Looking to get one to be used in the garage and porch. Anyone have any recommendations or experience? Thanks!

I bought the small Portacool for the shop. The build quality was pitiful, the huge gaps between the media and the plastic let so much air bypass the media that it didn't cool. That and it spit water everywhere. I returned it. Hopefully they fixed that.

The small gray one from Lowe's suck

My son gave me one that was used at his work when the a/c went out. Made in China, but darn if the thing doesn't cool pretty well. It's not that big. It has panels on 3 sides, as opposed to my much larger one, made in the U.S., and now all calcified up, that just has a back panel. Soon I will truly test in on the porch in triple digits whilst having a cigar. I'll try to post the brand when I see it.

They work better in dry climates right?

The ones mounted to houses still are in dry climates, but I know all the shops in south Louisiana and Southeast Texas have the roll-around ones.

just buy a fan and if ya really gotta have water leaking around you get some misters from sams or some where

thanks, not what I was asking though

I bought the Hessaire last July and really like it. Used in the garage and porch. I add some white vinegar to the water every once in a while and the pads on all three sides look new.

All I know is get the one with the built in water tank that you refill. I've never seen one with a hose hookup that didn't leak.

Portacool in Center Tx caught on fire.

My giant and expensive one at work has both. The hose connection doesn't leak but since the fan will put water on the floor somehow anyway, it's irrelevant. The bad part about running off a tank is the pump motor will die if you let it run dry ... much more likely running off the tank. Mine is 10+ years old and I've fixed everything as it breaks. Doesn't work well in humidity and needs to be 6' or less from me to be effective. Not sure of the blade size but the cabinet is about 5 1/2 feet tall. I'll get the brand if needed, just PM me.

thanks yall

I had a portacool and wasn't happy, switched to a Hessaire and it's worked great!!

Wilton Cold Front

What was the main difference? Besides the Hess versions are much less expensive.
I would like something to help with our patio by the pool.

Funny, we bought a Portacool several years back for our covered patio by the pool and it works great for what we need it for.

Have had a smaller hessaire in the garage for going on 4 summers now. Think I paid $130 for it before bidinflation happened.

For enclosed or semi-enclosed spaces, like a shop, do not put an evaporative cooler where they recirculate a significant portion of air that has already passed through them. The air will quickly become saturated and the cooling effect diminishes. You want them drawing warm dry air from outside the space. Put them in a window or shop door, blowing inward.

I have maintained these things on a massive scale. They are used to cool poultry houses and pig barns. Think a panel 8' tall by 180' long, with air being sucked out of a 400' long building at the other end, and a 1/2 hp pump for circulating water.

The point is, they are not rocket science. I have had home-made ones, cheap ones, and one Portacool for my shops and home over the years. I was not impressed enough with the Portacool to buy another. They will all need maintenance. The harder your water and the dustier the air, the more often you need to replace the pads. Where you have hard water, do NOT just recirculate and refill. Dump and flush the tank at the end of each day. This will dramatically increase the pad life. I personally like Aspen wood shaving pads, but YMMV

Edit: For larger units, a recirculation pump is not always needed. You can put a needle valve on a water supply line and adjust the water flow until water just barely makes in to the bottom. What little comes out the bottom can then be routed to the lawn or flower bed.

My big fan is over ten years old and I have replaced the panels ONCE because I take care of it. I shut the city water off at 3:00 to let the tank level go down, taking pressure off the inlet valve. I turn the pump off at 4:00 and keep the fan on to dry the panels. Leaving them wet is what ruins them. I use the onboard pump and the drain valve to pump the tank out once every three weeks of use. At the end of the season, I drain the tank, power wash it, and dry it. I do not flush or even drain it every day. The main contaminant is sluff from the cardboard panels.

We use ours on the covered patio. Two main differences are the Hessaire has 3 media panels the water runs over (2 side, 1 in back) vs just a back panel on the PC. Also, the Hessaire is much quieter than the PC.

Hope that helps!

Good info.....I will give them a shot!! Thanks,

+3 on the Hessair, get the bigest one you can afford. I did a lot of research before purchasing. The Hessair is sealed better, therefore better cooling, the output is easier to direct (lower) if you are sitting. Humidity does affect performance, and it can be loud, but if you are sitting directly in front of this you will be cooler. If you want the best performance in a shop. Seal the area around it. Understand that you need to have windows slightly opened to adjust the breeze direction and coolness.