Lazy Daze Owners' Group

Pla-cool pump(s)

February 01, 2013, 03:03:42 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 136571

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Interestingly enough, I've become a self-styled expert on all things Pla-Cool due to just having restored a complete working unit on my '93 22' MP.
 First of all, as others have noted, you need to turn on your main coach water pump. Secondly, there is a shut-off valve (ours is located inside the Mr & Mrs closet) that operates identically to a sink faucet - it allows water to flow to the holding reservoir located up in the swamp cooler unit itself.
 The thing that automatically shuts off the water flowing up to the reservoir is a ballcock-valve - no different than what is in every  home toilet, except it's just a whole lot smaller. In my case, the entire unit was filthy from 20 years of accumulated debris, so I took it apart to get it fully cleaned. As an aside, like a toilet, you can adjust the water level in the 'bowl' if you so desire, especially if you're getting a spill out while underway.
 To get to the unit internals from the roof, there are two fasteners with auto-body type bracket screws holding the cover down. In my case, they were fully rusted, so I simply ground them off. Once off, the lid has a nice, easy moving hinge that allow you to lift it up to gain access. (If your bracket screws are destroyed like mine, they are 20 cent parts that can be replaced at any good hardware store.)
 Once you have the lid up, you can gain access to the reservoir, ballcock valve, secondary pump, sponge, water spray disk & and of course the fan. The secondary pump is what pumps the water from the reservoir through some thin surgical hose to the spinning water disk & sponge. The secondary pump is also easily removed (I did in order to clean both it and the sump filter). Once you have it out, you can test to see if it's working, or if not, search around for replacement. It is very generic, so you shouldn't have any problems.
 While you're up there, you might as well replace the tubing & clean the sponge/fan unit. In my case, the culprit was the tubing - mine was weathered & cracked, so that when I turned on the secondary pump, water was spewing everywhere all over the roof. But, for around 50 cents, I replaced the entire length.
 Everything else works fine, especially after such an extensive clean-up process. I'm a big fan of the swamp cooler, and LD was too back in the day. In fact, I have an original hand-out they provided extolling the virtues vis-a-vis A/C, not least of which is that it only pulls 3 amps DC while out in the middle of nowhere, sans generator.
 My rig's original owner, from whom we bought the RV through his family, ordered this 22' with a Tonawanda 454 (a special upgrade offered in '93), but no generator, AC or ladder/racks. I'll leave it to your imagination as to how this baby drives.
 As an aside, he didn't put on an AC unit until a trip he made to FL in July '98. I have the receipt from the Ft Lauderdale Camping World written up just a week after he left CA (from which I have the service receipts while he was getting prepped for the trip). Problem is, ain't no swamp cooler gonna work there in summer - LOL.

K

Re: Pla-cool pump(s)

Reply #2 – August 17, 2015, 05:51:02 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 154747

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Hi Karl,

My name is Pat ( female).  I have been up on the roof of my 94 lazy daze to check out my swamp cooler, and so far the water pump up in the unit itself is not working.  The reservoir is getting water into it , but the pump sounds dead no ( sound from it and no water being picked up).  So your saying radio shack has a good replacement?  Can u tell me more?

Also Im not sure yet if the disk that spins the water off onto the pad is working.  Should it spin when the fan is turned on inside?  I ask that because I don't know if the lid on the whole unit has to be down for that to work.   Thanks in advance for any help you can offer with this.  Pat

Re: Pla-cool pump(s)

Reply #4 – August 17, 2015, 06:52:54 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 154749

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Stay Cool with TurboKOOL - Advanced RV Evaporative Air (Swamp) Coolers

this is the company that can handle all the parts, plus the motor

Re: Pla-cool pump(s)

Reply #6 – August 17, 2015, 10:49:09 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 154758

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Jeff, I recently removed a Placool form my '91 and would like to offer it to you if you want it. The fan worked, but I honestly did not check anything else on it. The cover is cracked, but it is free for the taking. The catch is, you need to pick it up in Santa Barbara, Ca as I do not want to deal with shipping. In 4-6 weeks I may be heading down to the San Bernardino area if you happen to live around there anywhere. I could apply 12V to the pump to see if it works if you want, but you would need to take everything if you wanted it. If Jeff does not want or need it, Pat is next in line. If she does not want it, anybody who can use it is welcome to it.

Jay --

Re: Pla-cool pump(s)

Reply #8 – August 18, 2015, 12:41:34 am

Yahoo Message Number: 154761

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Jay,

Thanks for the offer, but I don't think I need to take you up on it. My unit works well- I just need to replace the pump...

-Jeff

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Re: Pla-cool pump(s)

Reply #10 – August 18, 2015, 03:06:15 am

Yahoo Message Number: 154765

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There are two screws that are accessed from inside the impeller housing. Gently keep pulling on the impeller until it slips off the motor shaft. Then you may be able to see the screws in the little opening. Mine was so rusted I ended up pulling the motor housing and bearing off the shaft and then pushed the screws out from the top.