I was testing out my Cool Shirt tonight afer I installed a new, factory-supplied J tube from the pump to the cooler outlet fitting. The inlet flow from the shirt sure looks like it doesn't have much volume. Is this normal? The last time I ran this thing was last October and I could have sworn that the inlet flow was like a gusher. FYI, my tubes and shirt are not clogged up with cruddy growth since I have kept a solution of alcohol in it, as per Cool Shirt's recommendation.

The outlet J tube has a small hole that is manufactured in the pipe. I can feel a good percentage of the water squirting out of this hole, although covering it up with my finger does not have any effect on the inlet flow. You can see the effect of this hole most noticeably in the second photo where the water is rapidly swirling. Note: inlet tube positioned "up" for photographic clarity and not for actual use.

Any help or feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Mine flows about double that Mark, but mine has never worked for more than 5 minutes without mysteriously ceasing to circulate. I just replaced the outlet connector tube with one that has no hole and ran the pump in my garage (through my shirt) for 90 minutes straight, and there was no hint of it slowing at all. I'm going to try it out one more time at NJ next week before sending it back for "rehab".. I also am thinking of buying a ceramic 3GPM/4.5 PSI submersible pump and just building it myself at this point...

 

why not build one with the pump outside? would the extra volume gained inside the cooler be worth it? would it lose prime less often?

 

Is that a different design (older) for Cool Shirt? Mine looks nothing like that.

 

Thanks, Gary. I thought it should be flowing better.

Lack of time and expertise come to mind for me, as well as knowing that the current unit is backed up by Schaeffer, hopefully.

Dell, I bought this last year, I believe. Not sure what the newer designs look like.

I guess I need to call Schaeffer. Thanks, guys.

 

Give me a sec and I'll run out to the garage to snap a pic............


....here ya go.

 

that is pretty much what mine looks like and mine is NOT functioning properly

 

Thanks, Dell. Very different set ups.

 

Very welcome. Hopefully that helps in some way....especially with any dialogue you have with Shafer Enterprises.

 

Dell...what size is that? Mine and Gary's both look like Mark's (24qt). Mine is about a year old.

 

Mine is the 24qt and I purchased it last month.

 

Very interesting Dell. I wonder if there is an inherent flaw in the older design that they've moved away from. Time to send it back for the new setup.

 

I can't speak to the design flaw (or lack thereof) but I will agree that the setup is more "clean" and tight.

 

Many people have talked about placing solid blocks of ice in the cool shirt container because they last longer. With Mark's "older" design, that looks to be difficult with the submersible pump taking up space in the middle of the cooler. With Dell's 'new' design, it looks to maximize the internal volume available in the cooler.

Maybe the 'new' design is just repsonse to user feedback and how the system is used?

 

Thanks for all of the responses, guys!