How to Wire an Evaporative Swamp Cooler Switch: Wiring Diagram

In most cases, when people have room swamp cooler put in place and installed, powering the unit is a simple matter of finding the nearest wall plug and connecting it. These units are designed to work off of basic, simple power supply that one can find in just about any home and wall plug unit. They definitely don’t need a dedicated power supply or a specialized plug system like a washing machine, for example. On the other hand, if one has a commercial or industrial evaporative cooler, then dedicated wiring will be needed. However, most homeowners aren’t dealing with these challenges. Instead, one might simply want to go a step further and just have activation with a wall switch.

Getting Started with the Wiring Setup

The first part is figuring out which cable needs to be used with the motor in the given swamp cooler. This cable, known as a multi-conductor, works for either a single-speed motor or a twin-speed version. If the first category, then the cable needs to be a four-conductor format to work right. If, on the other hand, one is dealing with a twin-speed motor, then the cable needs to be a five-conductor type. It’s better to get extra cable to start with and size down from there than to be too short have to start all over again finding out the hard way. Plus, cable strung too tight can pull free over time, which will be annoying and a frustration as well. So just get extra and trim it as needed.

Always check your swamp cooler model and instructions first before getting started. That’s because there is some variation from one product to the next, depending on the brand and model. The wiring is used to run two different aspects of the cooler, the blower as well as the pump that moves the water through the unit for the cooling effect.
The water pump runs on a 110/120-volt AC connection which needs to be plugged into a wall socket or similar connection to run. The blower, on the other hand can be run by the similar 110/120 AC connection or it can run on a 220/230-volt AC connection. The blower will usually have two speeds for low and the high performance. The blower will have connections for high, common, and low, labeled as H, C, and L.

Wiring Colors and Connections

In terms of wiring colors, the swamp cooler will have five colors in total. They work as follows:

• Black – hot wire for the High-power setting.
• Green – this is the ground wire.
• Red – low wire for the Low power setting.
• White – functions as the common wire or neutral.
• Yellow – this wire runs the water pump.

On the cooler side, the black wire connects to the blower motor via a junction. The other end of the black wire is connected to the switch. The white wires or neutral connect to the common junction point on the water pump and the white connection point on the switch. The green wire functions as the ground and connect to the ground points and is held in place by a nut. The green is also connection to the switch ground.

On the switch side, the black connects to the L1 terminal. The 1 terminal is for the red wire that connects to the low power side of the blower. The 2 terminal is the connection point for the yellow wire going to the water pump power or hot terminal. The C connection is the black wire connecting to the blower for the high-power connection. Remember, the black wire or hot wire is the sensitive issue. This one has to be connected right from the start. It’s best to do a trial run with the wiring diagram for a given cooler first before actually connecting everything to make sure the wiring is done right.

If You’re Not Comfortable with Wiring, Go with the Evaporative Cooler Pros

On the other hand, if all of the above seems far too confusing, it’s a smart idea work with a professional like Premier Industries, Inc. to wire your evaporative cooler switch instead. Premier’s technicians work and function as fully licensed electricians and can wire a swamp cooler correctly the first time without worries and issues. Whether it’s just a basic wall power switch connection or a complicated, multi-speed connection for multiple units, Premier Industries can handle the installation, wiring and clean up. You don’t have to worry about the hook up risks, and you also know that the connection is done correct and up to professional standards. It’s a win-win from start to finish.

Categorised in: Evaporative Cooling, Evaporative Water Coolers

This post was written by Mike Nicolini