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Hi again, everybody.

So I've been thinking about buying an "air cooler" and I was hoping some among the CEO commentariat might have enough battle-hardened experience to help out with the following questions:

1) Are they worth it at all, or just glorified fans in a pretty rectangular container?

2) I saw about fifty different models at the Aeon Mall department store this afternoon, ranging from about a hundred bucks to ... well, to a lot more than I could ever imagine anyone paying for this thing. What's a good price to pay, and is Aeon Department Store a good place to be looking? (In my experience their prices can be surprisingly reasonable but not always by a longshot.)

3) They seem to have any number of different features -- is there anything I should- or shouldn't consider paying extra for?

4) What about brand names to lock onto or assiduously avoid?

Thanks as always!

Short and sharp - don't waste your money, they're effectively just humidifiers that don't work well. A fan and a spray bottle to make mist is more effective.

What about a "cool zone fan" -- the type of fan that has a mister attached in front of the fan blades -- can I get that anywhere in PP?

Dangerous Dave wrote: ↑Mon Jul 02, 2018 6:40 pm What about a "cool zone fan" -- the type of fan that has a mister attached in front of the fan blades -- can I get that anywhere in PP?

Yes, you can buy large versions of these with a water reservoir in the base, but they're industrial and likely to be expensive. They do work, though. Can't help with suppliers. The wedding companies use them, might be a starting place if you have a friend who speaks Khmer.

Air conditioners are surprisingly cheap here though.

I've got a pretty big one (has a 40L capacity of water), and it really only works outside, as in really exposed air outside. Other than that, it saturates the air (even if the windows are open) and it becomes worse than if you hadn't used anything.

Also, at $280 it wasn't exactly cheap. Only thing I can say it's good for is if you're outside in the shade and you stand in the pathway of the fan. Then it's okay, anything else, not worth it.

timmydownawell wrote: ↑Mon Jul 02, 2018 6:49 pm Air conditioners are surprisingly cheap here though.

Where would I go to shop for a window-style or portable air conditioner? My apartment has a "split A/C" unit but it doesn't work very well -- and it works *just* well enough that the landlord doesn't fix it.

Dangerous Dave wrote:

timmydownawell wrote: ↑Mon Jul 02, 2018 6:49 pm Air conditioners are surprisingly cheap here though.

Where would I go to shop for a window-style or portable air conditioner? My apartment has a "split A/C" unit but it doesn't work very well -- and it works *just* well enough that the landlord doesn't fix it.

It probably needs a clean. $10-15 bucks.

Also make sure you're running it on an appropriate mode. Eg on very humid days run it on dry mode.

I think it needs a cleaning too, but maybe you can help me troubleshoot? Here's what it does:

When it's on its game, it basically chases me out of the room -- it can run so cold as to make me wonder why. Then, it will seem almost to shudder ever so slightly, after which it still blows cold but much, much less so. When it does this I can sometimes get it back by hitting the down-temperature button on the remote control, and I can detect the same very faint shudder, right before the much colder air comes out again.

But here's the crucial detail, I think: If it won't respond to that input, I can go sit in my bathroom, and listen to a noise that has to be related somehow but which I can't identify. It sounds like a pump (perhaps a condensate pump?) but it runs in extremely short cycles when the A/C isn't working very well:

BRRRRRRRMMMMPPPP ... ... ... ... BRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMPPPP ... ... ... BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMPPPP

timmydownawell wrote: ↑Mon Jul 02, 2018 6:49 pm Air conditioners are surprisingly cheap here though.

You can pick up a second-hand Panasonic inverter with a 1-year guarantee for $150, even if something goes wrong later, easy to fix, loads of spares around, and cheap service