List Price: $189.99
Sale Price: $122.64
Today's Bonus: 35% Off
Ordered two units. Had to ship one back when lowest speed setting didn't work. While 2 orders is admittedly a tiny sample, that is a 50% failure rate.
If you live in the southwestern US you'll probably be familiar with a swamp cooler. Although this unit is not advertised specifically to cool the air, it's basically the same design: water is drawn up into a filter to saturate it and then a fan blows (or in this case sucks) air through the filter leading to evaporation. It sucks dry warm air in through the back of the unit and through the filter and sends damp cooler air out the top. This unit is all plastic and as a result some parts are a bit flimsy but it looks fine and gets the job done.
The only real design issue is the float. The float attaches to the filter with one end sitting in the bottom of the unit with the water. The other end of the float mechanism extends up into the electronics of the unit inside the hood where it triggers a little switch. This is a simple and effective method to automatically turn the unit (fan) off when the water runs out. The problem is that when you take the hood off the unit (to clean for example) when you replace the hood it is somewhat tricky to position the float correctly so that it moves freely with the water level and properly triggers the switch. Removing the float mechanism entirely would disable the unit since it only turns 'on' when the float is 'up' and triggering the switch.
You may also get confused when the unit initially won't turn 'on' as the water is coming out of the bottle and filling the empty base of the unit. The water has to get up to a certain level in the bottom of the unit before the float will rise high enough to trigger the switch allowing the fan to turn on which can take a few minutes.
Depending on how you use it, the float may not be a problem for you. We empty and clean the unit and filter regularly as per the directions to prevent mold and bacteria growth. The downside is that we also frequently run into the float position and refill delay (Did I position the float wrong again or is not full enough yet? Maybe the fan control doesn't work like that one we had to send back?!)
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