I hate weeding through the reviews for evaporative coolers because it seems like the majority of bad reviews are from people who have no clue what they are and what they are supposed to do, a few are from people who can't follow basic instructions, and there are only a handful of legitimate negative reviews that are usually due to defective issues.

I live in Denver, CO. It's dry here and it's the perfect climate for evaporative coolers. I've had whole-house swamp coolers in previous homes I've lived and know many friends with them. In my home, I have no option for a portable or window A/C air conditioner as I spend most of my time in our finished basement and there's not a good option for exhaust. Last summer we got quotes for central A/C but it's a lot more money than I want to spend and I also don't want the electricity bill that goes along with it. We have a whole house fan (not to be confused with an attic fan) that we run in early morning before it reaches 70 degrees... Read more

I live in California in the Bay Area. Not much humidity and the weather is typically pretty mild but it does get pretty hot in the summer (90+ degrees). I received the unit on a particularly hot day recently and I ran out and grabbed a bag of ice because i wanted to test this things cooling capability. I set it up next to my computer desk and turned on the cool air function. I was sitting about 5 feet from it and in 5 minutes my arm was freezing cold. I was perfectly comfortable the whole day but if i moved from the fan at all the heat was unbearable. This thing does not cool a room but it will cool the area directly in front of it. Once it cooled down a bit I emptied the water (which was made very easy due to the lightness of the unit) into my bathroom sink and used it that night as a normal fan. Its pretty quiet and the fan is powerful. Ive heard these swamp coolers can generate a musty smell so I make sure to empty it of water when I'm done using the cool air function. I only fill... Read more

To be fair, the product does not claim to be an air conditioner. However, it does claim to cool 12 degrees cooler, which I didn't find at all. I live in a dry Colorado climate, and still it is barely cooler than a fan. You have to fill it with tons of ice to even get that, and it requires refilling with water and ice often. If you don't clean it at least once a week, it starts smelling really bad.

All this effort of refilling and cleaning is not worth the 3 to 5 degrees cooler you get. For that, I'd rather just plug in a fan and not have to worry about it every day. Save your money and buy a portable air conditioner. It's worth the extra investment, trust me.