Water Usage

Typically a swamp cooler will have a float valve in the reservoir to maintain the water
level. This keeps water usage to a minimum but promotes the build up of scale on the
pads and reservoir pan.

To counter this problem, some coolers have been designed with a bleed off valve that
periodically drains water from the reservoir or a "sump dump" that flushes out the
contents of the reservoir including debris that accumulates from natural Aspen pads.

Both of these systems reduce scaling and keep the pads working efficiently, but they
also use substantially more water than a float system.