# Chillwell A/C units. Do they work or is it a scam?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chillwell-a-c-units-do-they-work-or-is-it-a-scam/966272
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 16, 2022, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chillwell-a-c-units-do-they-work-or-is-it-a-scam/966272 "2022-06-16T01:12:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2022, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chillwell-a-c-units-do-they-work-or-is-it-a-scam/966272/21 "2022-06-16T18:41:54Z")
Well then, that ad at least was scam through and through.
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### Author:  [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2022, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chillwell-a-c-units-do-they-work-or-is-it-a-scam/966272/22 "2022-06-16T18:47:34Z")
> [@obbn](#):
>
> The ad also said it could take a room at 96 degrees and chill out to 65 in a “matter of minutes”. That when I knew it was a lie.
A partial truth, anyway.
It’s absolutely possible for swamp coolers to cool a small space 30 degrees over some number of minutes (‘matter’ of minutes isn’t precise, after all) if you live in a desert.
But yeah, super scammy to imply that would be true no matter the context or that it would be only a few minutes.
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### Author:  [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2022, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chillwell-a-c-units-do-they-work-or-is-it-a-scam/966272/23 "2022-06-16T19:45:01Z")
I’m currious to try the Icybreeze. It’s a cooler that doubles as an air conditioner. It claims to NOT be a swamp cooler.
> **[IcyBreeze Portable Air Conditioner and Cooler Review](https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/icybreeze-portable-air-conditioner-and-cooler)**
>
> The IcyBreeze is a portable cooler that doubles as an air conditioner, helping to keep you and your beverages cool at all times.
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### Author:  [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2022, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chillwell-a-c-units-do-they-work-or-is-it-a-scam/966272/24 "2022-06-16T19:48:02Z")
That looks like a more finished version of the “fan and a bucket of melting ice”, which actually does sort of work as an air conditioner because you can use the transition of ice to water to cool a room. It takes a good bit of ice though, a manageable amount if you have access to one of those big commercial ice machines, a bit harder if you’re just using a home freezer to make your own. This was discussed in another recent thread:
[How should I cool my detached home office? - In My Humble Opinion (IMHO) - Straight Dope Message Board](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-cool-my-detached-home-office/965597/44)
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2022, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chillwell-a-c-units-do-they-work-or-is-it-a-scam/966272/25 "2022-06-16T20:25:15Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#):
>
> Note even in hot/humid places, like here in Houston, an evaporative cooler can still cool a small area down a small amount, but you’d rather a good sized one with a decent fan.
One of my co-workers bought one of the mini-swamp coolers for our office space which has some of the worst climate control ever. Yes, IF it’s not too humid and it’s blowing directly on you it will provide some relief, not the least because _it has a fan_.
Unfortunately, being near Lake Michigan, when we’re hot we’re also humid because there is a lot of lake to evaporate water off of (which does keep the lake and shore cool, a really big natural swamp cooler… at the expense of making everything humid). It just makes the office over all more humid, and our de-humidifier (which is actually much more useful) just has to work all the harder.
> [@Great\_Antibob](#):
>
> But at that point, just do a big box fan blowing over a bucket of ice water and save the money.
^ This.
> [@obbn](#):
>
> The 400 sqft came from the ad. The ad also said it could take a room at 96 degrees and chill out to 65 in a “matter of minutes”. That when I knew it was a lie.
Ha ha ha… not even if you use _dry_ ice.
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### Author:  [@jjakucyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjakucyk)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2022, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chillwell-a-c-units-do-they-work-or-is-it-a-scam/966272/26 "2022-06-16T20:50:37Z")
> [@obbn](#):
>
> The 400 sqft came from the ad. The ad also said it could take a room at 96 degrees and chill out to 65 in a “matter of minutes”. That when I knew it was a lie.
There’s another portable A/C that actually uses a proper refrigerant system or peltier cooler, so it blows hot air out the back, but is powered by battery or low-voltage DC so it has a very low capacity in order to maintain any semblance of run time. Someone did a review of it by setting it up in his car and ducting the hot air outside. He was “so impressed” by the “great performance” of reducing the temperature in the car from something like 95 degrees to 80 degrees in an hour. To me that’s akin to being impressed at 1885 Doc Brown’s warehouse-sized refrigeration machine’s ability to make one whole ice cube. I think Thunderf00t on YouTube gave the product and the total shill of a “review” a thorough roasting.
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### Author:  [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2022, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chillwell-a-c-units-do-they-work-or-is-it-a-scam/966272/27 "2022-06-16T21:19:16Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#):
>
> It’s absolutely possible for swamp coolers to cool a small space 30 degrees over some number of minutes
I imagine their “test” is to hold a thermometer an inch in front of it.
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### Author:  [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2022, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chillwell-a-c-units-do-they-work-or-is-it-a-scam/966272/28 "2022-06-16T21:25:55Z")
Sorta like a cheap smoke detector I once bought.
Instructions: For best results, hold directly over flame.
mmm
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### Author:  [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2022, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chillwell-a-c-units-do-they-work-or-is-it-a-scam/966272/29 "2022-06-16T21:27:54Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#):
>
> For best results, hold directly over flame.
And then the detection process involves touching it to see if it’s hot?
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### Author:  [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2022, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chillwell-a-c-units-do-they-work-or-is-it-a-scam/966272/30 "2022-06-16T21:29:10Z")
> [@Riemann](#):
>
> And then the detection process involved touching it to see if it’s hot?
I think visual detection would be more reliable.
“Is it on fire?”
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### Author:  [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2022, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chillwell-a-c-units-do-they-work-or-is-it-a-scam/966272/31 "2022-06-16T21:30:49Z")
> [@Riemann](#):
>
> I imagine their “test” is to hold a thermometer an inch in front of it.
In a room in the middle of the Atacama filled with desiccant
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### Author:  [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2022, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chillwell-a-c-units-do-they-work-or-is-it-a-scam/966272/32 "2022-06-16T21:31:55Z")
> [@gnoitall](#):
>
> I think visual detection would be more reliable.
>
> “Is it on fire?”
This is obviously a development of tried and true technology, a significant improvement over rocks - which lack sensitivity as visual fire detectors.
> **[Weather rock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_rock)**
>
> The weather rock or weather stone is a humour display that pokes fun at the intricate technology used in modern weather forecasts, as well as the fact that their accuracy is less than perfect. A rock is typically hung from a tripod and accompanied by a sign indicating how to read it. A portable example of such a display, "the famous Maine Weather Stone" of Audubon Camp, Hog Island, was described in late 1981.
> Some examples of the instructions commonly provided for "reading" a weather rock includ...
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### Author:  [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2022, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chillwell-a-c-units-do-they-work-or-is-it-a-scam/966272/33 "2022-06-16T21:42:47Z")
> [@Riemann](#):
>
> So if you life in the desert Southwest and have a sweaty pet hamster, this could be ideal.
I lived as a kid in Arizona before central air conditioning – with heat pumps – became practical\* but we had evaporative coolers big enough to cool the house. With our conditions, humidity typically in the mid-teens, occasionally down to single-digits, evaps were good for cooling the air by about 20 degrees. This meant for our typical daytime temps of 105 to 110 the temperature inside would be 85 to 90 degrees F. With central air came great rejoicing.
\*I distinctly remember the unfairness of it all when the master bedrooms got window air conditioners while us kids did not.
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### Author:  [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2022, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chillwell-a-c-units-do-they-work-or-is-it-a-scam/966272/34 "2022-06-16T22:05:03Z")
While we should have every right to assume otherwise, we simply cannot rule out that their 400 square foot room has an abnormally low ceiling height:
[ ](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/821477f41b0528ff2318ce357b71541c25c4020e/0_71_2617_1569/master/2617.jpg?width=465&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=79ea19ea86bcd384c57dc88d083be9e5)
At that point, it’s really all about **cubic** feet, and tends to make their (bullshit) claims a skosh more plausible.
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### Author:  [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2022, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chillwell-a-c-units-do-they-work-or-is-it-a-scam/966272/35 "2022-06-17T00:22:24Z")
Thanks for all the replies. ISTM that one problem with these swamp coolers is the moisture content they put into the air. I guess in a really dry environment that would be as plus, but in a house I could see it leading to very rapid corrosion of metal surfaces.
Doing a bit more reading one source said these coolers can cause interior humidity to climb to 85%. As an example I try to keep my gun safe at 60% humidity to keep my firearms from riding in the safe. This device would cause havoc.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2022, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chillwell-a-c-units-do-they-work-or-is-it-a-scam/966272/36 "2022-06-17T02:11:53Z")
Perhaps the room is a walk-in refrigerator?
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