1997 Lazy Daze swamp cooler question

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1997 Lazy Daze swamp cooler question

December 12, 2017, 08:21:04 pm

Hello Forum,

I looked yesterday at a 1997 Lazy Daze and was not able to make the swamp cooler work. I opened the water line and switched pump and fan of the cooler on - they both work, but the cooler did not really cool.

1.) Do I also have to switch on the "general" water pump to get the water to the cooler? If so, does that only have to happen at the beginning, or all the time?

2.) The swamp cooler has not been used for several years. Do I have to switch the filter, or mat, or however this part of the cooler is called (just like I have to do it with my house swamp coolers)? Where would I get such a part? (I know that this tiny swamp cooler might not do a very good job, but I would like to try it.)

Thanks for your replies.

Nick

Re: 1997 Lazy Daze swamp cooler question

Reply #1 – December 12, 2017, 10:46:50 pm

Quote from: desertman - December 12, 2017, 08:21:04 pm

Hello Forum,

I looked yesterday at a 1997 Lazy Daze and was not able to make the swamp cooler work. I opened the water line and switched pump and fan of the cooler on - they both work, but the cooler did not really cool.

1.) Do I also have to switch on the "general" water pump to get the water to the cooler? If so, does that only have to happen at the beginning, or all the time?

2.) The swamp cooler has not been used for several years. Do I have to switch the filter, or mat, or however this part of the cooler is called (just like I have to do it with my house swamp coolers)? Where would I get such a part? (I know that this tiny swamp cooler might not do a very good job, but I would like to try it.)

Thanks for your replies.

Nick

Nick, welcome to the Lazy Daze Owners' Forum. I hope someone with a swamp cooler will answer your questions. Turbokool <https://turbokool.comhttps://turbokool.com> is a source for parts. Also, if you do a search (go to home page and click on "community" and then "search" and enter "swamp cooler"), you will find over 300 posts on swamp cooler.

Chris

Re: 1997 Lazy Daze swamp cooler question

Reply #2 – December 12, 2017, 11:17:13 pm

Yes, you need to turn on water pump. You need to take off the cover on the roof and check to see if the water is filling the bowl and the float should turn it off. Make sure you clean the filter while you're up there. Clean the sprayer.

Re: 1997 Lazy Daze swamp cooler question

Reply #3 – December 12, 2017, 11:22:11 pm

The 88MB also has a valve behind the furnace screen door that has to be opened to let water up to the swamp cooler. Turn the valve off shortly before shutting the swamp cooler down so the water will be vaporized and the water well is empty, else the water will splash out while the rig is moving. Check the well for cracks and inspect the float for proper operation to prevent flooding before starting. Yes, the general water pump has to be on or the rig has to be connected to city water.

Your comments lead me to believe you have a Plasti Kool like the 88MB, which has its own recirculation spray pump. Plasti Kool is no longer made. Turbo kools are the only ones left in production.

Re: 1997 Lazy Daze swamp cooler question

Reply #4 – December 13, 2017, 06:24:41 am

Nick-

Our 1997-8 mid-bath had a valve inside the wardrobe. I seem to remember the tubing followed one of the corners nearest the door hinges, from floor to ceiling. The valve was about midway.

I tried to use ours once, but found the tubing broken at the cooler end, and the plastic humidifier pads falling apart. We don't live in an arid part of the country, so I didn't get it working before we sold the coach.

Mark

Re: 1997 Lazy Daze swamp cooler question

Reply #5 – December 13, 2017, 09:27:34 am

Just another thing to be aware of. Unlike an AC, the swamp cooler may not be very effective if you plan on cooling the coach while driving. The water tends to slosh out when the RV is moving.

Re: 1997 Lazy Daze swamp cooler question

Reply #6 – December 13, 2017, 09:40:34 am

Thanks for your replies. Since the cooler has not been used for years I can imagine that the line at the cooler end and the foam pads have disintegrated. That would probably be easy to fix. Too bad that this cooler can not work while driving, at least not without wasting a lot of fresh water.

Re: 1997 Lazy Daze swamp cooler question

Reply #7 – December 13, 2017, 11:49:32 am

I assume this model is a 'Play-Cool' or such, since it has a separate pump switch. Parts for this model may no longer be available. Older LD models used a model that still does have parts available, at hideous prices. If you would like to use a cooler in any LD you buy, disassembly and inspection would be mandatory to see if it can be economically revived.

Steve

Re: 1997 Lazy Daze swamp cooler question

Reply #8 – December 15, 2017, 07:18:12 pm

I have the pla-cool swamp cooler on my 97 tk. There are no direct replacement parts that I can find. The pump can rust easy and stop working. I replaced mine with a submerged brush less pump and homemade filter.

Amazon.com : Anself Ultra-quiet Mini 4.8W DC12V Micro Brushless Water Oil...

Liam and I started a new fiberglass cover mold at Morrow Bay last year

Re: 1997 Lazy Daze swamp cooler question

Reply #9 – December 16, 2017, 02:55:53 pm

That's right Craig gave me his mold piece of the top of the Pla-Cool which I slightly modified to fit on my Pla-Cool evap-cooler on our 98~MB. I also beefed up the hinges on the front of the top of the unit since our original blew off in major wind while we were driving north on 395 along the eastern Serra's.

Thanks Again Craig!

I tested the unit this summer and found that it worked well. We mainly used it to blow cool air into the back lounge which we use as our bedroom. I blocked off two of the vents so the air mostly blows into the back room and we close off the front with the bathroom door in our Mid-Bath. We have used evap-coolers on RVs for over twenty years and have had them in houses since I was a kid. I like the Turbo-Cool and have owned that one since the mid 90s. I recently used it in our old 84 itaska this summer in 106 degrees in the desert and if you stay a head of the heat and get it on early it did a great job. The trick is to keep air flowing in the cooler and out of the area you are trying to cool. We are selling our old itaska so I took it off recently to put it on the our LD~MB but since the Pla-Cool on our LD worked well I will wait. By the way, when I originally installed the Turbo-Cool in the 90s I added a drain system to drain the units bath reservoir for travel but found that I did not need it, no splashing or spilling with it during travel, not so with the Pla-Cool, it does splash when you move the vehicle. The Turbo-Cool co will sell the pads which you can modify to fit your Pla-Cool but we found other suitable replacements on line for less money. I suggest filling your Pla-Cool and running it and go on the roof and see if the water is spraying on the water wheel and if the water is splashing on the evaporating screen, take a flashlight and a small automotive mirror to check.

Best of Luck!

Karen~Liam
26 ~ MB

Re: 1997 Lazy Daze swamp cooler question

Reply #10 – December 18, 2017, 02:26:06 pm

I replaced our '93 swamp cooler's disintegrated internal water line with fresh surgical tubing. I also had to replace the internal pump with a mini 12v motor similar to the one linked above.

The swamp cooler doesn't come close to matching the performance of our A/C unit. On the other hand, our portable generator cannot run the A/C, so we can't use it unless hooked up to shore power. The swamp cooler is a classic, low tech 12v solution that works ok.

Perhaps more importantly, I just wanted the cooler to work. I cannot abide not having our rig in perfect operating condition.

Re: 1997 Lazy Daze swamp cooler question

Reply #11 – July 21, 2018, 04:55:41 pm

Does anyone know where the handle is (it is a “petcock” handle) that turns on 1/4” water feed for the swamp cooler for a 1991 22’ Midbath ?

Re: 1997 Lazy Daze swamp cooler question

Reply #12 – July 25, 2018, 12:33:48 am

Having separate switches for a pump and fan make it a pla-cool, TurboKool does not use a separate pump, the filters get wet by the fan assembly.

If the fan works and the pump makes noise (not seized), yet no cooling, then one of the following is happening.
1. Water is not actually making it up to the roof. Somebody may have capped off the cooler lines.
2. The reservoir valve on the roof is stuck closed, so water isn't getting into the swamp cooler reservoir.
3. Water is getting into the reservoir, but water isn't really getting to the pump because of silt/mud gumming up the pump opening.
4. The electric pump is worn out water doesn't make it up the water line to the filters.
5. The water line running from the pump to the filter is cut. The fan assembly can do this.
6. All of the above is fine, but the filters are rotted out so little/no evaporation is happening.

The check is getting out on your roof and opening up the cooler. BE GENTLE as sun rot has probably taken its toll and things will be eggshell brittle.

Re: 1997 Lazy Daze swamp cooler question

Reply #13 – July 25, 2018, 11:06:19 am

Carrie.Atune,
You avitar photo looks like a 22' TK.
My guess is that the swamp cooler petcock is indoors behind the furnce return air screen. The furnace return air scrren should be below the the Mr. and Mrs. Wardrobe, if it is anyting like the 1988 MB I own.

Re: 1997 Lazy Daze swamp cooler question

Reply #14 – July 25, 2018, 02:57:10 pm

Quote from: Carrie.Atune - July 21, 2018, 04:55:41 pm

Does anyone know where the handle is (it is a “petcock” handle) that turns on 1/4” water feed for the swamp cooler for a 1991 22’ Midbath ?

Unless someone else has a similar age T/K, like yours, to provide the location, you will have to track it down yourself.
LD put the water supply valves in many locations, depending on the floorpan and where the plumbing was readily available, during construction..
Open every lower interior door and exterior hatch and take a hard look, the valve is small and may be hidden.
In a 22' T/K, under the kitchen and bath sinks would be good place to start.

Larry

Re: 1997 Lazy Daze swamp cooler question

Reply #15 – July 25, 2018, 03:03:36 pm

I wish I could remember where it was located on my '85 22ft. TK but it may be in the overhead near the unit itself.

Re: 1997 Lazy Daze swamp cooler question

Reply #16 – July 26, 2018, 01:12:48 am

On my 1989 MP, it is under the galley sink. The water line is plumbed into a wall of the fridge to go to the roof.

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