I spent 29 years in Tucson.
So I guess I'm qualified as a desert rat.

I used a bleeder kit (~$5). There's a "T" fitting which you put
in the tube between the pump and the spider. Most of the water
flows straight thru. Out the side of the T is a small connection for
a 1/8"(?) tube. This small tube runs out the overflow and the end
just gets stuffed into any stack pipe for the plumbing. A cheap
sheet metal pinch clamp adjusts the flow rate in the small discharge
tube.
This worked great and kept the build up of calcium to a minimum.
Ace HW had them. Home Despot too.

A friend of mine tried feeding his swamp box with soft water. Instead
of the hard calcium build up he got sodium crystals which were quite
soft and long and thin. Much easier to clean off the sides than calcium.
They also shed from the inside of the pads and got blown into the
house. His wife went ballistic.

Art


"SteveB" wrote in message
news:cguje.11188$gp.5660@fed1read03...
Ahhhhhhhhh. Living in the desert ............. it's 105 today.

My swamp cooler was making odd noises, so I checked it. The pump was
wearing out and making wierd noises.

Went to Homer's and got another. While there, I encountered a water dumper
that exchanges the water after eight hours of running time.

I believe that this cooler uses softened water, because at the beginning of
each season, it looks like Carlsbad Caverns inside. This exchanger touts
that it will make everything run better, and keep the deposits down. It
also claims that it will save water, which I find hard to believe, since it
dumps all the water after eight hours of use.

Long story short, I got one, and am going to try it on one of my swampers.
I have two. Anyone have any experience with these?

They are spendy, coming in at $48 per.

Advice and anecdotes appreciated. Puhleeeeeze, only desert rats that know
what a swamp cooler is need reply.

Steve