When VW Beetle owners turned to swamp coolers to survive the summer – Jalopnik

There has never been a car like the Volkswagen Beetle. It is the most mass-produced car that is sold before the Toyota Corolla, made with more than 21 million during its 65-year lifespan (even with a break in production during the Second World War). It can still be seen on roads in Nations around the world, so it is not a shock that “the human car” in history has entered history as a global cultural icon.

With a car with such a wide range, it is not surprising that the beetle has had many unique adjustments, from a $ 1500 self-built hot rod to baja bugs and again in spark plug builds with wheel spats and a dashboard-mounted coffee maker. But there is a simple addition that stood out – and endure the test of time.

If you have seen bugs in the summer, there is a solid chance that you have seen what may be a mailbox on the window. No matter how bizarre it seems today, it was vital in hot months of yesteryear, so that drivers cool in the cabin. These are marsh coolers, and although they were once a necessity to help bug owners beat the heat, they have evolved into part of the vintage Volkswagen culture.

As soon as the open-air cars such as the Ford Model T made way for the closed cabin models of the 1930s and ’40s, things started to heat up inside. By 1930, however, Thermador had devised a solution with the characteristic “car cooler”.

These car coolers were mounted on the side window of the passengers and relied on what evaporation cooling is called. The technology dates back to ancient Egypt, but was modernized for home cooling in the 20th century. The only thing that these coolers need to work is that their wood fiber or cellulose cushions would be immersed in water. While the car drives and moves air through the cooler, water evaporates from the filter and the heat absorbs. As a result, the air is cooled before it blows through the window and blows into the cabin. Popular mechanics promised that these cabin coolers could lower the temperature behind the wheel with a maximum of 15 to 20 degrees.

The most important catch was that the cooler air that blows in the cabin is more humid after absorbing the water, which means the stickier the climate, the less effective the unity. Bummer for people in the deep south, but for those in the dry deserts of America, it was a big hit. Another problem came from those who waited too long to change their fiber blocks, which led to algae and bacteria that grew on the bus. That scent would earn the accessory the nickname ‘Swamp Cooler’.

By the 1950s, Auto -Aar conditioning and climate control systems started to hit their pass. Many car manufacturers made the switch to internal, cooled systems. Although moders and VW dealers would find ways to cram these units in bugs, it was only in the debut of the new beetle in 1998 that Bugs would come from the air -conditioned factory.

We can state a handful of reasons why VW has stayed away from air conditioners for so long. The big one is that air -cooled flat four engine that works overtime. Aftermarket AC units could remove a large piece from the power of the boxer, and some owners reported it to switch it off so that the car could have enough beans to free up a hill. No shock, since the beetle was never a performance vehicle, and it was also far from a luxury car, keeping the costs low an important priority for VW. Part of what the bug made so iconic was that the car was almost unchanged between 1938 and 2003. The minimalist approach kept the prices low and maintenance easy.

That marsh coolers have decades in service than what was expected, whereby bug owners fluctuate them deep in the second half of the 20th century. Even today, Die-Hard Volkswagen fans and manufacturers recover vintage models and even build brand new coolers from nowhere. Now embraced as an aesthetic choice and a tool, swamp coolers not only keep drivers who feel cool, but also look cool.