swamp cooler bleed t-connector value

[KenK]

My replacement swamp cooler came with a bleed t-connector in the hose between the water pump and the pads.

It took quite a bit of digging with Google but those selling these bleed t- connector kits say they remove some of the water from the cooler thus bringing in fresh water and reducing scale buildup.

The water from the T pours out on the ground under the cooler making a mess. Also adds to well pump usage with wear-and-tear and electricity usage.

What do you think? Is the scale buildup worse than these problems? I can't decide whether to run the T-connector water in or out of the cooler. Is the mess worse than the scale?

TIA

[KenK]

KenK [e-mail] wrote in news:XnsABBB5E76CE849invalidcom@130.133.4.11:

Also, the intentional water under the cooler prevents one from being aware of some other unintentional cooler leakage - a rust spot in reservoir or misadjusted water level float.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Anything that evaporates water will leave minerals behind. How much depends on the hardness of the water. Maybe better to connect a hose to collect the water if you don't want it under the unit.

[Neill Massello]

Run it for a few days without the bleeder to see how much buildup you get. If your well provides fairly hard water, and most do, and you live in a hot dry climate, and most users of swamp cooler do, you'll find that running without a bleeder will turn your cooler into a cavern of mineral formations well before the cooling season is over.

In other words, you want to use the bleeder. Attach a long plastic tube to the T and use the water on your outdoor plants, either directly or by collecting it in a barrel first.

[Rod Speed]

Easy to avoid a mess by extending the line so it ends up in the garden etc.

Nope, not if the volume of water removed is sensible.

Depends on how hard your water is.

Its easy to avoid the mess by extending where the removed water ends up and limiting the volume of it.

[Rod Speed]

Extending the line fixes that too.