- Joined
- Dec 15, 2018
- Messages
- 1,680
- Name
- coconut
Might not seem the right time of year for this but if buying used it is a good time of year. I always have a spare or two in case the central unit craps out. They are real cheap where I live. A small new looking one maybe 5-10 years old can be bought for $20. Even the largest are less than $50. If looks don't matter I've even seen them at the curb for free. The other good news is apparently they are still made well according to Consumer Reports- https://www.consumerreports.org/win...ost-and-least-reliable-room-air-conditioners/
"When temperatures rise, a broken air conditioner can make tempers flare. So it’s good news that a recent Consumer Reports survey of its members shows that room air conditioners—both window and portable—are among the most reliable products we test.
In fact, all nine brands of window air conditioners and 3 of 7 brands of portable ACs in the survey earn our highest mark—a rating of Excellent—for predicted reliability. (The other four portable brands also receive a favorable mark—a Very Good rating.) That means you’re likely to get an air conditioner that lasts when you buy one from Amana, Danby, DeLonghi, Friedrich, Frigidaire, GE, Haier, Hisense, Honeywell, Kenmore, LG, Whirlpool, or Whynter."
I don't have any experience with the portable units but it looks as though they are not too bad either.
For those of you out west especially in the hot and dry areas you are lucky that swamp coolers will work much better than in the rest of the US and use much less power. From http://www.lumacomfort.com/blog/does-evaporative-cooler-work/
"When trying to decide if an evaporative cooler will be effective your area, first look at the humidity level. Generally speaking, the lower your relative humidity, the more effective your evaporative cooler will be. The map below shows general areas in the US where evaporative coolers are most effective. Areas labeled “A” are optimum for evaporative swamp coolers, while those labeled “B” are less than ideal, but can still be good.
-source: USGS Water Science School
Areas like the East Coast are unfortunately less than ideal conditions for an evaporative cooler. Evaporative coolers can still be useful here, however! Units like our EC45S Tower Cooler can act as a simple tower fan or even a humidifier, making it very useful – even on the East Coast.
The below chart shows the estimated temperature change you can expect from an evaporative cooler, depending on the relative humidity and current temperature. Just note that this assumes you have the proper size evaporative cooler for your room.
"When temperatures rise, a broken air conditioner can make tempers flare. So it’s good news that a recent Consumer Reports survey of its members shows that room air conditioners—both window and portable—are among the most reliable products we test.
In fact, all nine brands of window air conditioners and 3 of 7 brands of portable ACs in the survey earn our highest mark—a rating of Excellent—for predicted reliability. (The other four portable brands also receive a favorable mark—a Very Good rating.) That means you’re likely to get an air conditioner that lasts when you buy one from Amana, Danby, DeLonghi, Friedrich, Frigidaire, GE, Haier, Hisense, Honeywell, Kenmore, LG, Whirlpool, or Whynter."
I don't have any experience with the portable units but it looks as though they are not too bad either.
For those of you out west especially in the hot and dry areas you are lucky that swamp coolers will work much better than in the rest of the US and use much less power. From http://www.lumacomfort.com/blog/does-evaporative-cooler-work/
"When trying to decide if an evaporative cooler will be effective your area, first look at the humidity level. Generally speaking, the lower your relative humidity, the more effective your evaporative cooler will be. The map below shows general areas in the US where evaporative coolers are most effective. Areas labeled “A” are optimum for evaporative swamp coolers, while those labeled “B” are less than ideal, but can still be good.
-source: USGS Water Science School
Areas like the East Coast are unfortunately less than ideal conditions for an evaporative cooler. Evaporative coolers can still be useful here, however! Units like our EC45S Tower Cooler can act as a simple tower fan or even a humidifier, making it very useful – even on the East Coast.
The below chart shows the estimated temperature change you can expect from an evaporative cooler, depending on the relative humidity and current temperature. Just note that this assumes you have the proper size evaporative cooler for your room.
