Swamp cooler

[daw]

I bought this house with the money from the house I sold. I was aware it had some problems which I fixed. But the roof is a different story. 
The area around the swamp cooler had leaked before I came and been "repaired " inside. But the cause was not. Owner said he would pay.
But nevermind that as what he said wrote means nothing.  It leaked again last night and it was not from rain.
It came from the swamp cooler. I did not turn it off last night . First time it ran all night. And I had to mop the floor. It quit leaking when I turned off the SC.
So I would appreciate if someone could tell me where to look for the problem.

[kkbcc]

I suspect the overflow drain or hose is leaky and the fill float is set a smidge too high(controlled by bending the wire arm).

To test turn the fan off and the pump on for a few minutes to let the pads saturate. Then turn the pump off, letting the pads drain, and see if you can find the leak.

It sounds like your so close to over filling that when it cycles cooling the pads drain causing an overflow, and the overflow leaks.

Second thing to check is if your saturating the pads too fast. On the hose that goes from the water pump to the spider there should be a clamp restrictor that controls the water flow. Too much water can cause the pad frames to overflow making water leak around the frame edges, too little water and it won't cool well. Also be sure the weep holes in the pad frames, top and bottom, are not clogged.

[daw]

Just had the pads replaced.
I am guessing this was a problem before
and that the SC was left on 24 /7.
Does this still follow with what you said?

[kkbcc]

Yep. I don't think your pads have anything to do with your leak. Being on 24/7 would alternately saturate and drain your pads as your thermostat intermittently calls for cooling. Saturating your pads lowers the water level so your float will let more water in. If the water level is too high then when the pads drain it could cause the water level to rise above the overflow tube to be drained away, probably via a hose to your roof.

From my window rattler, same principles apply to a roof top.

My water level is about half way up the overflow tube:

Attachment Deleted

Bend in float arm sets water level:

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The flow clamp up by the spider. I have a direct blower motor, you might have a belt driven blower - doesn't make a difference as far as your leak is concerned.:

Attachment Deleted

[kkbcc]

Weep holes at top of pad frame, spreads water across the pad:

Attachment Deleted

[daw]

The black plastic line was replaced with copper.
These new pads do not require as much water, seem
to retain it instead of it flowing through the pads.

The reason I said it is an on going problem is because
of what I know happened before I bought it. The ceiling fell in
with the water damage.only under the swamp cooler.
It has something to do with running the swamp cooler at night.
It does not rain much here ...we are in a major drought.

I do appreciate your help.

[daw]

Talked to the repair man this morning.
He said the water had to come from an
overflowing tray. He said he had checked
the tray for cracks...I thought he had.
I told him more about the past before I
came and that someone had messed with it
and put the pads in backwards. He knew
that but now he is going to go over the
entire unit with an even finer tooth comb. daw,kkbcc,
Really there are some .....loose nuts in
this state

[sawmilljim]

Jul 6, 2022 16:05:42 GMT daw said:

Talked to the repair man this morning.
He said the water had to come from an
overflowing tray. He said he had checked
the tray for cracks...I thought he had.
I told him more about the past before I
came and that someone had messed with it
and put the pads in backwards. He knew
that but now he is going to go over the
entire unit with an even finer tooth comb. daw,kkbcc,
Really there are some .....loose nuts in
this state

Trust me you don’t have the market cornered on loose nuts !

[daw]

So my repairman came out today.
Looked at the pictures of the wet ceiling.
And got very concerned...he will be back Friday
morning and get under the cooler in the attic .
Then maybe we will know why it leaks at night.

[themotherhen]

daw, hope you can get it figured out soon. Repairs can be expensive.

[joebill]

?...Joe

[daw]

I am wondering about getting new one. My plumber has disappeared.
How much crack can a person brake?

[sawmilljim]

I know one part of the the world has no idea idea how the other half lives. Far as I know there are no swamp cooler’s in this part of it. Wouldn’t a regular ac system be much better ? Especially if installing new ?

[kkbcc]

Swamp coolers draw about a third of the power of AC. Repairs tend to be a lot less too.

Drawback to them is they loose a lot of efficiency/cooling if ambient humidity is above 30%.

[daw]

ACs run about $300 a month here.
My total bill with the swamp
cooler is about $38-42 monthly.
If I use fans it is $10- 12 higher.