. The screen is Lath. There is a 12 volt aquarium pump (<3watts) and some vinyl hose to fit it. I had to buy a few small pieces of hardware too.
Next I drilled a bunch of holes to let the fan push out air through the pad.
I now made a mounting system for the bucket. Really just two eyebolts into the Fantastic Vent to allow a pin and clasp on the bucket to pull it up to the fan.
Once that was done I fit the lath screen and the cooler pad around the perimeter of the bucket and attached hose around the perimeter with a T fitting and some bag ties to hold it. I then heated a push pin and punched holes about 3/4" apart around the hose.
The pump goes in the bucket bottom in about 1 1/2 gal of water. Weatherstrip is around the top of the bucket to seal it to the fan.
I just wired the pump temporarily to determine the effectiveness. The van was about 93ºf with the fan on high and a rear window open.
I put in my instant read thermometer to see how cool the air was. 63ºf!
I then waited 1/2 hour and checked the van temperature at table level.
85ºf is an improvement of 8ºf not huge but the van felt cooler and the effect was better up where the vent was blowing. This is a prototype. I spent less than $20 dollars as I had the lath, bucket, and some of the hardware. Normal denial of responsibility for your trying something I never said to do only that I did it!