Air Coolers, does it work ?(the one where you add water and ice)

[renegade2000]

can find on lazada or Big C, they say it can lower the temperature of 5 degree (C) and cost between 1000-2500 bahts.

my room temperature is at 35 for 5 hours a day, 12 square meters. what to do? I will be fine with 30-31 degree.

[still kicking]

I would not think they work very well in Thailand because the climate is very humid in Thailand. 

[worgeordie]

Not really , I have 2 of them , don't use them now , you have to freeze extra ice

in coke bottles , and you have to change water ,  fans are good enough for me.

 

regards worgeordie

Edited April 15, 2023 by worgeordie

[Ralf001]

Google "do swamp coolers work in humid climates"

 

As mentioned by others they are not suited to humid climates but should be ok if you only want to lower room temp by a few degrees........ dont expect it to do more than that though.

Edited April 15, 2023 by Ralf001

[The Fugitive]

I have bought various misting fans, evaporator/swamp coolers. They do cool but not a substitute for air conditioning. However, in situations where you cannot close doors and windows (such as a shop with open roller shutters) they offer some relief. 

 

 http://www.icekooler.com/products

[marin]

They will do nothing in heat like we are currently having.

[MJCM]

Can't you install an aircon?

 

Or if you can't install an aircon, why not get a portable aircon?

 

 

[CanadaSam]

They will work to reduce the temperature by a few degrees, but note that they are basically super humidifiers that will make your room much more humid with a lot of water vapour.

Edited April 15, 2023 by CanadaSam
Spell-check.

[NoDisplayName]

They won't cool an entire room, but if you set it up next to your recliner, you'll get a decent cool breeze for teevee watching or internetting.

[Ralf001]

11 minutes ago, MJCM said:

 

 

Or if you can't install an aircon, why not get a portable aircon?

 

 

Good call, something like this would suit the OP............... albeit at 3 times the price.

[Kwasaki]

There alright sitting in front of them, and lot of ice on tap. 

 

If you have a room for air-con 9btu cooler unit are very cheap now. 

 

Edited April 15, 2023 by Kwasaki

[Hummin]

55 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Not really , I have 2 of them , don't use them now , you have to freeze extra ice

in coke bottles , and you have to change water ,  fans are good enough for me.

 

regards worgeordie

Also depending on room size how effective they are. We used one of the bigger ones at parents in law house 14m2 room and it helped alot when had enough ice blocks to refill with. 

[Dmaxdan]

One thing to bear in mind is that they are much noiser than regular fans, particularly when you turn the fan up to full speed. It's like having a jet engine in the room!

 

We have one that I bought some years ago to try in our bedroom.

Like others have said it just created way too much humidity within the room even with the window open.

 

So I use ours outside now because there is a notable difference with the coolness of the air it kicks out compared to a normal fan.

[The Fugitive]

36 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

Good call, something like this would suit the OP............... albeit at 3 times the price.

I have a similar Aconatic and also 7,000 btu Portable Air Conditioner. Works well; https://www.powerbuy.co.th/en/product/aconatic-แอร์เคลื่อนที่-aconatic-anpac07la-229147

Edited April 15, 2023 by The Fugitive

[Heng]

If you don't keep the unit/water tank clean, it's a mini mold factory.

[ArnieP]

I have one, a PanWorld PW-868 purchased from a stall within Big C. It works and does reduce the room temperature and emit cold air for a while, depending on the ambient temperature. The water requires frequent topping up, a litre lasts around a half-hour but I put 3 or 4 litres in it. No point in putting ice in it (or ice packs) as it just melts.

 

The biggest issue is noise, it roars.

 

Quite a good contraption which does help in hot weather but don’t expect aircon type temperatures. A big plus is it doesn’t need plumbing in or needing a concertina flexi pipe out the window. You just plug it in and power on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 15, 2023 by ArnieP

[MrJ2U]

6 hours ago, still kicking said:

I would not think they work very well in Thailand because the climate is very humid in Thailand. 

Great point. 

 

I use "dry" mode occasionally on my air-conditioning  to save electricity.  It works like a powerful dehumidifier while using 60% less electricity. 

[Henk Langeweg]

I have 2 table version (200 baht) and 1 room version (40L, 2000 baht).

 

I measured the table version which I use outside at my desk and indeed the outgoing air temperature is 5 degrees (C) lower the the surrounding temp.

When you point at a person it works ok but it will not cool the surroundings but better then only an air-fan.

 

The big one is used inside in a bedroom used as the day playground for the misses, she's happy with it. Big cooled airflow. It has containers which you can put in the freezer so that you can lay them in the water of the machine.

 

Happy with them.

 

[The Fugitive]

10 hours ago, MrJ2U said:

Great point. 

 

I use "dry" mode occasionally on my air-conditioning  to save electricity.  It works like a powerful dehumidifier while using 60% less electricity. 

So do I. It's effective enough in the cooler hot weather! Unfortunately, my Mrs usually checks the settings. She doesn't understand how dry = cooling/comfort. She always resets the mode to cool and also lowers the temperature setting by a few degrees for good measure. Need to find a way to disguise the real settings. Is there such thing as a 'deceptive' remote? 

[The Fugitive]

1 hour ago, Henk Langeweg said:

I have 2 table version (200 baht) and 1 room version (40L, 2000 baht).

 

I measured the table version which I use outside at my desk and indeed the outgoing air temperature is 5 degrees (C) lower the the surrounding temp.

When you point at a person it works ok but it will not cool the surroundings but better then only an air-fan.

 

The big one is used inside in a bedroom used as the day playground for the misses, she's happy with it. Big cooled airflow. It has containers which you can put in the freezer so that you can lay them in the water of the machine.

 

Happy with them.

I bought a shop-sized 'IceKool' evaporation cooler. It was 17,000 baht but spoke to the shop manager who accepted 15,000. Fill it with a hose pipe. Only use it outside because of the noise. Definitely effective.  

[Mbolo]

Not really. We had two, they’re now in storage.

[kennw]

On 4/15/2023 at 9:09 PM, Heng said:

If you don't keep the unit/water tank clean, it's a mini mold factory.

These "coolers" work on an evaporative principle, trickle water over grid and blow air through the grid the air evaporates some of the water and cools itself in the process. The problem in Thailand is the humidity level is already high so very little evaporation of the water trickling over the grid takes place so very little cooling. However if you do use one open your doors and windows and keep a fresh supply of air blowing over the grid, otherwise the recirculated air will become fully saturated (100% humidity) and no cooling can take place. 

[lopburi3]

As said not something most would want inside a home here in humid Thailand.  They would greatly increase the already high humidity and damage property and likely your well being.  Outside they do work better as you can feel the cooler air flow without increasing average humidity much.  

[ian carman]

I bought an hatari one for 2500 and put ice gel into the bottom .Certainly blows out a nice cool breeze if directly in front it you but probably doesn’t alter the overall temperature 

[ozimoron]

They are near useless in humid climates. In the center of Australia they are very common and compressor aircons quite rare. Further north in the tropics evaporative air coolers are non existent.

[Colabamumbai]

Waste of time and money sold it. 

[JBChiangRai]

In a closed room they will work for a few minutes until the humidity reaches 100% and water can no longer be evaporated.  Then your room temperature will climb again and they you are back at the same temperature but now with 100% humidity which is a lot more uncomfortable.

 

They can work outside on a balcony, or you can leave the windows wide open and sit downwind of it.

 

Basically, not recommended in Thailand.

 

 

[KannikaP]

On 4/15/2023 at 4:37 PM, MJCM said:

Can't you install an aircon?

 

Or if you can't install an aircon, why not get a portable aircon?

 

 

Portable a/cons need somewhere to exhaust the heat they are supposed to be lowering.

[Andrew Dwyer]

I have one , a Clarté model, the fannying around filling it with water got tiresome and a fan is as good imho.

Mil has a portable air con, looks just like my “ air cooler “ but has a flexible exhaust pipe and works a treat .

[DJ54]

Bought a new portable air conditioner on wheels … it cooled good in the air conditioned store but so much in in a very small room… not even if you parked next to the bed…. Waste of money gave it away… bought a split unit not too expensive… 100x better…