The trick to longer life with these type of pads is to completly dry them out between cycles, this means having the fans run for at least 15 minutes after the pump shuts off and making sure that the water in the trough drains completly so the bottoms dry out as well. I flip mine end for end each season so that the bottom is on the top. Even at that the best I have ever gotten is 5 years using pads from Hummert's they are not painted black but are treated to resist decay. There is a new aspen pad replacement that I have seen (It's bright blue, definitly not aspen) but I don't know how well it holds up. -----Original Message----- From: Ray B [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, February 24, 2008 12:34 PM To: 'the OrchidGuide Digest \(OGD\)' Subject: Re: [OGD] greenhouse wet pads
Terry, I could be wrong, but it seems to me that the wet/dry cycling might be a contributing factor to the rapid degradation. There has certainly got to be some swelling and shrinking going on, which mechanically damages the fibers. If there's a way to stop the airflow without stopping the water flow, I'd bet they would last longer. FWIW, I have a few customers who have replaced the aspen pads in their swamp coolers with EpiWeb recycled PET pads, and it seems to work great. Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info! _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
