"Swamp Coolers"..those windows AC kind of units..do you have one?
By coffeebreak
@coffeebreak (17798)
United States
June 29, 2012 5:12pm CST
I am looking into getting one...they say they cut electric bill in half or more and cool the house perfectly. The swamp cooler is mounted in a window (or cut a space in the side of the house for it) and you slightly open a window at the other end of the house and that pulls the cold air throughout the house, cooling it for a fraction of the cost of central AC. Back in the 80's we had one in a mobile home in Texas and it didn't do this but it was an old one that kept stalling and I'd have to go out and wiggle this and that and it'd start..but it didn't cool as my husband demands that they do. I just don't see it having common sense that it would work this way. OF course tings have changed since Texas and it was a smaller unit, you can get bigger ones.
Does anyone here have one or know anything about them? Do they cool good as central AC? What is your electric bill each month? My husband thinks he knows everything there is to know anything there is to know everything about and since he had one "once" (ages ago...like 40 years ago in some apt he had) he swears they are the best thing since sliced bread and cool a house to igloo status on about $30 a month!
So I really need help to learn about them. I can research them but would rather hear from those that have actually used them and paid the bill! If you don't, do you know anyone that does? Can you ask them about it? I have an 1800 sq foot house...the unit to be mounted at one end (in the family room) and the window to be opened is at the other end..a bedroom and the air to be "pulled" the length of the house. Common sense says it can't do what he says it does! HELP!!!!!!
1 person likes this
2 responses
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
29 Jun 12
I admit that I had an unfounded negative opinion of them until I actually saw them in operation. Many people who live in the desert only have the swamp coolers and they swear by them, but most people that I know have central A/C and also a swamp cooler. If it is really really hot, and we are indoors and need continuous cooling, then we use the A/C, but if we just want to cool the house down in a big hurry the swamp cooler is amazing, and as you say very inexpensive. I don't like to feel any moving air on my skin, so when we turn it on, I stay out of the way! It is gale force wind! But it will make your 1800 sq food house icy cold in a big hurry. Just be sure to have it serviced at least once a year so that no toxic mold grows in the chambers as you don't want that stuff blowing into your home. They have inexpensive filters to put in line from your water source, too, to help keep the interior clean and free of mineral deposits. For us, the cost of the power to run it is negligible, because we don't have it on that much. Ours is mounted up high inside a clothes closet, so we have to open the door to use it. This is great because it doesn't waste a window and it is hidden when the door is shut. Also, we can open the door in cool weather to let some outside air in without having to worry as much about burglars coming in through an open window.
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
6 Jul 12
Once cooled.. does it keep the house cool? Does it use a temp control like AC does and shut off at temp settings? Been so long since I had that one about 30 years ago! I am just concerned if it will cool the far end of the house where the bedrooms are and of course,you couldn't close any bedroom doors at night and still get air. I dont' know.. it just seems odd... if it cools so vast a space and is so inexpensive... why is anyone using central AC? I know it is a little cheaper, but dont know if it cools all rooms properly
1 person likes this
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
7 Jul 12
Ours cools the far end of the house including the laundry room which is off to the side, not in direct line with the cooler. Some of them have thermostats just like central AC thermostats, however, our home is well insulated and we don't have to worry about keeping the house cool, as it only heats up if people are going in and out and leaving the doors open. So we just turn it on full blast for a few minutes and then turn it off again. For those who live in hot places with little humidity and who use the swamp coolers a lot, though, it is not a little cheaper, it is a LOT cheaper, maybe 80% in energy and of course buying the equipment is pennies on the dollar compared to Central Air.
http://www.sylvane.com/learning-center/swamp-cooler-buying-tips.html
People use AC because it is effective in any kind of weather, whereas the evaporative coolers are not useful in humid weather. Also, some of the new AC units clean the air as well as cooling, I think. I am very concerned about the possibility of mold growing in the swamp cooler, so that could be a factor for some people, too. They do not take a lot of maintenance, but I think it is a bit more than for AC.
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
8 Jul 12
Thanks for the info. We will probably do that. We don't get to much humidity out here... my husband complains about it often, but I think he just likes to complain about something all the time! I dont' feel/smell the humidity at all!
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
6 Jul 12
Best place to find things out or get info is to ask people...those that have used it or whatever are the best information source possible! I much prefer to get the info from someone that "has been there, done that" as opposed to just calling the manufacture! It is a box unit that sits in a window (supported on the outside) and blows cold air... used instead of central AC. They are common in the south and small towns. This house is big tho..1700 sq. feet and I just don't see it cooling the whole house. Yes, the main area where the tv and kitchen and all is, but not the back bedrooms.
