Perhaps someone can make a suggestion.

I bought a new evaporative cooler last spring. (An evaporative cooler
replaces an A/C in dry weather and costs much less to run. It runs water
though pads, which have air sucked through them and blown into the
building. They work quit well.)

This spring, as usual, I prepared it for a summer's use. Replaced pads,
lubricated blower, cleaned the interior, and checked it out. For the
first time I found a inch or more coat of calcium from my hard-water well
in the bottom of the reservoir (about 3 x 3'). Never happened before in
some 30 previous years. Granular on top and a 1/4 to 1/2" of solid below.
The problem is removing the solid. Scraping will take many many hours and
will surely damage the paint. I'm currently trying a generous amount of
Lime-a-way (active ingedient unlisted) in an inch or so of water on it.
Helps, after a couple of days, but not very much. I tried adding some
toilet bowl cleaner (20% hydrochloric acid) earlier this morning but so
far little help. I don't want to damage the baked-on enamel paint if I
can help it. Swimming pool acid sounds rather drastic to me.

A cooler book I have suggests a tile and tub cleaner. Those I looked at
at Walmart didn't say much if anything about removing calcium so I will
use the TB cleaner instead - this brand (The Works) works VERY well on my
toilet the past few years.

Evidently my well water has suddenly this past year become much much
'harder'.

I have plans for avoiding this problem in the future but first I need to
remove what's there now.

TIA


--
"Experience is something you don't get until
just after you need it." Steven Wright

On 3/26/2012 12:24 PM, KenK wrote:
Perhaps someone can make a suggestion.

I bought a new evaporative cooler last spring. (An evaporative cooler
replaces an A/C in dry weather and costs much less to run. It runs water
though pads, which have air sucked through them and blown into the
building. They work quit well.)

This spring, as usual, I prepared it for a summer's use. Replaced pads,
lubricated blower, cleaned the interior, and checked it out. For the
first time I found a inch or more coat of calcium from my hard-water well
in the bottom of the reservoir (about 3 x 3'). Never happened before in
some 30 previous years. Granular on top and a 1/4 to 1/2" of solid below.
The problem is removing the solid. Scraping will take many many hours and
will surely damage the paint. I'm currently trying a generous amount of
Lime-a-way (active ingedient unlisted) in an inch or so of water on it.
Helps, after a couple of days, but not very much. I tried adding some
toilet bowl cleaner (20% hydrochloric acid) earlier this morning but so
far little help. I don't want to damage the baked-on enamel paint if I
can help it. Swimming pool acid sounds rather drastic to me.

A cooler book I have suggests a tile and tub cleaner. Those I looked at
at Walmart didn't say much if anything about removing calcium so I will
use the TB cleaner instead - this brand (The Works) works VERY well on my
toilet the past few years.

Evidently my well water has suddenly this past year become much much
'harder'.

I have plans for avoiding this problem in the future but first I need to
remove what's there now.

TIA



I always used city water so my deposits may not have been as bad as yours.

But, looking on the internet looks like you might try:

Vinegar solution (most likely garden vinegar) or

Lime Away or CLR.

KenK wrote:
Perhaps someone can make a suggestion.

I bought a new evaporative cooler last spring. (An evaporative cooler
replaces an A/C in dry weather and costs much less to run. It runs
water though pads, which have air sucked through them and blown into
the building. They work quit well.)

This spring, as usual, I prepared it for a summer's use. Replaced
pads, lubricated blower, cleaned the interior, and checked it out.
For the first time I found a inch or more coat of calcium from my
hard-water well in the bottom of the reservoir (about 3 x 3'). Never
happened before in some 30 previous years. Granular on top and a 1/4
to 1/2" of solid below. The problem is removing the solid. Scraping
will take many many hours and will surely damage the paint. I'm
currently trying a generous amount of Lime-a-way (active ingedient
unlisted) in an inch or so of water on it. Helps, after a couple of
days, but not very much. I tried adding some toilet bowl cleaner (20%
hydrochloric acid) earlier this morning but so far little help. I
don't want to damage the baked-on enamel paint if I can help it.
Swimming pool acid sounds rather drastic to me.

A cooler book I have suggests a tile and tub cleaner. Those I looked
at at Walmart didn't say much if anything about removing calcium so I
will use the TB cleaner instead - this brand (The Works) works VERY
well on my toilet the past few years.

Evidently my well water has suddenly this past year become much much
'harder'.

I have plans for avoiding this problem in the future but first I need
to remove what's there now.

You have two choices:

1. Mechanically (chip/scrape)

2. Chemically. Any acid will do it but for that much you will either have
to use a strong acid or wait and wait and wait, renewing the weak acid when
it becomes neutralized. Lime-Away probably uses phosphoric acid. Too weak.
Rome could have been built in less time of you try vinegar. Swimming pool
acid is hydrochloric acid...same as your toilet bowl cleaner and what is in
your stomach. That's what I would use, diluted by 50-75% to try, stronger
if necessary. IT would become neutralized and need to be changed too. BTW,
add acid to water, *NEVER* vice versa.

Both ways are likely to damage the paint.


--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Would be nice to know what the scale compound is, and if it's acid
sensetive. I'd try a small area first, with the acid

Acid to water is mostly a problem with sulfuric acid, the others are less a
concern.

I wonder if a pressure washer would loosen the scale?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"dadiOH" wrote in message
...

2. Chemically. Any acid will do it but for that much you will either have
to use a strong acid or wait and wait and wait, renewing the weak acid when
it becomes neutralized. Lime-Away probably uses phosphoric acid. Too weak.
Rome could have been built in less time of you try vinegar. Swimming pool
acid is hydrochloric acid...same as your toilet bowl cleaner and what is in
your stomach. That's what I would use, diluted by 50-75% to try, stronger
if necessary. IT would become neutralized and need to be changed too. BTW,
add acid to water, *NEVER* vice versa.

Both ways are likely to damage the paint.


--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

I have plans for avoiding this problem in the future but first I need to
remove what's there now.



I don't have a suggestion for removing it, but to avoid it in the future,
install a tap kit (I forgot the exact name they use) . It takes a small
amount of the circulating water and dumps it out onto the lawn. This allows
the chemical concentraion in the system to reach an equalibrium level where
the concentration of chemicals does not go up indefintly. Without the tap
the water and all the chemicals goes in, the water evaporates and ALL the
chemicals remain in the cooler.

If you set up the tap so say 10% of the water is dumped and 90% evaporates,
then the concentration will go up to about 10x but no higher.

Mark

I'm in NY, where swampers simply don't work. We do have humidifiers for the
winter, which face similar problems. The ones which have fill only, load up
with minerals bacteria, and so on.

Aprilaire has a model with a flow through evaporative pad. Much of the water
drains out the bottom. Not a big concern, as water is plentiful and
inexpensive. Sure cuts down on maintenance.

Sounds like the water drain for the swamper will sure make the maintenance
easier. Now, the OP is still left with the question of how to remove the
scale from his unit.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"MarkK" wrote in message
...

I don't have a suggestion for removing it, but to avoid it in the future,
install a tap kit (I forgot the exact name they use) . It takes a small
amount of the circulating water and dumps it out onto the lawn. This allows
the chemical concentraion in the system to reach an equalibrium level where
the concentration of chemicals does not go up indefintly. Without the tap
the water and all the chemicals goes in, the water evaporates and ALL the
chemicals remain in the cooler.

If you set up the tap so say 10% of the water is dumped and 90% evaporates,
then the concentration will go up to about 10x but no higher.

Mark