Are those big, boxy floor model Air Coolers worth while for small rooms?

[Ahnsahn]

Can anyone compare the cooling performance of one of those big boxy floor model type 'Air Coolers' with a wall mounted air conditioning unit?

Is the cooling capacity of the floor Air Cooler comparable to the standard wall mounted A/C? I would like to use the potability of the floor Air Cooler unit to cool (3) different 3 M x 3 M size rooms when moving from room to room.

[weegee]

In a nut shell.....NO!!!!!

[weegee]

Get a small wall unit (Mitsa) for your size rooms and you will save on electricity

[ignis]

depends what you want it for, if it is for a spare bedroom that is used just a few days per years, 4,000 baht for a boxy thing is a lot cheaper than a wall mounted + must have it own electric and another box [compressor unit] outside + pipes...

For full time uses then the wheel around box thing is not much uses + expensive to run.

[isawasnake]

A relatively effective cooling unit will have to have tubing going to the exterior to pump the hot air out.

In short, I guess you could do this, if you wanted to make 3 holes in the walls to connect the tubing to. Obviously not worth it though.

Edit: if the unit does not have any pipes, as you say, I would pass. These are more of a gimmick than anything I would say - glorified fans I would call them.

Edited October 9, 2013 by isawasnake

[Ahnsahn]

Get a small wall unit (Mitsa) for your size rooms and you will save on electricity

depends what you want it for, if it is for a spare bedroom that is used just a few days per years, 4,000 baht for a boxy thing is a lot cheaper than a wall mounted + must have it own electric and another box [compressor unit] outside + pipes...

For full time uses then the wheel around box thing is not much uses + expensive to run.

This one was at Robinsons and was selling for ~ THB 11,xxx and didn't have any pipes or compressor, was about waist high, wide and blew out very cool air. It's big and boxy like the units at Thai Mart that have the compressor pipes ... I'll look closer tomorrow if no one on this forum is familiar with it.

[Ahnsahn]

An relatively effective cooling unit will have to have tubing going to the exterior to pump the hot air out.

In short, I guess you could do this, if you wanted to make 3 holes in the walls to connect the tubing to. Obviously not worth it though.

This is what I thought until I felt the coolness and strength of its air blowing as I passed it while walking down the aisle. It didn't have any tubing or noticeable compressor but it is a nice sized boxy unit. I didn't focus on it at the time but will do so tomorrow.

[Ahnsahn]

....though I definitely didn't see any attached tubing or noticed compressor, because of its big, boxy size, some sort of compressor could very well have been encased.

[CharlieH]

Those type of units need the exhaust, they look and feel great in a big showroom, but in a room, the heat kicked out the back needs that pipe or its constantly fighting itself with cold from front and hot at the back proves expensive to run.

Unless it short term, pass it by, the wall mounted is definately more efficient.

[Ahnsahn]

Those type of units need the exhaust, they look and feel great in a big showroom, but in a room, the heat kicked out the back needs that pipe or its constantly fighting itself with cold from front and hot at the back proves expensive to run.

Unless it short term, pass it by, the wall mounted is definitely more efficient.

Thanx! That sounds feasible. I should have taken the time to inspect the unit when I passed it but didn't think I would be interested. In hind sight, it seems probable that there could very well be pipe or tube connections in the back .... I'll check and post here.

[bino]

If the unit you saw didn't have any pipes or outdoor venting, it might not actually be a proper air conditioner. I have seen these big boxy units that require water / ice poured into them, and create the cooling by the evaporative effect- pumping the water over a mesh and blowing air through it.

Considering the amount of humidity in Thailand, these are about as useful as an ashtray on a motorcycle.

Edited October 9, 2013 by bino

[Ahnsahn]

If the unit you saw didn't have any pipes or outdoor venting, it might not actually be a proper air conditioner. I have seen these big boxy units that require water / ice poured into them, and create the cooling by the evaporative effect- pumping the water over a mesh and blowing air through it.

Considering the amount of humidity in Thailand, these are about as useful as an ashtray on a motorcycle.

chiller2.png

chiller1.jpg

Mystery solved I do believe!!!

Yes, I think that this is the unit I saw!!

Ice, eh? This seems like an even more sensible explanation when compared to the unit I saw...

Ice?..... Wow!

Edited October 10, 2013 by Ahnsahn

[chris2004]

I bought one of those Clarte coolers and basically it was useless, no better than a fan. Worse in some respects in that it takes up a lot of room. If you want the room cool get a proper air conditioning unit.

[Ahnsahn]

I bought one of those Clarte coolers and basically it was useless, no better than a fan. Worse in some respects in that it takes up a lot of room. If you want the room cool get a proper air conditioning unit.

It looks like that is the best solution. I will look into buying 1 or 2 small room wall mounted Inverter A/Cs.

So how do these mini bookcase coolers work, do you actually put ice in them and if so, how much and how often?

[cpofc]

Evaporative Coolers, I have one of the Clarte ones in the pic above. 9,900 Baht from Homepro. My advice is don't waste your money. You'd be surprised how quick the 20 Ltrs of water evaporates and they actually don't 'cool' the place. Psychological value only LOL. Just as well have a decent fan.

Then there are those portable (refrigerated) Air Con untis on wheels. They have a couple of them, ex demo models going cheap at my local Tesco right now. There are many of these kicking around these days - 'AJ', 'Natrural' and a few other brands ranging from 9 - 15BTU. But as others have mentioned they come with a flexible hose that locks onto the back of the unit and the hot air exhaust must be vented outside. You can knock a hole in the wall and buy a special fixture (non return type) to fix into the hole that will receive the end of the hose. They also have their own internal water resevoir that you will have to empty from time to time. They are OK for what they are intended for but if you are just trying to get out of it on the cheap you might be disappointed.

Edited October 10, 2013 by cpofc

[impulse]

An relatively effective cooling unit will have to have tubing going to the exterior to pump the hot air out.

In short, I guess you could do this, if you wanted to make 3 holes in the walls to connect the tubing to. Obviously not worth it though.

This is what I thought until I felt the coolness and strength of its air blowing as I passed it while walking down the aisle. It didn't have any tubing or noticeable compressor but it is a nice sized boxy unit. I didn't focus on it at the time but will do so tomorrow.

The reason the evaporative cooling units work great in the mall is because the mall's A/C removes the humidity. Back home, they're called swamp coolers.

Put the same evaporative cooler into a non- A/C enclosed space and it will just drive the humidity up close to 100% and quit cooling. Neither is a desirable outcome. They work great in the desert and other low humidity areas, and some higher humidity open areas that aren't enclosed (because the humidity in an open area will not generally be close enough to 100%).

A proper portable A/C with compressor will have an air duct to expel the hot air. They work great for cooling a smaller room and removing humidity, but I don't have any knowledge of their efficiency compared to a permanent wall mounted unit.

[Ahnsahn]

Evaporative Coolers, I have one of the Clarte ones in the pic above. 9,900 Baht from Homepro. My advice is don't waste your money. You'd be surprised how quick the 20 Ltrs of water evaporates and they actually don't 'cool' the place. Psychological value only LOL. Just as well have a decent fan.

Then there are those portable (refrigerated) Air Con untis on wheels. They have a couple of them, ex demo models going cheap at my local Tesco right now. There are many of these kicking around these days - 'AJ', 'Natrural' and a few other brands ranging from 9 - 15BTU. But as others have mentioned they come with a flexible hose that locks onto the back of the unit and the hot air exhaust must be vented outside. You can knock a hole in the wall and buy a special fixture (non return type) to fix into the hole that will receive the end of the hose. They also have their own internal water resevoir that you will have to empty from time to time. They are OK for what they are intended for but if you are just trying to get out of it on the cheap you might be disappointed.

The reason the evaporative cooling units work great in the mall is because the mall's A/C removes the humidity. Back home, they're called swamp coolers.

Put the same evaporative cooler into a non- A/C enclosed space and it will just drive the humidity up close to 100% and quit cooling. Neither is a desirable outcome. They work great in the desert and other low humidity areas, and some higher humidity open areas that aren't enclosed (because the humidity in an open area will not generally be close enough to 100%).

A proper portable A/C with compressor will have an air duct to expel the hot air. They work great for cooling a smaller room and removing humidity, but I don't have any knowledge of their efficiency compared to a permanent wall mounted unit.

Thanx so much for all of the insightful information about how these units operate! Now I know the best choice is ye 'olde wall AC unit!

[isawasnake]

An relatively effective cooling unit will have to have tubing going to the exterior to pump the hot air out.

In short, I guess you could do this, if you wanted to make 3 holes in the walls to connect the tubing to. Obviously not worth it though.

This is what I thought until I felt the coolness and strength of its air blowing as I passed it while walking down the aisle. It didn't have any tubing or noticeable compressor but it is a nice sized boxy unit. I didn't focus on it at the time but will do so tomorrow.

The reason the evaporative cooling units work great in the mall is because the mall's A/C removes the humidity. Back home, they're called swamp coolers.

Put the same evaporative cooler into a non- A/C enclosed space and it will just drive the humidity up close to 100% and quit cooling. Neither is a desirable outcome. They work great in the desert and other low humidity areas, and some higher humidity open areas that aren't enclosed (because the humidity in an open area will not generally be close enough to 100%).

A proper portable A/C with compressor will have an air duct to expel the hot air. They work great for cooling a smaller room and removing humidity, but I don't have any knowledge of their efficiency compared to a permanent wall mounted unit.

Is that what these things are, swamp coolers? I really did not even know. I agree with everything you said.

I was at a research lodge out in the desert once that was equipped with a swamp cooler. The thing was wonderful, if you were sitting right in front of it. A big difference between the hot dry air of the desert to bkk air though.

[apetley]

Get a small wall unit (Mitsa) for your size rooms and you will save on electricity

 

 

depends what you want it for, if it is for a spare bedroom that is used just a few days per years, 4,000 baht for a boxy thing is a lot cheaper than a wall mounted + must have it own electric and another box [compressor unit] outside + pipes...

 

For full time uses then the wheel around box thing is not much uses + expensive to run.

 

This one was at Robinsons and was selling for ~ THB 11,xxx and didn't have any pipes or compressor, was about waist high, wide and blew out very cool air. It's big and boxy like the units at Thai Mart that have the compressor pipes ... I'll look closer tomorrow if no one on this  forum is familiar with it.

It gives the illusion of blowing out cool air because you are already in a very well cooled showroom. Stick it is a warm room and you will regret not buying a 500bht fan instead.

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