Evaporative Coolers

[Dying Fetus]

Does anybody here use swamp coolers to cool down their garage? How effective are they? I have an 18x18 and I'd like to be able to cool it down a little bit. It gets really hot in Arizona. It's only April and we're already in the 90's.

 

[nate379]

I bet it'd work great. I had one in my house in Idaho and it was good. Kept the house at the upper 70s at the max when it was 105-110 outside. Old 1900s house too, little insulation.

 

[35mastr]

I have used them in a home and a shop. They are better than having nothing at all. They make some pretty cool ones now that are mobile.

 

[Cuda]

The less the humidity, the better they work. I would think in Arizona it would be very effective for you.

 

[Falcon67]

In low humid, desert environs they work like gangbusters. My wife's dad had one on their house in Albuquerque and he had to take me on the roof to show me it wasn't refrigerated air. Now in Fort Worth in the summer they work if you load 'em up with 20 lbs of ice. Other than that, you are just hot and sticky with a breeze.

 

[Ray-CA]

We have a pair of them and they work really well. During a stretch of 110 degree days I had them both running in the garage and it brought the temperature down to about 85. One thing I do is keep 1-liter bottles of water in the freezer and drop them in the water reservoir. That helps keep the water cool if not cold.

Ray

 

[Grumpy365]

In low humid, desert environs they work like gangbusters. My wife's dad had one on their house in Albuquerque and he had to take me on the roof to show me it wasn't refrigerated air. Now in Fort Worth in the summer they work if you load 'em up with 20 lbs of ice. Other than that, you are just hot and sticky with a breeze.

That is exactly what I was going to say.

 

[nolatoolguy]

YES THEY ARE GREAT IF YOU BUY A GOOD ONE. I suggest porta cool.

We use them too cool our horses during the summer. They work very good. We let them run all day no problems. Be willing to pay a pretty penny thoe. I have had the cheap style but they dont work as well.

I will try to get some pics for you.

 

[Dying Fetus]

Thanks for the replies!

I'm currently looking for a used one on Craigslist. I want to get one before it gets to tripple digits.

 

[Ironcrow]

I lived in Phoenix for 25 years and hate coolers with a passion. I'd install AC, not a cooler. I know AC cost 5 times more to buy and 5 times more to run. Coolers don't cool enough much of the time. They do increase humidity so you suffer more (but not as much as people who live in parts of, say, Texas).

Swap cooler? Not on my watch.

 

[Ironcrow]

Ha ha! Conversation (swear to gawd):

Me to wife: Some poor bustard from Tempe is asking about a swap cooler for his garage.

Wife: What? Is he nuts? Did he just move there?

 

[slip knot]

We put a swamp cooler in our shop two years ago and with a thermometer you can tell the difference. @5-8 degrees difference between inside and out but its hard to notice a difference between 100F and 93F. our humidity runs upwards of 95% regularly and the swamp cooler just makes the humidity worse. I believe that the lower humidity would be a lot bigger/more noticable difference in temps.

I'm thinking about a AC unit from a mobile home for my shop. An all in one unit with a small footprint.

 

[Stick Figure]

I just bought a smaller one that i keep near me in the shop, i just put a fan in front of it to up the "blowing power" its better than nothing, but you are going to spend some money to get one big enough to cool a whole building. Also keep in mind that unlike regular AC units, you really don't want things to be sealed up well. If you have a well insulated area that you are trying to cool, you will have the humidity problems that some have mentioned.

 

[930dreamer]

I don't have an evap in my shop but, I do in my vacation home in Albuquerque,NM. A window needs to a jar everywhere you want cold air. I can go from 20% humidity to 50% in two hours. Very dry here.

 

[burleymike]

Until I got my AC system finished I got a swamp cooler on CL for about $60. This is a big window/wall unit, moves a lot of air. It worked great on dry days the only problem is we live close to the river/swampy areas. The wind comes from the south a lot in the summer and brings that damp air right over us and the cooler would not work so well. It could be 95 outside and it would be 83 inside with 70% humidity.

When I get to do my shop I will put it in there. It will be nice to have fresh air being pushed in all day long. In AZ you should have no problem at all since it is so dry. If you have really hard water you might need to replace the pads a couple times during the cooling season. Mine would clog up with calcium curds so bad the air flow would get cut off.

 

[bonneyman]

I'm in Tucson, and I can give you a few tips.
Evaps work great until the relaitive humidity reaches about 50%. So, until the monsoon hits in late July and August, an evap will keep your garage cool.
To help with the hard water scale, add some sodium hexametaphosphate to the coller water. Long name, amazing results. You typically have to buy it in 50 pound bags, but I use it in anything that uses water (toilet, laundry, sinks, etc.), so 50 pounds is not alot. No odor, safe around humans.
When the pads are new, the natural wood oils in the fibers tend to prevent their getting fully wetted and thus cooling suffers. Add some of your favorite fabric softener. Just a capful - don't ovedo it or it will foam up in the pump.
CELDEK pads are the best, folowed by aspen pads. Stay away from the paper and plastic foam pads - they don't work as well.
Hope this helps!

 

[konnerbelly]

Evaporative coolers compare very favorably to air conditioners. Evaporative coolers are excellent as long as humidity is low. This is because they cool by evaporating water particles, which takes heat out of the air for the evaporation to occur. As long as the air is dry enough for the evaporation to occur, the system is fantastic.Air conditioners are noisy, consume lots of electricity, require ozone-eating refrigerants, and are difficult for homeowners to repair. Evaporative coolers are relatively quiet, simple appliances which use less than a quarter as much electricity as an air conditioner.