Swapped out my old swamp cooler pads for the rigid mesh ones and the difference is wild

I finally gave up on those flimsy aspen pads after 3 summers of swapping them out every year and fighting the dust buildup. Picked up a set of the rigid cellulose mesh pads from Lowe's for about 45 bucks for my 5500 CFM unit. The air coming out of my vents feels noticeably cooler, like a good 5-7 degrees difference on a 95 degree day. Plus I haven't had to fiddle with the water distribution tube clogging up because the mesh lets water flow way more even. My electric bill dropped around 20 bucks last month compared to this time last year with the aspen pads. Only downside is they're a pain to cut down to size if you don't have a good sharp utility knife. Anyone else made the switch and noticed a big difference in their water usage too?

3 comments

3 Comments

paulschmidt25d ago

Honestly the biggest thing nobody talks about is how much less water I go through now. With aspen pads I was filling my float valve every other day, now it's like once a week maybe. That alone made the switch worth it for me.

evan_campbell25d ago

Respectfully gotta disagree with you @paulschmidt. I actually noticed the opposite when I switched. My drip tray dumps way more water now with the cellulose pads because they hold so much moisture and it just drips down constantly. With aspen I barely had any runoff, the airflow was better, and the water just evaporated instead of pooling everywhere. Maybe my setup is different or I'm running my fan too fast, but I've been filling my reservoir more often, not less.

laura_black319h ago

My fan speed is at like 60% and my house is 75 degrees usually, so maybe that's why I'm seeing the opposite. I had aspen pads for two years and barely touched my water jug, maybe topped it off once a week. Switched to cellulose three months ago and now I'm dumping a half gallon of runoff every other day from the drip tray. It's not like my setup changed, same fan, same pump, same cooler. I think the cellulose just holds too much water and never dries out enough for the air to grab it. Maybe it works better in a bigger space, but my 4x4 tent just ends up with puddles everywhere.