On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 08:45:15 -0700, SQLit wrote:

"TCS" wrote in message
...
Is it possible to connect a swamp cooler to the ducting of a home heating
system so that the cool air will be distributed throughout the house?

for those of you who have no idea of what a swamp cooler it, it is a
cooling
system that uses evaporating water to cool forced air. Air is drawn from
a box
where 3 or 4 sides are wetted pads and when the water evaporates it drops
the
air temperature up to 40 degrees depending on the dryness of the outside
air.
Swamp coolers only work in dry climates.


Done all of the time here in Sunny Phoenix. The cooler has a barometric
damper installed just below the blower. The heating/cooling part of the unit
will have either a slide plate or an damper installed so that the cooler air
is not forced over the coils. First time you turn on the cooler each year
dirt and dust comes out of the ducts. Then by a/c time there is all the
humidity soaked into everything. Maybe good for you but not with my
allergies.

Coolers only work well when the dew point is below 40 degrees. I have had
coolers/a/co systems for more than 20 years. They work, they also bring in a
lot of dirt. My last cooler was a MasterCool. Single 8 inch thick pad with a
240v 1 hp 2 speed motor. When the dew point was low the house would approach
60 F inside. Not bad. But this only lasted a month or so then it was back to
the a/c.
So before you make the decision to do this. Check the weather service in
your area and get the history on the dew point vs temperature.
In my opinion what you save in electricity you spend in water, and time
keeping the damn thing clean. Since most coolers are on the roof, I will
never have one again. I had back surgery and ladders do not work well for me
anymore.
Good luck with your decision.


I live in denver and they work extremely well when the temperatures goes above
90. When the temperatures get that high, it is always extremely dry. My
last house had a monster mounted on the roof with ducting in the attic to two
locations. Currently I have a swamp cooler feeding in through a window and
it kind of sucks as it blows like mad in one room and barely reaches the far
end of the house. Wife grew up in new mexico and had the idea of using the
heating system ducts and I just want to know the problems I might face. I
don't want to buy a new furnace every four years or have to rip out the cooler
in order to sell the house.