mikew968

When I talked to Shafer they told me that the alcohol will not kill the fungus that grows inside the system. They were working on a solution and finally found it. I have no idea of the exact products they are using. Bleach will work to kill the fungus but will deteriorate the fitting, tubes, rubber etc. It is OK to flush with but get it all out of the system. I don't remember how much the new solution is but I'm sure a call to Shafer will solve that.

Mike

Phokaioglaukos

Mike, is it odd that the manufacturer suggested alcohol be used once a month to clean the system but now suggests its proprietary cleaning solution be used every time the Cool Shirt is used?

LVDell

That sutff is like $1 a bottle and they suggest every use.

Mark in Baltimore

That's why I think it would be good for a chemist to chime in and tell us if it is true that alcohol in the specified dilution will not work as a fungicide.

mikew968

The cleaning solution is a new product for Shafer and this will replace the alcohol as Shafer's recommendation. Maybe someone could ask a rep from Shafer to jump in here and address some of these issues.

Mike

Mark in Baltimore

Just tried out the new pump in my Cool Shirt and, WTF, it is no better than the photo in my first post in this thread.

https://rennlist.com/forums/showpost...27&postcount=1

onefastviking

I'm thinking the new clean out fluid is something similiar to what they put into waterbeds to prevent fungus as well.
Also be sure that the lines are not crimped anywhere (check shirt and/or under harness when buckled in) restricting flow, I have found this a few times.

Sean F

Mark...mine turned out to have the wiring backwards. Works fine now. The wires got crossed with the quick disconnect. I know you said you checked this, but you might want to rewire it just to be safe.

Mark in Baltimore

Thanks, Sean. Will give that a try.

APKhaos

Remember that their 'spec' is a flow rate of only 4oz in 10 seconds. I can pee higher volumes than that!

sbarton

DIY Cool Suit Writeup

Here's my parts list:
8 Qt Cooler $18
360gph WM Bilge Pump $18
25w rheostat $29
RC Battery Connectors $5
Dry Disconnects (4 pairs) $65 (~$8ea) (Need to find a cheaper place for disconnects)
Shirt Hoses
Cooler to Shirt Hoses
Cooler to Shirt Hose Insulation

The disconnects are the most expensive part of the cooler. If anyone knows where to find something compatible cheaper, please let us know.

-Scott

APKhaos

THat's about how I made my first cool shirt system.

FWIW, the standard retail coolers suffer from a slosh leakage problem. They are not even lightly sealed around the lid, and they dump water when cornering until they are sufficiently emptied to prevent further spillage. The early cool shirt coolers were the same, and everyone had the same problem. A couple of years ago, Cool Shirt came out with coolers that have nicely sealed lids with positive locks. These are the only coolers I know that solve the slosh problem, but I couldn't find a source aside from the Chinese manufacturer who only sells in LCL lots.

mikew968

The problem with mine was I has the wires reversed as well and the flow was about like yours. Now that I have it right it is working just as they say it should. I blew air thru the system to check it as well and used a 2nd shirt to make sure that was not the problem.

Mike

Mark in Baltimore

I reversed and re-reversed the MF'ing leads and my flow rate has not improved one iota.

Signed,

Not A Happy Camper

Todd B

Mark did you measure the flow, yours looks like mine. All this talk about flow, I went and bought a bigger pump to try, guess what? flow was the same, with or without the suit. (I have spare plugs). It looks like the limitation is the connections.