Anyone use portable evap coolers?

[Anonymous]

I just ordered this guy on Amazon because my room is already getting in the 70s when it's in the 60s outside so I figured I will get prepare for summer before prices go up. My first evaporative cooler. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078HFGJ3T/

I know it's going to be big and loud (it's made to be used outdoors but has a secondary function indoors with the asterisk that you need to give it plenty of airflow via an open door and window) but if it cools my room, I'll use my noise canceling headphones. 

I was curious how you keep down algae growth and odors. I have read that some people add bleach to the water every so often to avoid the problem or that you can run vinegar through it. This one is pretty easy to maintain from the looks of things, just take two screws out of the media plate and the whole thing comes off and you get access to the inner tank and all the parts (which can be ordered and replaced online) so if I maintain this thing well it should last for years. 

[coldfusion]

Use a commercial bacteriostatic water treatment product as they're safer to breathe.

Depending on how hard your water is you may need to use one that also has a water treatment additive else you'll end up with what looks like very fine talc powder over everything almost like dust.  I found that out the hard way. :-/

This is what I'm talking about, I use this particular brand's water conditioner in the winter with my humidifier as MWRA water (metro Boston's water district) is fairly hard. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FX9BAGG/ref=emc_b_5_t

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that link. Yikes on the price!

We don't have very hard water here. It tends to be harder in winter than spring and summer but it's always well under 100ppm. 

Apparently you can use tea tree essential oil, 2-3 drops, to keep down bacterial and algae growth and odors. I actually like the scent of tea tree oil and I already have some here so I'll try that. Since my room doesn't get a lot of light (I have blackout curtains up), the algae problem won't be much of one for me. If I notice any smells I'll get some of that stuff. 

I think I got this thing at the right time. It hit 74 in my room last night despite the temp outside being 55. I think we are probably in for another hot summer and I don't intend to die this time. 

[Shooting-For-800]

I assume you have no way to use a window AC unit or even a portable AC with an exhaust hose?

Window AC units are the most efficient and can cool even a large area very well.

[Anonymous]

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@Shooting-For-800 wrote:

I assume you have no way to use a window AC unit or even a portable AC with an exhaust hose?

Window AC units are the most efficient and can cool even a large area very well.

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You would be correct. I also don't pay the electric bill so 88W is a lot better than 1250W. 

The portable A/C units are garbage. There's no way I would pay $600 for a dual hose unit that has less than half the effectiveness of a $300 window unit. Mounting a window unit here requires permission from the HOA and has specific requirements for when you can put them in and take them out. Also, my window has no ledge, so there is no easy way to mount it to begin with and I'm on the second floor. Add to that the fact that I have vaulted ceilings and a large skylight in my room which makes it even less ideal for A/C. 

The good news is that this thing has some serious oomph to it. I have it on the low setting and it's tolerable noise (that is to say that it's loud but my Vornado 660 is louder and doesn't cool when it runs) and it has made my room noticeably cooler, dropping the temp from 70 to 66.9 in 23 minutes. Of course it also has raised the humidity from 34% to 49%. I'm going to fire up my Vornado on the opposite side of the room to try to vent some of the humidity into the hall. This thing is built to be used outdoors and needs good cross-ventilation to work well indoors. 

It really is quite large lol. 

[SecretAzure]

I honestly had no idea what the heck an evap cooler even was until now lol. It's all a/c here in Miami, there is no other cost-effective solution AFAIK. That thing is large. Just thought I'd chime in that your blackout curtain doesn't seem blackout enough in the picture. Maybe you could double up or find a different kind with more a thermal-blocking material. 

[Anonymous]

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@SecretAzure wrote:

I honestly had no idea what the heck an evap cooler even was until now lol. It's all a/c here in Miami, there is no other cost-effective solution AFAIK. That thing is large. Just thought I'd chime in that your blackout curtain doesn't seem blackout enough in the picture. Maybe you could double up or find a different kind with more a thermal-blocking material. 

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Yeah evap coolers definitely wouldn't work in Miami, they only work in lower humidity, so it doesn't surprise me you haven't heard of them. 

I had the blinds up so that the cooler could get fresh air without having enough sunlight to promote algal growth. I ended up lifting that drop entirely after I took that pic because it kept getting sucked into the back of the cooler whenever the wind would pick up so I lowered the blinds down behind it. We don't get direct sunlight on that side of the house so I have the curtains there to reduce glare on my TV rather than to keep heat out. 

The cooler worked pretty well yesterday but it did kick the humidity up to 61% before I turned it off when the tank got down to around 60% (was waiting until the water level got low enough to where I could lift and dump the tank - 4.8 gallons of water is a pain to carry lol). Temp dropped to 67.1 at 54% humidity which is about what would be expected. In the summer time when the roommates are running the AC, it will keep the humidity down and make the cooler work better than it would by itself. I'm not expecting a miracle but most of the season it should be capable of keeping my room under 80. 

[SecretAzure]

That's funny! I'm glad it didn't eat the entire curtain. Staying under 80 is a must. I had a few blunders when I got a smart thermostat that would allow my home to get hotter while I was away. It would take several hours to get to 76 from a set 79 degrees (my master bedroom in particular would hit over 80 as the sun set on that side with a glass double-door.

I'm glad you have a cost-effective solution for now though. It seems like that little (lol) thing gets the job done.

[Anonymous]

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@SecretAzure wrote:

That's funny! I'm glad it didn't eat the entire curtain. Staying under 80 is a must. I had a few blunders when I got a smart thermostat that would allow my home to get hotter while I was away. It would take several hours to get to 76 from a set 79 degrees (my master bedroom in particular would hit over 80 as the sun set on that side with a glass double-door.

I'm glad you have a cost-effective solution for now though. It seems like that little (lol) thing gets the job done.

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Yeah it was just getting blown to the back plastic covering the media pad and I had to pull it off. Not really a big deal. Not enough suction to rip it out or anything. 

I get physically ill when the temperature crosses 80° so yes, it's definitely key to get it under that mark! Lol

We will see how well it performs on a hot day but as long as it's not a hot AND humid day, which aren't common here, it should work pretty well. Anything is better than nothing regardless of the end result but this design is a very efficient one with lots of airflow and it is RIGHT next to my chair so I'm going to get relief even if it means I sit right across from it to get it. 

[Anonymous]

So I have been using this thing for the last week of high 70s and today it got to 84. It took a bit of messing around to figure out how best to position it. I had it in front of my window and found that to be unbearably loud so I put it across the room facing the open window with my bedroom door open so that air could come in through the hall but the humidity would regularly go over 60% and make my room uncomfortable so I would have to turn off the pump and just run the fan and let the humidity go down and the temperature go back up and then kick it on again which wasn't ideal. 

My roommate gave me this old window fan that our old roommate left here. It's one of those Holmes dual fan models with temperature control operation and manual reversal switch. I have used that the last two days in my window. One of the fans is dead so it's just the single one and since I don't have a screen I have one of those adjustable screens from Home Depot that is like 18" tall and I was just pulling the blinds up all the way. I was finding that the humidity didn't really vent well. Well last night I went to bed with the fan in the window running as intake so I lowered the blinds right above the height of the fan and all day today the humidity stayed around 51-56% and I was able to run it all day so it seems I figured this out. 

84 degrees outside and the hottest my room got was 72. I am very happy with this thing. I didn't even run it on high because it's too loud, it was just on the low setting. 

Landlord texted my roommates today to let us know that she's getting estimates to replace the AC so I may not have to rely on this much longer but I like my room cooler than they do so I'll probably keep using it. It's so comfortable in here that I could take a nap in my bed and be totally fine.