Does the swamp cooler work?

This one is an overview of how the swamp cooler works. This video is part of the heating and cooling series of training videos made to accompany my websites: www.graycoolingman.com and www.grayfurnaceman.com to pass on what I have learned in many years of service and repair. If you have suggestions or comments they are welcome.
If you are a homeowner looking to repair your own appliance, understand that the voltages can be lethal, the fuels are highly flammable and high pressures are used. Know your limits.

[@philiph1234]

Yes, I remember seeing a few when I was a child. I’d like to hear more about them, and more early HVAC stories.

[@mainj54]

I worked facilities maintenance for a restaurant chain in Las Vegas and we used evaporative coolers for our kitchen make up air and cooling . With the 8 inch Celdek pad coolers we could get close to a 30 deg.TD.

[@7x779]

I'm in the same area and easily get 35 sometimes even 40° temperature different from ambient put only on dry days of course . In fact I just started using my air conditioner about a week ago cuz the swamp cooler was working so good even on 112° dry days

[@TheGhettoLobster]

I liked to hear more stories about your dad and how HVAC was back in the day

[@grayfurnaceman]

Coming GFM

[@Straycurrent]

It was a big event in our house each spring starting up the cooler (in Phx). We'd buy excelsior pads at Yellow Front where the aisles were clogged with stacks of pads and the whole store was dense with the smell of excelsior. For a week or so after startup, the house too would have the smell of excelsior. All the houses in our subdivision had coolers on the roof originally installed by the builder in the '50s. No thermostat, no pump, no recirculation. Just fresh water distributed at the top of the pads and drained out via garden hose at the bottom. We'd keep moving the hose around the yard all summer to water the fruit trees and grass. Turning the cooler on and off also meant opening and closing the water valve piped through the hall closet. The cost of water wasn't prohibitive. I didn't learn till many years later that newer coolers recirculated the water via pump, float and fill valve, etc,

[@grayfurnaceman]

Oh my, Yellow front. Brings back memories. GFM

[@ruenjou]

My first and only experience with swamp coolers was in Albuquerque in the late 80s. It did work but I had no ideas how it worked...Please show us. Thanks.

[@kentkirkpatrick7953]

Currently running a portable swamp cooler from the 80s on my patio. It's the same profile as a box fan... It rocks!!! 105° and its pushing 83° air under the table. Feels like an arctic blast!

[@kg4muc]

Great video. I have never dealt with one but with our price of electricity it might be something to consider

[@PracticalCat]

As an Australian (the only other place apart from America and South Africa) that has eveporative cooling I can tell you that they used to work pretty well during dry summers. Now that the climate Is wonky and the summers are very very humid they dont work at all. Its worse having it on than off.

[@MsFishingdog]

Great video. Thanks

[@beieber4life]

I like vids like this , and this was very interesting 🙌🏻

[@pastormartinez4676]

I’ve always wondered. Why don’t they freaking build them out of stainless steel sheet metal? The price would be negligible,when life span expectancy of regular ones is about seven years due to corrosion.

[@Chris2745100]

A city like San Jose CA where it usually does not get super hot like Phoenix (for the most part) but retains low humidity would be the prefect environment for a swamp cooler.

[@MacMcCabe2456]

What's your thoughts of running 1" copper in loops 4' deep in your back yard then circulating that cool water through a heat exchanger in the cold air return in a forced air system with a dedicated thermostat just to turn the air handler on and off ? Would it cool the air considerably on a 100 degree day ? The water holding tank for the water would very well insulated and be approximately 250 gallons and constantly circulate under ground into the basement then out again and continue the cycle using boiler style circulation pumps.

[@grayfurnaceman]

It could be effective but ground temp is the key here. 50F would yield about 65F water temp. Normal indoor coil temp for refrigerated air is about 40F. I would expect effective cooling would be about 85F to 90F outdoor ambient. Of course insulation and window positioning make a lot of difference. Depth would have to be somewhat lower, like 5 to 6". Copper would be prohibitively expensive. Pex could work. GFM

[@danwittels5542]

A swamp cooler service video would be interesting. I'd watch it for sure. Also, what humidity ranges are they effective?

[@kentaltobelli1840]

The key is dew point, the lower the better. Around 40°F is effective, you can do indirect or direct which impacts the indoor humidity.

[@Jaskaran.Barham]

How about using a swamp cooler to cool the condenser of an ac in dry areas

[@adambergmann7716]

Swamp coolers in commercial kitchens act more as a make up air to balance pressures created by the negative flow of the kitchens exhaust hood.

[@rj.parker]

Of course they are make up air and are used in areas that might have huge burners and cooktops operating non stop. They are better than simply dumping 95f air in for makeup air.

[@grayfurnaceman]

They are indeed make up air units, but make up air must be conditioned. Cooling in summer, heat in winter. GFM

[@buddfeatherly2082]

Just fired one up for this weekend for a new restaurant owner in okanogan valley. How coincidental is that. Whoever installed it for them didnt really tell them about it being a swamp (evaporativ) cooler, they installed it where cant get to one of the panels and still can feel air rushing in as hood sucks more out than the cooler replaces, but at least now its not sucking in 100° air. But I love swamp coolers. Going back to see it motor two speed and if installer tapped the low speed.

[@renj6531]

I’ve seen them all over Phoenix when I first moved here. I’m from Florida. Those completely useless down there.

[@rj.parker]

The question I always have is how much water flow across the pads is most effective? Is it better to minimize the water, use on off pump timers or use max flow?

[@grayfurnaceman]

I would introduce enough water to keep the the troughs filled. The water is recycled from the base pan. GFM

[@7x779]

I've experimented with it and surprisingly found putting a bigger pump in too much water flow actually reduces performance and they don't blow us cold. And I noticed when shutting off the pump and monitoring the temperature it actually gets colder for several minutes

[@TedT56]

I used to call these coolers CHICKEN-COOLERS since chickens can't complain about high humidity in a chicken farming operation.

[@DabblelyDiddly]

i miss when wildfires werent choking us out with smoke.. thats what killed the swamp cooler. people got tired of breathing the smoke constantly so now everyone has at least window ac

[@grayfurnaceman]

Interesting. I would think the swamp cooler would be pretty good at removing smoke if it is maintained. GFM

[@DabblelyDiddly]

@@grayfurnaceman doesn't do a thing for the smoke unfortunately. They are getting rare even in mobile home parks.

[@PrivateOrdover]

Mold is a problem with swamp coolers ..

[@grayfurnaceman]

Where swamp coolers are used, mold is not a problem. Humidity is far too low. GFM