more efficient swamp cooler?
 

Looking a more efficient AC setup. Our house only has a window swamp cooler for summer. Any suggestions to get it colder or more efficient?

I'd definitely start with something other than your heating/cooling system. Sealing the house up alone may make it so you don't need anything more than the swamp cooler. Some curtains (or something reflective would be even better) will defintely help anywhere you have direct sunlight entering through windows.

Re: Swamp (Evaporative) Coolers.

1. Swamp coolers generally don't get "cold", but they can cool the air 5 - 15°F (or more) when working well.
2. Evaporative coolers need an open window on the other side of the house so the cool & humid air can exit or things DO get very "swampy".
3. Locate the cooler on the North or East side of the house so that it is pulling in the coolest air available.
4. Clean the evaporative cooler including filter and media to remove lime, dust and crud so air and water can flow easily.
5. The lower the relative humidity the better a swamp cooler works.
6. Open up and vent your house overnight so it is a cool as possible in the morning. It's easier to keep a house cool if you start the day with a cool house.

Beyond that we would need to know more about your house, its location, sun exposure and shading, insulation, air sealing, etc.

FWIW,
Tim

I agree with everything already said. I don't know the conditions of Applegate, (Cali, Michigan, or Oregon?), specifically humidity and temperature. You need to have some fairly lucky outdoor conditions(in comparison to where I live) to get a swamp cooler to work effectively. If humidity is too high, all you are doing is adding humidity to the house which makes it warmer.

Once you've got a well air sealed and at least fairly well insulated house and can block a decent amount of sunlight the system(house and cooling) will work much better to keep things comfortable.

Since a swamp cooler needs ventilation to work properly. I've always wondered if the swamp cooler was on the opposite side of the house of a bathroom, if it would be adequate to use one of the super efficient low-sone bathroom high-volume exhaust fans that are designed for full-time use. Where I live, if someone isn't going for a recovery ventilator this works out when the dew point of the outside of lower than the inside except in my case I'd operate it only in the winter and in the swing seasons when the dew point is low. In your case you need to exhaust the excess humidity and the swamp cooler will add a little back along with the cooler air it is making.

Summer here (northeren california foothills) are long and dry. Temps from 90s to low 100s. We just had a bathroom fan put in, so I may try that this summer.

Any tips on how to seal the gap on a sliding door? There's one in the middle of our house and I know its a leak. When the door shuts it leaks around the middle. What can I put here?

You may have to do some homework: try to figure out who the manufacturer of the door is, and find a vendor in your area who carries their product. You may have to take some photos of the door, showing as much of the detail of the leaky area as you can. Different styles of door use different types of gaskets and weather strips, it entirely depends how the "mating" surfaces come together as the door closes. If you can't find a mfg. rep in your area at least your photos will help any glass shop to figure out a solution for you.