Evaporative coolers

Rivrrat

Or swamp coolers as they're better known.

My wife really likes ours, so I've been on the roof four days in a row getting this stupid thing tweaked right, so I won't have to play with it for...oh...another week before something else goes wrong with it. They're notorious for being finicy pita's, that cool fine when there's no humidity, but are worthless if there's even a bit of humidity. That covers here until July when monsoon season hits.

So anyway, I'm up there today, the outside temp is 90, and I'm on a white coated flat roof, it must've been 100+ on the roof. I'm on my hands and knees futzing with this thing, and 10 feet away, the flippin air conditioner kicks on, and now I know it's a nice 76 inside the house, where I'm not.

Did I mention I have AC too? :mad: Next year, she's going to learn how to get it going if she wants it so much.

Sorry for the rant.

scottvamp

I feel your pain. The first house i bought they forgot to run the water line to the cooler. Well, every year it would freeze with early frost or break due to the outdoor weather. I had to replace the water line every year. Some of the nights drop down in temp and i had to turn the cooler off, the next day the water would stale and it smelled like fish market when i turned the unit back on. The humid air would swell and shrink doors. I had to add ice to the water on very hot or humid days. Had window AC units in the bedrooms of the house to wards the end. I will NEVER go swamp again.
If you have AC and swamp, they work against each other.

Frank Z

scottvamp wrote: »

If you have AC and swamp, they work against each other.

No, not in Arizona. Evap Coolers will pre-cool the air and then A/C doesn't have to work as hard.


Add a couple of Evap-Tabs (bleach) to the cooler twice a year to kill the bacteria that cause the swampy smell. Replace the cooler pads annually, no matter how good they look. Oil the bearings twice a year. DO NOT tighten the belt like you would a car's fan belt. It should have 1-2" of up/down movement.

For those in colder parts of the country, disconnect the waterline at both ends every fall and blow the water out. This will prevent ruptured water lines and avoid flooding.

Rivrrat

We use the swamper when it's dry, and switch to AC when it gets humid. If I had my way, we'd never use the swamp cooler (although it does cut our power bill in half when we use it) It does play hell with the woodwork in the house. Our first year here, I watched a clock face I had made split at the glue joints.:eek:

I may be the king of my castle, but the queen is definitely in charge. :rolleyes:

BTW Scottvamp, I had the air on to cool the house down while I was working on the swamper, they do buck against each other since they share common ducts. The swamper has a flapper to seal off when the AC or furnace is running.

Frank Z. Thanks for the tips. Moving here from Seattle 7 yrs ago, I've had to learn about these beasts on my own.

I-SIG

I didn't know what the hell one was until I moved to Tucson. I'll never have one, that's for sure.

Wes

scottvamp

Frank Z wrote: »

No, not in Arizona. Evap Coolers will pre-cool the air and then A/C doesn't have to work as hard.

No, evap cooler works by moving air. The really nice units move LOTS of air. A larger house will run multiple units. You have to have a windowS cracked or open to move air. It creates a open wind chill, by circulating cooler air. AC's work most efficient in closed homes. Therefor they work against each other. But like i said i found a happy median with window AC units blowing direct cold air in a small area. When it is humid, it almost makes the air worse.

scottvamp

I-SIG wrote: »

I didn't know what the hell one was until I moved to Tucson. I'll never have one, that's for sure.Wes

Your telling me, i moved from Louisiana. Their was no such thing.........

mrbigbluelight

Frank Z wrote: »

No, not in Arizona. Evap Coolers will pre-cool the air and then A/C doesn't have to work as hard.


Add a couple of Evap-Tabs (bleach) to the cooler twice a year to kill the bacteria that cause the swampy smell. Replace the cooler pads annually, no matter how good they look. Oil the bearings twice a year. DO NOT tighten the belt like you would a car's fan belt. It should have 1-2" of up/down movement.

For those in colder parts of the country, disconnect the waterline at both ends every fall and blow the water out. This will prevent ruptured water lines and avoid flooding.

Good measures. If it smells bad, then it has fungus and/or mold and/or bacteria.

The only problem I'd see with bleach tabs is that a homeowner may get carried away and use too many in the belief that "if a little is good, a whole lot is better".
Sure, you're more certain to kill any and all monkey squezings, but than your pan turns corrosive along with your evap cooler components.
Another alternative is the use of biocides. We use biocide packs in our evaporator coil drain pans, and they're very effective.
Did a quick google on swamp coolers at Sears, figuring they might have biocide packs; they might, but I don't feel like having a sales rep call on me.


A good 2-stage evap cooler doesn't add that much moisture to the air.

steveinaz

Swamp coolers work pretty well, my first home had one. I like the way they add some moisture to the house---it's dry as hell here. My last 2 homes have had AC. I DON'T miss the maintenance on the swamp cooler. But we're about 6-8 degrees cooler than Tucson due to higher elevation.

steveinaz

Rivrrat wrote: »

Did I mention I have AC too? :mad: Next year, she's going to learn how to get it going if she wants it so much.

Sorry for the rant.

Just take the belt off and turn off the water supply---she'lll never know...muah hahahahahaha

BIZILL

rivr, your first mistake was waiting till it got hot to service your swamp. your second mistake was waiting till it got hot to service your swamp.

Rivrrat

rivr, your first mistake was waiting till it got hot to service your swamp. your second mistake was waiting till it got hot to service your swamp.

Any other course of action would require me to plan ahead.

engtaz

Drugs are bad LOL