[dynimagelv]

ohhhh lavender...they really dont comp equipped with snakes n gators .....



or do they?

[ScoopLV]

We have our house insulated and solar screened to the point where we ONLY use evaporative coolers. We can keep the interior temperature in the low 80s without air conditioning -- so far. On those rare "super hot but also quite humid" days, we'll resort to using the air conditioner. I expect we'll use the AC less than 20 times this year.

Our electric bill (for a 3,700 sqft. two-story house) tops out at $80 per month. (However, it cost us roughly $4,000 in improvements to get to this point: pergola, gable fan, insulation, solar screens, outdoor kitchen, etc.)

[=Lavender=]

Originally Posted by dynimagelv

ohhhh lavender...they really dont comp equipped with snakes n gators .....



or do they?

I DONT KNOW LOL but it sure sounds murky, mosquito-ish, dirty, moldy, sweaty, sticky, hummmid, GROSS........

[Everdeen]

We have one that we use. July and August they are out of the question, but we have not done improvements like Scoop and I want my house no higher than 78 degrees.

I knew someone who had huge trees that shaded her house pretty well and that was enough to use only the swamp cooler. Except on the few muggy days we have.

A friend who is an AC guy was telling me about some sort of unit that is superior to others. I wish I could remember what it is called. He said it cooled about double traditional swampers do. He said they are very expensive - $2500 at his cost. To me, that is no where near the cost of a good air conditioner.

[dynimagelv]

Originally Posted by =Lavender=

I DONT KNOW LOL but it sure sounds murky, mosquito-ish, dirty, moldy, sweaty, sticky, hummmid, GROSS........

ACTUALLY they work pretty good.....just be technical n call them Evaporative Coolers......no swamp n they freeze yer bunz off.

[MollieW]

I have a fairly large swamp cooler (25 x 21 inch) that was installed in what should have been the garage window when we moved in. My house is 2300, one level, and when I get up in the morning I turn on the cooler, leave the garage door into the house open and right now when it is 93 outside it's 73 in my house. I keep the air conditioner set at 79 and then only time it seems to kick on is about 5 pm for a short time. About to get my first electric bill from doing it this way and am interested to see the difference from last month when I didn't use the swamp cooler at all.

[jacklndn]

I just moved to Henderson full time about two weeks ago after visiting here for several years. Prior to this I was in Northern California, and almost always uncomfortable with the dampness and general humidity there.

I just installed a Bonaire Durango 4500 window mount cooler last week, and I have been impressed with its cooling capacity. Several days it kept the house a full 30 degrees cooler that the outside temp.

The house is 1550 sq feet, single story. The house is 'U' shaped, and the cooler is at the end of one leg of the 'U', in the family room. That will always be the coolest room, (77 when it is 107 out) but also the most stiflingly humid. The far end of the house will only be 5 degrees warmer (82 at 107). I think that's amazing.

The problem I have had is with the humidity level. Normally the house is about the same as the outside relative humidity, 10-15%. With the cooler on it climbs rapidly to 50%, and occassionally more. I've lived in a rain forest, and a laguna (that 's polite for swamp) and find 50% humidity at these temperatures almost unbearable. I'm much happier at 40% and below. That's one of the reasons I moved to the desert.

I've experimented each day with opening and closing combinations of windows and doors around the house, but the humidity always rises uniformly across the house, even with sliding glass doors wide open at the far end of the house, and several windows as well in the same room as the cooler. I've had as much as 45 sq feet of open doors and windows while experimenting with this.

If I open the windows wide in the same room as the cooler, the airflow makes the temp/humidity comfortable for the occupants of that room, at the expense of the rest of the house.

But, this is the same performance I get with a portable evaporative cooler I already own.

I've tried reducing the flow of water by reducing the water restrictor from the factory installed 1/4" oricfice to 3/16" orifice. The result was that the cooling was mildly impacted, only dropping 22-24 degrees, but the humidity was unchanged.

I removed all the restrictors to see if I could gain extra cooling, but did not, and the humidity remained the same.

I have since reinstalled the original factory flow restrictor.

Today I turned the unit off when I saw the carpet beginning to buckle in the living room!

I really want to love this thing, and am comfortable with the maintenance and attention they require, but I won't trade one form of discomfort (heat) for another (humidity). I simply can't have the fixtures and contents of the house get damaged by the humidity either.

I'd be very grateful to hear and ideas, suggestions, or input from locals who have experience with evap coolers in this environment.

TIA

[SoCalCpl2]

I hate swamp coolers

[LVAllen]

Jacklndn,

You're chasing a ghost. They aren't called "evaporative coolers" for nothing. The increase in humidity is a function of how efficient the cooler is. More cooling comes from more evaporation, which causes the increase in the relative humidity.. you could swap the Celdek pads with aspen, which would result in it only cooling 10-20 degrees on a good day, but with lower humidity.

You could also invest in a two-stage cooler, but for the money it would take, you might as well run your a/c.

[SoHoVe]

The missing swamp cooler is going to be one of the first things I replace in this house. I'm not sure what size I had but it hung in the window and although it was loud and created a noticable "wind" it worked fabulous in this house and I love being able to leave the patio door open so the dogs can go in and out. House always seemed nice and fresh with the constant air flow (I'm a smoker).