bummer!

I think the "swamp" in swamp cooler is a good hint that it might not work!

The best way to explain how it works....it is a big fan that is also hooked up to a water source. A pump runs water over and soaks pads by the air intake vents. As the fan pulls air into the house, the air has to pass over the cold water on the pads and that cools the air. If you live in a dry climate, the extra humidity is ok. It is much less expensive than a/c because you only need electricity to run a fan. Because of the water sitting in it, you run the risk of mold growing. We could cool about 500 sq ft with a big window unit.

I've thought about trying one here since the summers are dry.

[Gwendolyn]

In college we lived in a house in AZ that had a swamper only. (A lot of AZ places have both...to save money. You just switch to AC when the swamper can't do the job anymore.) The place was about 700 sq/ft and pretty much a box. Easy circulation. May/June was great. July started to get uncomfortable and August/September (humid monsoon months) were a nightmare. We didn't have a problem with mold, but we were in the middle of the desert. After our first summer we got a window AC unit for the bedroom and pretty much lived there when we were home. If you are in a humid place, the swamp cooler will do as advertised...swamp.

[mommax3]

Okay, here's an update. I had DH read your thoughtful responses/explanations of what an evaporative cooler is/does, and he finally saw the light.

We have a home warranty, so the immediate problem was fixed this afternoon......we needed coolant, which was added, and there was a leak, now fixed, which had caused us to lose coolant in the first place. DH is now thinking that we need to think about addressing the issue of our unit being too small, and wants to start investigating what we should do. So I am happy.

We went to my mom's today because neither of us could take it anymore. We are both so tired that we're about to drop, and can't wait to sleep in our nice cool bedroom tonight!

Sally

imsn to the rescue again!

I can't imagine my dh taking anything we post seriously ... I think he figures you all are as nutty as he thinks I am.

[HeartRN]

Sally--I'm a little late posting, but it sounds like things are on the upswing....I must say, hot, humid summers are something I don't miss about midwest living.

Anybody is welcome to come out here for a cool relief-visit! It was about 73 today (and really no humidity that I noticed! )

P.S. But it's a good thing it's so cool right now...everything else is so expensive here, I have no clue how we'd pay for AC, too!!!