Swamp cooler...

legendary70

Junior Member
Nov 28, 2018
4
0
6
Sorry ahead of time but someone told me that this forum would help with my issue.......

Hello all.

Just moved into this house here in El Paso, TX.

New to the swamp cooler thing. I was wondering why the swamp cooler blows cold air upstairs overnight and warm air downstairs over night? I have it on high cool. It is averaging 30-34 degrees outside overnight. Since it is cold outside at night....should i have it on high cool or high vent or low cool or low vent? Thank you.
 

deadlyapp

Diamond Member
Apr 25, 2004
6,656
737
126
Swamp coolers work by evaporating liquid into warm air to cool the air, raising humidity but also lowering temperature with relatively low energy cost. If the air is already humid, then they won't work much at all, and if it is cold out already then you don't really need one for cooling.

Are you trying to cool the house or heat it? I'd assume you want to heat the house when it's that cold outside, in which case you shouldn't even have the swamp cooler turned on, and if you do you should have it on low vent.

Most people would leave it off and use the furnace, which just recirculates air.
 

legendary70

Junior Member
Nov 28, 2018
4
0
6
thanks for reply. my son actually turns it on but for some reason it throws cold air out at night (cuz its 33 outside) but at the same time it throws hot air downstairs.....how is that possible?

u are correct. windows open will work. but im beyond myself why cold upstairs and hot downstairs....hmmmm
 

IronWing

No Lifer
Jul 20, 2001
72,348
32,904
136
If a swamp cooler is throwing hot air, you don't have a swamp cooler. My swamp cooler shared duct work with the furnace. Are you running the furnace and swamp cooler at the same time? Does your swamp cooler have an auto-damper to close the cooler off from the ducts when the furnace is in use? Is it supposed to have a cookie sheet damper?
 

legendary70

Junior Member
Nov 28, 2018
4
0
6
thanks for the reply. I am totally new to the swamp cooler stuff. I just moved to el paso and bought a house with what they told me was a swamp cooler. the thermostat looking thing has pump only, high cool, low cool, low vent, high vent and off. so i am thinking its a swamp cooler. it also has a rubber hose running from the water faucet to the cooler on roof. i know nothing about swamp coolers. but when my son has it at high cool at night it is feezing upstairs and it is blowing warm/hot air downstairs. furnace....i have no idea even where to start to find out if i do or not. where do i check for that? auto damper.....? cookie sheet damper....? sorry guys......newby here. thx.
 

Carson Dyle

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2012
8,173
524
126
Wow. How do you buy a house without even knowing... ? Just... wow. Really. Wow.

"Pump only"... heat pump, maybe? Get a heating and cooling company in there to do a service on the system. Maybe you can have them tell you what you have and how to operate it, if you really have no idea. This conversation could go on for dozens of posts with you describing the shape and markings on equipment that you find in the attic or crawl space, and you'll still be no wiser.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ken g6

IronWing

No Lifer
Jul 20, 2001
72,348
32,904
136
thanks for the reply. I am totally new to the swamp cooler stuff. I just moved to el paso and bought a house with what they told me was a swamp cooler. the thermostat looking thing has pump only, high cool, low cool, low vent, high vent and off. so i am thinking its a swamp cooler. it also has a rubber hose running from the water faucet to the cooler on roof. i know nothing about swamp coolers. but when my son has it at high cool at night it is feezing upstairs and it is blowing warm/hot air downstairs. furnace....i have no idea even where to start to find out if i do or not. where do i check for that? auto damper.....? cookie sheet damper....? sorry guys......newby here. thx.
Okay, it's a swamp cooler.

This animation shows how a swamp cooler works (animation requires Flash).
http://www.mineralarts.com/images/coolerFlash.swf

The swamp cooler only cools. It pulls in air from the outside and runs it through an evaporative cooler and into the house. If the house is too cold, don't run the cooler. It probably uses the same ducts as your furnace. The hot air is coming from your furnace. Don't run the cooler and the furnace at the same time.

Since you are in El Paso, I assume you have no basement which means the furnace is probably in a closet or possibly in the garage.

Dampers: First, find your furnace. Look at the duct work coming out of the furnace. Usually the air intake is at the bottom and the outlet duct that blows the hot air into the house is at the top. Look for a slot in the outlet duct work that might hold a damper sheet (looks like a cookie sheet). If the there is such a slot and the damper is in place, take it out. It is blocking the flow of hot air from the furnace into the house ductwork. If there is no slot, you may have an auto-damper.

Next, look at the ductwork leading out of the swamp cooler. Look for a similar slot for a cookie sheet damper. If the slot is there, find the damper sheet and put it in the slot. We know it isn't in place now because cold air is blowing into the house. If there is no slot, you probably have an auto-damper. Auto-dampers open and close based on air pressure created by the swamp cooler fan and the furnace fan. If the swamp cooler is running, the damper next to the cooler opens and the damper near the furnace closes, allowing cold air into the house and preventing moist air from getting into your furnace. If the furnace is running, the fan from the furnace opens the furnace damper and closes the swamp cooler damper allowing hot air into the house and preventing it from blowing outside through the swamp cooler.

When you run the swamp cooler and furnace at the same time, both auto-dampers are open and the parts of the house closest to the swamp cooler get cold air and the parts closest to the furnace get hot air. Leave all the swamp cooler setting in the off position and the thermostat set to a high enough temperature to get the furnace running and see what happens.
 

nakedfrog

No Lifer
Apr 3, 2001
61,883
17,625
136
And maybe tell your son to stop running the swamp cooler at night when it's cold out.