APEX™ 1200

The Portacool Apex 1200 has been a welcome addition to our sweltering hot automotive shop in the summer. We work in a steel building (1970's era) with next to no insulation. By mid afternoon our work area would be very uncomfortable but thanks to the Portacool it's bearable. Everybody is fighting for a spot to work closer to it. It moves cool air like you wouldn't believe and the remote control app function is handy too. Now remember, it's not a air conditioner, but in our situation a/c was out of the question cost wise. This is an ideal, viable alternative. On a side note too, I am in Canada and in the winter months the shop is extremely dry because of the radiant heater tubes on the ceiling (16 foot ceilings). I have been using the Portacool on a lower setting with the cooling feature on to move the air around and put some humidity back in the shop. For me it works great for summer and winter in my automotive shop. I would highly recommend it.

The first cooler I had for about 15 years and the only thing I had to change in those years was a couple of pumps. It was an older unit and oddly enough the serial number was 001. I think I had a 24-inch blade. The only cons I can think of is that I always had a problem with the hose connection leaking where you connect your hose to the cooler and draining this unit was messy with water splattering everywhere. My second cooler which I've had maybe a couple of years is the Apex 1200. I like that it is much lighter and easy to move around and draining is very simple just unscrew the drain cap on the bottom and its empty in seconds. On this unit I can say that I really have any cons other than the drain the PVC drip bar at the top tends to build up with calcium and plug some of the holes, but this is not an issue on the coolers side but more on hard water on my end. I just wish I could find an in-line filter I could install between the hose and the fan or something I could put in the water to prevent the calcium build up.

The unit works well, to keep my 60’ x 40’ shop bearable in the summertime Texas heat.
The machine came with a spare power cord with inline GFCI, with no instructions given why. This became obvious when I brought the machine home, as the installed GFCI tripped Immediately every time it was turned on. So the first task of owning the machine was partial disassembly to exchange the power cord, which resolved the issue.
The Wi-Fi app control is great. The “media presoak” stage when starting the machine seems unnecessary, and I almost always end up using manual mode.
The machine is sturdy and has been reliable, but it is very expensive for what it is. The hose inlet is flimsy. The fill and drain covers should have a retention mechanism. The thing is huge but you can’t even set a drink on it because everything is sloped. At this price point, it should include some sort of cover for the off-season to keep bugs and dust out.

I can’t wait to put it to use in the coming weeks. I didn’t realize how handy the smart features would be. I really like the notification s for monitoring the water level. I found that to be the most useful feature outside of the cooling performance.

I would definitely recommend this product for a space where freshness is needed. It will keep a large area in a cool set temperature! Looks large but it’s definitely worth it! Easy to work with and even has option to connect by phone