Cooling mister

[Shooter II]

Thinking of getting one of those water spray misters for the boat.
You know the ones that make a real fine mist of water that quickly evaporates. 'Sposed to cool the air temp by 20-30 degrees.
They use them at horse shows and football games and seem to work.
Anybody have any actual experience with 'em?
Don't look too terribly hard to install.
Chesapeake gets right hot from now till fall.
What do you think?

 

[DanM]

Shooter,

I would think that much depends on what the humidity is like in your area. Over about 70% you just don't get much evaporation so there may not be much cooling sensation. Down south here I think it would just add more moisture to a sticky situation!

DanM.

 

[Patrick17430]

Be Cool

Hmm... In Galveston Bay they have the misters in use at the Kemah Boardwalk in various locations to cool the patrons walking around near hell-like summer weather conditions in an attempt to keep them from stroking out in the heat and they seem to help quit a bit when its hot and steamy which is most of the time in Texas. That's why air conditioners are common in most Texas boats. The downside is you cant use it away from the dock unless you are set up w/ a gen-set. I like the low tech, low cost mister approach. I also don't care much for heat and humidity. Its gotta help.

 

[Snotter]

I would think they would be effective in even high humidity. If the spray is cooler than than the ambient temperature, it should provide relief even in 100% humidity.

 

[sailaway78]

I see them a lot

Granted they do work better when the humidity is low, but even with our 110% humidity here in the deep south they do work, and are quite common in outdoor venues.

 

[MrUnix]

I've used them for years, not just for cooling but also for plant propagation.. main problem you run into is keeping the emitters from clogging. They will cool down an area, but can also make it 'moist' if the temp/humidity isn't right for full evaporation.

Cheers,
Brad

 

[Joe]

Orchids love those things!

I don't like the kind that just spray water.... humid! The best kind are attached to a fan... the mist cools the air from the fan.. kind of like an evaporative cooler. If you're sitting at the dock or anchored with no wind, I think they will make it worse. But hey, the orchids will like it.

 

[LuzSD]

Hate what they do to my hair

 

[Ross]

I would think they would be effective in even high humidity. If the spray is cooler than than the ambient temperature, it should provide relief even in 100% humidity.

If the humidity is 100 % there will be no evaporative cooling and persperation will have already soaked my shirt. spritzing me with a fine mist ain't gonna help much. Tonight the dew point is 73 degrees and the air temp is 83. just plan on having the bed sheets stick to you.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Ross is right. A psychrometric chart will show that adding moisture to saturated or almost saturated air will not reduce temperature much, if at all when 100% humidity. Engineer-speak, sorry.

The only advantage, even little as it may be then, would be the evaporative feeling of your skin, which wouldn't cool much anyway at those times.

There's two factors: air temperature change from the mist and then your skin's (body's) feelings. Like coming out of a pool even when it's hot and humid out. Add a fan and even them it'd be a bit cooler to your skin.