Evaporative coolers hysteria wave

[nuclearcat]

Got hit by some very suspiciously looking technology on youtube ad.
Link in ad was to: https://coolsummertips.com/cooler60.html
Then i noticed there is very similar boxes called "Arctic Air" and others, and most have lot of "youtube popular guys" who make disgusting biased "positive paid product reviews" for such coolers.
Like this one:
Nothing special here, what motivated me to post here - just incredibly annoying advertisement “we worked in a big and greedy company, quit, and made a product for 1/10 of the price”, which appeals to human greed and stupidity.
And it's really nothing there, battery, fan, water soaked piece of cloth, and fancy exterior.
P.S. I wonder how fast this device will get infested with fungus/mold.

[Haenk]

I assume this is a reoccuring marketing/sales problem. Last year, there were a zillion of "aroma diffusors", this year, it's those "coolers".
Once someone comes up with an idea, whole Shenzen fires up their machines to pump out a zillion of those "hype" items, which are (of course) unsellable due to the sheer number. So they are heading to plan b - manipulating Amazon, ebay, paid reviews, paid hypes etc. pp. - hoping to find additional buyers.

Believe me - we will see another hyped product next year.

[cdev]

A better approach though if you live in a desert area is putting small sprinkler heads on your roof to spray a fine mist of water (it doesnt use much water at all) on your building's roof when its hot. That works quite well.

It can reduce the indoor temperature by thirty degrees or more (!) In really hot areas, older houses often still have these systems, which are often still in use.

They only work in areas where the humiidty is usually very low and summer temperatures are very high. Deserts, basically.

[daqq]

Ah, the new fungus distribution system has arrived! Great!

[helius]

A more popular term for evaporative cooler is "swamp cooler", and they are easily made by DIYers with copper tubing from the hardware store. It's a real infection hazard if biocides aren't used to keep microbes from growing.

[james_s]

If they're made with copper tubes I'd expect that to be sufficient as a biocide, I know copper is an effective antimicrobial.

[Cyberdragon]

These things have been out for years...I have an original "ArcticAir" with the RGB lights. We have still have a lot of "swamp coolers" here in the US. They aren't that bad if you maintain them, though that's kind of hard with those little things. You have to fill the tank through a thin slot that opens through the top so GL cleaning it if necessary. I'm assuming that all the other ones also run off of USB as well? Not much power on the fan but the cooling is something at least. Basically feels like a cool wet mist, kind of like sticking a few chunks of ice in front of a PC fan (which is what's used).

[nuclearcat]

A better approach though if you live in a desert area is putting small sprinkler heads on your roof to spray a fine mist of water (it doesnt use much water at all) on your building's roof when its hot. That works quite well.

It can reduce the indoor temperature by thirty degrees or more (!) In really hot areas, older houses often still have these systems, which are often still in use.

They only work in areas where the humiidty is usually very low and summer temperatures are very high. Deserts, basically.

One problem, there is not much water in desert
Enough for evaporative cooler, but definitely not for roof.

[jpanhalt]

If they're made with copper tubes I'd expect that to be sufficient as a biocide, I know copper is an effective antimicrobial.

Yes, copper inhibits Legionella; however, copper water pipes were used in buildings at which most outbreaks have occurred, including hospitals.  One thing you might consider is whether the evaporative cooling effect occurs because of evaporation from copper pipes or something else.  If it is in a pipe, how does it evaporate?

That experience points out the stark difference often seen between laboratory antimicrobial activity and theory versus clinical reality.  Kind of like face masks today.

[james_s]

Yes, copper inhibits Legionella; however, copper water pipes were used in buildings at which most outbreaks have occurred, including hospitals.  One thing you might consider is whether the evaporative cooling effect occurs because of evaporation from copper pipes or something else.  If it is in a pipe, how does it evaporate?

That experience points out the stark difference often seen between laboratory antimicrobial activity and theory versus clinical reality.  Kind of like face masks today.

I assumed that's because the bacteria grows on or around the cooling tower, not in the copper pipes that deliver the water. I have a fair amount of refrigeration and HVAC experience but not with large commercial systems and I've never looked at an evaporative cooler up close. We don't have the right climate here for those to be viable.

[rhodges]

I have used swamp coolers for three decades, and I have never seen the "copper tubes".

My cooler has three pads, each one is just over four square feet in area and maybe three inches thick. Mine are wood shavings, and that is typical, but some are a man-made material. Wood is naturally anti-microbial. If you are skeptical, look up the tests of wood cutting boards versus plastic.

There is a pump that circulates water from the bottom basin up to the top of the pads, and the water pours down over the pads to keep them wet. A squirrel cage blower pulls air through the pads and pushes into the house. The whole thing takes about 300 watts (measured) and probably several gallons of water per hour (pure guess).

The absolutely TINY thing in question is too small to do anything. A humidifier from a thrift store (probably $5) will cool more. Note that you need to get dry air in and to dispel the wet air for this to work.

[jpanhalt]

@rhodges

Swamp coolers have been used for many decades, particularly in commercial water cooling towers.  It is good you haven't gotten sick from Legionella, but its incidence has been increasing.  Northerly areas seem more susceptible than southerly climates.


When people talk about microbial pathogens, they sometimes lump everything together as "germs."  Not all bacteria are the same, nor do they present the same potential for causing pneumonia.  Legionella was first identified in 1976.  After that, cases dating back to 1943 were found.  It may well go back further but was only considered a type of pneumonia then. Pneumonia is a clinical diagnosis.  In most cases, an etiologic agent is not identified.

One can isolate a lot of microorganisms from water.  Most are harmless as respiratory pathogens in otherwise immuncompetent people, but times have changed.  As one example, after WWII, our military dispersed a pigmented Serratia marcescens over San Francisco as a surrogate for radioactive particles to trace fallout patterns.  Because its colonies were pigmented, it was easy to track with simple cultures.  In those days, it was considered completely non-pathogenic; today, that is not the case.

I would always be concerned about a swamp cooler, particularly if it were left running for long periods without decontamination.

[David Hess]

Swamp coolers, humidifiers, and air conditioning evaporators used in commercial buildings include provisions like chemicals and germicidal lamps to suppress microbe growth.

[Cyberdragon]

[Bassman59]

I have used swamp coolers for three decades, and I have never seen the "copper tubes".

Here in Baja Arizona the water feed to the cooler is with ¼" copper pipe. The problem with this sort of tube, other than corrosion, is that if it gets the slightest kink in it it'll break and leak.

About ten years ago I got fed up with that and ran the braided feed hose commonly used for ice makers up through the roof penetration and to the cooler. That hose uses standard compression fittings and it connected right to the in-line water filter. Another such hose went from the water filter to the cooler water inlet, which is that goofy float valve that is a pain to adjust.

[rhodges]

Here in Baja Arizona the water feed to the cooler is with ¼" copper pipe. The problem with this sort of tube, other than corrosion, is that if it gets the slightest kink in it it'll break and leak.

Okay.

I have always used plastic tubing for the water feed. It gets brittle over the years, but it is cheap and easy to replace.

[Halcyon]

Yeh not sure why the sudden interest in them. They are a common product. Many houses in parts of Australia have ducted evaporative systems installed instead of reverse cycle, but they only work efficiently in dry areas. Once you start heading north to places like parts of Queensland and Darwin, they are less effective and can increase the humidity inside to uncomfortable levels.

[AVGresponding]

Yeh not sure why the sudden interest in them. They are a common product. Many houses in parts of Australia have ducted evaporative systems installed instead of reverse cycle, but they only work efficiently in dry areas. Once you start heading north to places like parts of Queensland and Darwin, they are less effective and can increase the humidity inside to uncomfortable levels.

Presumably because some muppet numerous shills with lots of followers on social media are being paid to push them.

[Bassman59]

Yeh not sure why the sudden interest in them. They are a common product. Many houses in parts of Australia have ducted evaporative systems installed instead of reverse cycle, but they only work efficiently in dry areas. Once you start heading north to places like parts of Queensland and Darwin, they are less effective and can increase the humidity inside to uncomfortable levels.

Presumably because some muppet numerous shills with lots of followers on social media are being paid to push them.

This is the truth.

[SiliconWizard]

That was also evoked there: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/dodgy-technology/snake-oil-air-con-doesnt-work/

As we said, the technology itself is well known and pretty old, but has numerous limitations and drawbacks, and in this very small form factor, completely useless, and even risky as there is zero protection against bacteria growth.

As I said before: yes it blows cold air - provided that ambient RH is low enough, which is unfortunately not the case in many regions that get hot in the summer - but you need to put this very close to you to even feel it. So you feel cold air (and on a pretty limited area of your body), but it's absolutely unable to take ambient temperature down even 1°C and even in small rooms, raises the RH, and will end up being a bacteria nest.

Of course this is mostly a scam. Many people buying one though may initially (the first few minutes) be happily surprised - with an RH of < 40%, if you put a thermometer right in front of it, you can see temperatures like 10-15°C lower than ambient - but the happy surprise quickly stops there.

[MrMobodies]

I was looking at the news and came across a Yahoo article:

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/air-conditioning-mini-budget-heatwave-090025155.html

Shop 5 top-rated air conditioning units under £50  

Maisie Bovingdon
Shopping writer
Yahoo Style UK 12 August 2020

Foryo Personal Air Cooler | £48.99 from Amazon

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Foryo-Personal-Conditioner-Evaporative-Humidifier/dp/B0885X34RH

Customers have gone head over heels for this air con unit and one buyer hailed it an “all inclusive little gadget for any season”.

Add water or ice cubes to the tank and the unit will provide cool air and humidify the room. It also works as an air purifier and has three speed settings, as well as seven light modes, which means it doubles up as a night light.[/i]

Top rated?

13/07/2020 98 Customer ratings:
5 star     52%
4 star     15%
3 star     10%
2 star     7%
1 star     16%

I thought they were two different things, an air conditioner has a compressor for the cooling gas, an air cooler pulls air outside whereas these are just like swamp coolers where you put water and ice in them and it moistures the air and won't work after the mosture gets past a certain temperature yet the author is referring and the listing them as air conditioning.

[coppercone2]

I use a small one as a personal cooler if its not too hot and humid in order to watch movies in a room that sucks normally. Arctic Air claims to have a antimicrobial treatment on its evaporator. You need to put it on a coffee table or something near you on setting 1 or 2 (3 is too loud) when watching a movie. I think it is a good product so long you use it with ice water and do not expect too much from it. I think it is also good if you want to enjoy sunlight dining outside on a patio.

They have a little nozzle/valve that generates a spray of water from the top tank because of the pressure drop caused by the fan, and accumulate this mist on a microbial-treated woven mat that evaporates and cools the air further. You can hear it spraying as you turn up the fan speed.

[coppercone2]

These things have been out for years...I have an original "ArcticAir" with the RGB lights. We have still have a lot of "swamp coolers" here in the US. They aren't that bad if you maintain them, though that's kind of hard with those little things. You have to fill the tank through a thin slot that opens through the top so GL cleaning it if necessary. I'm assuming that all the other ones also run off of USB as well? Not much power on the fan but the cooling is something at least. Basically feels like a cool wet mist, kind of like sticking a few chunks of ice in front of a PC fan (which is what's used).

use a bottle brush

[rrinker]

 Copper is good against algae - the algaecide used in pools, at least some brands, is mainly copper sulfate. Dunno how effective it is against other biocontaminants,  the chlorine is what is used to kill other organic stuff.