Inside the Thermador Swamp Cooler REVEALED !

So I searched and searched for a tear down for the Thermador and found nothing. I did come up with a thread on the Samba that included drilling and brazing and all kinds of sillyness.

So I dug in; here you go. The great mysterys of the thermador revealed.

Basically the rear cap snaps off ( tap it off with a screwdriver, don't pry it off ), once you get the cap off you need to unscrew the three stainless screws that are covered in tar. Get yourself a knife and heat that bad boy up and use it to cut the tar seal. Cap pops off, cage comes out. Pretty easy.

No drilling, no cutting, or welding.

Rebuild as needed.

 

Better call Rick Dale

 

He should be able to restore it for around 7 grand...
B.S. aside.. Looks prety simple.. Thanks for the pics.

 

So, basically its a big hamster wheel?
Do they sell traditional hamster to go in?

 

so do these actually do anything? I am into running one if it will actually cool me down (its hot where I live!)

 

only if you are moving.......

 

They work fairly decent in an area with low humidity....dont work worth a damb in humid areas

Edit:

I used to have a sears Allstate cooler that was NOS (the box was near perfect) that I bought at a antique mall for $80....even though I never used it I always liked the thing. In a weak moment when I was getting parts for my project I sold it for what I thought was a killer price ($300) to a bombero guy who bought it for his 50 chevy fastback....honestly I wish I had the cooler back....

 

Are you going to restore that thing ?

 

Anybody reproduce these things?

 

i have a few that will need to be redone

 

Not Thermadors but here's a repop bullet cooler. There is another business repoping similar bullet coolers but can't locate the bookmark

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Bul...t=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr

 

seems to me as if they would cool as good as rolling the window down... Unless you lived in low lying swamp where it was cool at night. hence the name. Why not hang a portacool on your door?

 

hey! I've got one of those



the pull string spins the mat inside to keep it wet

 

So what's that mat material in the squirrel cage? Fiberglass? Asbestos? Dryer sheets?

 

Do you even understand how it works.....You put ice in it, the air that moves over the ice cools. thus cooler air. They wouldn't have sold these things in the numbers they did if they were no better than rolling down a window.

 

I thought they made one that work with ammonia... The movement of the ammonia through coils makes the coils cool, and the air going over it is cooled.

 

Do you?

You do not put ice in the cooler, you put water in it. The mat in the "cage" spins through the water and then the air moving across the mat evaporates the water cooling the air. That is why it does not work well in humid areas because the air is already saturated it does not evaporate the water in the mat and therefore does not cool the incoming air.

Works just like the old water cooler or swamp coolers people used to cool their home before the days of affordable air conditioners.

 

Looks cool, but not worth a darn in Texas, might as well open the vent window and enjoy the ride. That bieng said, ive got a wierd urge to own one...

 

My father had the home version to where you did put ice in the top and repaced the lid, it melted down the sides, with a small fan in the middle. It would cool the living room. After he passed I gave it to a used parts yard owner who still use's it.
I would think someone could easy improve on the old ideal.

 

XCept maybe West Texas. We ran swamp coolers there with great success. Had a monstor one on top of my shop.

 

Trad Hamsters are available, in single- and two-speed models.
But they tend to blow if over-revved.

Single-speed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWh91uJHBUs

Two-speed "Shifter Wheel."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDrpPqsXfVU

 

Exactly right! There's no ice, it works on the same theory as a swamp cooler or those canvas bags we used to hang on the bumper when I was a kid.

They actually cool pretty good in the area where I live.

 

The cage is filled with Excelsior,

 

Theres a guy who makes a repop version that is molded plastic and looks real cool. Not cheap though but the cool thing is it has a 12 volt dc blower motor in it and even sittting still it'll blow cool aire in the car.
but yes it only works in dry arid areas of the country. I'll try and find his ad. Later yruhot,doug

 

i hope you took pics to get it back together right.

 

Did not know you were supposed to pack it with ice. Then it would work then.

-edit- apparently we both dont know how it works, since a guy above said no ice

 

I have one on my mordoor; at 60mph with my son holding his head about 2 inchs away he claims it blows cool air on him. I never felt any effect from it, now that I saw this I might give a rebuild a try who knows might work a little better

 

Sorry forgot about the water.....but we have always put ice and a splash of water in ours.

 

trust me it works a hell of a lot better with some ice in it to cool it down.

 

Here's mine. I bought it here and filled it with water to check it out, leaked and it had a small dent in the body. The guys at the body shop thought they could pull it apart and re-seal it. It came apart and at that point color matching the car and ordering a re-pop decal came about. Going back together this weekend. It looks like plastic hay in the tumbler. The cord or rope is sprung like a lawn mower and when you pull it, drum rotates inside. When you let it go, it retracts. You can see the tar on the edge of the inner panel on the right of the pic. I always thought they were welded from thermadore and not serviceable, wrong.