Evaporative Water Coolers - Rusting in the Reservoir

Hello there. I was maintenancing my swamp cooler yesterday and noticed a dime size hole rusted out in the reservoir. Does anybody know how to fix or remedy this kind of problem? If so, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks,

Birddog

Dont know how bad. Might try Marine-TEX epoxy putty. can put a metal patch outside then the putty. Or there is the marine 3M 5200 will work good also

Best solution I've seen is to clean pan very good w/ a wire brush,wash it out good and wipe dry. Then brush in roof patch tar all over where water contacts the pan. While tar is wet, apply heavy duty aluminum foil to tar. Now brush tar over foil and apply another layer of foil. repeat this one more time w/ tar over 3rd layer of foil. This will last for quite a few yrs.
Mike

I also had the same problem a few years ago with my cooler on the garage. I also used an epoxy putty, found at any local hardware store. it can be sanded, painted whatever. You just have to make sure the surface is really clean otherwise the putty won't stick. I first wire brushed everything, then washed it with mild soap and water and let dry. Then around the hole where I was going to attach the putty, I used acetone to clean the metal even further. You could also cut out a piece of sheetmetal slightly larger than the hole and use the putty to join the patch to the hole. Since it won't be seen, I recommend this method more because of the size of the hole. After that I then used a product called por-15 (paint over rust) paint. I found out about this paint, because I work on old cars. People use it to coat the inside of fenderwells etc, where metal is exposed to the elements. There is also called miracle paint, which does the same thing. All you have to do is paint right over the rust. The rust gives the metal a tooth, in which the paint clings to. It won't peel, crack, or flake like regular paints will. The paint is kinda exspensive, but it goes a really long way. One quart I would say would do the inside of 4 or 5 big coolers easy. I believe you can buy a pint, if you don't need that much. I had mine left over from a car project I was working on at the time. I did 2 coats of this stuff about 5 years ago, and have not had any rust problems since, except touchup where the factory cooler paint peels after a while. My thoughts for what is worth. Also, normally this paint requires a topcoat because UV light will actually break it down. I didn't on mine cause I figured it's all enclosed and not really exposed to that much sun once the doors are installed. The choice is yours. The paint can be found at por15 dot com, or the miracle paint which does the same thing only cheaper can be found at hirschauto dot com. I highly recommend wearing long sleeves, gloves and pants when painting with this stuff. I haven't personally used the miracle paint, but I wore the por15 paint for almost 3 weeks when I got it on me. Once it dries, it won't come off without a good fight. If you think the paint is too high, price a new cooler. =)