No chance to work on it over the weekend, but I do have some updates.
Once I turned it on I realized that I had bought a 7gph fan sprayer instead of a 2gph mister. In its current location, the sprayer puts out an arc about a foot wide and 2 inches tall. Because the flow rate is so high, most of the water hits the coils and drips down. I will go back to the hardware store and get three misters which will provide coverage on all sides over a broader surface area.
The ideal spray pattern will hit all sides with a flow rate low enough to be immediately evaporated. I shouldn't see any water dripping down the coils and should see steam in the air column leaving the unit. With the fan sprayer, I only see water pooling at the base of the condenser.
Looking over more of the
theory, "Analysis of current generation air conditioning equipment (this was the 9 SEER unit era) indicates an increase in air conditioning efficiency of approximately 1.2% per °F (0.7% per °C) reduction in condenser inlet temperature." This means that evaporative cooling has great potential for efficiency gains when temperatures are high and humidity is low.
On a side note, I am in a good climate for a mini split heat pump. However, right now I have a 13 SEER 80 AFUE ducted system that works fine. Since I don't know how long I will be in this house, I am unwilling to drop the money on it right now. Also, even though the costs are greater, I am going to see better returns air sealing and adding wall and crawlspace insulation to my 1930 house.