Those evaporative water-cooled fan-thingies...

[sbaker8688]

You know what I'm talking about? I see them in the stores here in Thailand on occasion. Looks sort of like a portable air-conditioner on wheels that you wheel around and put wherever you want. I guess it's some kind of fan/blower mechanism, but you also add water to it, and my guess is the water evaporates and the thing cools.

My question is... do these things work okay? Are they worth it? In an effort to save electric I've been doing with just a fan lately, but it has been so nightmarishly hot that it just isn't working, and I can't sleep or do anything else. If one of these things placed next to me would cool me off significantly better than just a fan, I'd consider buying one.

Anyone have any experience with one of these things?

Edited April 7, 2015 by sbaker8688

[gerry123]

half price of small air con but about 1/4 the efficency

[longstebe]

Are they the ones they have on show in air conditioned buildings?

[DP25]

I saw a bunch for sale at Makro a few days ago. No idea how well they work in this climate

[Heng]

Mini mold factories.

[wow64]

they don't work very well.. had one back in farang land and it didn't cool very well.. I even put ice in it.. Waste of money.

One of those water fans that blow a mist may be better. but not as good as a proper air con.

Edited April 7, 2015 by wow64

[bino]

Are they the ones they have on show in air conditioned buildings?

Yup. They feel great when the air they are blowing has already been cooled and dehumidified by the building's central HVAC system. Not worth a damn in a hot and humid room.

They aren't cheap either. 6-10 K for a reasonable sized one. My suggestion to the OP that is considering to shell out for one of these is to spend the money on the increased energy charge incurred by running the existing AC for the next couple of hot months.

Edited April 7, 2015 by bino

[ya5702]

"Those evaporative water-cooled fan thingies" are humidifiers. They work well in dry environments like in New Delhi in Summer (40+ degrees C, ~50% relative humidity.) They don't work in high humidity areas like BKK.

And I would avoid breathing air containing a mist of water vapor. (Contaminated water - think Legionnaires Disease.)

[ukrules]

They suck, the last thing you need in a hot and humid room is more moisture in the air.

[malt25]

I saw a bunch for sale at Makro a few days ago. No idea how well they work in this climate

What a pointless reply. We've all seen them.... big deal. If you don't know how effective they are, why respond ?

[apetley]

Father in law bought one......they're crap.

[mesquite]

They work great -- in Phoenix, Arizona.

[otherstuff1957]

They're better than a fan, but not as good as an air conditioner. Also, most of them seem to be made in China, so they will start leaking after a month or so.

[JohnnyJazz]

Bought one a while ago for our house in the sticks. Used it in the bedroom for a couple of hours two nights in row. Felt more uncomfortable when on than off. Never used it again.

[evadgib]

http://www.samuitimes.com/feeling-hot-cove-cooler-just-solution-looking/

HTH

[scorecard]

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half price of small air con but about 1/4 the efficency

You need to sit close to the unit to feel any benefits. 2 metres away no benefit.

[Fookhaht]

They're called "swamp coolers" in The States. Based on the principle of adding humidity to the air. Need say any more?

[mamypoko]

Sorry for the hijack - will they destroy electronics, like computers?

[samuijimmy]

I saw a number of free standing coolers, in Home Pro, Samui the other day, ... but also not all use the ice method to cool the air... One was very large about 22,000 baht down to around 6,000 baht which I think were the "add ice type" which are not much good! It's hard to get good info from Home Pro staff!

Anyone tried the other free standing non ice types? It was the first time I seen them!

[tom21]

they are not very good in Thailand. they work great in a dry climate but Thailand is humid and not worth it. they appear to work in the shops as the place is air-conditioned and the air dry

[misterphil]

They're a waste of money. I used to use one to put moisture back in the air because my air conditioners would dry the air out.

Its hot and we have to deal with it. Just bite the bullet and pay the extra on the electric bill. Its only for a few more months and it'll cool down again.

[saroq]

they are not very good in Thailand. they work great in a dry climate but Thailand is humid and not worth it. they appear to work in the shops as the place is air-conditioned and the air dry

Exactly. They work OK if you sit in front of them but they send the humidity through the roof. Invest in an air con or just sweat it out with a fan in your undies.

Edited April 9, 2015 by saroq

[csabo]

Edited April 9, 2015 by csabo

[bheard]

"Those evaporative water-cooled fan thingies" are humidifiers. They work well in dry environments like in New Delhi in Summer (40+ degrees C, ~50% relative humidity.) They don't work in high humidity areas like BKK.

And I would avoid breathing air containing a mist of water vapor. (Contaminated water - think Legionnaires Disease.)

Spot on. Useless or worse in Thailand. And the water vapour is sus as you say.

Another area where you don't want to breathe is around those spray fan things that you see over outdoor areas in restaurants in BKK and elsewhere - what do those water droplets contain? And you are depositing whatever it is right there inside you. Scary!!

An area I avoid specifically is in Korat - the Mall has a waterfall outside one of it's entrances and the droplets and mist in the air around it extends for some metres, more depending on the wind. That water would be really dodgy I reckon - when would they change it? Never, would be my guess, just top it up when required.

[TheKnave]

Perfect in the Siamese desert.

[Naam]

half price of small air con but about 1/4 the efficency

zero efficiency inside a home because air would be saturated in no time.

[maidee]

best way to get legionnair disease or common cold or other crap

[morrobay]

One liter of water that evaporates absorbs 540 cal/gram so 540000 cal x 4.2 joules/cal = 2268000 joules The specific heat of dry air is 1006 joules/kg ( takes 1006 joules to raise one kg air 1⁰C

The density of air is 1.25 kg/m^3. So a 27m³ volume room contains 33.75 kq air.33.75 kg air absorbs 339525 joules /1⁰C temp drop. Then if the water absorbed 2268000 joules from the air while evaporating: 2268000 joules /339525 joules/1⁰ C. The room cools 6.6⁰ C. ( discounting rate of evaporation ) another problem.

[kennw]

Evaporative coolers. The extent to which they are effective depends on the difference between the humidity % in the entering air and the amount it can be increased by blowing it over a wetted surface. The evaporation process uses the heat in the incoming air to evaporate water and thus causes the air's temperature to drop and the humidity % to go up. When the incoming air is dry (low humidity) the potential to increase humidity is high and and thus a large amount of heat is taken from the incoming air and the temperature of the outging air is cooled considerably. Unfortunately for most of Thailand when the temperature is high so is the humidity so evaporative coolers cannot work well. They are effective in dry hot areas of countries such as parts of the US and Australia. My recommendation: buy a 5 star rated conventional air conditioner.

[NanLaew]

The principal of evaporative cooling works in humid as well as arid conditions. Someone referred to 'swamp coolers' in the US and these are seen in external use at commercial establishments such as sidewalks and restaurant decks all along the Gulf coast where humidity is high. Football teams have them installed at the players benches but they are large units, around 4' by 4' and up. They are not designed for inside use.

The units that the OP has seen and available at HomePro or Makro are too small to do any cooling outside and, as mentioned earlier, they are totally worthless as an inside cooling device. So all things considered, a total waste of money. Even the most expensive ones have limited efficiency unless the outside area is relatively small.

There's a misting cooling system on the sidewalk patio restaurant at the Landmark hotel on Sukhumvit in Bangkok with water misting via metal piping augmented by high speed fans. However, the fans are too small to counteract the heat coming back of the polished granite floors.

I made one for the small front patio on my house in Udon using commercial plant misting hardware that I found in Global House. It worked quite well but because it was made from cheap plastic, it only lasted a couple of hot seasons before falling apart. There are DIY kits available from overseas where the plastic hardware may be more robust so maybe worth a try.