The article describes in detail the designing of a hexagonal evaporative cooler of 0.23 cubic meter storage capacity developed using mild steel frame, wood cabinet, internally insulated with 0.05 m polystyrene foam, a suction fan of 5 m s–1 velocity air flow (2500 rpm), cooling jute pad of 0.02 m thickness and a water pump with discharge capacity of 0.014 lit min–1 for enhancing shelf life of tomato. The transient performance tests of the cooler devised revealed that the evaporative cooling system storage temperature and relative humidity depression from ambient air temperature varied over 14.5-20°C and 77-88 per cent, respectively. The green mature tomato stored inside this evaporative cooler performed well tell 33 days as against only 7 days, when stored under ambient conditions.
Ghebreyesus et al. (Tue,) studied this question.