My neighbor's tip about swamp cooler maintenance saved me $200

Old guy named Dennis next door told me to swap out the water pads every April without fail. I skipped last year thinking they looked fine. Ended up with a burned out motor in July and a $250 service call. He was right, those $40 pads make a huge difference in Albuquerque's hard water.

3 comments

3 Comments

piper_reed22d ago

I get what you're saying (Dennis sounds like a solid dude) but I actually think the "replace pads every April without fail" rule is a little too rigid. Here in Phoenix, our water is just as hard, and I've gone two years on the same pads by just giving them a good spray-down with the hose every few weeks (gets the crusty mineral deposits off). The real game changer for me was installing a bleed-off valve that dumps a little water continuously, which keeps the pads from getting that thick scale buildup in the first place. That cost me maybe $15 and a trip to the hardware store, not $40 a year on pads. I'd bet that burnt motor happened because the water flow got choked off by the scale, not because the pads were a year old.

the_jamie21d ago

Wait, so you're telling me I've been basically throwing $40 a year into the dumpster like some kind of fool who doesn't know how to use a hose? That's almost as bad as the time I tried to fix a leaky faucet with duct tape and a prayer. I gotta hand it to you @piper_reed, that bleed-off valve idea is genius level stuff compared to my "hope for the best" strategy. I bet if I tried that spray-down method here in Texas, my pads would outlive my car, and that burnt motor was definitely doomed from the start anyway.

patricia_green2114d ago

Hold up, I'm gonna push back hard on this one @the_jamie. That $40 a year is cheap insurance compared to what happens when a bleed-off valve fails or you forget to spray down for a month. I've seen guys in Florida with hard water try that "just hose it off" method and end up with pads so crusty they basically fused to the rotor. Replacing a set of pads every year might feel wasteful but it's way less hassle than dealing with a seized caliper or a motor that overheats because the water flow got messed up. Plus not everyone has the time to maintain a spray-down schedule, life gets in the way. You're better off knowing your pads are fresh rather than hoping a $15 valve doesn't give out at the worst possible moment.