Yeah our swamp cooler works really well. Most the houses out here have them where I'm at. You're right, they work really really good in dry climates right up until you're at the peak of summer where it struggles to keep up. At least from my experience. But that only lasts a little while until the temperatures start going back down.

They're also incredibly simple machines. It's literally just a water pump and an electric motor that spins essentially just a big fan