Tuesday 6 November 2012

Evaporative air conditioner repair

I spent a few hours on the weekend giving the evaporative cooler (swamp cooler for some) it's spring clean, ready for the first hot day of the season.  Usually this just involves flushing all the dirty water out, giving the pads a bit of a spray with the pressure washer, and checking the belt etc.

This was all done in a few short hours, and I happily turned everything on to be greeted with nice cool air throughout the house.... until an hour later, when the air turned suspiciously warm.

The fan was still running happily, but turning the pump on and off didn't seem to make a difference. (If the pump is on, there is water running through the pads, which cools the air on the way past)

The date on the top of the pump was 20 years old... so it was time to take it out and have a look.  There was a noticeable rattling sound when I shook it.

This might have had something to do with it :


This is the source of the rattling sound...
 

 

Pump motor, just a little rusty!
 
I've since replaced it with a Breezair 'Tornado' pump - only $150 which is cheap in HVAC land - and it worked perfectly. Bring on the hot weather!

 




 
 
 
 

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