Floor movable air conditioners with cold blocks: is it comparable to split system?

[samlowry]

Is floor movable air conditioners with cold blocks (blocks with liquid which you have to put into the fridge) comparable to split system? Pls, people who used both, describe your experiences.

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, samlowry said:

Pls, people who used both, describe your experiences.

I see it as there are 3 types, some movable plug in ones are cheap like you mention, some not and a hassle with pipe locations, if you mean by wall mounted a/c's as split system there no comparison in my view. 

[sammieuk1]

Forget the water and ice in ones they are near useless when it gets hot????

[digbeth]

There are portable A/C with both the cold and hot (compressor) unit in one portable box but it requires piping of the hot side to the outside, usually come supplied with a length of flexible hose to duct the hot air outside, this would cost almost as much as a real fitted wall a/c unit, only benefit is that it is portable should you be renting, or live in a wooden house. 

 

and there's the evaporator type, which pumps water up and drips into a mesh or cardboard of some sort and runs a fan over it, it can lower temperature by 2-3 degrees, a bit more if you put ice in the water reservoir, some might have reusable ice pack like OP described, this kind of cooler works on low humidity, as it is humidifying air/evaporating the water, as Thailand is a humid country, I find that it works a couple of days a year only, and it requires well ventilated room, otherwise the room become stuffy humid mess real quick. 

[digbeth]

2 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

Forget the water and ice in ones they are near useless when it gets hot????

Yes, they only works well in Thai 'Winter' or using on in already air-conditioned room

[55Jay]

If you're talking the small, stand alones with the ice/water box in the bottom, meh, don't waste your time.  If you have nothing else, it's better than nothing but doesn't last long, as you might imagine. 

[wayned]

0The floor movable units that you put water and sometimes ice in are not air conditioners, they are evaporative coolers.  They do not have condensers and evaporators and do not use refridgerant to cool the air.  Evaporative coolers draw air in through a wet filter and the air is cooled buy the process of evaporation. so they actually raise the humidity of the air They work well in very low humidity places but not well here.  I have two and if you sit directly in front of them you do get some cooling effect. If it's 35 degrees in the room at 50% humidity, the temperature of the air coming out is about 28 degrees at 75% humidity but in no way will cool the whole room.  Both of mine hold 40 liters of water and one has an ice place but I have never used any.

 

There are also movable real air conditioners but they must be vented outside through a flexible pipe and some contraption that fits into a window.   I've never heard anyone having a good experience with one.

 and they are not much cheaper that a split system.

 

So, IMHO, the split system is the best.

[Kwasaki]

On 3/15/2019 at 1:22 PM, sammieuk1 said:

Forget the water and ice in ones they are near useless when it gets hot????

Our one is OK but you have it close to you like using your mobile phone. ????

[wayned]

16 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Our one is OK but you have it close to you like using your mobile phone. ????

I agree, kinda like putting a block of dry ice in front of a fan.  Also the coolers use small aquarium pumps to pump the water which are not designed for the local water which is high in mineral content and causes them to not last long..  I still use mine but they have been modified where the pump plugs in separately and is not controlled by the electronic control boars which takes other inputs before it turns on the pump.

[Kwasaki]

18 minutes ago, wayned said:

I agree, kinda like putting a block of dry ice in front of a fan.  Also the coolers use small aquarium pumps to pump the water which are not designed for the local water which is high in mineral content and causes them to not last long..  I still use mine but they have been modified where the pump plugs in separately and is not controlled by the electronic control boars which takes other inputs before it turns on the pump.

Yeah ours is not that old I bought it in Big 'C',  as said in very hot weather they struggle but it's better than just a fan in my farmhouse with a bag of ice for top ups in the fridge also I use the large 10 baht bottles of drinking water for the reservoir not water from the main or well. 

[steve73]

The fan-assisted ice coolers might work OK in a small room in a house, but are completely useless in a condo, or the same room, where you also have your fridge/freezer to produce the ice.

 

Freezing a "block" of ice requires a large amount of energy which is rejected as heat from the fridge.  And this is in addition to the "heat" that is removed from the water as it cools & freezes.  Any cooling effect from the melting ice is a fraction of the heat that gets released from the fridge in freezing it in the first place.

 

Although. if your fridge/freezer is located in a different room (or outside), then there will be a cooling effect...

 

The freestanding ducted A/C's work reasonably well, but the hose tends to radiate a lot of heat.  Better if you insulate the hose well, and keep it's run as short as possible, and make sure it's well sealed where it exits the window (or wall).   Split units are obviously better still, but not so easy to take with you if you move.

[Peter Denis]

I recently bought the HATARI 'air cooler' (HT-AC10R1). It's a movable device (approx 40cm on 15cm on 1 meter) with wheels.  It comes with a remote control, which is not really needed, and 2 plastic ice-blocks which you can store in the deepfreezer compartiment of your fridge before use.

Basically it works same as a fan but you have a recipient at the bottom which allows you to put water and ice.  The air coming from the machine is thus cooled.  It also works without doing so, but then you can as well use a fan.

I read on the forum that it is not recommended to use it in a closed space as it increases the humidity, which would make you feel actually more hot.  But I use it when working on my desk outside, and it works fine there. 

Price was just under 3.000 THB, and I consider it a good buy for that price. 

 

[David B in Thailand]

They are a waste of money and energy. I bought one for my daughter to use at her rented room while she attended college. First electric bill and she unplugged it. Not cool enough and they waste electricity. Split a/c units can be far more quiet and a real benefit. The "lost in space" units with flexible tubing are great for a guest room if you want guests to depart after one night. So loud they will move to a hotel. 

Edited April 15, 2019 by David B in Thailand