Frequently Asked Questions

You know what, we AGREE that air conditioning the outside is horrible for the environment. That’s why we don’t do it. Our products are evaporative coolers – they are specifically designed to work outside. There are no chemicals or coils to deal with like with an air conditioner – only pure tap water and a little electricity. On average, our products only pull 8.9 amps on high. That’s about the same as your household coffeemaker.

Our products can actually HELP the environment. Replacing just one ducted air conditioner in an industrial setting (your local gym, a warehouse, a manufacturing facility, an auto body shop) with a Portacool evaporative cooler can help eliminate 1.6 metric tons of CO2 from being pumped into our atmosphere annually. Again, Portacool’s evaporative coolers contain no harmful synthetic refrigerants that can damage the ozone layer. On top of that, our products consume up to 80% less energy than most air conditioning systems and can be operated in low voltage areas greatly reducing your monthly overhead.

They didn’t tell you the truth! Our products come fully assembled, sitting in a crate and covered with a large box. Clip the straps, slide off the box and pull the product from the pallet, hook up a garden hose and fill it up with water, plug it in, turn it on – you have cooling comfort in less than 20 minutes and most of that is filling up the tank!

Maintenance is just as easy. All of our new products have a two-inch drain on the bottom toward the back. We recommend once a week you drain the water out and start fresh on Monday morning. Just make sure you roll the product where you want the water to drain before removing the plug. It is going to come out FAST!

We also recommend at the end of season to pull out the HydroTek™ media and thoroughly wash out and dry the reservoir. All you need is a Philips head screwdriver and maybe a ladder. Remove the screws from the media flap on the top of the evaporative cooler and slide the media out. We even made a video you can watch to see exactly how to do this! Once the evaporative media is out, rinse out and dry the reservoir. Replace the evaporative media and media flap. We sell off-season covers that you can use to protect your Portacool evaporative cooler during storage.

See? Not so difficult at all!

Yes. This is usually because the air conditioning unit is not installed or operated properly. However, there are some aspects of how an air conditioner functions that contribute directly to sore throats for some people.

Often, the water from air conditioners can drip out into the casing in the hot part of the unit. This hot, wet environment is especially fertile for microbe growth. The air conditioner picks up and spreads the microbes whenever it blows the air, which can spread a variety of diseases. In fact, air conditioning was the original source of Legionnaire’s disease. In addition to growing microbes, an air conditioner can make you more vulnerable to the microbes you inhale, further increasing your susceptibility to illness.

Evaporative coolers are designed to work best in areas not easily cooled by traditional air conditioning. This means ideal spaces have access to ambient air via open bays, doors or windows. While there are some environments conducive to evaporative cooling use in an enclosed building, the cooler is not going to operate at its highest efficiency. In some instances, running an evaporative cooler in a closed environment could make the room or building warmer by increasing the humidity level.

Evaporative coolers are designed to work best in areas not easily cooled by traditional air conditioning, so outside is an excellent environment!

Yes, the fan and pump motors are separate systems. You can run one without the other with no damage to the product. That said, you will not receive the same degree of cooling by only running the fan. For evaporative cooling to occur, water must be running over the HydroTek™ media.

If you believe your evaporative cooler is adding too much additional humidity to the environment, try the following:
1. Open a door or window – evaporative coolers need fresh air to work at their best.
2. Use the water adjustment valve (all Portacool products have these) to restrict the water flow over the HydroTek™ Evaporative Media. While this does reduce the efficiency (also known as max cooling potential), it is a way to limit additional humidity.

While evaporative coolers achieve significant temperature drops in more arid climates and drier spaces, they can provide relief from the heat in any climate due to the advancements in evaporative cooling technology. These aren’t the swamp coolers of years ago! Even in hot and humid areas, such as Houston, you can still expect to see 10°F-13°F cooling.

One of our customers in Florida said it best, “I’ll take a 13°F degree [temp] drop within an hour any day. It raised up to 89°F in the middle of the day, but until you’ve had to work in a 100°F shop, you don’t realize how great 89°F feels!”

All Portacool products come with both a fill tank and hose connector. This gives you the option to keep a hose connected or manually fill the tank. Along with these features, Portacool products also come equipped with automatic low water shut-off. When the evaporative cooler is out of water, a red light will illuminate on the control panel and the pump will shut off.

Air conditioning units and systems run on electricity and are not powered by gas in any way. The only gas involved in an air conditioner is the refrigerant, which isn’t a power source.

To keep your Portacool evaporative cooler running smoothly for many years, we recommend daily and weekly maintenance. Each day you run the cooler, the pump should be turned off approximately 15 minutes before the fan is shut off to allow the HydroTek™ media to dry completely. Weekly, we recommend shutting down the cooler, disconnecting from the power source, and draining the water tank. Once the tank is empty, the evaporative media can be removed to clean the tank and inside the cooler.

Preparing your Portacool evaporative cooler for storage is a snap! First, drain the evaporative cooler. Depending on the model of you evaporative cooler, the drain may be on the side, back or bottom of the housing. Once all the water has been drained, remove the HydroTek™ media from the cooler, ensuring it is dry before beginning. Use a shop vac to remove any remaining water and wipe down the interior of the housing. Replace the evaporative media and secure with the media flap. We recommend covering your evaporative cooler before storing to protect it from dust and dirt. You can find genuine Portacool replacement parts at all of our preferred distributors or through our Portacool Shop. Store your covered evaporative cooler in a dry place.

Air conditioning systems use coolants to remove heat and moisture from the environment. Air is chemically cooled in coils. A fan will distribute the cooled, conditioned air throughout your home or work environment to provide a more comfortable temperature and better indoor air quality. The heat and moisture removed from the air during the cooling process are dissipated outdoors through a ducting system.

Water flows from the top of the evaporative media, over, down, and through the media, and then back into the reservoir. Hot air is drawn into the cooler by the fan. This air flows through evaporative media. As the hot air moves through the media, it causes the water molecules on the media’s surface to evaporate, making the air in the cooler drop as much as 20 degrees in temperature. This cooler air is blown throughout the room by the fan, allowing you to maintain a more comfortable temperature for your employees.

Depending on the quality of maintenance and water, HydroTek™ media typically lasts 5 years or more.

With no direct water source available, the water will evaporate in a filled tank within two to 10 hours of operation, depending on the water capacity of the evaporative cooler, ambient conditions, temperature and humidity. A water source for refilling the tank is recommended by the manufacturer. Most Portacool evaporative coolers can be connected to a standard garden hose and will self-regulate the water level with the use of a factory-installed internal float.

The potential cost can range greatly. The installation cost for residential air conditioning can range from free to approximately $15,000. This is installation alone, and doesn’t include the air conditioner itself, which could be several thousand dollars more. Commercial installations can be even more.

In general, the cost of an air conditioning unit can range from as little as $150 for a small window unit to $20,000+ for a fully installed system of either central AC or a ductless split system. These costs can be broken down into two categories: the price of the air conditioning unit itself and the cost of installation. In addition, there are a variety of factors that impact the cost of the unit as well as installation costs.

An increase in humidity of approximately two to five percent is produced depending on the temperature and humidity of the environment. This increase is not noticeable in a ventilated area where the air produced by the cooler is exhausted. When properly ventilated, an evaporative cooler will not cause condensation or rust.

Multiple factors can affect exactly how much humidity and moisture evaporative cooling contributes to an environment. An increase in humidity of approximately 2%-5% is produced depending on the temperature and humidity of the environment. This increase is not noticeable in a ventilated area where the air produced by the cooler is exhausted. When properly ventilated, an evaporative cooler will not cause condensation or rust.

We disagree! You CAN use our evaporative coolers, you just have to use them correctly. The key here is that you are going to have to 1. Keep a door or multiple windows open, and 2. Sacrifice some cooling efficiency to ensure you keep the humidity levels as low as possible. You can successfully use an evaporative cooler even in shops where rust is a concern.

Our unique design and manufacturing technique, together with our superior materials, enable our products to perform efficiently within a wide range of conditions. When installed correctly, our HydroTek™ media products allow complete molecular evaporation of water ensuring a pure, clean stream of air. When new, it is possible that a small amount of aromatic molecules may evaporate along with the water molecules, which could be detected as a slight smell. This scent lessens in time. Our product does not, in any way, allow harmful chemicals to be evaporated into the air stream.

No! The design of Portacool portable evaporative coolers allow for complete molecular evaporation of water – what the heck does that mean?!?! Our engineers are so smart…in normal person language that means only a pure, clean stream of air is blowing out. Some people might say that they do not agree because of the smell – this however is only aromatic molecules that have evaporated along with the water. Our products do not, in any way, allow harmful chemicals to be evaporated into the air stream.

Unfortunately, there is not an easy answer for this question – we aren’t just throwing out marketing spin! – there are simply too many factors. Evaporative cooling is dependent on ambient conditions like wet bulb and dry bulb. Portacool evaporative coolers CAN drop the air temperature up to 30°F – when the air is very dry such as the arid climates of the Southwest where relative humidity is often 30% or less. That said, however, even in humid climates like the Southeast our products can still easily produce an 8-10°F temperature change. In addition, when you “spot cool” or allow the fan to blow directly on someone, the air will feel even cooler because of the cool air that is blowing across the skin. The cooler the air is in relation to your body temperature the faster you will feel cooling relief. Check out the chart below for a better explanation:

First, make sure the water source and electricity source to the evaporative cooler are connected and working. Second, ensure there is water in the tank. It should be allowed to fill before you turn the pump on. Finally, check to see if the HydroTek™ media is damp. If not, adjust the water flow with the water adjustment valve until water is flowing smoothly over the evaporative media surface.

Yep, we hear this all the time. Here’s the physics behind it though. While you may receive some additional cooling from the air blowing over the ice water for a few minutes (think lake effect here), it isn’t going to cause the evaporated air to be so much cooler that you can actually tell a difference without a thermometer. That’s just not how evaporation works – trust us, we are experts. Plus, that ice is going to melt within 30 minutes if it is hot outside. Ultimately, it is up to you whether you put ice in your evaporative cooler. Most likely it won’t hurt anything – we say most likely because theoretically your pump could suck up a piece and seize up. You just have to weigh if you think it is worth a 2°F temperature difference over a 30-minute time period. Personally, we don’t think it’s worth all that work, but maybe it is to you!

None. Most Portacool portable evaporative coolers are ready to use right out of the box. The exception is the Hazardous Location products, which requires a certified electrician to hard-wire the product into an appropriate electrical outlet.

Portacool evaporative coolers CAN drop the air temperature up to 30°F when the air is very dry and where relative humidity can be 30% or less. Even in humid climates our products can still easily produce a significant temperature change.

All Portacool evaporative coolers come with Portacool Protect™. See your products’ Owner’s Manual for exact warranty information. Visit our Warranty page for more details.

All Portacool Cyclone, Jetstream, Hurricane and Hazardous Location evaporative coolers come with an automatic low water shutoff. When the evaporative cooler is out of water, a red light will illuminate on the control panel and the pump will shut off.

If you have an older model Portacool evaporative cooler, you can chat, call or email Customer Service with the part number to determine if it has a low water shutoff.

Air conditioning refers to the use of a heat pump process to cool the air and remove humidity from it. There are many components required to make this process work, including a compressor, expansion valve, cooling coils, blower and refrigerant.

As the name implies, evaporative cooling harnesses the power of evaporation to cool the air temperature. When water turns into gas during the evaporation process, the highest energy particles are released first, which results in a temperature drop. Evaporative cooling leverages this scientific process on a large-scale level in order to maintain a cool, comfortable environment.

For optimum evaporative cooler performance, the temperature should be 85˚ F or higher and the relative humidity should be below 75%. However, Portacool evaporative coolers will reduce the temperature in almost any environment, making it more comfortable.

Misting systems spray a shower of water into the air that will collect on people, objects, equipment and floors, no matter how fine. Portacool evaporative coolers do use water, but the process of evaporation produces cooler air without a mist. A small amount of humidity is added to the air, but with proper ventilation it is not noticeable and will not cause rust formation on equipment.

All Portacool evaporative coolers come with Portacool Protect™. See your products’ Owner’s Manual for exact warranty information. Visit our Warranty page for more details.

The model/part and serial numbers can be found on a metal plate on the outside of the evaporative cooler. Model/part numbers begin with the letters “PAC.” Serial numbers are all digits.

Replacement parts may be purchased directly from Portacool online or from any preferred Portacool distributor. You may also chat, email or call the Portacool Customer Service department for additional assistance.

There are many potential reasons why your air conditioner isn’t cooling, which might require solutions that are either simple and inexpensive or might require a complete replacement of the unit. Potential issues may include an air conditioner that is too small, an air conditioner that is too old, a dirty air filter, blocked coils in the outdoor unit, dirty coils in the indoor unit, a frozen evaporator coil, to name a few.

The red light on the control panel of your Portacool evaporative cooler next to the pump switch is actually a low-level light. When the product is full of water, the light should not be illuminated. If the light is on, it means your cooler is out of water and the pump has shut off to protect itself from failure. When the cooler is refilled the light should turn off. The light should not be on when the cooler has the appropriate level of water.

We had to get our experts involved on this one. Our experts tell us that intermittently your water temperature can peak at 130°F. Long term, your operating water shouldn’t be higher than 100°F. Water can evaporate at any temperature between its boiling and freezing points. Between those points, the temperature of the water doesn’t matter. We don’t recommend using boiling water in your evaporative cooler.

Maybe. All Classic Portacool evaporative coolers and Portacool Cyclone evaporative coolers require a standard three-prong 115-volt electrical outlets. Portacool Jetstream evaporative coolers EXCEPT the Portacool Jetstream 270 (PACJS270) also use a standard three-prong 115-volt electrical outlets.

All Portacool APEX™ evaporative coolers require a standard 120v electrical outlet.

The exceptions to standard outlets are: Portacool Jetstream 270 (PACJS270) requires a 5-20R power outlet; the Portacool Hurricane 360 (PACHR360) requires a 5-20R power outlet; the Portacool Hurricane 370 (PACHR370) requires a 240v outlet; the Portacool Hazardous Location (PACHZ260 and 270) require a certified electrician to hardwire the power cords into an appropriate electrical outlet.