Anybody Familiar with Swamp Coolers? (house, to buy, movies)

[skins_fan82]

Well, with the temp hitting mid-80s the last couple days, its time for me to start looking at how to keep the house cool.

Our builder offered an A/C package, and looking bad I wish I would've just had it done, but I didn't. The cheapest quote I got was from Sears at over $3,500. Not really looking to pay that much right now. Somebody suggested to me that I consider a swamp cooler. I've never heard of it in my life.

Did some google research, and they seem to be pretty cool. They've got nicer ones that actually look like A/C units. I even asked around, and several people I work with have swamp coolers and say they work great. Use less energy than an A/C, and they actually suck out the stale air in the house as well as pump in cool air.

Does anybody know about these things that could maybe toss in some opinions? Should we just get air conditioning?

[davebarnes]

A/C is:
more expensive to install
way more expensive to operate
fills your house with dry, cool air
provides higher re-sale value

Swamp (evaporative) coolers are:
cheaper
cheaper
fills your house with moist, cool air
provides less re-sale value

The one downside of a swamp cooler is that if you run it too much, you can pump too much water into your house and your books will get moldy.

You should talk to an HVAC firm that installs both and get their opinion.

[mic111]

Swamp coolers do OK on mild hot days that are dry. They don't do anything for a hot day that is humid. They cool things down a bit but can only go a set amount below the day's temperature because they are really just putting water in the air. They also tend to swell your woodwork and can make doors a bit sticky. To use them you have to have a window open at all times to allow the air to exit. If you like to sleep with your window shut for quiet the bedroom can become quite hot since the cool air will not blow through there.

You have to dewinterize and rewinterize them so can't be used easily when you aren't sure if a freeze is coming again. Same applies in the fall once you turn it off and winterize it, any hot days you just live with.

We used the drain water to fill our outdoor pond. We also had something with the pump/drain assembly malfunction once and it flooded down through the ceiling. Luckily we were home and caught it right away so everything dried out without damage but if it had happened while we were out of the house it could have been a disaster.

I had one for 10 years. Just installed air conditioning this past winter. Ahhh, I feel like I live in modern times again. If you can swing it I suggest going with AC. If you can't a swamp cooler isn't bad but plan on getting something like a portable AC with the vent through the window for your bedroom.

[ca-ut-??]

i hate swamp coolers. My in laws used to have swamp coolers in Utah. I hate the smell and how they affect the food. I can't explain it.

[LAAFTERHOURS]

What about a whole house fan? Not AC but not expensive to buy and most you can install on your own. They create a windtunnel through your home pulling outside air in through open windows up through the fan that is installed in the ceiling on the second floor.

Regarding swamp coolers, I dont recommend. They add moisture to the air and make it feel like a 'swamp' or in other words humid. If you really need ac, get a portable unit after the heat dies down but before summer hits. You can find them online, in costco type places for a few hundred. They are good at cooling down a room or two.

[infinitylove]

My parents have a swamp cooler and I hate it. It seems to only cool the area where it is installed and is really noisy. Maybe window a/c units would be better. You could put them in the rooms where you live and sleep and are relatively inexpensive.

[dynimagelv]

Swamp cooler, properly installed, maintained and operated will work...and will turn your cajones to ICE
#1 there MUST be airflow from the Swamp to every corner of the house and there MUST be a way for air to exit in each room you want cooled....i.e. a window left open a few inches....allows the warm air to exit....if you stand outside and hold your hand up to this open window, you should feel cool air leaving the building....do NOT panic, this is good, as long as it isn't too much cool air.....



OH.....and when the summer rains come, you should plan on going to the movies for the afternoon cause NO swamp will work in humid weather....

[xeric]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

A/C is:
more expensive to install
way more expensive to operate
fills your house with dry, cool air
provides higher re-sale value

Swamp (evaporative) coolers are:
cheaper
cheaper
fills your house with moist, cool air
provides less re-sale value

The one downside of a swamp cooler is that if you run it too much, you can pump too much water into your house and your books will get moldy.

You should talk to an HVAC firm that installs both and get their opinion.

I wonder if the OP will get unbiased info from most HVAC companies in this area. I've heard that most of them push AC heavily.

[xeric]

Originally Posted by mic111

They don't do anything for a hot day that is humid.

But we don't have these type of days here.

[jazzlover]

In Colorado, mechanical A/C is a waste of money for all but a very few humid days in summer. Evaporative cooling is highly efficient and effective if it is used properly. The key is to move the cooled air through the house and out (via opened windows or doors). If that air flow is restricted, the air in the house becomes water-saturated and the cooler ineffective. The poster above who mentioned moldy books--that is a classic case of having air flow through the house restricted.

A benefit of evaporative cooling in Colorado is that it adds humidity to the very dry air being drawn in from outside, which actually can help people with sinus problems, etc. in Colorado's low humidity environment. Mechanical A/C effectively removes moisture--great in the humid Midwest, but bad in dry Colorado.

For the record, I've used nothing but evaporative cooling my whole life in Colorado. My father was a Mechanical Engineer who designed evap systems for everything from residences, offices, up to 20,000 sq. ft. livestock buildings. Designed, installed, maintained and operated correctly, evaporative cooling is efficient, mechanically simple, and very cost effective.