BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan

Subject: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 05 Jul 11 - 04:28 PM

OK, guess it's my turn to ask one of these goofy questions, but thought someone might have a suggestion.
I have a roof-top swamp cooler that works very well in the dry colorado summers. BUT, I have had a leak into my office ceiling recurring since last summer. The cooler is probably a mid 80s model, and the pan is rusted thin and in terrible shape. Last summer, I brushed out rust and old fiberglass patches and replaced the fiberglass and re-sealed it. Still leaked, and began to leak with heavy rain too. This spring I vowed that I wouldn't mess with this issue, and had the cooler mount re-flashed and the surrounding area re-sealed. We had several rains and the ceiling remained dry. Then in the face of high-90s last weekend, I fired up the cooler figuring any leaks would just spill down the roof.
After 15 minutes of filling, the leak began again. I went up on the roof, but could see little water on the shingles, but a slight dampness that seemed to be leaching from under a shingle. In the attic, water was evident all over the west side of the cooler duct and dripping.
I now think the pan may be dripping water down the inner surface of the duct (assuming that the duct surface I am seeing in the attic is not the same as what is visible above the roof).
I looked for a solid plastic pan insert, but such a thing doesn't seem to exist. Now I am considering relining the pan with a solid vinyl liner left over from building a backyard pond, and gluing it down.

Any suggestions??????~!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: pdq
Date: 05 Jul 11 - 04:37 PM

It is easy to adjust the float so the the level of water is not so high. That might help.

Subject: RE: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 05 Jul 11 - 04:45 PM

True, pdq. But the float seems to be at the minimum to allow enough water for the pump, but that is something I'll check.

Subject: RE: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: katlaughing
Date: 05 Jul 11 - 04:47 PM

LeeJ, this is my son's speciality. He's on the same slope as you. I'll send him an email and see what he suggests.

Subject: RE: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 05 Jul 11 - 05:04 PM

Thanks, Kat

Subject: RE: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: pdq
Date: 05 Jul 11 - 05:32 PM

In order to lower the water level and still draw water up to the pump, you may need to extend, adjust or reroute the pickup tube.

Subject: RE: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: Bobert
Date: 05 Jul 11 - 05:36 PM

A gallon of gas, a match and a call to your insurance claims department???

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 05 Jul 11 - 06:12 PM

Bob, I thought of that as a fallback position!

Subject: RE: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: katlaughing
Date: 05 Jul 11 - 07:23 PM

Not good news, LeeJ. I PMd you my son's reply. We had one which had the same "body" issues, finally had to trash it.

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: Bobert
Date: 05 Jul 11 - 07:51 PM

Seriously, I think it might not be the pan but where the legs of the cooler are mounted to the roof... The pan sits under the cooler so any water from it would go down the roof... The legs, however, will hold water on the top side... Plus, there are holes in your roof under them where the unit is bolted (screwed) down and the vibration of the cooler over years has probably wallered out those mounting areas and allowing water access to your innards...

Here's what you can do... Get a bucket of black roof cement and get up there and goo it up around the mounting legs or rails...

If that doesn't do it, plan B... lol...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 06 Jul 11 - 02:15 PM

There are a variety of designs available, but the ocmment about "leaching from under a shingle" suggest that you haven't really determined where the water comes from (or what routes it follows).

The cooler requires a water supply, and it's common to use a plastic "flex line" for the supply. The plastic lines have a tendency to "harden" with age (and the "classy" copper lines also used can harden and get brittle and/or corrode at fittings). Although the supply lines don't often pop a hole open, once the line gets brittle sometimes the seals at fittings will flex enough with the "bump" in pressure when the float valve turns on/off to produce seepage.

You can't assume that a leak has to come from where you see the most water (the pan, in this case) until you eliminate all other points where it might happen. Odds on your leak coming from elsewhere probably are fairly low, but checking all of the "not very likely" possibilities before fixing "where it oughta-be" parts may be a good idea.

A "stop gap" measure that might help could be to put an attic vent (or fan) in the attic (space between roof and ceiling) to make sure that humidity doesn't build up there. It only takes a very small leak to wet the ceiling if the space there gets too humid, but a good vent may keep the humidity low enough for a slow drip to evaporate fairly substantial amounts of water before it damages the ceiling. (The water seen on one side of a cool vent could be just condensed from high attic humidity.)

The comment about began to leak with heavy rain too suggest the question "how old is the roof?".

John

Subject: RE: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 06 Jul 11 - 02:54 PM

Roof is probably 8 years old John.

Feed line is copper and runs outside across the roof, so that's not it.

There are no legs as such, but only the connection to the roof jack.

I struggled with this last summer too, and attempted to remove old seal around the flashing and reseal it, and I think that might have been the cause of rain leaks. The re-flashing I had done this summer seems to have fixed the rain leak issue, but not the cooler leak. I am going to attempt relining the pan with vinyl and if that doesn't work, its replacing the swamp cooler.

Subject: RE: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: katlaughing
Date: 06 Jul 11 - 04:14 PM

Just sent you a PM, LeeJ. And my son another email with your comments.

Subject: RE: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: GUEST,999
Date: 06 Jul 11 - 05:05 PM

I'm a little late to this discussion, but maybe you could locate the leak by using red, blue or yellow food dye. Seems everything a guy could do has been done except finding the leak.

Subject: RE: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: katlaughing
Date: 06 Jul 11 - 08:03 PM

LeeJ, feel free to call the Kid. I just PMd you his number.:-)

Subject: RE: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: Wolfhound person
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 11:01 AM

In the interest of international relations could someone explain what a swamp cooler is / does?

I can't see my local wetlands needing refrigeration, so I'm assuming (from the posts) it's some sort of alternative to air conditioning.

Just curious

Paws

Subject: RE: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 11:25 AM

"Evaporation is a cooling process". That's the reasoning behind swamp coolers, or evaporative coolers as they are sometimes called. It involves a box with removeable sides in which filter material can be placed. A pump pulls water up to the top of the box and dispenses it through tubes into the tops of the filters, which become wet and drip down into the pan. A fan mounted in the box pulls outside air through the wet filters and down a duct into the house. In the process, the hot air from outside is dispensed as cold air inside. They are cheap and pretty efficient but only work well in very dry climates like Arizona, Utah, Colorado, etc. Even in those places, a swamp cooler will not work when it is hot and humid, or if it rains. Not recommended for Britain!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: Bobert
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 11:54 AM

Anyone recall them swamp coolers that were popular in the 50s for cars... They hung out your window and the force of the air entering them from driving was like the pump and the fan...

I bought one about 25 years ago at a yard sale that had been designed for an old Volkswagen bug and I had an old Volkswagen bug so...

... anyway, I bought it... Wasn't quite like air conditioning but on a 90 degree day you could keep the car in the high 70s witgh highway driving... Not bad...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 12:26 PM

So if you wanted to be cool, you exceeded the posted speed limit and never stop for Stop Signs or red lights, Bob. :>)

Subject: RE: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: katlaughing
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 12:26 PM

My friend back in New England is always teasing me about the 'gators in my "swamp" cooler.:-)

Bobert, ClaireBear made mention of one of those old car a/cs on FB the other day! I remember my mom and dad had a '57 Lincoln which had ac. It didn't work. In the back window, it had clear plastic tubes, one on either side, which were supposed to help circulate it.

Subject: RE: BS: Leaking Swamp Cooler Pan
From: Bobert
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 01:48 PM

I remember those clear plastic tubes, Kat... BTW, the 57 Lincoln Continental was one nice looking car...

B~