Buying an old house-how old is too old?

[Ponderosa]

Here's lots of data including that showing Tucson is more humid as a rule.

Average Relative Humidity(%)

[JoeC]

Same data, through 2002, from NOAA.

Sorry - that's the most recent I can find in table format.

[JoeC]

Originally Posted by Andros 1337

Swamp coolers are mostly a Tucson thing. Very few people here in the Phoenix area use a swamp cooler as their only cooling source; more people use them for spring and fall cooling.

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

I think they are getting rare in newer construction in Tucson as well. I have one on my patio. I used to have a piggy back Goettl. Saved me a bundle and I love, just love, the smell of new aspen pads in early summer! Like the orange blossoms and flowers on Baseline, it is a part of Phoenix now lost.

I'd also like to know why evaps are disappearing. We've been looking at older houses online (I like the 60s slump-block ranch style), and consider it a plus if it has a swamp. Sure, chances are, it'll have to be replaced as soon as we move in - but in comparison to an AC, the unit itself is cheap. Inexpensive to run, also. I know they have to be maintained (lack of maintenance leading to the derogatory nickname "swamp cooler"), but it's not THAT difficult. A close friend of mine, who had almost no mechanical skills whatsoever, dealt with the seasonal maintenance without any issues. Ran his until the monsoon kicked in, used A/C for the duration, then swamp again as soon as the dewpoint dropped. He figured he was saving ~$250/mo using the evap.

I remember Valley TV/radio weather forecasts including temp outputs for single- and two-stage evaps. That was 20 yrs ago. Now, there's little info available online concerning two-stage evaps - you can find them, but they're few and far between.

We've already decided to add an evap if the house we buy doesn't have one. Even if it costs $3000-$4000 (which I doubt - how much does it cost to run a water line and enough ductwork to tie the output to the main HVAC duct?), we'll recoup that within 6-7 yrs.

Any theories/facts? It's already been shown that the valley's relative humidity is NOT increasing, so there have got to be other factors that I'm just not seeing.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by JoeC

I'd also like to know why evaps are disappearing. We've been looking at older houses online (I like the 60s slump-block ranch style), and consider it a plus if it has a swamp. Sure, chances are, it'll have to be replaced as soon as we move in - but in comparison to an AC, the unit itself is cheap. Inexpensive to run, also. I know they have to be maintained (lack of maintenance leading to the derogatory nickname "swamp cooler"), but it's not THAT difficult. A close friend of mine, who had almost no mechanical skills whatsoever, dealt with the seasonal maintenance without any issues. Ran his until the monsoon kicked in, used A/C for the duration, then swamp again as soon as the dewpoint dropped. He figured he was saving ~$250/mo using the evap.

I remember Valley TV/radio weather forecasts including temp outputs for single- and two-stage evaps. That was 20 yrs ago. Now, there's little info available online concerning two-stage evaps - you can find them, but they're few and far between.

We've already decided to add an evap if the house we buy doesn't have one. Even if it costs $3000-$4000 (which I doubt - how much does it cost to run a water line and enough ductwork to tie the output to the main HVAC duct?), we'll recoup that within 6-7 yrs.

Any theories/facts? It's already been shown that the valley's relative humidity is NOT increasing, so there have got to be other factors that I'm just not seeing.

Get some UP-Dux to go with that cooler. They allow you to keep the windows closed and push heat out at the ceiling level.

[JoeC]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Get some UP-Dux to go with that cooler. They allow you to keep the windows closed and push heat out at the ceiling level.

Yup. My friend always had the kitchen window cracked whenever the evap was running. When we were looking at homes in Albuquerque (again, older homes - most with evap and A/C), many had side-draft vents to the outdoors in each room.