Symphony Surround Offers EnvironmentallyFriendly Cooling Review

To replace an aging WhisperCool TF3000, I purchased a Surround early in 2008 from Air & Water, one of two or three Web-only retailers offering the Symphony products in North America at the time.Having acquired AdobeAir in Phoenix, AZ (where I live), their scattered offerings have localized somewhat.Interestingly, AdobeAir Inc. is once again known as IMPCO, the name when founded in 1939 by the Goettl brothers.While not inventing evaporative cooling per se, the brothers brought into being the practical form factor for coolers we recognize as the standard used world wide to cool down the extreme heat of Earth's dry climates.Especially here in the Southwest USA, the Goettls are legendary and now as an Asian company exemplifies the progression of globalization.Find out more at [...].

Back to the cooler...I've owned several portable/mobile coolers over the years and the Surround has the best performance of the bunch.It blows a copious continuous blast of air 17 to 20 degrees F below ambient when humidities are less than 15%.I guestimate its runtime is approaching 3000 hours and has evaporated incalculable thousands of gallons of water.In comparison to the TF3000's draw of 400 watts, on high the Surround draws 80.That I can run it for most of the summer, waiting on the monsoon to use my 3.5 ton rooftop Trane, the Surround has saved me over a $1000.It has held up VERY well, particularly the fan, pump and chassis, considering we have some darned hard water in Arizona.

But living with the Surround hasn't been easy as early on I discovered it was poorly assembled with some sub-standard parts. Disassembly and reassembly is toilsome as two screws are hidden under the trickily fitted control panel (where flimsy wires need careful handling) while some assemblies are held in place by the correct fitting of snap together parts.Until I got the hang of it, three hands were required.And the hang of it I got since opening the Surround has become near-chronic.

It stopped irrigating the "wood wool" pad after about a week of use.I got inside it and discovered metal shavings, plastic sprues and quite a lot of pad debris.Wow.This pretty much clogged things up and a thorough cleaning got the water flowing again.Here I also found a cracked t-fitting for the two irrigation tubes, fixed with a cable tie and aquarium sealant.The padding was sloppily fitted and I tidied that up some.But as time went on the irrigation tubes or humidity valve continued to clog with pad debris.I completely removed the pad and shook vigorously whereupon enough crap fell out to loosely fill a 10 oz. glass.Since then, clogging has diminished but as with any evap cooler, on going cleanup is a necessity.But with the Surround it's more often than not and unnecessarily routine and tedious.However, considering the exceptional performance, the maintenance effort is more than worth it.

Why didn't I return it for an exchange?One, it was highly probable the replacement would have been just as bad.Or worse.Two, had the fixes been beyond my capabilities or unsuccessful, I would have.

And now the nit-picks.The low speed is too high; I could use a slower setting.The casters are better than nothing, but moving a fully filled Surround is tricky on both bare floors and carpeting.On that note, there is no baffling in the tub and water WILL slosh out if you're too abrupt.I found the "humidity control" to be worthless even before the knob broke.The ice door up front is two by one and a half inches - you need to scoop crushed ice with a spoon or jam cubes one at a time.That's ridiculous considering you need a "ton" of ice for about fifteen minutes of three to four degrees cooler air.

The Surround has otherwise convenient features with a pretty and pleasant design.I would like to believe, as a now global enterprise, Symphony has cleaned up its act and quality control has moved beyond... crap.Personally, I would (and probably will) buy another, no questions asked.Even at twice its outstanding price, it is light years ahead of the competition.Right now it's 97 degrees F with 7% humidity and I'm comfy and cool here at my keyboard.

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Product Description:

The Surround is unlike other swamp cooler. With 3 sides of air cooling pads, this compact cooler delivers more cool air than any in its size. In fact, this is one of the best midsized coolers and the low cost of usage and eco-friendly design makes it an unbeatable buy.
The Symphony Surround portable swamp cooler triples the cooling pad exposure and fits it into a light, compact unit for convenient portability. This swamp cooler has high levels of air output, a 650 CFM, and the additional option to turn the adjustable water circulation off and use the unit in "fan only" mode. Gets yours today at a special promotional price - hurry, this deal won't last!
Powerful Cooling: With 1100 m3.hr/650 CFM and 1400 RPM, this powerful cooler is one of the strongest evaporative coolers on the market Energy-Efficient: The Symphony Surround portable evaporative air cooler harnesses the power of evaporation in order to lower temperatures It costs only pennies a day to operate - significantly less than any air conditionerHigh-Efficiency Cooling Pads: Triple cooling pads are specially-treated and designed for high performance and maximum water absorption Fully Portable: Built-in casters make it easy to take the cooling right where you need it - perfect for the living room, kitchen, shop, or garage Range: Cools up to 15 square meters (150 square feet), with an air throw of 10 meters (33 feet)



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SPT SF-611 Portable Evaporative Air Cooler with Cooling Pad Review

I am generally happy with my air cooler, but only under the conditions I use it.Let me clarify; This is a great SUPPLEMENT to an air conditioner.My bedroom will not cool down, no matter what temperature you set the air conditioner.The air cooler does a nice job of cooling it down up to 5 degrees (with cold tap water).Not to mention the added benefit of the humidity.I could add ice, which would greatly help, but that would be more work and would cause my fridge to output more hot air.(Simple physics - heat exchange.Too bad I don't have a fridge outside.)If you added ice, and your fridge was outside, it could MAYBE be a substitute for an air conditioner for one room, but I have not tried it.

You should buy this product for your room if:
*You already have an air conditioner
*Your house is very dry
*You like/miss humidity (good for sinuses)
*You don't want to put an air conditioner in your window, or another air conditioner in your window. (Big advantage if you rent)
*You want to save electricity (Uses less than air conditioner)
*It does have a remote and a timer which is nice.It also has different speeds which is nice, and includes some other useless buttons.

Keep in mind:
*It will stop working once the humidity gets high.It helps to own a humidistat.For this reason, I use it only at night.Of course, if you own an air conditioner, it will eventually take the humidity out of the air and you can use the air cooler again.
*The water must be changed daily, preferably right before use.(Colder water = better)
*Even if you change the water every day, the pan will have to be cleaned well at least once a month.
*Mine started making an annoying rattling sound for the first few minutes.I can't figure out what the sound is, how it's make, or how to stop it.So, if I am going to sleep, I have to turn it on at least a half hour before.

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Product Description:
A versatile and economical way to cool and humidify the surrounding air, this evaporative air cooler, humidifier, and fan easily rolls from room to room for use anywhere in the home. Unlike a fan that blows hot air and more energy efficient than an air conditioner, the appliance uses water to cool a personal space up to 12 degrees lower than the ambient temperature. The air cooler works by endothermic reaction (a reaction that consumes heat). The unit sucks air through a wick saturated with water; as the air flows through the wick, some of the water evaporates into the air, consuming the heat that was in the air. A cool air stream then gets blown out the front of the unit through oscillating louvers for even distribution. The appliance can also be used as just a fan or a humidifier when temperature is not an issue. Easily change the settings with the included remote control.
In addition, the air cooler provides a unique three-dimensional cooling pad for enhanced cooling performance. Made of cellulose paper, it comes treated with special stiffening and wetting agents for maximum water absorption and retention, as well as an anti-rot chemical to prevent algae and bacteria growth. Other details include an LCD panel; three air speeds; three modes of computer-controlled airflows that include Normal, Simulated Natural Wind, and Sleep; a washable filter; a 7-liter water tank; lockable casters; and a timer that can be set from a half hour to seven-and-a-half hours. Though perfect for use in dry climates, please note that the appliance does not work very effectively in areas with high humidity since it utilizes water to cool. The 160-watt air cooler measures 14 by 16 by 32-1/2 inches and carries a one-year warranty.

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SPT SF-610 Portable Evaporative Air Cooler with Ionizer Review

There are so many things wrong with this unit that I'm surprised I've managed to remember them all.Some other reviewers have touched base on them already, but here are the details:

* You put water and/or ice in the top of the unit; you cannot put water where the ice is and vice-versa.The area where you pour water into is about 3x2 inches in size (yes, really!), while the area for ice is about 7x3 inches.You literally need a funnel or a small plastic tube to fill the unit up with water (see below).But it gets worse...

* Easily the biggest flaw: the water/melted ice goes down a tube and literally into the casing of the unit!There is no water tank, or centralized hold for liquids.The entire bottom of the unit is the "tank", if you can even call it that.

* The two cooling packs provided contain some sort of cheap coolant liquid inside of them -- they do cool quite well, but here's the problem: they'rephysically too large.The cooling packs are dropped into the bottom of the casing (where the water is), right into the water.They don't mount inside anywhere.

* The "door" for the cooling packs is too small for my hand (and I have small hands), which makes removing the cooling packs impossible.It took me a good 5 minutes using a pair of plastic pliers to grab a pack and remove it.The door is held shut with magnets, which is admittedly nice. But the door empties right into the water "tank", which means you might as well fill it up from the side and not the top!What were they thinking when they engineered this thing?!

* Water pump is a pump intended for aquariums.If you open up the back of the unit (which you have to do for water filter cleaning; see below), you can peek inside and see quite clearly printed on the pump "AQUARIUM PUMP". Most aquarium pumps I know are loud, not soft/quiet nor do they hum; and because the pump is screw-mounted to the bottom of the unit (which is plastic), I'm left thinking the entire unit must vibrate heavily when powered on.This makes you question the production quality of this item.

* Water refill line is recessed deep inside the unit due to how the plastic casing is molded; it's impossible to read, and it's incredibly important (see above) to not go above a certain fill line.If you go above the line, water will start to come out of the front of the unit, and the rear of the unit (bottom of where the air filter starts).

* The air/lint filter on the back is easily removable.However, to clean the water filter, you must remove 6 screws and proceed to wiggle/wobble plastic pieces until you pull the back of the unit out.Why screws?Why not some retention plastic, or a clip?Better yet, why not magnets like the ones used on the coolant door?You cannot remove it entirely, because attached to it (permanently) is a bright orange hose connected somewhere within the unit; it has no slack.You need 3-4 hands to do this job.

* The water filter itself is what looks to be nylon webbing, identical to what some people use in a clothes hamper.It's just some cheap mesh with some Velcro on it so you can remove it semi-easily.

* Manual states you must clean the water filter every 2 weeks.Yup, you get to disassemble the unit that often.Fun for the whole family?

* Much to my amusement, the drainage spout (if you need to drain the unit) is directly behind where the AC power cord is.Am I the only one who thinks this is a bad idea?

Should you avoid this product?Absolutely.I'm left wishing I could give this thing negative stars; seriously, SPT should be ashamed for engineering something like this.I realize it's somewhat inexpensive, but what you get for under a hundred US dollars isn't even worth it.

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Product Description:
This Evaporative Air Cooler, Humidifier, and Fan is versatile, lightweight and economical. The Cooler easily rolls from room to room for use anywhere in your house or office. This Air Cooler shoots a stream of air with oscillating louvers, to evenly distribute refreshing cool air. Can also be used as a fan or humidifier if temperature is not an issue. - plus get the air cleaning benefits of the ionic air purifier. The remote control allows you to easily change settings. The Air Cooler works by endothermic reaction (a reaction that consumes heat), so this evaporative Air Cooler sucks air through a wick saturated with water. As the air flows through the wick, some of the water evaporates into the air, consuming the heat that was in the air. An air stream is then blown out the front of the unit and is considerably cooler than the current room temperature! This is not an air conditioner and therefore uses much less energy. The unit works well in dry climates; not very effective in areas with high humidity as the unit utilizes water to cool.

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