water-based Air Coolers - are they any good ?

[ripstanley]

Have a look at this link. It is a map of the world where they are suitable for use.

http://www.coolmax.com.au/evaporative-cooling/evaporative-cooling-areas.htm

[Doc46]

They do very little and you Must clean them very often,,, Don't let them get Mildew inside them ,,,,Bad for your'e Health,,,,

[MediaWatcher]

Impressive when they are operating in an air conditioned store.

Other than that absolute waste of anyone's hard earned money.

Will do nothing but pump warm air round your room.

Do not waste your money,you have been warned.

You have no idea what you`re talking about and seems you are confused between what is a regular fan and a water cooled unit.

These coolers come in many different sizes and power amps. Larger the room requires the correct size unit. The 2 medium size models I bought with 18in fans were brilliant during the extreme hot temperatures, as far as I`m concerned they saved the day. They do not recycle warm air around a room, the air and water is cooled by the chiller unit inside and the air and cold water is expelled by the fan, they are not influenced by room temperatures. The medium size units use less than 1 amp of power so they are at least 25 times cheaper to run then a conventional air conditioner, although they will not cool a room as efficiently but they are a good second best.

The only cons is that the water runs down fairly quickly and has to be filled several times a day and they intend to be on the noisy side.

Simple answer to this question, if it is a "dry" heat they work fine, but hey, on a humid day, when you most want to to cool, they fail, this is simple, for most, to understand, these units work on evaporation of water, same as your natural body cooling does with sweat, when the air is already laden with water, there is little, if any, evaporation, so guess what, no matter how big they are... NO cooling... end of story.

I believe quote "You have no idea what you`re talking about ". Water chilled units are for industrial sized conditioners, NOT domestic, think about it, why chill water, then use it to chill the air, when you could simple chill the air.

[MediaWatcher]

Impressive when they are operating in an air conditioned store.

Other than that absolute waste of anyone's hard earned money.

Will do nothing but pump warm air round your room.

Do not waste your money,you have been warned.

You have no idea what you`re talking about and seems you are confused between what is a regular fan and a water cooled unit.

These coolers come in many different sizes and power amps. Larger the room requires the correct size unit. The 2 medium size models I bought with 18in fans were brilliant during the extreme hot temperatures, as far as I`m concerned they saved the day. They do not recycle warm air around a room, the air and water is cooled by the chiller unit inside and the air and cold water is expelled by the fan, they are not influenced by room temperatures. The medium size units use less than 1 amp of power so they are at least 25 times cheaper to run then a conventional air conditioner, although they will not cool a room as efficiently but they are a good second best.

The only cons is that the water runs down fairly quickly and has to be filled several times a day and they intend to be on the noisy side.

Can you describe the "chiller unit inside"? I have long experience with evaporative coolers living in the desert southwest in the US, and haven't seen such a thing. If there were such a thing it's hard to imagine that it would be cheap to operate as it would require some sort of refrigerating mechanism (compressor, freon, etc)

Cyberfarang has actually lost the plot on this one.

[Mosha]

Not if it's humid.

Sent from my SMART_4G_Speedy_5inch using Tapatalk

[Gerard052]

Impressive when they are operating in an air conditioned store.

Other than that absolute waste of anyone's hard earned money.

Will do nothing but pump warm air round your room.

Do not waste your money,you have been warned.

You are absolutely right, I bought one, used it for less then 24 hrs and returned it to store and bought an air con. As you said they work good in air conditioned store. Complete waste of money if you ask me.

[Srikcir]

This article and video might help understand the cooling system that your considering.

http://www.sylvane.com/swamp-cooler-buying-tips.html

I've had a positive experience same as described by Cyberfarang.

[mikiea]

Another thread about Humidity makers....

HUUUUUH ?

anyway, thanks for your helpful quality-reply. Hope all your posts are as great as this one....

if you live in the Sahara , Mohave , or the great salt flats they are wonderful . in thailand they are mold and fungus machines .

[bazza40]

Impressive when they are operating in an air conditioned store.

Other than that absolute waste of anyone's hard earned money.

Will do nothing but pump warm air round your room.

Do not waste your money,you have been warned.

You have no idea what you`re talking about and seems you are confused between what is a regular fan and a water cooled unit.

These coolers come in many different sizes and power amps. Larger the room requires the correct size unit. The 2 medium size models I bought with 18in fans were brilliant during the extreme hot temperatures, as far as I`m concerned they saved the day. They do not recycle warm air around a room, the air and water is cooled by the chiller unit inside and the air and cold water is expelled by the fan, they are not influenced by room temperatures. The medium size units use less than 1 amp of power so they are at least 25 times cheaper to run then a conventional air conditioner, although they will not cool a room as efficiently but they are a good second best.

The only cons is that the water runs down fairly quickly and has to be filled several times a day and they intend to be on the noisy side.

Utter garbage. These units will only produce a temperature drop if the ambient humidity is 10-20 % RH, which only happens in arid climates such as central Australia. Thailand is not noted for low humidity. So you just sit there sweating without any meaningful cooling effect - all that is achieved is 100% humidity.

Let me suggest you are the person on this thread who has no idea what he is talking about.

[bheard]

They work very well - in a dry climate like inland Australia.

In a humid climate like Thailand - worse than useless.

[Ulic]

I think they work really well in a dry environment like Arizona, or in conjunction with air

conditioning that dehumidifies the air. The temperature can be set to a higher level.

Operating both together however may not give you the energy savings you are looking for

and the filling and cleaning may also be more of a job than you realize.

[jacko45k]

Impressive when they are operating in an air conditioned store.

Other than that absolute waste of anyone's hard earned money.

Will do nothing but pump warm air round your room.

Do not waste your money,you have been warned.

You have no idea what you`re talking about and seems you are confused between what is a regular fan and a water cooled unit.

These coolers come in many different sizes and power amps. Larger the room requires the correct size unit. The 2 medium size models I bought with 18in fans were brilliant during the extreme hot temperatures, as far as I`m concerned they saved the day. They do not recycle warm air around a room, the air and water is cooled by the chiller unit inside and the air and cold water is expelled by the fan, they are not influenced by room temperatures. The medium size units use less than 1 amp of power so they are at least 25 times cheaper to run then a conventional air conditioner, although they will not cool a room as efficiently but they are a good second best.

The only cons is that the water runs down fairly quickly and has to be filled several times a day and they intend to be on the noisy side.

If you believe injecting humidity into a room cools it I am afraid you are in error.

These devices do feel as if they are effective when demonstrated in a well air-conditioned atmosphere like a shop showroom, but those who purchase them expect they can be used in place of AC at home. If the heat is accompanied with humidity at home, they do not actually do very much.

They can work outdoors if the air passing through it is of low humidity, cooled slightly as it picks up the water and then blown over you. Inside, once the room's humidity becomes high, they are less effective.

Edited May 28, 2016 by jacko45k

[chang1]

No!

[kannot]

They are useless here

Check the chart to show what they will do and in what amount of humidity

Example below if temps are 95f and humidty 60% it will drop the temp by............drum roll wait for it to 87f ,humidity in Thailand is generally high.

today its 59% humidity by me and 74% in Koh Samui

Edited May 28, 2016 by kannot

[swervinphuket]

I purchased one from home pro 2 months ago when we had the heatwave, for the lounge area and found it to be excellent. The fan comes with 2 freezer packs and i add ice to the base which costs me 20thb for 2 days.

I am actually thinking of purchasing another one for the bedroom to replace the a/c. Only downside is that they are a bit noisy.

[aronp1]

At Home Pro by the wall ac's they do have a unit that is the same size and looks like one of those air coolers that use water, but this one has a compressor as a regular ac unit.

[Cheesekraft]

sort of off topic, but how about the very long, vertical fans? Are they any good?

[siam2007]

I have a different take on these coolers than a number of other folks here.

I have a fairly small unit made by Midea.

No heat whatsoever comes out of the back.

I use it with the windows open and I have it blowing on me. For this purpose it works fine.

Not at all sure how they would do with all the windows closed, and I am guessing they would not be great.

The air comes out much differently than a fan. I get a small "wall" of air.

For me it has solved my problem of my small office being a bit too hot with only a fan.

It is not particularly hot these last few days, and I have been using only the cooler without the fan.

Also the humidity coming out means that I don't need to drink as much water as I did with a fan blowing on me.

I cannot say that I notice any extra humidity, but of course it IS evaporating water.

Also, when using the freezer packs that come with the unit, I can't notice that much of a change in the air temp coming out.

And my unit was cheap. About B3,600. I don't remember the exact price.

interesting

I would not buy one to entirely replace an AC unit, but rather use it during night hours only when it is already significantly cooler outside. Would be no problem to leave a window open to avoid humidity. maybe worth a try - such item is not THAT expensive after all

[siam2007]

I purchased one from home pro 2 months ago when we had the heatwave, for the lounge area and found it to be excellent. The fan comes with 2 freezer packs and i add ice to the base which costs me 20thb for 2 days.

I am actually thinking of purchasing another one for the bedroom to replace the a/c. Only downside is that they are a bit noisy.

I stumpled upon those coolers at my local home pro too.

Which model/brand did you buy and how much you paid for it ?

[GinBoy2]

I remember swamp coolers as a kid in the desert of Central California...they worked there, zero humidity. In Thailand, where it's already dripping with water...I think not!

[Saastrajaa]

They only work in dry climates, as many others have said. A waste of money in the humid tropics.

[Nearlynam]

Waste of money.buy a real ac.

[jerojero]

Try one in 35C weather, not on 20C store. Inefficient and ineffective. Minimal cooling.