First off, this is NOT an air conditioner. If you expect your room to be freezing cold, this is not the product for you. It's a COOLER, and it does its job very well. It works by evaporating water. Try soaking a T-shirt, wringing it out, and putting it on wet to get the effect. It doesn't work very well in humid areas, but it works GREAT where the air is dry.
I'm in southern California, where the humidity varies pretty widely. I place the cooler six or eight feet from my chair, and on the hottest days I'm quite comfortable.
Benefits:
* it's about 1/5 the cost of an air conditioner
* operating expense is a fraction of the cost of air conditioning
* neat features! (timer, sleep function, etc.)
* remote control
Drawbacks:
* it's not freezing cold like air conditioning.
Low price, very effective in low humidity. Has a strong fan when not using the cooling feature. Timer works well. Has an oscillating feature, a "sleep" mode and, most importantly: a drain plug, washable filter element and a plastic body that cannot rust like those made of sheet metal or tin.
It's been in the high 90s to the low 100's here in the San Fernando Valley in CA with low humidity and it's kept whatever room it is in cool enough to not have to turn on the AC.
It's no air conditioner, but it's a low in cost [to purchase and to run]alternative you could even say was an "eco-friendly" way to stay comfortable in the summer. But then, my friends had to talk me out of buying a wringer washing machine, so my opinion is based on my personal preference for simplicity and old fashioned ways of doing things.
Take my review as you will. It does what it says it will. If you have frequent high humidity, it won't be effective and the company tells you that so be forewarned. I find it to be a great buy and it runs quietly as well.
Buy SPT SF-608R Portable Evaporative Air Cooler Now
This is a FABULOUS product. I based my purchase on the reviews of this item. I had a similar product a few years ago and it doesnt compare to this as well as the other one being almost double this price. The cooler came a day PRIOR to the estimated delivery date.WOW........I live in Acampo California which is north of Lodi CA and south of Sacramento CA. The degrees outside at 5:40 pm is 93 degrees, the temperature inside of the house is 84 degrees and my bedroom (which is where I have my cooler) is 72 degrees. I use a pitcher of ice water from my fridge to fill it up and ice cubes in the top tray. For those of you that are young or have not had the experience of a "swamp cooler", they tend to have a musty smell to them. I solved this problem by purchasing a Glade Car oil fragrencer(?). It is intended to clip on the vents of your heating/air conditioning unit. I clip mine on the bottem lever of the cooler on the lowest setting and it gives off a slight fragrance with no musty smell whatsoever. My hats off to the seller, Amazon for carrying the product and the reviews that allowed me to purchase the best product out there. Happy Happy Happy!!!!
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After reading conflicting reviews I was thoroughly confused, yet I was so desperately hot I took a chance on this product. Here is the true skinny on this portable cooling unit.
I live in Colorado. The humidity has ranged from 30 to 88%, the temperature 84-93 degrees. I filled the unit with 2 gallons of cold water from the frig and 2 trays of ice cubes. It absolutely blew cool air, even after the ice melted and the water reached room temperature it still blew cool air. Don't bother checking a thermometer it DOES NOT cool an entire room, no matter how small, it cools the AREA you point it at.
If you sit at the computer or any other stationary position, place the unit within 7 feet, and point it in your direction you will be cooled.
As for the humidity, this is a problem only in a room with no air circulation.
I pointed the unit at my bed and was quite comfortable, even chilly. However, in this room I have only a small table fan and the windows are closed, so within 45 minutes I was suffocating from the humid air.
In the living room where I have 2 ceiling fans and 2 box fans-one in front of the half opened door, either turned to blow air in or flipped to pull air outI have had NO issues with humidity, even at 88%.
It beeps to let you know when the water level is low. It is easy to put handfuls of ice cubes in the tank but I found it really wasnt necessary. Pouring in the water is easy as well, but if you dont hold the little door open it will sometimes close leaving you pouring water onto your floor! I havent had to clean it yet, but the filter is easily accessible. It's no louder than a box fan and wheels around smoothly. I wish the unit were a bit taller and the blower area a bit larger but these are my only negatives.
Overall, I got what I wanted. I no longer sit at my desk with wet rags on my head, miserable and hot. I dont have to stick something in my window, or spend hundreds for central AC. If you want a cool room, look for something else. If you want to be cool in a stationary location, and you have good air circulation this will work for you.
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We live in the heart of the desert in Nevada, and bought this as a way to cool individual rooms in the house vs. letting the central air cool the whole house. Why bother cooling the whole house when the family is together in one room for long periods of time?
We have a thermometer and hydrometer in the primary room we use it in. The room is about 400 sq ft. and we run it for hours. For coolness, it only gives us a 1-degree temp difference; sometimes 2-degrees with ice cold water, and ice cubes in both the main water chamber and top of unit.
The big difference we notice is with the humidity. We run about 20% humidity in the room normally. With this unit, it increases to 35-40% humidity. This helps with the dryness and with our allergies/asthma.
Overall, we use it more as a humidifier, but it does help us to increase the thermostat a few degrees at night when we run it in the bedroom, which saves a little on energy costs.
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I had previously gotten a different brand replacement that worked ok. However, it did not have the extra nozzle on one end of the filter (which can be seen in the image on the top-side of the Honeywell filter). This make all the difference. My vacuum picks up much more dirt than it usually does. And thank goodness because I have to vacuum after my dirty dogs all the time.
