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Steve B
 
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Default Swamp cooler questions

Well, it's the spring ritual in Las Vegas again.

Swamp cooler prep.

This year, my pads look like Carlsbad Caverns. Very thick with white and
yellow hard crud.

I really believe that the water is from the hose bibb loop, and not from the
water softener that provides water to the rest of the house. I could be
mistaken, though. But, it seems to me that softened water would have less
minerals in it, and if it were to be soft water, there would be less crud
buildup. Am I right?

I bought one of those automatic things that empty the water every day and
lets new water in. Do those work? I bought it two years ago and never
installed it.

Do the pads make a difference? I hate working with excelsior. One year I
used some pricey blue stuff, and it lasted two years. At the end of the
first year, I power washed it clean, but it didn't seem to have the
absorbency or cooling effect the second season.

Last year, I used some honeycomb looking slightly greenish tinged paper/wood
product stuff. Heavy, heavy buildup.

I know that this is a yearly thing. I grew up here.

But, what are some things that I can do so that there is not so much
buildup, it is easier to rehab every year, and, of course, to get the max
degree of cooling? In addition to the questions asked above.

Steve


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Oren
 
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Default Swamp cooler questions

On Fri, 10 Mar 2006 14:05:58 -0800, "Steve B"
wrote:

Well, it's the spring ritual in Las Vegas again.

Swamp cooler prep.

This year, my pads look like Carlsbad Caverns. Very thick with white and
yellow hard crud.

I really believe that the water is from the hose bibb loop, and not from the
water softener that provides water to the rest of the house. I could be
mistaken, though. But, it seems to me that softened water would have less
minerals in it, and if it were to be soft water, there would be less crud
buildup. Am I right?


Is the hose bib on the softener, per say? My understanding is all
outside bibbs are not softened (Las Vegas), nor the pool water supply.
I do have a bibb on my softener loop and it is soft water, no serious
calcium as I connect my "wheel around garage cooler" to it in late
June and until mid September.

I bought one of those automatic things that empty the water every day and
lets new water in. Do those work? I bought it two years ago and never
installed it.


Do the pads make a difference? I hate working with excelsior. One year I
used some pricey blue stuff, and it lasted two years. At the end of the
first year, I power washed it clean, but it didn't seem to have the
absorbency or cooling effect the second season.


Last year, I used some honeycomb looking slightly greenish tinged paper/wood
product stuff. Heavy, heavy buildup.

I know that this is a yearly thing. I grew up here.

But, what are some things that I can do so that there is not so much
buildup, it is easier to rehab every year, and, of course, to get the max
degree of cooling? In addition to the questions asked above.


A few bucks at the orange store will get you "aspen wood" filters.
Look in the swamp cooler section. I put a new set in last year. I
think they retain the water longer, making a cooler breeze. Beats the
heat..

Oren

"My doctor says I have a malformed public-duty gland
and a natural deficiency in moral fiber, and that I am therefore
excused from saving Universes."
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Mark D
 
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Default Swamp cooler questions

Hi Steve, I'm in NM, and familiar with Swamp Coolers, and work on them
all the time.
Gotten pretty good at it actually.

As far as synthetic panels versus Aspen Straw panels, I myself really
like the Synthetic Blue stuff the best myself. they claim better
cooling with most synthetic Panels, but in all actuality, there's
probably not a heck of a lot of difference.

The downside with Aspen Panels is the tons of Straw Crud that always
accumilates in the bottom of the resovoir, and if the Water Pump Clogs
up, then it can't do it's job of Pumping, and Spraying Water onto the
Panels. I've seen this stuff clog up the entire system from the pump,
and particularly the Spray Bar-Spider.

The old Round Swamp coolers can really be a headache, with the round PVC
Spray Bar, that has numerous little holes drilled into it.

The Spray Bar must provide full flow for the Swamp cooler to work it's
best.

Soft Water versus regular Hard Water? Well I'm sure the soft water has
to be a improvement versus the hard, as the PH probably isn't as
alkalinic with soft water, and thus there will be less build-up of
deposits. Water in NM is generally loaded with Caliche, and the only
thing I use local water supply here for is Bathing, Brushing my Teeth,
the Swamp Cooler, and the garden-lawn.

Having fresh water flow in constantly I suppose could be an advantage,
but here in NM, generally during the day with high heat, there's plenty
of evaporation taking place anyway within the swamp cooler, and the
float is usually always-a-trickling.

I find that here, one cannot go an entire season without periodic
service, draining of the resovoir, and using a cleaner-conditioner, and
once flushed, I then use an anit-bacterial liquid, and i also place a
condistion block in the unit, but most of these methods only seem to
help little. Things like water filtration, and soft water I'm sure would
make much better improvements to staving off sediment, and scale
build-up. Here, I'm generally replacing Pads-Panels once a year, and
due to many nasty dust storms we get over here, I try to stay on top of
Resovoir maintainence. Deifnitely do make sure your Pump sits in some
sort of Basket, and if you can, pullit periodically to clean with an
acidic product. Believe it or not, I use "The Works" Toilet Bowl
Cleaner on the pump's bottom grids, and the Basket. When the basket
looks really poor, dump it, and replace, they're only $2-$3 ea.

A Spider Snake can come in handy to clean out clogged water tubes, and
do make sure proper float level is correct for your unit, not too much,
or too little.

I'm typically up on my roof doing this 3-4 times a season to get optimum
performance.

With whole house Swamp Coolers, I had found mine was seeming to give
awefully poor air flow, just not enough ommph. What I did, was I
replaced the stock pulley (12") with a smaller 10" Pulley on the
Squirrel Cage. This helped by causing the squirrel cage to spin faster
on either Low-or High Fan Speeds. (just like gears on a racing bike)

To then find the correct size Belt, all one has to do, is take a string
to measure what the new belt needs to be for the new Pulley Combination.
Tie the string in a knot, slip it off the pulleys, and then on your way
to the local retailer.

Belts come in every size imaginable. of course there's a point one
cannot go beyond woth Pulley swaps, as the motor may then be placed
under more strain.

After any service is done, I always make sure that I leave one panel
accessable, so I can see how everything is working before I button it
all up, and come off the roof. One time I didn't do this, and the Hose
going from the Water pump to Spider was pinched by one of the panels on
my Square Cooler (Hose was a bit too long)
I was wondering 'hey. it isn't that cool in here!?"
Hope this helps you, Mark

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Mark D
 
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Default Swamp cooler questions

Oren, As I mentioned in my last post, I believe that provided both
types of panels are getting the proper water supply from the pump, and
spray bar, I think both will do a pretty adequate job.

Whether which one will retain water longer, you might be correct that
the Aspen does, but will this make any improvements when the cooler is
shut off? I reckon we all can say no, it won't.

The biggest downside I've seen with Aspen, is pulling literal handfuls,
and handfuls of this nasty straw mess from the bottom of coolers, and
once this stuff starts running through the system, eventually everything
becomes restricted, and clogged, and it's usually the basket that the
pump sits in, and then onto the spray bar.

How many people's swamp coolers I've worked on to find this, and I would
correctly asume that with this swampy mess at the bottom of a swamp
cooler, this cannot be a healthy thing.
All it is then, is a breeding grounds for bacteria, and molds.
Something I surely wouldn't want to be breathing during the summer
months.
Mark

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Rich256
 
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Default Swamp cooler questions

Steve B wrote:
Well, it's the spring ritual in Las Vegas again.

Swamp cooler prep.

This year, my pads look like Carlsbad Caverns. Very thick with white and
yellow hard crud.

I really believe that the water is from the hose bibb loop, and not from the
water softener that provides water to the rest of the house. I could be
mistaken, though. But, it seems to me that softened water would have less
minerals in it, and if it were to be soft water, there would be less crud
buildup. Am I right?

I bought one of those automatic things that empty the water every day and
lets new water in. Do those work? I bought it two years ago and never
installed it.

Do the pads make a difference? I hate working with excelsior. One year I
used some pricey blue stuff, and it lasted two years. At the end of the
first year, I power washed it clean, but it didn't seem to have the
absorbency or cooling effect the second season.

Last year, I used some honeycomb looking slightly greenish tinged paper/wood
product stuff. Heavy, heavy buildup.

I know that this is a yearly thing. I grew up here.

But, what are some things that I can do so that there is not so much
buildup, it is easier to rehab every year, and, of course, to get the max
degree of cooling? In addition to the questions asked above.

Steve



I will guess that soft water really doesn't make a lot of difference.
More important is to change the water often.

I have a small hose running down to allow totally draining the tank. I
might do that as often as once a week during hot weather. I just let it
drain out on the lawn.

I used to have a hose hooked to the pump line so that a small trickle
was being pumped out at all times when the cooler was running. Either
method works good.

When I am going to be gone for a few days I turn off the supply and
totally drain the tank to let it dry out & kill off any mold that might
be forming.

I like the blue pads more than the Aspen because it doesn't have those
pieces of wood floating around.

The thick honeycomb paper seems pretty good too.


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Mark D
 
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Default Swamp cooler questions

I've seen some swamp coolers which have automatic thermostats, and
generally how they work, is they start the pump up first for a few
minutes, this wets all the pads first, and then the fan kicks in.

This probably provides cooler air sooner, and most likely also aids in
dust reduction into the home.

If the swamp cooler fan kicks in immediately, and the pads are bone dry,
the squirrel cage is now sucking the accumilated dust from the dried
out pads into the house. mark

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SQLit
 
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Default Swamp cooler questions


"Steve B" wrote in message
news:ZLmQf.845$wp.239@fed1read12...
Well, it's the spring ritual in Las Vegas again.

Swamp cooler prep.

This year, my pads look like Carlsbad Caverns. Very thick with white and
yellow hard crud.

I really believe that the water is from the hose bibb loop, and not from

the
water softener that provides water to the rest of the house. I could be
mistaken, though. But, it seems to me that softened water would have less
minerals in it, and if it were to be soft water, there would be less crud
buildup. Am I right?

I bought one of those automatic things that empty the water every day and
lets new water in. Do those work? I bought it two years ago and never
installed it.

Do the pads make a difference? I hate working with excelsior. One year I
used some pricey blue stuff, and it lasted two years. At the end of the
first year, I power washed it clean, but it didn't seem to have the
absorbency or cooling effect the second season.

Last year, I used some honeycomb looking slightly greenish tinged

paper/wood
product stuff. Heavy, heavy buildup.

I know that this is a yearly thing. I grew up here.

But, what are some things that I can do so that there is not so much
buildup, it is easier to rehab every year, and, of course, to get the max
degree of cooling? In addition to the questions asked above.

Steve


The dumping pump worked well for my last cooler. Only mine dumped on run
time, like every 6 hours. Build up will go down if you change the water
frequently. I ran "softened" water through mine, (17 grains) using
potassium. No problems, other than the usage of the potassium.

A sacrificial anode is a damn good idea. Cleaning and a fresh coat of
"black death" is a must.
With clean water and old pads I then run a quart of "cooler cleaner" through
the machine. (sulfamic acid???)

Thicker the pad the better change you will get until the dew point gets to
about 40-45 F depending on your "comfort factor" personally I do not like
the humid feeling when it comes.
With the older 4 pad frames I used two of the store bought pads if they were
thin or cheap 3 per frame.

The "best"cooler out there that I am aware of is the Master cool with the 12
inch wet section. You will not find these in the BORG stores.

Check all the belts, pillow blocks and then amp the motor. I ran mine at
FLA. Changed motors ~5-7 years. Needed a pump about the same time.
Water is pretty expensive here so the last swamper I had I kept track of the
water and power bill. For the difference in cost I am an a/c guy now days.

Check your barametric damper, and if your game upducts did seem to lower the
temps in the home by exhausting the attic heat out. I used the fresh air
duct for the hall furnace during cooler time. Just opened the door and let
the air funnel into the attic.





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Neill Massello
 
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Default Swamp cooler questions

Steve B wrote:

Well, it's the spring ritual in Las Vegas again.

Swamp cooler prep.

This year, my pads look like Carlsbad Caverns. Very thick with white and
yellow hard crud.

I really believe that the water is from the hose bibb loop, and not from the
water softener that provides water to the rest of the house. I could be
mistaken, though. But, it seems to me that softened water would have less
minerals in it, and if it were to be soft water, there would be less crud
buildup. Am I right?


Water softeners generally replace calcium ions with sodium ions, so
you'll just get different kinds of salts. Dunno if they're easier to
clean than the calcium scale.


I bought one of those automatic things that empty the water every day and
lets new water in. Do those work? I bought it two years ago and never
installed it.


They reduce but don't eliminate salt deposits. On a hot, dry day, a
swamp cooler can evaporate several gallons of water per hour. If your
water is hard, as it usually is in hot, dry climates, the water gets
briny pretty fast, and those minerals accumulate in the pads during a
season. A bleeder between the pump and the pads keeps the water fresher
than daily flushing, but it also consumes significantly more water. (No
free lunch.)


Do the pads make a difference? I hate working with excelsior. One year I
used some pricey blue stuff, and it lasted two years. At the end of the
first year, I power washed it clean, but it didn't seem to have the
absorbency or cooling effect the second season.

Last year, I used some honeycomb looking slightly greenish tinged paper/wood
product stuff. Heavy, heavy buildup.

I know that this is a yearly thing. I grew up here.

But, what are some things that I can do so that there is not so much
buildup, it is easier to rehab every year, and, of course, to get the max
degree of cooling? In addition to the questions asked above.


The single-inlet jobs use a deep, honeycomb-style fiber pad with large
holes that don't clog with scale nearly as quickly and can last several
years, but that design requires higher air velocity through the pad and
doesn't work as well in a standard multi-pad units.

My observation is that nobody's come up with substantial improvements in
pad or cooler design, no matter what the advertising claims. They're all
about the same in cooling efficiency, and they all require a lot of
maintenance.

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