View Full Version : Need swamp cooler recommendation / install.
Getting ready to replace our deck and the swamp cooler sits on it. The old one works fine but is probably 14 years old so I'd like to replace it while everything is apart.
Looking for recomendations on properly sizing one and getting it installed. There is currently a hole in the stucco so we can reuse it or if there's a place that makes more sense we can patch the current hole.
Im not tied to a swamp cooler but the house is not ducted.
Let me me know if you want the work.
I hated my swamp cooler. Hated the maintenance and upkeep and hated the smell that was kind of musty that just wouldn't ever completely go away no matter what I did.
Central air went in and I never looked back.
You mentioned you don't have ducts but I'd look into "ductless air conditioning" before I made a decision if I were you.
I hated my swamp cooler. Hated the maintenance and upkeep and hated the smell that was kind of musty that just wouldn't ever completely go away no matter what I did.
Central air went in and I never looked back.
You mentioned you don't have ducts but I'd look into "ductless air conditioning" before I made a decision if I were you.
I got one quote on ductless last year and it was over $50k so that's out for now. If it would cheaper I'd be all over it.
Sheesh. Your place must be huge. I thought a ductless system was less than $5K.
Great-Kazoo
03-29-2017, 21:34
I got one quote on ductless last year and it was over $50k so that's out for now. If it would cheaper I'd be all over it.
How many sq ft? Go with 1 or a few of these.
http://www.mitsubishicomfort.com/articles/ductless/tackle-single-room-challenges-with-a-ductless-split-system?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=MSN_B_WBU_Mitsubishi%20Electric_MB&utm_term=%2Bmitsubishi%20%2Bmini%20%2Bsplit&utm_content=Split%20System
We're at about 7000 sq ft but we could get away with only worry about the upstairs so 3500.
The same guy that gave a quote on the Mitsubishi as well. I believe it was $5K-10K per room and we would have 2 bedrooms and one great room we'd need to cover. We thought about just doing the bedrooms and keeping the swamp cooler for the great room but we'd still want to replace the swamp cooler with a new one.
Are you a boiler system for your heat? Or forced air? I would probably assume boiler
This is why I hate boilers. There is no practical purpose for them when building a house and you can't put in A/C, air purifiers, humidifiers, fresh air exchanges, etc on them. Doesn't mean I won't work on or replace them.. I just had a guy dump almost $1K into one today with me, but they're old school and don't heat any better than a forced air system.
The $50K estimate was a probably a "I don't want to do this job so I'll bid it way high" estimate. I've been known to do that from time to time. There are certain nightmares that I don't want to get involved in.
Get another quote from some other "smaller" companies on the ductless system. I think you can get the cost way way down. I'm usually $3-4K per unit.
Whole house fans work good, might need to add some attic venting.
One of the best investments I made on our house was to replace the standard Essex coolers with high efficiency Breezair units (EXV155). http://www.breezair.com/us/ They are superior in every way with vastly better cooling, quietness, energy efficiency and much less maintenance.
The 4" thick pads are fixed and will last 6-10 years depending on water quality/minerals. A water sensor automatically flushes the unit, keeping the water and pads fresh. In the Grand Junction area when temps hit 100, our house stays a cool 66-70 degrees. The best the old coolers could do was about a 12-16 degree differential, still sweltering at 84-88F.
Our Breezair coolers were about $4400 ea. installed and we got two $500 Xcel rebates. Worth every penny.
colorider
03-31-2017, 14:25
Funny, I would LOVE to get rid of my ac and have my swamp cooler put back in. Wife thinks the thermostat is her personal chilling device and keeps the house way too cold and our electric bills are absurd. Argue about it every year and of course I always lose.
Getting a quote on the Mitsubishi system, for those of you that have them, how are they?
Looks like one unit to cover two bedrooms and a 2nd unit to cover the great room (the one currently using a evaporative cooler).
Research reflective roof coatings. Dropped my homes internal temperature eight degrees. Your shingles will last longer too. I coated my roof with a roller.
Great-Kazoo
04-10-2017, 21:22
Getting a quote on the Mitsubishi system, for those of you that have them, how are they?
Looks like one unit to cover two bedrooms and a 2nd unit to cover the great room (the one currently using a evaporative cooler).
Very happy.
Research reflective roof coatings. Dropped my homes internal temperature eight degrees. Your shingles will last longer too. I coated my roof with a roller.
Go with the white if you go that direction. I've had people tell me use silver or something similar to reflect the suns rays. They swear it's the best reflective color. Till you put an infrared temp gauge on it.
I've had roof contractors tell me that they've found no appreciable difference in shingle color.
Elastomeric paint is most often silver. Not even sure I've seen white before, but that doesn't mean it's not available.
Mine is white. After three roofs in 20 years the White coating makes a difference.
Are you just painting over shingles with elastomeric?
Great-Kazoo
04-11-2017, 13:50
I've had roof contractors tell me that they've found no appreciable difference in shingle color.
Elastomeric paint is most often silver. Not even sure I've seen white before, but that doesn't mean it's not available.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Henry-4-75-Gal-287-Solar-Flex-White-Roof-Coating-HE287SF871/100051140
Oh don't you worry, I went and researched it a bit and saw all kinds of stuff.
Finally got the quotes back on the Mitsubishi system. Does $5500 per room with install sound about right or at least the right ballpark?
This would be 2 outdoor condensers and 4 indoor wall mounts.
One of the best investments I made on our house was to replace the standard Essex coolers with high efficiency Breezair units (EXV155). http://www.breezair.com/us/ They are superior in every way with vastly better cooling, quietness, energy efficiency and much less maintenance.
The 4" thick pads are fixed and will last 6-10 years depending on water quality/minerals. A water sensor automatically flushes the unit, keeping the water and pads fresh. In the Grand Junction area when temps hit 100, our house stays a cool 66-70 degrees. The best the old coolers could do was about a 12-16 degree differential, still sweltering at 84-88F.
Our Breezair coolers were about $4400 ea. installed and we got two $500 Xcel rebates. Worth every penny.
These actually work very well we have had a server room cooled with these instead of using very expensive air conditioning.
We tried to get a quote on the Breezair systems but two places stood us up. It also may be difficult to install since they're only down flow. The other issue is it won't help with the bedrooms so we're still looking for a solution for those two rooms which is where the Mitsubishi unites came into play.
I"m wondering if it might be cheaper to add ductwork to the attic and put in a traditional AC unit.
Great-Kazoo
05-08-2017, 20:56
We tried to get a quote on the Breezair systems but two places stood us up. It also may be difficult to install since they're only down flow. The other issue is it won't help with the bedrooms so we're still looking for a solution for those two rooms which is where the Mitsubishi unites came into play.
I"m wondering if it might be cheaper to add ductwork to the attic and put in a traditional AC unit.
Paying someone to get in the attic and run duct $$$$. Can you add air to your existing heating system.
Paying someone to get in the attic and run duct $$$$. Can you add air to your existing heating system.
We have a boiler system so it's a no go from that standpoint. I know adding duct is expensive but the quote for $23K to add the Mitsubishi system for two bedrooms and the great room is pretty high too which got me thinking about a regular AC system.
I'm not sure if $5.5K per room unit is reasonable for the Mitsubishi system, we could do a combination of the Mitsubishi for the bedrooms and replace the old swamp cooler but even that won't be exactly cheap. Probably 6-8K for a new swamp cooler from what I'm being told by companies (that never showed). :)
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