Customer Reviews

Unistar 4-in-1 Swamp Cooler with Ionic Air Purifier, DF268.

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

pros:
- saves you in energy bills since it can cool the room instead of using the ac
- filters are washable
- the included remote gives you controls even in bed
- the 30 min interval timer feature is great specially when it gets too cold at night

cons:
- the ionizer feature is more of a display light than anything
- needs a weekly maintenance. water mineral builds up at the bottom, if you let it sit for more than a week, taking it out posts a problem.
- if you even find the time to actually clean the insides of the fan and and take out the dusts and water deposits, it would take a lot of patients since the machine wasn't designed for easy disassemble. (you'll need a thin long screw driver to take out some of the screws.)

bottom line:
machine is great as an alternative humidifier and room fan. It is a high maintenance machine make sure you clean it every week or two.

The air conditioning in my building has not been working, so it has been about 80-85 degrees in our cubicles. With this product, I am actually able to be comfortable. It was very easy to set up and get going and the water lasts a long time between fill ups. I do add ice to the top for more cooling. Three people have bought one since they have seen mine, and others stop by to cool off. I shopped around, and this cooler was about the best price and, as I said in the title, it is also kind of "retro" and cute, as well as functional.

This unit has been perfect for my intended use.

My co-workers prefer to keep our office building a bit warmer than I am comfortable. I have set the Unistar Swamp Cooler in the door of my office, and it effectively keeps my office several degrees cooler than it would otherwise be. I wasn't sure when I bought it whether it would work in a humid region, and have been very happy that it does. Nor does it make the environment uncomfortable humid. I assume that if the primary central A/C went out, this thing wouldn't do much of anything, though, in South Carolina.

Also, the manual is a joy to read. Honestly, I've read it cover to cover at least three times. It is an excellent and humorous example of non-native translation. Example: "Attention: Any parts of the control panel should be forbidden to be stained with water." Well, it amuses me, anyhow. . .

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UPDATED 1 September 2011

I've had this swamp cooler for 2.5 years now. I use it every business day. It still performs well. As for maintenance, I had to take it apart to clean it after about a year and a half, and just today had to give it its second cleaning. It takes about twenty minutes to take apart, clean, & put back together -- so less than an hour of maintenance time for 2.5 years (in addition to occasionally wiping down the ice basin & rinsing the filter). It's made out of plastic which I would imagine will only stand up to two or three more overhauls, but it's not cheaply made to the extent that it should lose a star. This thing is really a champ.

This is a great fan, nice looking, quiet and effective. I use it in my garage apartment and provides a nice comfort level. It is easy to operate and fill in with water. 8 gallon tank requires re-fill every other day. It comes with 4 ice packs. I use 2 at a time with the other two in the fridge and replace the ice packs every day. The top of the unit also has a compartment, where I add ice daily. The only thing that could make this fan better looking is to have a choice on the color. White is great, but would be nice to have a choice for the side light green color.

Bought this unit for a study (warmest room in the house). Very pleased with the item, seems to lower room temp by about 3-5 degrees. Very easy to use. Low noise level.

Let me start from the cooler, this obviously is not an air conditioner, you have to put water in the tank to cool the air, even that, you won't be able to tell much different between this and a regular electric fan, what I do is make lots of ice cubes and mix them with water, this way you can feel cooler breeze of air. The unit came with two ice packs, didn't know what they were, you were supposed to put them in your freezer for a period of time, then put them in the water, tried that, could't tell the difference. The humifider feature is somewhat misleading, since you cannot run the humidifer without running the fan or the cooler, that annoys me since I want to use it in the Winter, so I have to put this thing facing the wall and run it, I found out that I could even put some hot tap water in the tank, worked better this way. I don't know if the ionizer helps or not, but I do have it on all the time. I like the remote control that comes with it, you can adjust everything with a button press. I bought this for $80 plus shipping when it was on sale, overall I am satisfied.

I'm not sure if you guys know or not, but you are supposed to crack the windows in you're house when you turn this on. I live in southern california, in the middle of the desert so I know what i'm talking about. I got this product because our master cool swamp cooler doesnt reach our room. It works fantastic. most of the people that said that this swamp cooler is a piece of crap, probably didnt crack a window. I know you would think well thats stupid that will just let the cold air out. but the reason you have to put water in it, is because it lets out a mist of water to cool off you're body. and it needs somewhere to go after. just remember before you buy this, that when you get it, you need to CRACK A WINDOW!!

This is a great fan. The evaporative cooler function is kind of neat and does produce a breeze slightly cooler than it would be otherwise. However, if you're battling serious heat this just doesn't do much better than a really good fan. I had hoped this might work as well as a weak air conditioner. I hoped too much. Twice I poured a 10 LB bag of ice into the water tank and let it run in my apartment with the windows closed until all the ice had melted in about four hours. The affect was disappointing. On the up side, it's a great fan. It moves a lot of air. It has the oscillating direction feature. It has a remote control.

Nice sized unit. Very attractive w/remote. Swamp Cooler air was quite cool. Have not even used the ice blocks yet. Worth every penny.
Ronnie in L.A.

I love this product so much, i had to buy one for the whole family! Its a cooler, air purifyer, it osculates, and its on wheels!