Customer Reviews

SPT SF-608R Portable Evaporative Air Cooler

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(21)
1 star:		(46)

 

 

First off, this is NOT an air conditioner. If you expect your room to be freezing cold, this is not the product for you. It's a COOLER, and it does its job very well. It works by evaporating water. Try soaking a T-shirt, wringing it out, and putting it on wet to get the effect. It doesn't work very well in humid areas, but it works GREAT where the air is dry.
I'm in southern California, where the humidity varies pretty widely. I place the cooler six or eight feet from my chair, and on the hottest days I'm quite comfortable.
Benefits:
* it's about 1/5 the cost of an air conditioner
* operating expense is a fraction of the cost of air conditioning
* neat features! (timer, sleep function, etc.)
* remote control

Drawbacks:
* it's not freezing cold like air conditioning.

Low price, very effective in low humidity. Has a strong fan when not using the cooling feature. Timer works well. Has an oscillating feature, a "sleep" mode and, most importantly: a drain plug, washable filter element and a plastic body that cannot rust like those made of sheet metal or tin.
It's been in the high 90s to the low 100's here in the San Fernando Valley in CA with low humidity and it's kept whatever room it is in cool enough to not have to turn on the AC.
It's no air conditioner, but it's a low in cost [to purchase and to run]alternative you could even say was an "eco-friendly" way to stay comfortable in the summer. But then, my friends had to talk me out of buying a wringer washing machine, so my opinion is based on my personal preference for simplicity and old fashioned ways of doing things.
Take my review as you will. It does what it says it will. If you have frequent high humidity, it won't be effective and the company tells you that so be forewarned. I find it to be a great buy and it runs quietly as well.

This is a FABULOUS product. I based my purchase on the reviews of this item. I had a similar product a few years ago and it doesnt compare to this as well as the other one being almost double this price. The cooler came a day PRIOR to the estimated delivery date.WOW........I live in Acampo California which is north of Lodi CA and south of Sacramento CA. The degrees outside at 5:40 pm is 93 degrees, the temperature inside of the house is 84 degrees and my bedroom (which is where I have my cooler) is 72 degrees. I use a pitcher of ice water from my fridge to fill it up and ice cubes in the top tray. For those of you that are young or have not had the experience of a "swamp cooler", they tend to have a musty smell to them. I solved this problem by purchasing a Glade Car oil fragrencer(?). It is intended to clip on the vents of your heating/air conditioning unit. I clip mine on the bottem lever of the cooler on the lowest setting and it gives off a slight fragrance with no musty smell whatsoever. My hats off to the seller, Amazon for carrying the product and the reviews that allowed me to purchase the best product out there. Happy Happy Happy!!!!

We live in the heart of the desert in Nevada, and bought this as a way to cool individual rooms in the house vs. letting the central air cool the whole house. Why bother cooling the whole house when the family is together in one room for long periods of time?

We have a thermometer and hydrometer in the primary room we use it in. The room is about 400 sq ft. and we run it for hours. For coolness, it only gives us a 1-degree temp difference; sometimes 2-degrees with ice cold water, and ice cubes in both the main water chamber and top of unit.

The big difference we notice is with the humidity. We run about 20% humidity in the room normally. With this unit, it increases to 35-40% humidity. This helps with the dryness and with our allergies/asthma.

Overall, we use it more as a humidifier, but it does help us to increase the thermostat a few degrees at night when we run it in the bedroom, which saves a little on energy costs.

After reading conflicting reviews I was thoroughly confused, yet I was so desperately hot I took a chance on this product. Here is the true skinny on this portable cooling unit.
I live in Colorado. The humidity has ranged from 30 to 88%, the temperature 84-93 degrees. I filled the unit with 2 gallons of cold water from the frig and 2 trays of ice cubes. It absolutely blew cool air, even after the ice melted and the water reached room temperature it still blew cool air. Don't bother checking a thermometer it DOES NOT cool an entire room, no matter how small, it cools the AREA you point it at.
If you sit at the computer or any other stationary position, place the unit within 7 feet, and point it in your direction you will be cooled.

As for the humidity, this is a problem only in a room with no air circulation.
I pointed the unit at my bed and was quite comfortable, even chilly. However, in this room I have only a small table fan and the windows are closed, so within 45 minutes I was suffocating from the humid air.
In the living room where I have 2 ceiling fans and 2 box fans-one in front of the half opened door, either turned to blow air in or flipped to pull air out- I have had NO issues with humidity, even at 88%.

It beeps to let you know when the water level is low. It is easy to put handfuls of ice cubes in the tank but I found it really wasnt necessary. Pouring in the water is easy as well, but if you dont hold the little door open it will sometimes close leaving you pouring water onto your floor! I havent had to clean it yet, but the filter is easily accessible. It's no louder than a box fan and wheels around smoothly. I wish the unit were a bit taller and the blower area a bit larger but these are my only negatives.

Overall, I got what I wanted. I no longer sit at my desk with wet rags on my head, miserable and hot. I dont have to stick something in my window, or spend hundreds for central AC. If you want a cool room, look for something else. If you want to be cool in a stationary location, and you have good air circulation this will work for you.

I gave this to my son and his wife as one of their wedding gifts. They live in southern California. She wrote to me "I thought it was going to be just like a ceiling fan type thing, where it just blew the warm air around, but nope-this thing blows out ice cold air-just like the air conditioner of a car-and the whole apartment is SO much more comfortable because of it. And it has provided much-needed relief to the cats too, because they were so unhappy in the boiling heat. Now they're both situated directly in front of the air cooler and couldn't be more content. So.......THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!"
What more could a mother, mother-in-law ask?!

Helps for those who can't sleep when it's hot. Has directional movement and ca oscillate back and forth so if only one person wants it blowing on them you can set it to do that and the other person still gets the effects of the cool air! Don't have to run the noisy whole house fan as often. This product is very quiet~

WOW!!! This product does exactly what it says... It keeps you cool!!! I moved to Southern California, and it is HHOOTTT. I am a student, so I couldn't really afford an Air Conditioner AND the bill. Summer came and before I bought this product, I was not sleeping at night and was grumpy all day. Now I can even sleep under my covers!! I spent $25 less than expected and It arrived 3 days after ordering!! I was so excited when I first got it that I forgot to put it on sleep and caught a cold...But who cares it was worth it. I LOVE IT!!!!

This little air cooler has saved my husband and me!! This unit cools down a room very well. It isn't too loud and putting water in is not a hassle like I expected. Once or twice a day i put a tray of ice cubes in the top section and it gives an extra chill breeze. The reason why I opted for this cooler is because it doesn't have any drainage or hot air flow tubes that require an outlet outside like most portable air conditioners. Also, this unit does not exhaust hot air out the back. We keep it plugged in in the middle of our apartment and direct the air flow to whichever room we are in. It isn't difficult to move, just a little sloshy with the water inside. You will need a slender pitcher or container to fill the cooler; the opening is on the side of the unit and is a little small. We live in a pretty dry climate and this cooler has been perfect. I give it 5 stars for cost effectiveness, ease of use, and overall performance.

Being from the Midwest, Chicago, I had low expectations for this purchase after reading the product description and due to the high humidity we have here, though I read the opposite somewhere too, that the product works well in humid environments. I generally would rather do with only a fan all summer but sometimes it becomes unbearably hot. This product breaks up the heat and creates a nice cool breeze and some much appreciated relief.