After cleaning up the swamp cooler, lubricating, changing pads, removing
last year's calcium, etc. for a new season how do you clean the dust and
dirt out of the blower that shows up when the cooler is started up the
first several times? I use an old A/C filter I hold against the inside-the-
house grill to collect most of the dirt. The front grill doesn't come off,
that I can figure out, to allow vacuuming it inside. I'm not sure where the
dirt comes from - the new pads or it collects during the winter.

How do you handle this annoyance?

Also softening hard well water. I usually use one of those white blocks in
the water pan. This year I may try an in-line water filter/softener. Ever
try one of these?

TIA


--
"Where there's smoke there's toast!" Anon

On 27 Mar 2014 13:42:27 GMT, KenK wrote:

After cleaning up the swamp cooler, lubricating, changing pads, removing
last year's calcium, etc. for a new season how do you clean the dust and
dirt out of the blower that shows up when the cooler is started up the
first several times? I use an old A/C filter I hold against the inside-the-
house grill to collect most of the dirt. The front grill doesn't come off,
that I can figure out, to allow vacuuming it inside. I'm not sure where the
dirt comes from - the new pads or it collects during the winter.

How do you handle this annoyance?

Also softening hard well water. I usually use one of those white blocks in
the water pan. This year I may try an in-line water filter/softener. Ever
try one of these?

TIA

Don't know about the dust concerns, but the in-line canister filter
sounds good. They will collect minerals from the hard water. A clear
body will give a visual as to when you need to clean it.

On Thursday, March 27, 2014 11:03:01 AM UTC-4, Oren wrote:
On 27 Mar 2014 13:42:27 GMT, KenK wrote:



After cleaning up the swamp cooler, lubricating, changing pads, removing

last year's calcium, etc. for a new season how do you clean the dust and

dirt out of the blower that shows up when the cooler is started up the

first several times? I use an old A/C filter I hold against the inside-the-

house grill to collect most of the dirt. The front grill doesn't come off,

that I can figure out, to allow vacuuming it inside. I'm not sure where the

dirt comes from - the new pads or it collects during the winter.



How do you handle this annoyance?



Also softening hard well water. I usually use one of those white blocks in

the water pan. This year I may try an in-line water filter/softener. Ever

try one of these?



TIA



Don't know about the dust concerns, but the in-line canister filter

sounds good. They will collect minerals from the hard water. A clear

body will give a visual as to when you need to clean it.

A filter will not change the water hardness. The water hardness is dissolved minerals, not trappable by a filter except an osmosis filter. They are individual molecules. Almost always calcium and magnesium but sometimes there can be a silica component. It's important to test for both. A conventional water softener can exchange the calcium and magnesium for sodium but will not do anything about the silica. The sodium dissolves much easier than calcium so it tends to not accumulate on home fixtures and in appliances.. Since a swamp cooler evaporates the water there will still be residue, just it will be sodium instead of calcium. But it will be a lot easier to clean off. If you could set up your swamp cooler to occasionally overflow the pan then the dissolved minerals would wash out occasionally. That's how commercial ice makers deal with the problem.

On 27 Mar 2014 13:42:27 GMT, KenK wrote:

After cleaning up the swamp cooler, lubricating, changing pads, removing
last year's calcium, etc. for a new season how do you clean the dust and
dirt out of the blower that shows up when the cooler is started up the
first several times? I use an old A/C filter I hold against the inside-the-
house grill to collect most of the dirt. The front grill doesn't come off,
that I can figure out, to allow vacuuming it inside. I'm not sure where the
dirt comes from - the new pads or it collects during the winter.

How do you handle this annoyance?

Also softening hard well water. I usually use one of those white blocks in
the water pan. This year I may try an in-line water filter/softener. Ever
try one of these?

TIA

What is a swamp cooler?

On Thu, 27 Mar 2014 12:32:51 -0500, wrote:

What is a swamp cooler?

Sigh.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporative_cooler

jamesgang wrote in
:

A filter will not change the water hardness. The water hardness is
dissolved minerals, not trappable by a filter except an osmosis
filter. They are individual molecules. Almost always calcium and
magnesium but sometimes there can be a silica component. It's
important to test for both. A conventional water softener can
exchange the calcium and magnesium for sodium but will not do anything
about the silica. The sodium dissolves much easier than calcium so it
tends to not accumulate on home fixtures and in appliances. Since a
swamp cooler evaporates the water there will still be residue, just it
will be sodium instead of calcium. But it will be a lot easier to
clean off. If you could set up your swamp cooler to occasionally
overflow the pan then the dissolved minerals would wash out
occasionally. That's how commercial ice makers deal with the problem.


I probably used the wrong word. "Water Supply Line Scale Eliminator" "For
evaporative coolers".

I suspect I'll stick to the white block. They last all summer - this
'filter' says to change every three months. Too expensive!


--
"Where there's smoke there's toast!" Anon

KenK wrote in
:

After cleaning up the swamp cooler, lubricating, changing pads,
removing last year's calcium, etc. for a new season how do you clean
the dust and dirt out of the blower that shows up when the cooler is
started up the first several times? I use an old A/C filter I hold
against the inside-the- house grill to collect most of the dirt. The
front grill doesn't come off, that I can figure out, to allow
vacuuming it inside. I'm not sure where the dirt comes from - the new
pads or it collects during the winter.

How do you handle this annoyance?

Also softening hard well water. I usually use one of those white
blocks in the water pan. This year I may try an in-line water
filter/softener. Ever try one of these?

TIA



I tried the blower before I put the sides (and pads) on the cooler this
year. Same dust and dirt. So it accumulates during the winter. My vacuum
not strong enough to suck up the dirt through the blower blades with the
cooler sides off.


--
"Where there's smoke there's toast!" Anon

On Thu, 27 Mar 2014 09:31:41 -0700 (PDT), jamesgang
wrote:

A filter will not change the water hardness. The water hardness is dissolved minerals, not trappable by a filter except an osmosis filter. They are individual molecules. Almost always calcium and magnesium but sometimes there can be a silica component. It's important to test for both. A conventional water softener can exchange the calcium and magnesium for sodium but will not do anything about the silica. The sodium dissolves much easier than calcium so it tends to not accumulate on home fixtures and in appliances. Since a swamp cooler evaporates the water there will still be residue, just it will be sodium instead of calcium. But it will be a lot easier to clean off. If you could set up your swamp cooler to occasionally overflow the pan then the dissolved minerals would wash out occasionally. That's how commercial ice makers deal with the problem.

Good catch. I was kind of thinking a 5 micron carbon filter. It would
be cost prohibitive to put a water softener on a swamp cooler. IMHO

Thanks.

On 3/27/14, 2:05 PM, KenK wrote:
KenK wrote in
:

After cleaning up the swamp cooler, lubricating, changing pads,
removing last year's calcium, etc. for a new season how do you clean
the dust and dirt out of the blower that shows up when the cooler is
started up the first several times? I use an old A/C filter I hold
against the inside-the- house grill to collect most of the dirt. The
front grill doesn't come off, that I can figure out, to allow
vacuuming it inside. I'm not sure where the dirt comes from - the new
pads or it collects during the winter.

How do you handle this annoyance?

Also softening hard well water. I usually use one of those white
blocks in the water pan. This year I may try an in-line water
filter/softener. Ever try one of these?

TIA



I tried the blower before I put the sides (and pads) on the cooler this
year. Same dust and dirt. So it accumulates during the winter. My vacuum
not strong enough to suck up the dirt through the blower blades with the
cooler sides off.



Don't you cover your swamper during the winter, with the canvas cover
made for them ??

On 27 Mar 2014 18:05:52 GMT, KenK wrote:

I tried the blower before I put the sides (and pads) on the cooler this
year. Same dust and dirt. So it accumulates during the winter. My vacuum
not strong enough to suck up the dirt through the blower blades with the
cooler sides off.

A brush from HF to dust the squirrel cage off? Air compressor?

jamesgang wrote:

If you could set up your swamp cooler to occasionally
overflow the pan then the dissolved minerals would wash
out occasionally.

In my early days of using a swamp cooler (40s-50s) we had no
recirculator. So we just ran a hose down to water the yard. There was
little scale left on the louvers each season and those coolers lasted
for years.

When recirculators came into use the coolers would rot out much
faster. But even so they were still relatively cheap to repair or
replace.

My last experience with a cooler was with what we called a piggy-back.
It was a cooler built on top of an AC unit so that when the humidity
was low you could get the same house temperature with 20% of the
electric bill. But you didn't have to suffer when the humidity was
high. (With today's better efficiency AC units and insulated houses
the electric savings may not be as great.)

The dust smell when turning on the cooler for the first time each
season in my house was from the dust that had settled in the ducts
over the winter. Though the gas furnace use the same duct system, the
blower was much slower. So when the big cooler fired up it blew out
the ducts. You could actually see the stuff come out of the registers.
It only lasted for a few minutes though. Those were great days..

On 3/27/2014 8:42 AM, KenK wrote:
After cleaning up the swamp cooler, lubricating, changing pads,
removing last year's calcium, etc. for a new season how do you clean
the dust and dirt out of the blower that shows up when the cooler is
started up the first several times? I use an old A/C filter I hold
against the inside-the- house grill to collect most of the dirt. The
front grill doesn't come off, that I can figure out, to allow
vacuuming it inside. I'm not sure where the dirt comes from - the new
pads or it collects during the winter.

How do you handle this annoyance?

Also softening hard well water. I usually use one of those white
blocks in the water pan. This year I may try an in-line water
filter/softener. Ever try one of these?

TIA

I have worked on a number of swamp coolers but they're not common here
in high humidity Alabamastan unless they're installed in a business or
restaurant kitchen. As with all units which have a squirrel cage blower,
the only way to really get it clean is to remove the blower, most will
slide out, and get after it with a brush and water hose. I've had to
pull a lot of them out of HVAC air handlers and clean the blades because
the dirt build up will make the blower much less efficient at moving
air. It is a pain in the buttocks to clean them. ^_^

TDD

On 3/28/2014 6:24 AM, The Daring Dufas wrote:
I have worked on a number of swamp coolers but they're not common here
in high humidity Alabamastan unless they're installed in a business or
restaurant kitchen. As with all units which have a squirrel cage blower,
the only way to really get it clean is to remove the blower, most will
slide out, and get after it with a brush and water hose. I've had to
pull a lot of them out of HVAC air handlers and clean the blades because
the dirt build up will make the blower much less efficient at moving
air. It is a pain in the buttocks to clean them. ^_^

TDD

NYS has few swampers. The one I've seen was the one I
helped take apart, and haul away. The squirrel cage
blowers can be lot of work to clean. One I did in
middle of winter, trying to wash it all out with a
garden hose, standing in snow. No fun. Summer time,
I'd probably have used a pressure washer.

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

KenK wrote:
After cleaning up the swamp cooler, lubricating, changing pads, removing
last year's calcium, etc. for a new season how do you clean the dust and
dirt out of the blower that shows up when the cooler is started up the
first several times? I use an old A/C filter I hold against the inside-the-
house grill to collect most of the dirt. The front grill doesn't come off,
that I can figure out, to allow vacuuming it inside. I'm not sure where the
dirt comes from - the new pads or it collects during the winter.

How do you handle this annoyance?

Also softening hard well water. I usually use one of those white blocks in
the water pan. This year I may try an in-line water filter/softener. Ever
try one of these?

TIA



I guess yearly maintenance is a good idea. I had one in a desert apartment.
I did some maintenance on it one time, otherwise it served me well for 5
years. I'm not even sure I turned off the water in the winter. I didn't see
any maintenance being done in the army barracks I was at.

Greg

On Sat, 29 Mar 2014 06:18:22 +0000 (UTC), gregz
wrote:

I guess yearly maintenance is a good idea. I had one in a desert apartment.
I did some maintenance on it one time, otherwise it served me well for 5
years. I'm not even sure I turned off the water in the winter. I didn't see
any maintenance being done in the army barracks I was at.

Greg

When humidity reaches 40% - might as well turn off a swamp cooler.

In the desert here, my portable swamp cooler in the garage wore out.
A motor cost to much to replace. I still use the cabinet on casters
for tools, etc...

I've seldom seen them bother with the unit until they break. My
guess; house swamp coolers break in the dead of desert heat.
--
Definition of a camel: A horse designed by a committee

Oren wrote in
:

On Sat, 29 Mar 2014 06:18:22 +0000 (UTC), gregz
wrote:

I guess yearly maintenance is a good idea. I had one in a desert
apartment. I did some maintenance on it one time, otherwise it served
me well for 5 years. I'm not even sure I turned off the water in the
winter. I didn't see any maintenance being done in the army barracks I
was at.

Greg

When humidity reaches 40% - might as well turn off a swamp cooler.

In the desert here, my portable swamp cooler in the garage wore out.
A motor cost to much to replace. I still use the cabinet on casters
for tools, etc...

I've seldom seen them bother with the unit until they break. My
guess; house swamp coolers break in the dead of desert heat.

I live in the desert too. I've several times seen 115 here, rarely even
higher. 110+ is normal in summer. We have a monsoon season that begins in
mid-summer and lasts until fall. High humidity and thunder storms, rarely
(thank God!) hurricanes or tropical storms. Yet I continue to use my
cooler all summer. The humidity doesn't bother me as much as the expense
of A/Cing. My A/C rarely gets used. Lucky I've not married or I'd no
longer be and would be paying alimony instead of A/C electric and repair
bills.

I've replaced many cooler motors - at around $60 if I remember, vastly
less than a month's A/C electricity. At 79, hiring someone's labor to
replace it costs more than the motor. I keep a spare on hand, just like a
spare water pump, blower belt, and entry water valve and float.

You pretty much have to replace the pads every year, some do so more
often. And while one is at it, might as well lube the blower and scrape
out the crud.

To each his own.



--
"Where there's smoke there's toast!" Anon