Tristar AT-5446BS Portable Air Cooler, 4L Watertank with 2 Ice Boxes, 3 Speeds, Oscillation, Timer and Remote Control

Smaller, lighter and portable vs an air con and better cooling than a fan.Brought for office as I don't have a suitable window for air con vent hose and I found basic desk fans just moved warm air around.Perfect for the UK heatwave, when we get them!

**cleaning update**While not included in the instructions for some reason, getting the tray out for cleaning seems to be a mystery - it's actually pretty easy - see the pictures. The pump is held in place by two swinging retainers. Let the water run low enough and you simply pull out out the water tray as much as you can, without straining the water tube or power. This gives you access so you can swing the retainers clear of the pump (see pics) so you can free the pump and the tray then just slides out. Just remember to pop the pump back in to the right of where the retainers are mounted - the pump drops in easily then - and you can slide the retaining lugs back in place. No tools required at all.Product review:Let's face it, fans are kinda rubbish. You need to sweat first, then they work, but if you don't sweat much, like old people (or Prince Andrew) then fans are useless. AC is power hungry and takes some installing, and portable units are flawed due to the vent - venting through an open window is very wasteful.This unit is a great compromise. Using water, it blows water vapour on you and cools you even if you don't sweat. It's no replacement for AC, but it's waaaay better than a fan.What you need to know:* it doesn't cool the room, only you when it blows directly on you* you need to keep the water tank topped-up* you can't leave water in it - it has potential to cause illness due to bacteriaIn use my 85 YO mum can fill it, and can work it (which surprised me!) and with her limited mobility, she found the remote very useful. I gave her a misting spray bottle (£1.50) which she used with fans and doesn't need with this. It got her through the 2022 hot summer - and she really does struggle with the heat.Overall though, this is an easy item to recommend - it even works very well as regular fan.

Like the cooler very much not too noisy and keeps u cool thru summer a 5 star

3 stars only for the price I paid on Amazon Warehouse and because it might have helped my cat get better.I bought this because my cat has kidney disease and the heat might have made her worse. It reduces the temperature but it also raises the humidity.The humidity in my flat is 50-55% so the effect of this evaporite cooler is less effective. The higher the humidity then the less it cools. This is the flaw with evaporative coolers in general. As it puts more water into the room then the humidity raises even higher so this further limits its capacity to reduce the temperature. I think they're designed to be used with the window open because this way the humidity pushes hotter air out of the room thus keeping the room less humid and more cool. I have to say that I'm unimpressed with how it cools. I have only used the continuous setting at the lowest speed.There are many flaws: (this is my first evaporative cooler)- the tank is only removeable by unscrewing the motor from the bottom of the tank.- noisy at the lowest level. I have a small flat so this is more of an issue for me- Sleep mode turns the fan on and off which is not good for sleep. Continuous sounds are easier to ignore. If you are sitting down reading this you do not notice the feeling of your bum on the seat because the mind filters it out but if you get up and sit down again and again then you notice the feeling of your body on the seat.- using it on continuous mode on the lowest setting air only blows out of the left side of the front grill not the whole way across. If you look at the front of it it seems like the black side of the front is only where air is coming out of.- noisy beep when the timer ends- really bright LED lights. Would be better with detecting ambient light and adjusting light accordingly- tank capacity seems less than 4l.- really hard to clean evaporative coolers in general. Can't use bleach which is a real shame- no detachable washable filter. It might have a filter but this is screwed into the back so not easily removedpluses are+ a bargain at the price I paid+ Amazon Fresh uses packs of frozen water in plastic to cool deliveries. These packs can be reused because they fit in the tank+ cheap to run. These evaporative coolers are the poor man's air con.+ the most important thing is it might have helped my catI would not recommend this item. I don't know if the problems with this item are the same with other evaporative coolers. I'm unhappy with how flawed this item is. However it may have helped my cat which is the most important reason for buying this. It is certainly functional as an evaporative cooler.

Ok

Not easy to use

It’s a fan that’s all and even cleaning it every other day it smells

I used the unit during the 40 degree heatwave we had in the UK, it did the job better than a fan when used correctly.The main issue i'm now having is that it stinks of wet dog / moss smell. It clearly needs a new filter already, which is usually fine.Although trying to find a filter for it is a different story. You can buy them for £5 on their website. But that doesn't include the £30 import costs for a filter.They aren't sold anywhere else.