I hate swamp coolers

[FunkyRes]

First year I moved up here - swamp cooler wasn't working so well.
The copper line was clogged - but I didn't realize that is what was wrong, so I suffered a hot summer saving my pennies for air conditioning - think that swamp coolers were just junk.

Second year - I discovered that the problem the previous year was the clogged water line. It was delivering water, just not fast enough to keep the pads wet. So I replaced it.

Third year - before winter, I had emptied the line so it wouldn't freeze and re-attached the line. But the nipple had a small leak which filled the line resulting in it bursting when it froze. Had to completely replace the line.

Fourth year - the cooler pump died. Bought a new one.

This year - for some reason, 3 of the 8 sprockets are not shooting out water. I don't think it's the pump because I intentionally blocked some of the other sprockets (not sure if that's the right term, the things that shoot water on the pads) and they didn't start up - so it seems that they may be clogged. Furthermore, when I reattached the line to the nipple - it's leaking, so I have to replace the nipple.

Why the smurf does something have to go wrong with these systems every freakin' year?

I don't like to walk on my roof. It's bad enough I have to do it at beginning and middle of hot season to change the pads etc. - why can't the damn thing just work consistently with little more than pad changing, sump cleaning, and occasional belt change?

I haven't gone AC primarily because of the power bill those things cost, and due to our dry air - a swamp cooler does work well when all ducks are in a row - but since my roof is about due for replacement, I'm sorely tempted to just get AC and have the roofer remove the cooler. It seems they are just a PITA with something going wacky every year.