# Need Advise About A Swamp Cooler For Shop



## Jerry Bowen (Jun 25, 2011)

I'm wondering if anybody out there has had any experience with using a swamp cooler in their shop. I was told some time ago that I would run the danger of causing cast iron to rust, and my wood to warp, but my shop is very large, a tin building, about 40 x 80 feet, I only use about a third of the space. The climate in this part of Texas is not humid as it is in the southern part of the state. There is plenty of air and/or venilation in the shop, it's just hot in the summer months. A couple of days ago I went to a lumber yard to buy some hard wood and they had a swamp cooler in their shop, right where all of the wood was warehoused and all of the wood working tools that they use for wood working. There was lots of open space, the doors were open. I asked them if the cooler ever caused any problems for them and they said that it did not, this made me start to think about geting one again and decided to ask on this forum about the matter.

I'd only be interesed in a small portable unit that would cool just the area that I'm working in on each maching, it would have to be moved from one machine to another like I am currently doing with the large shop fan.

Jerry
Colorado City, TX


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

Is the 1/3 separate from the rest of the shop?


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## Jerry Bowen (Jun 25, 2011)

Knothead47 said:


> Is the 1/3 separate from the rest of the shop?



No, the shop, I should say, the building, is all open.

Jerry


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## 57759 (Apr 8, 2011)

Jerry Bowen said:


> I'm wondering if anybody out there has had any experience with using a swamp cooler in their shop. I was told some time ago that I would run the danger of causing cast iron to rust, and my wood to warp, but my shop is very large, a tin building, about 40 x 80 feet, I only use about a third of the space. The climate in this part of Texas is not humid as it is in the southern part of the state. There is plenty of air and/or venilation in the shop, it's just hot in the summer months. A couple of days ago I went to a lumber yard to buy some hard wood and they had a swamp cooler in their shop, right where all of the wood was warehoused and all of the wood working tools that they use for wood working. There was lots of open space, the doors were open. I asked them if the cooler ever caused any problems for them and they said that it did not, this made me start to think about geting one again and decided to ask on this forum about the matter.
> 
> I'd only be interesed in a small portable unit that would cool just the area that I'm working in on each maching, it would have to be moved from one machine to another like I am currently doing with the large shop fan.
> 
> ...


In Colorado City, TX there will actually be days when a swamp cooler would be a benefit. I doubt if too many on the forum ever experience relative humidity below 30 percent and sometimes in the single digits. 

Check your dew point temperature before and after your purchase and I doubt in your shop, with a smaller cooler, you will see enough difference to measure. 

And of course the real test is the lumber moisture content and that's easy enough to do if you think it will cause a problem. Check the moisture in a piece from your lumber yard where they run the swamper all the time.


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## Jerry Bowen (Jun 25, 2011)

SandburRanch said:


> In Colorado City, TX there will actually be days when a swamp cooler would be a benefit. I doubt if too many on the forum ever experience relative humidity below 30 percent and sometimes in the single digits.
> 
> Check your dew point temperature before and after your purchase and I doubt in your shop, with a smaller cooler, you will see enough difference to measure.
> 
> And of course the real test is the lumber moisture content and that's easy enough to do if you think it will cause a problem. Check the moisture in a piece from your lumber yard where they run the swamper all the time.


Rober,
Apparently you are watching this thread. you are pretty much confirming my thoughts on the matter. I will reiterate my thoughts in regard to the open shop with a large door in the front, not far from all of the wood working machines. The lumber is stored near the middle of the shop near a side door, I can't image the cooler having much effect on the wood being far away from where it would be setting when I need to use it to cool the qork area off. The cooler at Acacia Hardware was really not felt except when one was standing within about ten feet of it. I am using a product on my cast iron that is supposed to inhibit rust, I think that it is called T-3, or T-9, something like that, it's out in the shop as I speak so am not sure of the actual name of the product, don'e know how effective it is. The problem that I have in the shop with cast iron tables on the TS, BS, and jointer is, if I don't keep them covered up when not in use, is the dirt and dust that settles on them due to the shop being in the middle of a very large cotton field and the constant wind here in West Texas. That dirt does not just wipe off, but will tarnish the cast iron and really makes a mess requiriiing lots of elbow grease to clean up, but if the cast iron is protected from the dirt by being covered up, I keep it fairly sanitary. I juat am of the opinion that due to the large open area, low humidity, and the fact that a portable cooler is not going to cool a very large area, that I might get away with it, the only thing is that I will need to spend about $700 to find out, that amount of money is well worth the price if it works, but kind of expensive to if it doesn't, I'd rather spend the money on a lathe. Thanks for replying to my question on the subject.

Jerry


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## CharleyL (Feb 28, 2009)

Swamp coolers work great if your humidity is very low, such as frequently found in the Southwest of the USA, but don't do much, if anything, for those of us who live along the humid East coast. In areas where the humidity is low they can be of significant benefit by adding humidity to the air as well as cooling it. I spent some time in a shop in Tucson, AZ one summer when the outside temperature was 105 F and the humidity was 12-20%. With the swamp coolers running the inside was 85 F and the humidity was about 35%. It was quite comfortable, although slightly warmer
than I prefer to work in, but it felt almost cold when you entered from outdoors. This was a big shop so they had large roof mounted swamp coolers about every 300' along the peak of the roof with fans blowing the cooled air down into the shop.

If your humidity is 40% or above a swamp cooler won't do much for you and it will do even less as the humidity goes higher. 

Charley


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Jerry, my mom had a mister line installed around her patio roof in Sun City, AZ. It lowered the temp on the patio 15°. I think this would be a better solution than dragging a cooler around with you.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Excellent advice from Mike! 
On a side note...
Visual Consumer: Obligatory animated cat gif


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Hi, I have a small shop (12x24) which is cooled by a swamp cooler. I live in the high desert in the Mojave and it is nearly always low humidity. I have a swamp cooler that runs for many hours in the summer and I don't find any problem with moisture content in my wood. As to rust, I have had no problem with it, but I do keep paste wax on all exposed surfaces. I'm not sure that moving the cooler around is really going to help much. My cooler is fixed. I think if I were you, I'd spend a bit more and put a large side draft cooler outside and cut a hole for it to blow through. Be sure to carefully seal off the opening to keep rain out. I've also added an additional fan to circulate the cool air and placed a piece of scrap plywood in front of the side vent, angled to force air across the shop. I do the same for the large cooler that works extraordinarily well in our 1800 sqft house. I think with such a large space, a small portable will really be a pain if it works at all. It is kind of the same situation as buying a cheaper tool you hope will work for you only to have to buy a good one later on. I'd put your money into the larger cooler for sure. 

A couple of things about installing a larger side draft cooler: Build your mounting platform first. A large flat surface on top, bolted to the side of the building. Use at least two 45 degree braces, firmly attached to a horizontal 2x6 below the shelf mount. I use redwood 2x4 for the platform frame and top it with 2x6. Make sure you place the top pieces so there is an opening for the cooler drain by measuring carefully where it is. I didn't set the top solid because the cooler bottom is flat and doesn't need that much support. 

Make sure you level the platform because if it isn't, the water in the bottom pan won't be level and that is important. Put the empty cooler on the platform to mark out the size and location of the opening you're going to make, then cut it just a little larger. I used roof flashing and a ton of 50year calk to seal the opening. If the exterior is corrugated, make sure you seal all of the gaps to keep water out. To get the maximum lifespan for your investment, get the black sealer specifically for lining coolers, remove the float valve, and apply sealer liberally to the inside of the pan and up the corner supports at least a few inches. We have a lot of minerals in our water, so I also coated the inside of the side panels and the underside of the fan housing. 

If you go with the large capacity cooler, use the natural wood pads, you get an extra 5 degrees of cooling compared to the "permanent" pads. Besides, the wood pads produce a nice fragrance. I have pvc running up to the shop from an outside faucet, which transitions to 1/4 inch copper tubing for the last part of the run. We get freezing up here during winter so I added a cutoff valve where the pipe comes out of the ground. Next came a threaded T with a plug I can open to drain the feed line. You should put a flare on the ends of the copper tubing wherever there is a joint. I found a flaring tool on Amazon for 1/3rd the home center price. Finally, if you do use pvc, I strongly recommend getting schedule 80 pipe, it holds up so much better than schedule 40.

This post is pretty long, but I always appreciate it when posts are thorough. Let us know what you decide.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Hi, one more thing after re reading your post about dust. A large cooler with wet pads will keep out a lot of the dust. In addition, the larger cooler will pressurize the room, which means the moist air escaping the building will tend to keep dust down. We were surprised how little dust we had after installing the cooler compared to when we used to use the AC. Remember you have to let the moist air blow to the outside or you won't get much cooling. You can open a window or put in vents of some sort. My 5000cfm home cooler needs a total of at least 5 sqft of opening to work properly and the vent needs to be at the far end of the area you want cooled. The whole cost of a side mount cooler, lumber and copper pipe is likely to be about $700-$800 max. My house unit was a lot cheaper because it had a dent and was a display model. For $200 bucks less, I'll live with the dent, especially because it is out of sight. If I can figure out how, I'll attache pictures, first is my house cooler, large one with flashing seal. Next is the valve with drain and 1/4 inch line for winterizing, third is the smaller cooler on the back side of my workshop, but without the flashing installed yet.


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## Jerry Bowen (Jun 25, 2011)

Mike said:


> Jerry, my mom had a mister line installed around her patio roof in Sun City, AZ. It lowered the temp on the patio 15°. I think this would be a better solution than dragging a cooler around with you.


Mike, what is a mister line?

Jerry


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Just a butt in post 

Patio Water Misters, Low pressure Misting Systems, Patio Cooling - Cool-Off.com

The Swamp Cooler will rust your tools quick but the misting-systems will do it quicker for you 
How to make your tools rust up faster in the shop 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWQPVpORVR0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZUNR5YeHxA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=WDXf0J7rLnk&NR=1

The best way to use the misting-systems if you have a green thumb,,...like I do 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=CHd00zGJfhQ
==


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## Jerry Bowen (Jun 25, 2011)

Mike said:


> Jerry, my mom had a mister line installed around her patio roof in Sun City, AZ. It lowered the temp on the patio 15°. I think this would be a better solution than dragging a cooler around with you.



Mike, I replied to to you about the mister line and asked what a mister line is, but I don't see the question anywhere, so aI asking and posting it again. 

Disregard this post, I found the first reply here on the second page. Sorry about that.


Jerry


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## 57759 (Apr 8, 2011)

Your tools rusting won't be a problem unless the tool surface temperature approaches dew point temperature. I see Colorado City dew point is presently 69° and I'm betting that's the highest it's been for awhile. Keep your jacket handy just in case your equipment drops to that temperature. :laugh: With your preservative applications and dust covers you haven't anything to worry about.


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## Jerry Bowen (Jun 25, 2011)

SandburRanch said:


> Your tools rusting won't be a problem unless the tool surface temperature approaches dew point temperature. I see Colorado City dew point is presently 69° and I'm betting that's the highest it's been for awhile. Keep your jacket handy just in case your equipment drops to that temperature. :laugh: With your preservative applications and dust covers you haven't anything to worry about.


Thanks Robert, you are confirming my thinking about the swamp cooler. Jerry


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## Lejones1445 (May 21, 2011)

Shouldn't be a big problem just keep an eye on your tools and if you start to see rust make sure and clean it up right away and put some protection on the exposed parts. your wood should be OK and if you need to dry it out, just move it to the other end of the shop for awhile.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

High humidity in air accelerates corrosion, particularly in the presence of dust. 
This can considerably shorten the life of electronic and other equipment.

High humidity in air may cause condensation of water. 
This can be a problem for some situations (e.g., electrical equipment, computers, paper, books, old wood).

Evaporative cooler - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

===


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

BJ, in Texas or AZ the humidity is way low. All of the mist gets sucked into the atmosphere. In CO or MI this type of cooling system would create a nightmare but it works in the south west.


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## MAFoElffen (Jun 8, 2012)

Mike said:


> BJ, in Texas or AZ the humidity is way low. All of the mist gets sucked into the atmosphere. In CO or MI this type of cooling system would create a nightmare but it works in the south west.


For regions- also add southeastern Washington, northeastern Oregon, across the border from those into Idaho. (Little known arid desert region) 

I lived in South Eastern Washington. Swamp cooler's everywhere. No rust problems with tools. But then, again moisture content there was very low.

Some houses had A/C, but all shops had swamp coolers. When is was above 120 degrees outside, a metal building was an oven without one.

--But Western Washington, they just don't work out (humidity level), so It's A/C's.


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

I lived in Shreveport, LA for about 5 years. Part of my sales territory was NE Texas. That part of TX was very hot and humid.


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## Willway (Aug 16, 2012)

Hi folks, a lot of modern swamp coolers do no use the old weted excelsior pad type cooling. many of the newer ones use the rotating foam and some even use expanded metal screens. The trick is to use a humidistat outside to control when to cut the motor off that rotates the foam or grids so you get fresh air only, or shut the whole unit down when the weather gets bad (rain or real high humidity. And guess what folks the best humidistats are made of horse hair still today. I will try to find a link to these newer type coolers, they control inside humidity much better and cool quite well. I have worked on several of these units around here, and some of them are quite sophisticated. If you are on well water, like we are, you also need a very good water filter 1 micron or even .5 micron, and keep it changed. As far as rust goes, we don't have to worry much about it here in this part of Texas!


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