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Regular
Location: Santa Cruz, Calif. | Curiosity question. The 509, which I hope to get delivery of on Thurs, has a swamp cooler in the roof vent nearest the door. The last owner says it was added by the owner before him. However, the cooler appears to have a bigger hole than the standard 14x14 vent. It also has an irregular shape. This irregularly shaped escutcheon plate is not flush with the ceiling. It is recessed in. It is done so perfectly, with radiused corners, that it looks factory.
Was there a factory option for a swamp cooler? If so, I'll want to keep this one and go through the additional maintenance of keeping it bacteria free. If not, I will probably remove it and put in a ShurFlo Fan. |
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Expert
 
Location: Cottage Grove, OR | There was no option for a swamp cooler. The only cooling configuration was the two basement AC units and standard sized roof vents. Do you still have the two basement AC units below the closet? At the Felton rally you will be able to see the two most popular configurations. One is as originally equipped with the two basement AC units and the other is with one or both of the roof vents converted to an AC unit (not a swamp cooler). |
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Regular
Location: Santa Cruz, Calif. | OK, now that I have had a chance to better look at the thing, the swamp cooler is a Pla-Cool. It is square and does fit in the 14x14 roof opening. I'll post pics if I can find the appropriate album, or maybe just a new one for the 509 restoration.
I'm suspecting that this is a rare enough bird that I should keep it and get it operational. |
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Expert
Location: Cottage Grove, OR | A Google search resulted in info that it was/is made by Great Plains Industries
Great Plains Industries 1711 Longfellow St Wichita, Kansas- 67207 Tel 316-686-6746
Also, some stuff is available on ebay. It is different! Bring pictures to Felton. |
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Regular
Location: Santa Cruz, Calif. | None of the links go anywhere, S. GPI now makes gas meters and pump valves. Pla-Cool is an orphan. I'll have to dig into it to see what it'll do. I don't even know if it works, yet. |
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Regular
Location: Santa Cruz, Calif. | Reading other user groups about the Pla-Cooler, one thing is certain: the styrene cover on top is the weak point. Many people are asking where to get replacements.
Mine is in about 97% good condition. It shows cracking at the screw holes but is pretty much intact. I wonder if it could be used as a model and maybe a dozen or so be vacummed formed to fill a small market. I'm going to try and call GPI on Mon and see who has the tooling or maybe a few parts. |
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Regular
Location: Santa Cruz, Calif. | Got a hold of GPI this morn. 316-686-7361. Talked to expert Ryan. GPI has no parts/molds/plans, etc. Nor did anyone buy them or take up the cause. I'll prob try and restore anyway 'cause I'm a sucker for impossible projects. |
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Expert
Location: Cottage Grove, OR | Bair - 2009-11-02 11:53 AM ....'cause I'm a sucker for impossible projects. I can relate to that!! |
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Regular
Location: Santa Cruz, Calif. | Got the lid off the cooler today. It's pretty decayed styrene. Not repairable, not replaceable.
The swamp cooler is plumbed into the regular water system, so to work, either the pump must be on or pressure from the city hookup. The water comes up to a small resevoir, controlled by a float valve. A small pump sips water from the resevoir and sends it up to a sprayer at the top of the lid. The main fan pulls air in through the foam filter and the sprayer keeps the foam wet.
A basic design flaw here is that the intake air is full of dust and dirt. This gets caught in the spray and the run-off goes back to the resevoir.
The current game plan is to replace it with a vent/fan or install a roof top A/C.
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Expert
Location: Cottage Grove, OR | ... and they really only work well in low humidity e.g. desert climates! |
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Regular
Location: Santa Cruz, Calif. | Understood. And I didn't think it was going to be all that effective anyway. I only wanted to restore it because it is a unique bit of RV folklore. If I had some dort of plasteic molding ability, I certainly would restore it.
Perhaps a RV museum will want it when I remove it. |
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