Getting ready for triple digits

[Firestopper]

Forecast is calling for 95 degrees on Saturday so we serviced Swampzilla and replaced all the H2O hoses and installed new media pads. Wont be long before we hit 100º +.
There goes the $65/month electric bill .


Bring it mother nature!

 

[aliva]

Should move to Canada much cooler this time of the year

 

[tweinke]

Bring it mother nature!

Careful what you ask for!

 

[ch2co]

Be glad that you don't live in a more humid area. Swamp coolers just turn the air from muggy into more muggy with little or no cooling.
So far, I've been able to just use a whole house fan at night. Its in a back (unused) upstairs bedroom window and pulls air from the nice
cool basement (a little too cool in the winter) through the whole house. I seal up all the openings during the daytime to keep my cool.
It seldom gets above the mid to upper 70's.

 

[Alan H.]

Paco, you are cooling a very large metal building. I am curious how much water that unit consumes. Do you have any idea?

 

[Firestopper]

Alen,
The building is fully insulated with R-30 so keeping it cool is fairly easy with about 30 degree pull down. As for water use, I'm not sure as our water comes from a community well and water is inexpensive for us. SW Arizona has very low humidity levels and is ideal for swamp coolers so long as they are maintained. 12k cfm works for this size building with the scheduled ductwork. I worked outside most of my life and still do with the FD but the older I get the cooler environment I prefer during 105+ days.

 

[Firestopper]

I did have to reduce the RPM's on the unit today. The new media is less dense than OEM and had water entrainment into the dry section of the unit. I used a laser tachometer to adjust the double sheave from 306 to 248 rpm's. The bonus is an amp draw drop from 11.5 to 8.5 so might save a little on electric bill and no real airflow drop.

 

[FOMOGO]

I've thought about using one in the new shop, but we only get a few days a year in the 90's, and the shop, after insulation and rock doesn't get much above 80, and is dry also. I'm sure where you are it's essential in the summer, and much nicer than mine in the winter. Looks like swampzilla should more than do the job. Cheers, Mike

 

[Firestopper]

Hi Mike,
Swampzilla has kept me in the comfort zone coming up on its third season. Keeping it close to the ground allows me to maintain and change out the water frequently. Colorado has beautiful summers for sure, but I don't like the cold white stuff much. We have Mt. Lemon about 40 minutes away, and with the 9K foot elevation, I can quickly get my snow fix.

Last year I had flocculation (dandruff as I call it) but Im sure it was due to some treatment I used on the old media pads in an effort to extend the life. I had zero issues the first season so I ruled out hard water issues. I sourced the new pads made by Munter for much less than the OEM but as mentioned I had to recalibrate the system.
Peace, Paco

 

[TheGoodLordCalvert]

Do you have any concerns about the extra humidity rusting any of your equipment? I'm in Phoenix and looking for a way to cool my workshop down to a tolerable level when it hits triple digits. Swamp coolers are cheaper than installing a mini-split.

 

[Firestopper]

This will be my third year in the building and have no rust issues. The steel rack is stocked with HR and CR as well as tubing. All material is wiped and bare with no protection prior to stocking and zero rust thus far. The welding tables (surfaces) are also rust free. All the machines have a light coat of oil on exposed surfaces year round, but that's just preventative maintenance. Surprisingly enough, the humidity level is extremely low during use. In late June and early to mid July, the monsoons prevent the swamp from cooling 100% but then I usually just run the blower to keep the air moving. The insulation helps a ton year round.
Then electric bill reflects Swampzilla usage though.

 

[Rustrp]

Paco, you are cooling a very large metal building. I am curious how much water that unit consumes. Do you have any idea?

Based on my experience of filling by hand (on a very temporary basis) a much smaller cooler, I would guess 100-200 gallons a day on a unit that size. I was really surprised to hear the pump sucking air only a couple of hours after filling the sump.

 

[Tozguy]

Don't need A/C around here just yet

 

[Firestopper]

Based on my experience of filling by hand (on a very temporary basis) a much smaller cooler, I would guess 100-200 gallons a day on a unit that size. I was really surprised to hear the pump sucking air only a couple of hours after filling the sump.

Each wet section holds about 5 gallons and the unit is on the east exposure and close to the ground so it only gets four hours of direct sunlight. I'm sure it consumes a fair amount of water, but our water bill is extremely inexpensive being on a community well. I keep 1100 sf of grass (year round) for the hell hounds that consumes way more water than the cooler as does the drip irrigation for the vegetation and two large citrus trees. My summer water bill is around $25-40 per month. Now if I lived in the city, it would be a different story. The quality of Tucson water (city) is only good for extinguishing fires and would cost $150-200/month. They had great water when I was kid, but the Central Arizona Water project (CAP) mucked that up and drove up the price.

 

[FOMOGO]

Were from the government, and were here to help you. Cheers, Mike.

 

[Firestopper]

We had a preview to this weeks hot temps yesterday so I took a few reading of the shop conditions vs outside. The readings where taken at noon with the hight temp to follow around 4 pm.

I broke out the hand pocket weather meter I use for precision shooting.

I was surprised to see 5+ mph readings from the floor level.
5.5 mph breeze with 74.7 temp and 49.5% humidity reading.


Then walked out side to this.

1.4 mph breeze (blow dryer) 106º ambient temp with 9.4% relative humidity.

For good measure a hand held temp gun was used from 15' aimed to a register.

The pocket weather meter shows a 31.3º pull down. Swampzilla has become my new best friend.
The added humidity levels have not effected the bare steel stock nor the machine surfaces but has helped my skin (I'm still ugly).
Turn and burn, but stay cool!
Paco

 

[Alan H.]

That's awesome performance Paco. 106F outside and 73 or 74F inside and you still have a bit of room to go in terms of inside humidity! Do you any throttle left in terms of raising the humidity 5 to 10 points more?

My experience here on the gulf coast is that if I keep my shop at 60% relative humidity or less there is no corrosion problem with my tools or issues with my woodworking. When it peeks above 60%, I dry it out with a dehumidifier and/or AC.

From the photo above, I am calling before I visit you. Your doggies might not like strangers showing up unescorted!

 

[Firestopper]

Hi Allen,
I think I could tune it further by using the roof vents vs garage doors to vent the hotter air. I also have a double belt motor sheave that can adjust the squirrel cage RPM. I currently have it set to 248 RPM with 8 amp motor draw. Any faster will probably result in water entrainment causing flocculation/dusting during start up.
The dry heat is hard on the skin as we don't sweat like one would in higher humid conditions. Ill take the dry heat any day . Last summer season during monsoon, I simply shut the pumps off and kept the blower moving air. This work surprisingly well as its cools down to the low to mid 80's after a summer storm.

The hell hounds love announced company. Gentle but love being touched a lot. They do turn it on when the door bell rings or a vehicle pull into the drive.
We hit 114º today and tomorrow and Wednesday calls for 115º. Stayed cool at the indoor gun range today but back to work tomorrow.

 

[hman]

I sure wish there were an "envy" button next to the "like" button!

And to top it all off, our house A/C stopped working about 9PM tonight. Air handler running OK, compressor not running. Checked fuses. No joy. Well past the "after hours" availability of our usual service outfit. Hope they respond to our voice mail early tomorrow!

 

[Firestopper]

Damn John, I hope you get your A/C back online ASAP! I'm pushing two A/C duel packs since building the house in 98 and always get a bit nervous during the summer as they seem to cycle all day and night. At 19 years old, they still preform great, but we're on borrowed time. I had problems with both units (different times) within the first 3 years of service and replaced inferior relays on the circuit boards. Good luck getting your AC back in operation.

 

[brav65]

Damn John, I hope you get your A/C back online ASAP! I'm pushing two A/C duel packs since building the house in 98 and always get a bit nervous during the summer as they seem to cycle all day and night. At 19 years old, they still preform great, but we're on borrowed time. I had problems with both units (different times) within the first 3 years of service and replaced inferior relays on the circuit boards. Good luck getting your AC back in operation.

At 19 years you are definitely on borrowed time. You might consider a proactive upgrade. New units have much better SEER ratings, coupled with an air handler change could save significantly on your power bill. Of course now is prime AC weather so pricing will be high. Consider it over the winter. I am in Phoenix with 120 degrees today. No shop time for me!

 

[hman]

Well, we're cool again. But it cost a bit. Problem turned out to be the run capacitor for the outdoor unit compressor and fan motor. You can see in the photo that the top is nicely bulged, plus there are signs of fluid leakage.

I suppose I would have seen it pretty easily it if I'd just taken the inspection panel off the outdoor unit. Coulda, woulda, shoulda ...
Of course, the very best part is what the technician charged us for the cap - over $300!!! I knew he was ripping us off. But it would have taken too long to buy a replacement on line. So we bent over and grabbed our ankles. My wife later found one on line for under $50.

Ah, well ... at least it's running now.

 

[Firestopper]

At 19 years you are definitely on borrowed time. You might consider a proactive upgrade. New units have much better SEER ratings, coupled with an air handler change could save significantly on your power bill. Of course now is prime AC weather so pricing will be high. Consider it over the winter. I am in Phoenix with 120 degrees today. No shop time for me!

Your 100% correct, Those units are on borrowed time. The duel packs are 12 seer Lenox (one 2 ton and one 3 ton) and double as Natural gas heaters during winter months. A crane will be required so is gonna set us back some $$ overall. I plan on upgrading to 16 seer when the time comes. Our electric bill during the summer months averaged $ 220 prior to the new shop build and winter average around $100. The house is very efficient so that helps a bunch.

We hit 116º yesterday and like a knucklehead I insisted on driving the the FJ 40 (no A/C) to work. The hour ride home was brutal while sitting at red lights.
Stay cool brav65!
Paco

Well, we're cool again. But it cost a bit. Problem turned out to be the run capacitor for the outdoor unit compressor and fan motor. You can see in the photo that the top is nicely bulged, plus there are signs of fluid leakage.

I suppose I would have seen it pretty easily it if I'd just taken the inspection panel off the outdoor unit. Coulda, woulda, shoulda ...
Of course, the very best part is what the technician charged us for the cap - over $300!!! I knew he was ripping us off. But it would have taken too long to buy a replacement on line. So we bent over and grabbed our ankles. My wife later found one on line for under $50.

Glad your up and running again John. $300 for a capacitor blows for sure. The A/C industry are known for ripping folks off (especially during emergency service calls). We have Hemco, a local motor shop that I use for purchasing capacitors and other electrical motor needs. They are ultra reasonable. I would check your start caps as well as its also takes a beating over time. I'm sure the Phoenix valley has a motor shop that can help you out.
Stay cool my friend...

Paco

Ah, well ... at least it's running now.
View attachment 235972

 

[brav65]

Your 100% correct, Those units are on borrowed time. The duel packs are 12 seer Lenox (one 2 ton and one 3 ton) and double as Natural gas heaters during winter months. A crane will be required so is gonna set us back some $$ overall. I plan on upgrading to 16 seer when the time comes. Our electric bill during the summer months averaged $ 220 prior to the new shop build and winter average around $100. The house is very efficient so that helps a bunch.
View attachment 235982
We hit 116º yesterday and like a knucklehead I insisted on driving the the FJ 40 (no A/C) to work. The hour ride home was brutal while sitting at red lights.
Stay cool brav65!
Paco

The big savings comes when you get variable speed fans and 17 SEER. The fans run 24/7 at low speed and only spin up on high demand. You can see a 20-30% savings over standard units. At $220 a month it would not make sense though. Crane time is not too bad, for AC units it is usually a min charge of $200 or $300.

 

[Firestopper]

brav65,

I'm not sure how the added electronics (VFD and such) would fair up on the roof in brutal conditions. The electric bill increased another $100-125 during the summer with the addition of the 3200sf shop ($265-$325/month). I do make money and save even more by working on my own needs in the shop so that helps. The swamp eats power but I have tuned it to only draw 8.5 amps with no slippage and optimal CFM's. I also credit the R-30 insulation in the shop keeping things efficient.
I know modern pool pumps are now variable speed as well but they seem to get replaced more often than the older non variable counterparts.
Either way, I need to start planning on upgrading the two roof units. Thanks for the advice, I always learn new things.