A Patio Misting Fan Will Transform Your Scorching-Hot Outdoor Area Into Backyard Party Central
Here’s a guest article about patio misting fans.
If you just need to cool off one or two people, you can make an effective, inexpensive patio mister fan by combining a low-pressure mist ring with a fan. The fan helps to disperse and evaporate the mist, so you can cool off without the expense of a high-end patio mist system.
We sell fan misting kits that let you convert a fan into a misting fan for the patio. See our article and a video on how to build an outdoor mister from a fan and a misting ring.
A Patio Misting Fan Will Transform Your Scorching-Hot Outdoor Area Into Backyard Party Central
The US Southwest-Arizona and some portions of Louisiana-is the hottest region in the country. Yet things are different during summer-it is sweltering hot wherever you are in the US. Environmentalists argue that the intensifying heat during summer is the manifestation of global warming. Critics, however, point out that the rise in summer’s temperature is just a natural phenomenon.
Whatever the reason, there is one sure thing that everyone in the US would agree upon: comfort is a must during summer. Yes, nobody wants to exude copious amount of sweat every time they venture out of their house. Of course, sweating is a natural way for the body to maintain your internal temperature and make you feel cooler. However, you can spend the summer days without really perspiring too much.
Nowadays, outdoor activities can be a lot more comfortable experience because of misting fans. What is a misting fan? Well, it is basically a fan. It has a motor and several blades. But it also has a pump that stores water that is pressurized and jetted out of a nozzle. The fine water that is sprayed out by the fan is propelled into the air and evaporates very quickly and lowers the temperature of the air up to 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
These type of fans are great for outdoors. If you watch the NFL, chances are you have already seen those huge, strange looking aluminum encased circular fans that jet out water. That’s a misting fan. If you enjoy watching weekend football, baseball, or any other outdoor sports during the summer days, then getting a fan such as this is a good option for you. Why would you sweat out like an athlete when you can just sit out on the bleacher and enjoy the live action with the coolness provided by a fan mister?
Not a sports fan but a workaholic? Well, then you might have been annoyed by the heat when tinkering with your car in your garage. Sweating is part of shop work, of course. But it would be really a hassle if you will sweat too much while doing your work. A fan that sprays out a water mist is a worthwhile investment if you do frequent work in your garage. With a misting fan, you can really do your work with great comfort.
Barbecuing on weekends during summer is uniquely American activity. But grilling your burgers and hotdogs outdoors may be quite uncomfortable. You can feel the sun and the sweltering heat emitting from the grill. Barbeque enthusiasts may argue that getting exposed in the sun and the heat is all part of the routine. That may be true. But then you can also barbeque your burgers and hotdogs more comfortably if you use a misting fan to relieve the heat.
But don’t just rush and shop for the first fan you see. Before you buy one, you should take into consideration what will you be doing with it. If you are going to install it on your work shop, then you may just need a small or a medium-sized misting fan. But if you will be spending a lot of time outdoors, whether you will be watching Sunday football games or barbecuing, you should probably consider getting a large misting fan. A large misting fan may cost you, but then it will give you tremendous comfort in exchange.
Greg has been writing articles for over 4 years. Please visit his latest website about the coolest home improvement at Mist Systems, with information on finding the best misting fans available, as well as ideas and discussions that any home improvement enthusiast would be interested in.
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How to Build An Outdoor Mister Fan
Do It Yourself Outdoor Mister Fan
These instructions show you how to setup a low-pressure misting ring on a portable household fan to build your own outdoor mister fan. This setup allows you to create an effective mister fan using the water pressure from your garden water spigot. It’s great for cooling one or two people on your patio. It can also be used to cool off your dog or other pets, or even a small chicken coop or rabbit hutch.
What you will need:
1. Misting Ring with a low-pressure tubing connector
2. Low-pressure mister fan adapter kit
(includes low pressure hose, faucet adapter, zip ties, 1/4-inch push lock fitting for the misting ring).
3. Fan
4. Extension cord
5. Electrical Outlet with a GFCI circuit breaker
6. Nearby hose bib water faucet.
The mist ring and the low-pressure mister fan adapter kit can be purchased separately, or together in the Outdoor Mister Fan Kit.
The faucet adapter should already be installed on the tubing, but if not, simply press the tubing into the small end of the adapter. It’s a tight fit, so if you have difficulty doing this by hand, use pliers to help push the tubing in.
If you purchased your adapter kit with a misting ring, a push lock fitting will already be installed on the ring. If you bought the mister fan adapter kit separately, it comes with a push lock fitting that you will have to install on your misting ring. If the fitting doesn’t already have teflon tape wrapped around it, you’ll need to wrap it two or three times, then install the fitting onto the misting ring.
Push the tubing firmly into the push-lock fitting, then gently pull back to ensure the tubing is secure in the fitting.
For our demonstration, I’ll be using an inexpensive box fan I bought at Home Depot a few years ago. Lay the fan flat, then center the mist ring over the exhaust side of the fan, with the nozzles pointing away from the fan.
Attach the misting ring to the fan using zip ties that came with the low-pressure mister fan adapter kit. Bend the zip tie first, which will make it easier to thread around the ring and the grid of the fan shroud. Pull the ties tight, then snip off the ends to keep things neat. You can set the fan upright now, making sure the mist ring is secure.
Plug the fan into a GFCI-protected electrical outlet. A GFCI outlet is the kind with a black “Test” and a red “Reset” button. These outlets trip when there is a “ground fault,” which occurs when the electrical current finds an alternate path to ground. For instance, it might try to travel through your body if you’re foolish enough to be standing in a puddle of water. Don’t be foolish – always be extremely careful when working with electricity in the presence of water. In modern homes, electrical outlets on the outside of the house are usually on a GFCI circuit or are GFCI outlets. In many homes, the entire GFCI circuit is controlled by a GFCI outlet in the garage. Be sure to check that it is working properly before connecting your mister fan.
Connect the tubing with the faucet adapter to the water faucet.
After plugging the fan in and turning it on, you can turn on the water to start the misting. Now you can cool off with your portable mister fan!
Outdoor Mister System Maintenance
Although they don’t demand a lot of care, you have to conduct some periodic upkeep to make certain your outdoor mister will operate properly when you’ll be needing it. In the Fall, it simply means draining the water from the system as well as disconnecting the system for the winter. You might also cover the pump or bring it indoors to protect it from the elements.
In Springtime, just before the Summertime temperature happens, you’ll need to hook up the lines, check the pump (or water source) to see that it’s functioning, and check your mister lines for leaks. If your mister system utilizes stainless steel mister line or copper tubing, it shouldn’t be much of a issue. Just take a look at the joints and connectors for leaks. If you’re working with plastic lines, you’ll want to test the whole system for cracks and breaks.
The next thing to carry out is to confirm the mister nozzles aren’t clogged. If you’re living in an area that has hard water, the nozzle may be blocked by mineral deposits. It may be feasible to just simply clean the debris off the surface of the mist nozzle, but if the deposits are within the mister nozzle spray hole, you can try to clean them by soaking the nozzles in lime remover. This may or may not work, and you might find that once the nozzles are unclogged, they are worn out and not spray as well as they used to. What a lot of professional mister system dealers do is just change out all the nozzles because it’s less difficult and takes a lot less time than to attempt to clear out each misting nozzle, and the cost of mister nozzles is pretty low when you purchase them in bulk from Outdoor Mister Nozzles.