Is it running in fan-only mode?

A handy feature of Evaporative Coolers is the ability to turn into a whole-house fan by running in fan-only mode. In order to cool, you need to turn both the Fan AND Water Pump on.

For Brivis Evaporative Coolers, you need to have the 3 water droplets on, which is done by pressing the “M” button. Key 1 turns on the fan, then Key 2 turns on the pump. You can download the Brivis user guide here or for other brands, refer to your manufacturer’s user guide.

Be aware there is a start-up delay

The Evaporative Cooler needs to pre-wet the pads before cool air can be expected from the duct outlets. This usually takes about 5 minute’s.

Some models have an additional delay time to open the damper which can extend the process to 8 minutes. So make sure you wait at least 8 minutes before trying anything else as it may be functioning correctly for the type of model it is.

Is it a humid day?

Evaporative Coolers work by water evaporation. For this reason, they are only suitable for dry climates, which is why they are a popular choice of cooler in Victoria. However, we do occasionally get humid days. And when the air is humid, water cannot evaporate.

If you want to keep using your Evap on a humid day, your best bet is to turn off the water pump and use it in fan-only mode. If moisture is building up on the floor, ensure the outlet vents are directing air flow across the ceiling and not towards the floor.

Another option is to install a split system in your living room to keep cool on those occasional humid days and give your Evap the day off.

Do you have enough doors or windows open?

Those with Evaps know if you want to concentrate your cooling to certain areas of the house, you open windows and doors in those areas. However, you still need to ensure you have enough open for the cooler to work properly.

Its also worth noting, if your windows only partially open, as opposed to fully open, you will need to open some extra ones. Refer to your user guide for exactly how many doors or windows you need to open for your model.

Only some outlets have air coming out

Can you feel air coming out some outlets but not others?

As Evaporative Cooling doesn’t use zoning, chances are one of your ducts has disconnected in the ceiling.

If it has disconnected from the outlet, the outlet won’t work. If it’s disconnected from another duct, a room or multiple rooms may be affected.

Low airflow is coming out of the outlets

The fan speed for Evaporative Coolers is adjustable, so turn up the fan speed.

It was working, but now its not

Evaps can run in both Auto and Manual mode. While you cannot set a target temperature for cooling (you can only do this with refrigerated cooling), you are able to adjust the cooling level, lets think of this as a scale from a bit cool to maximum cool. When running on Auto Mode, the pump will turn itself off once it achieves whatever cooling level you have selected.

You can either turn it up or change it to Manual mode, so it wont do this.