Swamp Cooler vs AC unit... recommendations

So i realized i need one of these two items. obviously the ac unit cost more to buy and run. But will the swamp cooler really help me out, meaning i dont want to use the money for the swamp cooler, when i should have went w the ac unit. Im looking to cool my room down by 10 degrees or so. my room is 96 square ft.

I just wanted to see if people are using the swamp cooler and if they are worth it. here one i was looking at on ebay.

New Portable Swamp Air Cooler Evaporative Air Cooler - eBay (item 180257446003 end time Jun-26-08 15:24:45 PDT)

Thanks

5,000 BTU Mechanical Window Air Conditioner

i too am leary about those evap coolers. i dont know whether they are good or not.

Haven't invested in one yet but I probably will once I start my second grow. Let us know how it works out for you.

anyone else use a swamp cooler?

I just bought a 5000 btu AC for my grow room. 4X8 room and its lucky if it dropped the temp 2 degrees. I'm taking it back.

They put out way to much humidity for me. Thats how they cool. Saturates the air with moisture. Would not use it in flower for sure!!

just hooked up a swamp cooler in my upstairs area (grow room is in basement) the ambient temp down there during the middle of the day is 80 and upstairs up to 90+, the swamp cooler keeps my upstairs temp to about 80 during the middle of the day and the ambient temp downstairs drops to 70-75, but i think the humidity is going to be a problem, might need to invest in a dehumidifier. if you have the means get an ac.

what about a swamp cooler w a built in humidifer? would that help the cause?

CaliMedicated said:

what about a swamp cooler w a built in humidifer? would that help the cause?

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A swamp cooler is a humidifier - you mean a dehumidifier. The answer is no!

Okay, look, I don't know where these other people live, but I know what the low humidity of Southern California is like! Take it from me - for low humidity areas (like Santa Barbara - or anywhere else in the Southwest) swamp coolers are a "Double Whammy". That is; they not only work like a champ, but they also add the much needed humidity that we are so lacking here in Southern California. Ideally, you want to have about 40-60% relative humidity in the grow room (maybe even more). A swamp cooler probably wont give you that, but it will help; not to mention it's more economical.

"Rule of Thumb": If you have high temperatures and low humidty - use a swamp cooler. If you have high temperatures and normal to high humidity - use an A/C unit.

T.H.Cammo said:

A swamp cooler is a humidifier - you mean a dehumidifier. The answer is no!

Okay, look, I don't know where these other people live, but I know what the low humidity of Southern California is like! Take it from me - for low humidity areas (like Santa Barbara - or anywhere else in the Southwest) swamp coolers are a "Double Whammy". That is; they not only work like a champ, but they also add the much needed humidity that we are so lacking here in Southern California. Ideally, you want to have about 40-60% relative humidity in the grow room (maybe even more). A swamp cooler probably wont give you that, but it will help; not to mention it's more economical.

"Rule of Thumb": If you have high temperatures and low humidty - use a swamp cooler. If you have high temperatures and normal to high humidity - use an A/C unit.

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Thank you! that was the answer i was looking for. and i am dealing w high temps and low humidity. i read where some said that high humidy is bad, especially for flowering. but you want it higher for flowering than veg anyways. ill prob run mine for 6 hrs. Should i keep the oscalating fan going? i imagine so, becuase the swamp cooler doesnt rotate.

No you want it lower for the flower period. If it is too high the buds that are already retaining water in the bud will be saturated and will eventually lead to mold and then the grow is ruined. You can't smoke moldy bud it will make you very sick!!!!! Also, Must be different in the west because out east here the higher the temps the higher the humidity at least in the summer. In the winter it is like that but not in the summer. Good luck!

swap cooler only works in low humidity i would just go for the ac

everywhere you read it says in flowering you want humidity 50 - 60... during veg you want 30-50.. someone correct me if this is wrong?

CaliMedicated said:

everywhere you read it says in flowering you want humidity 50 - 60... during veg you want 30-50.. someone correct me if this is wrong?

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Excess humidty has never been my problem, so I don't have the"optimum humidity" on the tip of my tongue. But I'll go out on a limb here and say I think it's the other way around - higher humidity for vegging and lower humidity for flowering (but I've been wrong before!).

My problem has always been, trying to keep the humidity high enough. I live in the Inland Empire (Riverside-San Bernardino area), on a good day we may get 12-15% humidity - it is just as likely to be around 5-6%, or somewhere in between. That's with Summertime temps in the high 90's to well over 100, just about every day! I can run my swamp cooler and it brings down the temps real well - but the humidity is still at the bottom level of "acceptable". I'm toying with the idea of running two (smaller) swamp coolers in series into my growroom to get the humidity up to an optimum level!

By the way - have you heard about California legalizing pot? It's supposed to be on the ballot in November - making it completely legit!!!

T.H.Cammo said:

Excess humidty has never been my problem, so I don't have the"optimum humidity" on the tip of my tongue. But I'll go out on a limb here and say I think it's the other way around - higher humidity for vegging and lower humidity for flowering (but I've been wrong before!).

My problem has always been, trying to keep the humidity high enough. I live in the Inland Empire (Riverside-San Bernardino area), on a good day we may get 12-15% humidity - it is just as likely to be around 5-6%, or somewhere in between. That's with Summertime temps in the high 90's to well over 100, just about every day! I can run my swamp cooler and it brings down the temps real well - but the humidity is still at the bottom level of "acceptable". I'm toying with the idea of running two (smaller) swamp coolers in series into my growroom to get the humidity up to an optimum level!

By the way - have you heard about California legalizing pot? It's supposed to be on the ballot in November - making it completely legit!!!

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that would be awesome if it passed federally. the dea is always buggin around SB. they might as well just starting taxing the shops and work off this fucked up economy.

these coolers are the way forwards but you gotta change your setup to suit it.

you cant just get some beice of shit from b&q, you gotta spend cash. check out Urban Grower on youtube. he does 'perfect growrooms' ie no exhaust/incoming air ducting. this is achieved by using a beast of a swamp cooler attached to mains water. as you can imagine this puts the humity up, so you gotta get an industrial de-humidifier. this de-humidifier drains into a resevour for the plants.

it really is the way forwards.
no more bugs
no dodgy venting of hot air

but like i said, you gotta throw money at it to make it work

Making a homemade swamp cooler is really easy and cheap there is a DIY for a swamp cooler on this site I dont know the link but I used it to make mine, but not that if you dont have a large reservior for the Ice the I will melt very quickly a cooler works best to keep the Ice cool on my first try I used a small rubbermaid container with no lid and the light from my grow room quickly melted the Ice in a cooler it is dark and insulated and you will only need to add Ice once a day if needed. But your in luck I can tell you everything needed to make one.

LIST:
1 10' coil of 1/4 inch copper tubing
1 bag of large zip ties
1 small water pump
1 squirrel cage fan.
1 48 quart cooler (optional)
2 3ft pieces of clear aquarium hose ( make sure it will fit over the copper tubing and fit the water pump)

TOOLS: 1 drill, 1 (3/8 drill bit, and 1 (1" drill bit

I also can explain how to do but I have no pics sorry.

First take the 1/4" copper tubing and start coiling it around the front of the squirrel cage fan in the shape of a stove burner but dont coil to close together because you have to bring 1 end of the copper tube back throough the hole you drill in top of cooler ( I will get to the drilling later.) As you are coiling that is what the zip ties are for to hold the copper in place get the ties tight on the copper and use scissors to cut off the excess also dont use all zip ties you will need a few later. Then to the drilling Ok first figure out where you want you fan on top of cooler and if your copper tube is to short because you coiled it too much its ok thats what the aquarium hose is for is for. Drill a hole using your 3/8 drill bit on the bottom left and bottom right of where you fan will be sitting place the water pump inside connect one of the aquarium hoses to the water pump and up through one of the holes you drilled and connect to copper tube then connect the other hose to other end of copper tube and run it down into the cooler this one is drain it doesnt connect to the pump. One more thing drill one more hole 1" wide for the the water pump cord to go through and that is it just ad alot of Ice and a little water just enough water to keep the pump from burning up. This is my swamp cooler set up and it brings my temps down 10-12 degrees and humidity to around 55-60%
Hope you like this give rep if you do.

Also For the folks that are in a more humid climate thinking about these. They work great when used in combo with an ac unit. Simple science. Remember swamp coolers add humidity ac take humidity out. Use them in combo and u still get a push on the humidity but your room temps will come down. WIN_WIN Also don't buy one build your own its very easy.

KillerWeed420 said:

I just bought a 5000 btu AC for my grow room. 4X8 room and its lucky if it dropped the temp 2 degrees. I'm taking it back.

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in all honesty if your running more than 1 light in the thing 5000 btu isnt going to be enough. try for double if possible.

Thought I'd bump this old thread up to the front.

I am exhausting my air with a 6" 375 cfm fan ( to the outside) and have a passive intake through the floor that leads under the crawl space.
I thought that would be enough but alas, it is not. After 2-3 weeks of 88-92 degrees in my flower room, I am going to try an evaporative cooler.
The average daily RH here is 5-15%. It is sunny and dry. I think this will actually help raise my RH in the flowering room. Many of the homes here run swamp coolers as a "whole home " cooling system.
I am going to buy a small 350 cfm portable evaporative cooler and see how this works. (I think the one I saw was around 8000-10,000 BTU) I will monitor and see what the RH and temps are after 24 hours.
Some of the more expensive units have dehumidifiers built in them. Seems kind of counter intuitive though. (like putting sand in your ski wax)

I am going to Home Depot tomorrow.