Evaporative cooler

An evaporative cooler employing combined direct and indirect evaporative cooling processes, comprising:

• a generally hexagonal heat exchanger;
• said heat exchanger including at least two first and second adjacent stacked hexagonal plates, each of said plates having a plurality of air flow flutes, with flutes on said first plate disposed at an oblique angular orientation relative to flutes on said second plate;
• water supply sources operatively disposed to direct water either into or out of all six sides of said hexagonal heat exchanger, said water supply sources operative to direct water (1) into an upper left angled face of said first plate and out a bottom face of said first plate, (2) into a top face of said first plate and out a lower right angled face of said first plate, (3) into an upper right angled face of said second plate and out a bottom face of said second plate, and (4) into a top face of said second plate and out a lower left angled face of said second plate;
• and
• at least one air blower operatively disposed to direct air either into or out of all six sides of said hexagonal heat exchanger.

An evaporative cooler employing combined direct and indirect evaporative cooling processes, comprising:

• a heat exchanger formed by a plurality of stacked plates, each plate being constructed substantially identically to an adjacent plate, each plate provided with a series of substantially parallel, open ended flutes through which air may pass, the flutes of one plate being angled at about sixty degrees with respect to the flutes of an adjacent plate;
• a first blower operative to direct a primary air flow stream in a first direction through the flutes of a first plate;
• a second blower operative to direct a secondary air flow stream in a second direction through the flutes of a second plate adjacent to said first plate;
• a first water source operative to introduce water to said primary air flow stream;
• and
• a second water source operative to introduce water to said secondary air flow stream.