Swamp Cooler tune up.
- Thread starter 930dreamer
- Start date
cj7365
Well-known member
Trying to limp this unit along for another season. The Abq hard water is murder on these units. I scraped all the **** from the pan, sanded and coated it with this pan goop. New belt and pads, fresh oil in the cups.
Looks to pretty to put water in it, looks like you should get this summer and maybe more out of it.
Im looking at trying to find one for my shop, went last summer with out one, not too bad in there when I have both of the gargage door open.
Im not going to install it, but put wheels on it so I can move it around
OP
I have one at my shop in Amarillo on a rolling cart, doesn't help much and we have a bit more humidity.
The nice thing about swamp coolers is, virtually every part is individually replaceable, and for peanuts compared to the price of parts for refrigerated A/C. Bearings, shafts, spiders, pulleys, even blower wheels. Admittedly, you might have a hard time getting the right size of replacement blower housing, so short of rust holes you can put your fist through it can probably be repaired for less than $100. (And even then, there's TIG welding or brazing...)
It looks like you have the paper honeycomb pads? Do you like them better than aspen?
It looks like you have the paper honeycomb pads? Do you like them better than aspen?
Can you situate it so that it pulls in outside air and at the far side of the shop leave something open for the humid air to escape? That's the problem with portable ones, if allowed to recirculate the same air over and over the air gets saturated and the cooler becomes ineffective.I have one at my shop in Amarillo on a rolling cart, doesn't help much and we have a bit more humidity.
OP
The cooler sits in the walk through door, I have a window open on the South wall near the ceiling.
I bought a roll of the pad material three years ago, this is the last of it. Any pad I've used will be coated in sediment at the end of the season, so I look for one season use only.
With the dry air in Abq this unit will chill you to the bone.
The pads on your portable or the rooftop unit? For the rooftop at least, a bleedoff line or purge pump should keep the pads clean-ish... kind of hard to do that on a portable unit though.
OP
The cooler in my pic has the combed material, not sure what it's called? It's on the roof of my mobile home in Abq, I need to look into the purge pump.
My shop has the bluish pads, non fiber, non paper, super cool?
Well I'm just a swamp cooler newbie (am in the process of installing one on my home's roof as I speak), but the honeycomb pads are sometimes sold under the brand name "Cel-Dek". Cel-Dek is supposed to be more effective than aspen, but is also more expensive. It's also reputed to last for several years before falling to bits, so a purge pump or bleed kit "should" keep the dirt and minerals off it to save you money on pad replacement.
The blue stuff, from what I've read, is not quite as effective as aspen but also doesn't leave bits of itself in your water pump or spider to jam or clog things up. My new cooler came with aspen already installed so I'm just going to use it and see how things turn out for one season...
The blue stuff, from what I've read, is not quite as effective as aspen but also doesn't leave bits of itself in your water pump or spider to jam or clog things up. My new cooler came with aspen already installed so I'm just going to use it and see how things turn out for one season...
Angelfire
Well-known member
I ran with swampers for a lot of years. They work, sorta. I tried all the various pads and ultimately I always ended up back with the aspen pads. Can't say any of the others were better or worse per se, but cost wise etc...I saw no reason not to use the aspen versions.
I probably won't be looking at a swamp cooler for my garage. I really don't want to deal with the rust that could result on all my machinery.
I probably won't be looking at a swamp cooler for my garage. I really don't want to deal with the rust that could result on all my machinery.
OP
I don't know that you would have any humidity/rust issues in NM?
I have machine tools too (metal lathe/mill), so I know how destructive rust can be to precision surfaces. However, theoretically a swamp cooler shouldn't cause any more rust than would have formed anyway without one. Water condenses on machine surfaces when that surface is below the dew point, but no swamp cooler on the planet is 100% efficient so no swamp cooler should ever be able to cool air all the way down to the dew point.
Water condenses (and causes rust) when hot moist air hits a cold machine surface. But with a swampy, you're blowing cool moist air so as long as your machines aren't colder than the air, water "shouldn't" condense. (This is assuming, of course, that you have sufficient exhaust venting to allow all cooled air to escape before it hits 100% humidity.)
Whether or not I'd be willing to risk my own machine tools in such an experiment is another matter though.
Angelfire
Well-known member
Perhaps. But what happens when you raise the humidity in your shop during the day while cooling it. Shut down for the night, things (ie. machines) cool during the night, then the space heats back up in the morning. Machines are going to take longer to warm so hence you now have a cold surface with warm, moist air. I just don't like the idea of increasing the humidity in the space which is exactly what swamp coolers do. May not be actually be a problem. Any one with real world experience?
Cheers.
Cheers.
Hmm. I suppose you could run your swampy in "fan only" mode at night, or at least for 10 minutes or so before you leave, to bring in dry outside air.
OP
I understand, I'm in Abq(house) so if I can go from 20% to 40% humidity I'm happy. At night with the cooler off, the humidity would fall off.
At my shop in Amarillo, if I can knock off 10 degrees while I'm working I'm happy and zero moisture issues.
Coolerman
Well-known member
Maybe they need to build a pipeline from KY to NM. We have all the humidity you will ever need and will sell it CHEAP! (or exchange it for some dry air...) 
I've noticed they sell these "swamp coolers" in the UK in the last few years and call them "air-conditioners" (obviously sold much cheaper than genuine a/c). It is utterly absurd, as unlike Arizona, when it gets hot in the UK it is also usually very humid. It's not the heat that bothers me, it's the humidity. I fecking hate sitting there dripping in sweat and sliding off my seat in pants sweat and rashes. A fan can help a little bit, my portable a/c helps a lot (but is noisy and costs a fortune to run), the swamp cooler can only make matters worse as in adding more moisture to the room? I really don't get it how they actually sell that stuff over here? I think it is placebo, people think that running the fan over cold water makes them cooler?
I looked up the temperature/humidity for the UK in July and you're quite right, swampers are useless in 90% humidity climates.
Human skin is in effect a swamp cooler, so yes, a breeze will feel cool as it evaporates perspiration more quickly. But you can get that with just an ordinary fan, adding humidity with a swamper is like a screen door on a submarine where you're at. Sorry.
Absolutely incorrect.
A 2-ton 17 SEER A/C draws 2,130 watts (http://www.haieramerica.com/media/wysiwyg/.../duct.../19-SEER-Product.pdf).
On the other hand, a swamper with a 1/2 horse fan has the same cooling power as a 2-ton A/C system (relative humidity permitting
) and draws a theoretical 1,008 watts if I go by nameplate amperage rating (8.4 FLA), in reality it will be closer to 500-750 watts since fan motors don't run full-out in normal operation. Also, when conditions are mild I can run the swamper in low speed (250 watts) for even more savings.So, a swamper is still easily less than half the cost to run as the latest high SEER air conditioner, fancy DC inverter A/C technology notwithstanding.
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Angelfire
Well-known member
I replaced my swamp cooler with refrigerated (high seer but forget the number off hand), let me tell you, the swamp cooler doesn't run up the electric bill nearly like the refrigerated air does! They are definitely not even close in terms of energy usage.
I would like to share to all of you the solution to get the most out of any swamp cooler. You will not believe the difference.
1st) Most defiantly use aspen pads.
2nd) Double up on your pads. Two pads will fit easily. If you have a cooler that
takes 3 pads use 6, 4 pads use 8.
You will immediately feel the difference!
1st) Most defiantly use aspen pads.
2nd) Double up on your pads. Two pads will fit easily. If you have a cooler that
takes 3 pads use 6, 4 pads use 8.
You will immediately feel the difference!
I've also seen "fat" aspen pads for sale. Was thinking of trying those when my current set needs replacement. On my current set, I can definitely see spots where the pad is thin and lets a lot of light through, while other patches are thicker and darker...
When doubling up pads, is your water pump able to keep up? Seems like you might need to upgrade to a bigger pump to fully wet twice the surface area...
To get the "theoretical" max performance out of your motor you have to adjust pulleys to the mfger. recommended 3 lbs deflection w/ a new belt. You can indeed reach the amp rating printed on the motor plate and get 1008 watts or whatever. How do you do that, clamp meter, allen key ( the one they sell at Samon's rocks), 7/16 box wrench and lots of time. I've never gotten to the max output but I've come close maybe w/in a quarter of an amp, or 30 watts. As to low speed, it's not half but 2/3 of high and then add in additional draws like pump (anywhere from .5 to 1.5 amps), box fans (up to an amp), ceiling fans and you're looking at around 10-15 amps (1200-1800 watts) depending on what floats your boat. Which brings me to my question.
Does anyone have experience with, or maybe own, the new ultra high seer 26 mini split systems from fujitsu/mitsubishi/daikan? You see I've got a real, unusual situation at my place. I've got to replace my heating system (electric baseboards, uughhh) and side benefit of mini split is sweet, cold a/c. I know I'll save on heating by at least half, but if that's offset by cooling costs that are almost double what's the point of spending 5K or so. Also heard that they're real loud. I mean I know I can keep my cooler and run that, but the temptation of movie theatre cold will be too much on certain days. Like yesterday, today, and tomorrow. So Any voices, first post, sorry if i am rude just trying to get thoughts out
Does anyone have experience with, or maybe own, the new ultra high seer 26 mini split systems from fujitsu/mitsubishi/daikan? You see I've got a real, unusual situation at my place. I've got to replace my heating system (electric baseboards, uughhh) and side benefit of mini split is sweet, cold a/c. I know I'll save on heating by at least half, but if that's offset by cooling costs that are almost double what's the point of spending 5K or so. Also heard that they're real loud. I mean I know I can keep my cooler and run that, but the temptation of movie theatre cold will be too much on certain days. Like yesterday, today, and tomorrow. So Any voices, first post, sorry if i am rude just trying to get thoughts out
Actually, I've got my pulley adjusted to the minimum CFM. On 'high' mode, my cooler about blows me out of the room so I see no need to push the max!
The nameplate on my motor shows 8.4A on high and 4A on low. So, a little less than half the cost of high.
Don't forget installation costs. Your 26 SEER mini-split is going to cost 2X-3X as much as a rooftop swamper, and a wall/window swamper is even less.
And repair? you don't want to see the A/C tech's bill when something goes wrong with the mini-split. It's $100 just to diagnose (if you can even get someone competent to come out) and repairs might exceed $1,000. On the other hand, just about anything in a swamper can be fixed by you in half an hour with a screwdriver and $100 in parts.
0.9A nameplate rating here. Real-world will be less.
Why would I need box fans when the swamper is running?
90-100W on high, but they get shut off when the swamper is on. The other occupants in my house all whine about how cold it gets.
You probably want to start your own thread in the Garage Journal Heating and A/C forum. This thread is about swampers, your question will probably not been seen by many mini split experts here.
Nick Danger
Well-known member
I hope your pan goop lasts better than mine did. Maybe my prep wasn't sufficient, but about half of it peeled off the next spring. I quit worrying about it, because I'm not seeing rust anyway, just a lot of lime deposits.
For pads, I use those big green rolls that get trimmed to size. CoolPad, I think? I've been very happy with their performance.
When the pump went out, I replaced it with a higher volume model. That made a huge difference. If I ever have to replace this cooler, I'm going to upgrade the pump right out of the box.
For pads, I use those big green rolls that get trimmed to size. CoolPad, I think? I've been very happy with their performance.
When the pump went out, I replaced it with a higher volume model. That made a huge difference. If I ever have to replace this cooler, I'm going to upgrade the pump right out of the box.
I have a home up in Bernalillo. A few years ago I put one of those Aussie Breeze Air swamp coolers on the home. It has a polymer cabinet, two pumps, thicker pads, more efficient fan, a sensor that pumps the very small sump out as needed.
It uses much less water and electricity than the older style cooler that I had on it. 50-60 bucks a month for electricity.
I pretty much have to have refrigerated air here in Eddy county. The electricity runs 3-4 times what I pay on the Bernalillo home.
It uses much less water and electricity than the older style cooler that I had on it. 50-60 bucks a month for electricity.
I pretty much have to have refrigerated air here in Eddy county. The electricity runs 3-4 times what I pay on the Bernalillo home.