When you have a swamp cooler, conventional advice for maintaining an AC just doesn’t work. Refrigerated air conditioning systems run a lot differently than swamp coolers (or evaporative coolers), and they may be less convenient to use, but you can usually do the requisite preseason maintenance on your own.
The following article describes our advice for cleaning out, inspecting, and reassembling your swamp cooler (assuming it’s been winterized all season). For more information, reach out to our friendly team!
Clean It Out
Dust and debris likely collected within the swamp cooler throughout the year. Even if it’s been covered all winter long, it’s worth spending some time clearing out parts of your swamp cooler to keep debris from blocking operation.
- Uncover it! This is the very first step with any swamp cooler start-up, of course. If, for some reason, you decide not to spend time cleaning your cooler out, this is the least you can do.
- Clean off debris. This is the bare minimum you can do—picking off debris and dust from the service and visible components, but we recommend doing more.
- Take it apart. The sides of an evaporative cooler usually come apart relatively easily. You can use a shop vac to clear debris out of the inside of the swamp cooler.
Change the Pad
You should be changing the pad of your evaporative cooler each year, though we recommend more often for swamp coolers that get a lot of use. If you have hard water, you may need to replace the pad every two months or so. Consult your manual to make sure you get the right type of cooler pad—rigid-sheet pad or fiber pad—and that it is the right size for your unit.
Reconnect and Inspect
Now for the tough part. If you need help putting your sump pump back together, call in a local technician.
- Reconnect the water line and look for leaks while you do.
- Turn on the unit and check the operation of the pump and motor before putting the sides back together.
- Put the system back together, and call in a technician if you noticed any obvious issues.
Consider an Upgrade
Spring is the best time of year to consider an upgrade to your evaporative cooler. We’ve had more and more calls in recent years for retrofitting evaporative coolers with refrigerated AC. When there are more humid days in the summer, an evaporative cooler cannot work the way it is designed, but central air conditioning is reliable and convenient all year, with a central thermostat and blower unit for total control.
It’s a big investment, but monthly bills may not be as high as you expect with new high-efficiency AC systems. In addition, this can raise the value of your home. For more information, give us a call. We specialize in this service as well as swamp cooler start-ups.
Robbins Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. offers swamp cooler services in Bloomfield, NM. Need more maintenance advice? Still can’t get your cooler to work? Want to retrofit central AC? Give us a call!
