Evaporative Cooler Replacement and Changeovers in Sunbury

Replacing a cooler in Sunbury: what is different here

Most of the changeovers we do in Sunbury follow the same pattern. A home built with a gas ducted heater and an evaporative cooler, the cooler somewhere between fifteen and twenty-five summers old, and a household that has either had one repair too many or has come home to a unit that will not start on the first hot day. The question is rarely “which brand”; it is whether to replace like for like, upsize, or change the whole approach to heating and cooling at the same time.

Because Sunbury is warmer than the Ranges towns, coolers here do more running hours per summer. That is good news for evaporative cooling as a technology, because it is at its best on hot, dry days, but it does mean the pump, float, pads and water system wear sooner. It also means an undersized cooler is more obvious here than anywhere else we work: it simply runs flat out on a 38 degree afternoon and the back of the house never cools.

Repair or replace: how we decide

We would rather repair a cooler that is worth repairing, and a service or repair visit sorts out pumps, floats, pads, motors and controllers on units that are otherwise sound. Replacement becomes the sensible answer when:

• the cabinet or water tank is cracked, brittle or leaking, which cannot be repaired reliably;
• the control board or motor has failed on a model the manufacturer no longer supports;
• the unit needs several major parts in the same visit, adding up to a large share of a new cooler;
• the cooler was undersized for the home, or a second storey or extension was added after it went in;
• you want lower water use, quieter operation and a modern controller.

We explain the comparison at the site visit with real numbers, not a sales pitch.

What a Sunbury changeover involves

1. A site visit to measure the home, confirm single or double storey, check the roof, and get into the roof space to inspect the dropper, duct runs and outlets.
2. A written quote naming the unit and capacity we recommend, what is being reused, what is new and why.
3. On the day, the old cooler, water supply and controller are isolated and removed, and the old unit is taken away.
4. The roof penetration is checked and the new unit fitted with new flashing so the roof is weatherproof.
5. Water and drain connected, new controller fitted, electrical circuit tested.
6. Commissioning: the unit run through every mode, airflow checked at every outlet, and the controls explained before we leave.

Our preferred replacement is a new Brivis cooler. We are factory-trained Brivis dealers who buy direct from the manufacturer, which matters for pricing and for warranty support later. Where another brand suits the home better, we say so.

If the heater is on its way out too

A lot of Sunbury households find the gas ducted heater and the evaporative cooler ageing in the same few years. If that is you, it is worth looking at a whole-home gas to electric conversion or a straight gas heater replacement before committing to a new cooler, because the answer changes what goes on the roof. Some households prefer to keep evaporative cooling for its low running cost on dry days and replace the heater on its own. We do all of these and will not push you either way.

The warranty

Every changeover we complete is backed by our 9 Year Labour & Workmanship Warranty on the installation work. The cooler itself carries the manufacturer’s product warranty, which we handle for you. Existing ductwork and components we reuse are not covered by our warranty, which is one more reason we inspect them properly before we decide to keep them.