swamp cooling connect to heating ducts?
TCS
system so that the cool air will be distributed throughout the house?
<for those of you who have no idea of what a swamp cooler it, it is a cooling
system that uses evaporating water to cool forced air. Air is drawn from a box
where 3 or 4 sides are wetted pads and when the water evaporates it drops the
air temperature up to 40 degrees depending on the dryness of the outside air.
Swamp coolers only work in dry climates.>
@as.it.was.com CBHVAC
"TCS" <The-Central...@p.o.b.o.x.com> wrote in message
news:slrnccvdjn.r45.The-...@linux.client.comcast.net...
> Is it possible to connect a swamp cooler to the ducting of a home heating
> system so that the cool air will be distributed throughout the house?
Its possible, not recommend. It was done in many older homes in AZ, CA, and
NV for example. This has been covered before, and you NEVER want the two to
share the ductwork if and when possible.
IF they do, you must find a damper that will either close when the AC if
off, or a motorized one that will close off the AC, AND kill the AC control
circuit.
>
> <for those of you who have no idea of what a swamp cooler it, it is a
cooling
> system that uses evaporating water to cool forced air. Air is drawn from
a box
> where 3 or 4 sides are wetted pads and when the water evaporates it drops
the
> air temperature up to 40 degrees depending on the dryness of the outside
air.
Installed many a cooler. Not the cheapy Aspen pad coolers like you describe,
but the Mastercool style...Champion made a real nice one for a time.
> Swamp coolers only work in dry climates.>
Umm...funny how mine works fine in NC...the addition of a dual pre-cooler
helped, but in the early summer, they kick ass in a garage, or even the
home.
Install at least 2 on every dry cleaners here....
Just got to know the limitations on the unit...
RB
tied into the hot air heating system. Of course swamp coolers don't
work as well as they used to. Tremendous increases in lawn irrigation
and swimming pools has changed the humidity over the years. In the '40s
and '50s swamp coolers were common in many Dallas homes. Today they
don't perform well there.
RB
TCS
>Yes. It's pretty common in New Mexico today to have your swampo cooler
>tied into the hot air heating system. Of course swamp coolers don't
Did they always have a shutoff damper to prevent the moisture of the swamp
cooler from damaging the furnace?
How well did they work given the smallish ducting of most central heating
systems?
SQLit
"TCS" <The-Central...@p.o.b.o.x.com> wrote in message
news:slrnccvdjn.r45.The-...@linux.client.comcast.net...
Done all of the time here in Sunny Phoenix. The cooler has a barometric
damper installed just below the blower. The heating/cooling part of the unit
will have either a slide plate or an damper installed so that the cooler air
is not forced over the coils. First time you turn on the cooler each year
dirt and dust comes out of the ducts. Then by a/c time there is all the
humidity soaked into everything. Maybe good for you but not with my
allergies.
Coolers only work well when the dew point is below 40 degrees. I have had
coolers/a/co systems for more than 20 years. They work, they also bring in a
lot of dirt. My last cooler was a MasterCool. Single 8 inch thick pad with a
240v 1 hp 2 speed motor. When the dew point was low the house would approach
60 F inside. Not bad. But this only lasted a month or so then it was back to
the a/c.
So before you make the decision to do this. Check the weather service in
your area and get the history on the dew point vs temperature.
In my opinion what you save in electricity you spend in water, and time
keeping the damn thing clean. Since most coolers are on the roof, I will
never have one again. I had back surgery and ladders do not work well for me
anymore.
Good luck with your decision.
TCS
I live in denver and they work extremely well when the temperatures goes above
90. When the temperatures get that high, it is always extremely dry. My
last house had a monster mounted on the roof with ducting in the attic to two
locations. Currently I have a swamp cooler feeding in through a window and
it kind of sucks as it blows like mad in one room and barely reaches the far
end of the house. Wife grew up in new mexico and had the idea of using the
heating system ducts and I just want to know the problems I might face. I
don't want to buy a new furnace every four years or have to rip out the cooler
in order to sell the house.
RB
TCS wrote:
> On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 00:06:35 -0400, RB <R...@spamfree.com> wrote:
>
>>Yes. It's pretty common in New Mexico today to have your swampo cooler
>>tied into the hot air heating system. Of course swamp coolers don't
>
>
> Did they always have a shutoff damper to prevent the moisture of the swamp
> cooler from damaging the furnace?
No
>
> How well did they work given the smallish ducting of most central heating
> systems?
Acceptable. A big enough fan will move enough air. Even the noise has
"cooling" effect at 100F +.
RB
Patrio...@sbcglobal.net
> Is it possible to connect a swamp cooler to the ducting of a home heating
> system so that the cool air will be distributed throughout the house?
Air flow from a Swamp cooler/Evaporation cooler is much higher than furnace heated air. In order for this to work properly you'll likely need the heavier rectangular shaped duct work from the furnace with a large circumference and not the flex type ducting. Flex ducting generally runs smaller diameter duct and will not allow for the 4500 to 6500 cfm air flow of a swamp cooler.
Also, a swamp cooler needs to have adequate exhaust flow and the best way for it to be effective is to vent the air into the attic so it tends to cool the super heated air from the sun beating on the roof out the gable vents. There are up ducts made that work nicely for that purpose that can be closed easily for the winter months without having to go into the attic to do it.
If you have the smaller circumference flex ducting you'll be better served with a regular down draft from the roof mounts swamp cooler and then rely on up duct for distribution instead of trying to use the furnace ducting. Up ducts can be adjusted for air flow so the rooms you need more cooling in can get more air.
Uncle Monster
[8~{} Uncle Swamp Monster