Swamp Coolers in the Desert (home, live, moving to)

[mlb]

They were cited.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

I loved my swamp cooler when I lived in Sugar House! My electricity bill was low, low, low. I had to turn it off sometimes in July and August as the house got too cold. I let my handyman do the servicing, never charged too much. He knew when to replace the pads. Of course, my house was built in 1921 as a square with the cooler in the middle. It blew into all the rooms from the central hall.

[SWFL_Native]

How have swamp coolers been working the past couple evenings/nights? I need to have it at 70 or under to sleep comfortably and wonder if the sc can even touch that given the extremely warm days.

[Geo-Aggie]

With the 100 degree temperatures my house has been holding at about 76-80 upstairs, during the heat of the day (with me turning the cooler on at about 1-3 pm when it hits about 80 inside), then when the sun goes down, it cools down to about 72 before I turn it off (around 11pm). Last night I left it on since it was 88 outside at midnight when I went to sleep, and I woke up this morning being uncomfortably cold, I didn't check the room temperature, but it was cold. The basement is typically 5ish degrees cooler all day. *It should be noted that these temperatures are from a 6 year old digital alarm clock and my basement temperature is a guesstimation using my body's heat and cold receptors, I have no idea how accurate they are, but it feels comfortable by my standards.

Also, if you're running your AC at below 70 all day and night, I certainly hope you have solar panels or some other way to offset the amount of energy you're using. The environmentally responsible place to set your AC in this kind of heat is probably more like 78.

[370z]

We live in southern NV and I love mine! It has really lowered my electric bill in the summer.

[Wata-Z]

This summer was MUCH cooler and wet than most summers (With the exception of July). It rained virtually every day in August which is very unusual. It also was VERY humid in August where I lived, so it was very unusual.

Swamp coolers are a hit or miss. We used to have one at my house but it barely worked. My cousins have one and it works great. Swamp coolers are VERY hard to remove, so often people are too lazy to even try one out. I also find them a bit ugly, but hey...They save money.

Also, they are also very annoying during wildfires iirc because the smell comes with it.

[Geo-Aggie]

I'm reviving an old topic, I know - but I just had some additional input.

When it comes to evaporation coolers, the pads you use matter. A lot.

When I first moved into my house the previous owner was using aspen pads. That summer it never got above 75 degrees in my house. The next summer I used the same aspen pads. Since they do wear down over time they didn't do as well. The hottest days where it got into the mid-100s I saw temperature in my house creep up above 75 but the air coming out of the cooler was still quite cold.

This spring I decided to replace them. I didn't research this well and just bought some blue mesh pads because the packaging advertized them as "better" than the aspen pads and they were cheaper.

Well, the packaging lied. The only thing they are better at is being terrible. They cool the outside air maybe 20-25 degrees, so my swamp cooler was blowing 80 degree air into my house. It has been in the low 80s inside the past couple days, and miserable. At night when it cools down into the 70s, the air coming out barely felt 10 degrees cooler. These pads are such trash and so that's where I put them.

I put new aspen pads in last night and the air coming out of the cooler is back down to where it was when I first bought the house, nice and cold.

So my advice to any of you other eco-friendly swamp cooler users: Don't buy the blue pads. Use aspen. Being a renewable product it's more sustainable anyway.

[irman]

Originally Posted by Geo-Aggie

Don't buy the blue pads. Use aspen. Being a renewable product it's more sustainable anyway.

Uhuh ... , there are the blue ones and the green ones, and then the Aspen ones.
Found out a long time ago that the wood shaving type (aspen) was the best and in the long run the cheapest (?)

I buy them slightly larger than the cooler frames, and then just stuff the pads in.
I also make sure that the pads are fully underneath the water supply troughs.

The last few days it has been the *ideal* situation for a swamp cooler ...

Question to Geo-Aggie :
How many years do you use the *same* pads ??
I change them every year !

[eggalegga]

I've tried aspen, the blue ones & some green ones. The green ones were the worst. The blue ones, second best, and yes, the aspen were the best. I found that the blue ones would sometimes last more than one cooling season. But the aspen had to be replaced each season. And those awful green ones didn't even last 2 months.

I got central a/c 5 years ago. It's very convenient, but expensive. With my floorplan & my swamp cooler vent location, the swamp cooler was very efficient, cheap & comfortable. I miss my old power bills.

[arleigh]

This is all really funny ,
I have never changed the excelllsier pads in my swamp cooler and they seem to be working just fine .
I put silver in the water to kill bacteria and do not waste it .
I live in the wine country and it's been hitting the100s every day except when it's over cast and muggy ,then I just use fans.
During the day all the windows are closed and darkened and in the evening and through the night ,if the tempretures are agreeable ,every thing is opened up to draw all the heat out of the house (structure) .
If I had the money I'd completely cover the house in solar pannels ,for 2 reasons.
They would add an insulative layer against the sun baking the roof , making it last even longer . wind and weather would hae less wear against the base roof as well.
The pannels can be producing power and paying for it's self in a few years ,and providing me power when every one else is suffering with brown or black outs.
I already live on solar and wind and love the advantage it gives me.
My current solar is built on my shop trailer ,and wired to the house .
I use to move a lot, so it always goes with me.
$29. a month isnt bad for an electric bill.
Mostly the swamp cooler, refrigerator, washing machine, large air compressor, and welding and machine tools, are what I use city power for.