swamp cooler

AMH

I may be forming an attachment to the new swamp cooler I got today. I at first plugged it in but didn't hit the right buton for it to cool so after a nap it was still in the high 80's inside the upstairs of the house. It is taking time but it is down to under 83 degrees, and i am sitting in the direct path of the swamp cooler. If it turns out this one is not big enough then it can be for one room or downstairs and I can search out a larger one. Last summer this rental house we have was soooo hot it wasn't even funny. It is an older brick home (for the US that is, built in the 40's but not a really old house) and based on our location there are bars installed on the outside of the windows. In fact my exhusband had his garage robbed while he was at home last week. So we cannot really open them fully for airflow. The house being in the high 80's at 10 pm is not as bad as it got last summer.

Swamp coolers are best in superr dry climates as the portable air conditioners also have dehumidifiers. not really important with humidity in single digits, and we have fires north of denver already. Just a little tidbit about where I live since we are all over the world.

Tosh

You're so lucky, AMH, here in the UK, it's not stopped raining this year (or so it would seem) after yet another freezing Winter.

June is usually my favourite month, it's warm, but not too hot - but we've had constant rain and low temps. I hope it gets hotter for next month. You could send us some of your weather.

Thanks in advance.

federica

^^ditto that!!^^

I keeps seeing pictures of euro football, or cricket matches, or actually, any programme based outside these shores, and everywhere it's warm and sunny - here, I promise you, no exaggeration, we're STILL in winter wear.
I see a few brave young ladies in skimpy summer tops - that set off their goosbumps so prettily!! :rant:

how

Here on the West coast of Canada (the colonies, for the Brit's at hand), June is called Junuary and has slipped beyond summers reach for the last 3 years. Something seems to be different with the weather.

Dakini

I researched cooling systems thoroughly when I first moved to the SW. Swamp coolers, I was told, will only take the temp down 10 degrees from what it is outside. So if it's 95 outside, it will be 85 inside. I said no thanks, and got refrigerated air (the usual sort of air conditioning). But now I'm told that if the humidity's low, swamp coolers do a better job than just 10 degrees of cooling. So let me know how it works out, AMH.

And yeah, the need to leave a window open for the swamp cooler is a safety issue. But the bars on the windows should allow for some opening.

Tosh

@Dakini, is it usual to have bars on your windows where you live?

AMH

Yes i can have the windows open partially. Last night as soon as it got cooler I still opened all the windows and turned on a fan. I have a temp guage inside and it was down to 75 which we can live with. It is 80 after work which is the hottest about this time.

Dakini

@Tosh I was responding to AMH, who said she had bars on her windows.

federica

"Swamp cooler" ....such an alien concept here, we'd probably think it is something zoos use to keep the hippos happy..... :rolleyes:

SattvaPaul

That was my first thought.

AMH

Yes it is different here ( and I love it). I wish that everyone could visit this area at least once and experience what it is like to be incredibly dry and the environment a bit fragile. I know that the environment is fragile in many ways such as over-fished seas and pollution. but there is something about getting above treeline with only the water you carry, looking at lichen that takes 100 years to grow small patches, while feeling the arid environment that brings you closer to it.

In any case we were down to 75 last night in the upstairs, the downstairs with the kids stays cooler. Without humidity it is comfortable.

PrairieGhost

I'd like one, sure, but not everyone can afford a swamp.

AMH

I had Home Depot hold the gaters and insect life

PrairieGhost

'Luxury Mangrove (gaters not included)'

AMH

Hey check out the thread on Colorado and the Shambhala center, i think we would not mind some soggy as much as you are sick of it.

tmottes

@AMH I used to live up by nederland/ward (west of boulder) a couple years ago. I really loved that area, although I doubt a swamp cooler would have worked for me there. I was sitting at about 8600ft above sea level: during the winter/spring it would snow and during the summer/fall it would rain. I feel like there was even more humidity in boulder and it got humid enough that a swamp cooler wouldn't have been very effective. Now I live in the rio grande river valley just north of santa fe, NM and the swap cooler works quite well (in fact I just installed new pads today). I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah and I always had a swamp cooler. When I was young, it never occurred to me that they are really only used in a small portion of the world. Oh and another name for this type of cooling system is evaporative cooling. Here is the wiki article

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporative_cooler

AMH

Ahhh yes. i spent 13 years in the Boulder area, and high school in Evergreen (7500 ft elevation) honestly we did not need any cooling. It was average 10 degrees cooler than Denver at any given time. This year however I am at Denver level and it is very dry so the days we needed cooling it has been helpful. I am finding that unless it gets above 85 I don't need cooling besides leaving selective windows open and using fans

tmottes

I liked not needing any cooling

Dakini

I bet they have swamp coolers in the outback towns in Australia.

"Swamp cooler" = evaporative air cooling system.
"Air conditioning" = refrigerated air.
Evaporative air cooling is much cheaper, uses less electricity than blowing refrigerated air around.