The car cooler, also known as a swamp cooler, was a water-powered evaporative cooler mounted on a vehicle’s window that reduced the temperature of the interior space through evaporation. It was an economical way to stay cool in low humidity areas but was eventually replaced by air conditioning systems.
Also known as a swamp cooler, a car cooler is a type of device used to help cool the air in a vehicle. This type of evaporative cooler is typically mounted on one of the vehicle’s windows and helps reduce the temperature of the interior space through the process of evaporation. This type of device was a precursor to the air conditioning systems commonly found in most automobiles today.
Developed around 1930, the water-powered car cooler design included a storage tank that was filled with water. While various designs were developed between that year and the 1960s, the basic idea was to allow water to evaporate and transfer heat from inside the car. Warmer air is exhausted through the window while cooler air is directed into the vehicle. Some models include fans that allow the device to work even when the car is not moving or when you are traveling at low speed.
One of the benefits of the car cooler is the economical operation of the device. The components in most of the designs were very simple and since the cooling technology relied on water to function, the costs of maintenance and use were next to nothing. Car coolers were especially effective when humidity levels were low, making it an ideal way to stay relatively cool when traveling through deserts or any other area where there is very little humidity.
At its peak, the car refrigerator was produced and offered by various companies. Most models were designed to be removable and easy to install, making it easy to store the device during the winter months. In addition to being available at garages and auto supply stores, refrigerators were also offered for mail order at some of the major department stores of the day.
While the car cooler helped make hot weather travel more comfortable, the device couldn’t compete with the emerging air conditioning devices that were becoming more and more available with newer automobiles. By the early 1970s, sales of the devices had declined dramatically as internal climate control systems became part of standard equipment on many makes and models of vehicles. Today, a small number of manufacturers continue to produce coolers of this type, usually for use in older vehicles.
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