danielwhite•1mo agoMost Upvoted

My swamp cooler fan motor died in the middle of that 95 degree stretch last week

I noticed the air coming out of the vents wasn't cooling anything and the unit was making a weird grinding noise. Took the side panel off and saw the fan blade was wobbling like crazy before it just seized up completely. I ended up finding a replacement motor at that place off Lomas for about 120 bucks and swapped it out myself over the weekend. Turns out the bearings were totally shot and had been leaking grease for months maybe. Has anyone else had their swamp cooler fail right when you need it most?

3 comments

3 Comments

ninal911mo ago

Damn that sucks, did you check the water pump too? I had a similar issue last summer where the fan seized but it turns out the pump had been dead for weeks and I just didn't notice because the air still felt kinda cool. The bearings on mine were completely rusted out from the water level being too high and sloshing up into the motor housing. How's the water distribution look on yours? Sometimes those little tubes get clogged and then the pads dry out which makes the whole system work harder.

paulperry1mo ago

Wait, @ninal91, did you pull the pump apart to check the impeller? Mine was all crusted up with calcium deposits even though the motor was still running fine. I soaked the whole thing in white vinegar for a few hours and it cleared the gunk right out, then I hit the bearings with some silicone lube. That fixed my airflow issues way better than messing with the distribution tubes, which were actually fine on my unit. Your rusted bearings story sounds rough though, maybe try a lower water level setting if you haven't already.

patel.daniel1mo ago

Check those distribution tubes first.