Luma Comfort Portable Evaporative Air Cooler with Fan & Humidifier, Indoor Tower Fan, EC111B

*Updated 6/28/18 - we have used this to supplement our air conditioning. this is year two for us and zero problems. typically we use it first before using the a/c. then when we can start to feel the humidity begin to build in the air we turn on the a/c. so all said very happy with this. last i would not suggest getting this if you live anywhere other than the W or SW U.S. due to relative humidity. We have air conditioning but in an effort to save some on electricity decided to go old/new school with this unit. During the summer months rarely do we have humidity above 20% often in the single digits. due to the dry environment we are able unlike many to use these during the summer months. It comes in a box about 4’ tall, very light and easy to manage. In the top of the box are two pre-filled freezer gel packs. Just freeze and use as needed along with the water. Any questions it’s all there in the manual. Also comes with a remote (battery too) that is laid out in a way that makes sense and works well. On the lowest speed it is nearly silent and even on the highest it still is hands down quieter than our air conditioning unit, even quieter than most fans. The fan pushes out far more air than hoped surprising based on the size. Also extremely easy to move around with the casters on the bottom. to use the timer press the button on the remote or unit itself. each press gives you 30 minutes more time. works flawlessly. It can also be used in fan only mode. with approx 30% R.H. indoors a full tank of water easily last five hours with some to spare. cools a medium sized room but no more. for that you either need a large box style evaporative cooler or an genuine air conditioner. fyi keep in mind if you have vaulted ceilings double or triple your sq foot calculations it makes a big difference in whether you've a cool room or not. **it is an evaporative cooler not an air conditioner so the higher the humidity the less efficiently it cools. I would never waste my time using this or any evaporative system in home with humidity levels much above 35%. Your air is like a sponge, it can only hold so much water vapor. why you find these most popular in arid and semi-arid regions.

The positive reviews for this unit persuaded me to give it a try and I'm sorry to say that was a bad decision. My home office is about 140 square feet and tends to get a little too warm in the afternoons due to its southwesterly exposure to the sun. We have central air conditioning in the house but this one room takes a beating and typically rises a few degrees above the rest of the house. I would just turn down the A/C thermostat but that makes the rest of the house too cold. I figured I would try to solve this by having a separate cooler in my office. The unit itself looks fairly well built and has a nice remote. It's certainly not silent when running but the noise is not bad, and would be very tolerable if it did the job it claims to do. When I first set it up, I filled the tank with room temp water and no ice or ice packs. My office was at 77*F and 29% humidity when I turned the cooler on. 2 hours later my office was at 77*F and >50% humidity. All that accomplished was to make the room less comfortable. This was late in the evening too when the sun was down. I put this absence of cooling down to the fact that I was using room temp water in the tank so I figured I'd give it a try again the following day. This time I used iced water AND the now-frozen ice packs that came with the unit. The results were absolutely identical. I couldn't believe this so at one point I set up my indoor thermostat directly in front of the fan. It was sitting literally 2 feet away and directly in the airflow. The reading? You guessed it - 77*F. (Well, OK - it occasionally flashed to 75*F but always very briefly and then immediately returned to 77*F). These tests were performed with my office's A/C vent shut off to prevent the main system from over-riding whatever the swamp cooler was doing. I also tried it with the main A/C vent open, hoping that would help but no joy - this "cooler" still had no impact whatsoever other than make the room more humid. Obviously I returned the unit but had to pay more than $30 in return shipping costs! Since when is it considered acceptable to charge a customer to return a defective product? I don't know why the other reviewers have been so positive about this fan. The only explanation I can think of is that they are running it pointed directly at themselves and therefore are experiencing a perhaps SLIGHTLY enhanced wind-chill effect. I know this much for certain - even in a very dry climate like Arizona, this "cooler" does absolutely zip for your room temp. Try something else and be careful to read the return policy for whoever you buy it from. Air & Water Inc. should be avoided.

Edit: Originally posted this as a 5 star review. Unfortunately this broke after 2 years of use. I liked it up until that point and I think I got my money out of it but I can no longer give it 5 stars since I would expect it to a last a bit longer. I noticed all the bad reviews on evaporative coolers but having lived in a dry climate most of my life (Colorado), I can tell you this is a high quality EC and any decent EC will work fine if you follow a couple of rules. Please understand these are coming from people in non-humid climates or people who are in dry climates and don't understand how these work differently than ACs. TIP 1: Leave two windows cracked open for cross ventilation - This would be stupid if we were talking about AC's but if a EC is left running in a closed up house or room, it will make the room humid and not cool it down. You want to have dry (outdoor) air come in through the EC so it cools down the air and blows it through the room. When it cools the air down, it makes a little more humid than it was before so you also want a cross draft so the warm air and any humidity has a place to escape. I put my EC about a foot in front of a cracked window so it gets a fresh supply of dry air and I leave another window cracked open on the other side of the room so warm and humid air will escape. If it gets very hot outside I sometimes close the cracked windows until it gets a little too humid for my liking then open them again - this method works well for me but your milage may vary. TIP 2: Use ice water in the water reservoir - Putting ice and or cooling packs in the reservoir along with water will help keep the water cold which in turn make the EC work more efficiently. TIP 3: Clean your EC out occasionally - ECs will accumulate dust and dirt from the air so it if the air it's blowing out smells dusty or is causing allergies it probably just needs a good rinse. Fortunately this unit is very easy to clean. LIMITATION 1: Won't work if it's humid. Get an AC if you live in a humid climate. LIMITATION 2: Won't cool down 105ºF air down to 65ºF - No EC will do this or at least not in a reasonable amount of time. If you follow my tips though, you can get 105 degrees down to 78. ECs are cheaper, more efficient and better for the environment than AC's but definitely have their limitations. If evaporative coolers are right for you, this a is a good buy.

This is a great machine, I have recommended it to everyone I know. Here are some facts so you can see if it's right for you: 1) It cools the air. Enough so that if you point it at yourself you will get goosebumps. You can also use it as fan. It moves more air than a typical household fan. 2) It is only meant to cool 250 square feet which means it works wonders in our bedroom but in our living room it can cool down our sofa area but not the whole room. 3) It's louder than a fan but it's quieter than an idling truck. 4) Ridiculously easy to use, fill, and clean. 5) When you turn on the cooling element it will make a slight crinkling sound as water is sucked into the filter. That's normal. It also will decrease the fan speed if you have it on 3 (high) for a few minutes to get the cooling going and then will turn back to 3 (high) once it's cooled. Don't fiddle with it. 6) It has a timer that you can set in 30 minute intervals. The timer counts down in 30 minute intervals as well, which is a slight flaw in my opinion. 7) It doesn't oscillate. I'm not sure if any swamp coolers oscillate but it would have been so great if it did because it's too cold to have pointed directly at the bed continuously. 8) Lastly it works great in Colorado because of the arid environment (We're also somewhat high in elevation). It won't work as well in semi-arid or Mediterranean environments such as California (West of the Sierras).

I ordered three of these with hopes of trying to cool my home without having to purchase a/c units for my bedrooms. I reviewed the reviews and the product videos that were available but I decided to purchase the items from the Amazon Warehouse which are typically returns. Sometimes you can great items very cheap and simply because someone returned the item for one reason or another. Nonetheless, this item did not work for me at all because this item did not lower my temperature by 20 to 30 degrees and I used a lot of water. The tank is about a gallon and a half and will last about a good 6 hours but the water will not stay cold. It does not matter if you use the ice packs or ice, the ice will melt within 30 minutes if you add it to ice cold water. If you add just mostly ice, the ice will melt into water within 45 minutes. So this will not cool you off if you live in a hot and high humidity area. In all fairness, I did know this but was hoping that with my dry home that I could use this product and try to keep my energy bill low but it was a no go. I had to return all three of them and ultimately ordered three a/c units for my bedrooms since my central a/c barely reaches the bedroom level. I should note, that the Luma are quiet and nice looking but if the water pump does breaks which did happen to one of the units that I received, then it does become an expensive fan and who needs that when you want cold air?

Although it's smaller than I thought it would be, it's the best thing I've bought in a long time. Plenty of air, but not too loud. (Quieter than the box fan I had been using, but more air movement) The water reservoir lasts about 6-8 hours on high, and I stay plenty cool at night while I'm trying to sleep. It DOES, in fact, oscillate. Use the "Swing" feature and the outside vent spins to create "a vortex of cool air", but the head inside must be oscillating as well. You can tell when you're in front of it. Yes, you must live in a dry climate, which I do. Just south of Lubbock, Texas. It's been over 100 degrees here this week. My bedroom is around 70 with the Luma running. This room has a large bay window which doesn't open. I usually keep the door closed. Even so, it doesn't get too humid while I'm sleeping. I'm not a real fan of the "Mode" feature, which I had had on a previous fan. I don't want it changing speeds while I'm using it. That's just annoying! :) Haven't used the "Timer" mode either. When the cooler runs out of water in the reservoir, it automatically shuts off the cooler part and the fan keeps running. Awesome! The whole thing is light, has great wheels on the bottom to move it if you like and the reservoir is easy to get out and refill. I love it and am considering buying more for other parts of the house! Update: August 19, 2014 Here we are, over a year later, and I still LOVE this fan!! I saw one review that said the fan speed light on the front was too dim. Actually, it starts out bright, then dims, which is perfect when you're trying to sleep! I clean the reservoir with vinegar every couple of months and I put a capful of bleach in the water every night, to keep the "bugs" away. (I don't want ickies blowing across me!) Not too loud, great air movement and excellent cooling. I'm (still) glad I ponied up the money for this fan!

This product has promise, but the execution of the concept is poor. WATER TANK The most serious problems are those associated with the water tank. In this modern technological age, the current design is primitive.In particular, finding out how much water is in the tank is a frustrating experience under most circumstances. You have to look through the front of this plastic tank, which has a vertical scale on the front containing three markers: MIN, middle (no name), and MAX. Unless the direction of the light is just right, it is difficult to see the water level in relation to these three markers, particularly if the unit is sitting on the floor. In order to avoid this problem, there should be a water level indicator (an illuminated icon) in the front display area (which also shows the speed and whether or not It is highly desirable that this level be shown on the front display while the tank is in place but the unit is non-operational. It would still be necessary, however, for the user to pull out the tank sufficiently to be able to pour in water from an outside container, making sure not to over-fill, closing the tank, and then observing the indicator. If this level is not high enough, the tank must be opened, more water added, etc.; this procedure is repeated until enough water has been added. While this is a clumsy procedure at best, it is still much better than the procedure required in the current design. A second potential problem with this unit's design is the dripping that occurs from above while the water tank is removed for cleaning or outside filling, etc. If the cooling pad is not first dried out (by operating the fan without cooling/humidifying for several minutes), there will be profuse dripping onto the floor of the chamber that holds the water tank. Even if the cooling pad is dried out before the water tank is removed, there is still some dripping, which is on the chamber floor to stay. The extent of this problem (if it is indeed a problem) has not yet been determined. The only complete cure, of course, is either to mop up the dripped water before reinserting the water tank or to remove the water tank and allow the water to dry out in the room atmosphere. There appears to be no truly satisfactory solution for this nagging problem. Cleaning Frequent cleaning will be required unless the water is very soft. Otherwise, white crystallized deposits of calcium carbonate must be removed before they accumulate excessively. These deposits do not adhere to the plastic tank and are removed with relative ease, using a detergent solution. A superior removal method is to use an acidic solution, such as vinegar and water to dissolve the deposits, which can then be easily rinsed away. Cleaning is much easier if the plastic partioner (which is in place when received and is used with ice cubes or ice packs) is removed. There are nooks and crannys in the tank, which slow down the cleaning process. Tank cleaning is the secondary chore (in addition to filling) that is necessary with this particular cooler design. OPERATING TIME Of primary importance in using this evaporation cooler is the amount of time required to decrease the water level in the tank by a specific amount. The amount of time taken for the water level to drop from MAX to MIN is the primary factor of concern. Due to the nature of the design, this time is a function of both the fan speed and the relative humidity throughout the operating time. In a very dry environment, the water level will drop rapidly, along with a relatively high degree of cooling. The price paid for this degree of cooling is a shorter time period between two fixed levels. If the cooling effect is very high, this time may be as little as two hours. If the cooling effect is very small, as in a relatively humid environment, it can take more than six hours to drop the water level this same amount. In other words, there is an essential trade-off in an evaporative cooler between the degree of cooling and the humidity in the room in which the cooler is being operated. The rate of water use changes continually as the relative humidity of the incoming air to the cooler changes. In general, this rate of water usage will have to be determined experimentally. This is a frustrating fact of life, since there is no good way to control this rate or the degree of cooling that goes along with it; control of the humidity of the incoming air supply is normally impractical. This built-in relationship poses a particular problem when you want to sleep in a dry environment. With a potential emptying of this little water tank in as little as two hours, you are going to get very little uninterrupted sleep! Of course, you can always set your alarm to awaken you every two hours to refill the tank. And yes, 1.5 gallons IS a small tank, despite claims to the contrary by the designer. In summary, you should consider this essential design trade-off carefully before purchasing this cooler, if you must have cooling while you are sleeping in a very dry (or even moderately dry, such as 50% humidity) environment, unless you do not need uninterrupted sleep along with continuous cooling. Ironically, it is expected that the most satisfied purchaser of this product for use during sleeping will be by one who lives in a moderately humid environment and is willing to accept the lower degree of cooling that comes along with this humidity. DISPLAY DIMMING The display icons (speed, swing, cooling) are brightly illuminated when the unit is first turned on and readily visible in moderate room lighting. After a few seconds, however, these icons are dimmed to a point where they are difficult to read in moderate room lighting. This overly dim illumination remains until something is changed. The reason for this dimming is not addressed anywhere in the operational manual; its purpose is highly questionable. EXCESSIVE FAN SPEED? It would be desirable for the lowest speed to be reduced, since it is excessive when the purpose is spot cooling (or ventilation only) near the user. The current design is intended, at the lowest speed, to blow the air to the farthest reach of the unit's design. It would be desirable to add a fourth, lower speed. OWNER'S MANUAL This manual is generally well written in understandable English (i.e., there is no clue that this unit is made in China! -- in fact, China is not mentioned anywhere in this manual), although this does not excuse the fact that several of these instructions are dubious or unclear, if not worthless. Unclear: "thoroughly dry all of the cooler's parts with a soft cloth before before interconnecting the unit to the power supply." It should say: "thoroughly dry all of the cooler's surface areas with a soft cloth......" Dubious: "rinse it [the tank] in warm water and light detergent solution." A detergent solution will have no effect upon calcium deposits from hard water. Worthless: "empty the water tank after the evaporative cooler has been in use." Since use means different things to different users, such an instruction is worthless as a general guide. Etc., etc. A phone number is listed for product support. This turns out to be the Luma Comfort office in Orange, California. What you are not told is that the distribution of this item is from the U.S. importer, the Newair Company in Santa Ana, California. No matter who sells you this unit, it will be delivered from Newair's warehouse. Keep this in mind, since these matters become important if and when you decide to return the unit. If you do, you will likely encounter some frustrating entanglements in returning a defective unit for a replacement. The manual claims that there is a ten second audible alert if the water tank level drops below the minimum level. If the room is deathly silent and your hearing is accute, you can hear a high-pitched beeping over this time interval. In the expected type of room noise environment or louder, this beeping is inaudible. There is no reason to incorporate such an "alert" in the design. The manual makes the false claim that the filter at the back of the unit eliminates airborne dust particles. This is a coarse-mesh filter, whose purpose is simply to prevent particles (far larger than dust) in the air from clogging the cooling pad just behind this filter. If you want to cleanse the air of dust, get a genuine air cleaner, such as the AustinAir Healthmate. The Troubleshooting section of this manual lists a Problem: "The full tank indicator turns on when there is still enough water in the tank." As I suggested earlier, there needs to be a water-level indicator. This erroneous statement indicates that some attempt was to made to incorporate a water-level indication was made but later abandoned, for one reason or another, while this section of the manual was not deleted along with the abandonment. This section of the manual may have been retained in the interest of Wishful Thinking -- or sloppiness -- or cost in altering the manual. Whatever the reason, it was a bad idea to keep it around, where those who insist upon reading the manual (a small minority, no doubt) will discover it. Also imaginary is the Possible Solution to this Problem: "Clean the water pump by wiping it down with a damp cloth or try rinsing it with a water and vinegar solution." Even if there were a water-level indicator, the water pump is not accessible to the user; nor is there even a picture of this pump anywhere in the manual. Perhaps this imaginary problem, along with its imaginary solution, is the famed Chinese water-pump torture. REMOTE CONTROL This is a very small remote control with very large buttons and is hence easy to use, even in the dark. However, replacing the battery is vexing, due to the fact that the drawer which contains the battery cannot be opened by following the undecipherable instructions printed on a label attached to the remote. This remote needs to be redesigned to make battery replacement a simple process, rather than having to resort to trial and error, push and pull, until that little drawer gives up and opens! MODE In he automatic-air-flow mode, the noise made by the continual changing of speed is very distracting which, in itself, is likely to discourage the use of this mode. Furthermore, the sleep mode is quite unlikely to be of value to many users since, as discussed above, the current water tank is too small to permit uninterrupted cooling in a dry climate for six hours (a marginal night's sleep), much less for eight hours (a good night's sleep). Hence the sleep mode can be readily eliminated, considering its lack of practicality. COOLING PAD There are foreseeable problems with the cooling pad after some weeks of use with hard water, which contains calcium carbonate that crystallizes when the water is evaporated. The cooling pad will probably have to be removed frequently and cleaned with an acidic solution of some sort -- such as vinegar. The instruction manual makes no mention of the frequency of cooling pad cleaning required for hard water. This could well be an unduly burdensome maintenance chore, aside from the mounting expense of vinegar with very frequent cleaning. ODDS AND ENDS The handles near the top of the unit are poorly designed; they should be curved for a comfortable finger grip. The power cord is too short. It should be at least three feet longer. The value of the timer, as it is currently constituted, is questionable. It would be much better if both the time interval as the timer is counting down and the time that this interval begins are settable. CONCLUSION Despite the limitations imposed by the design which uses a manually filled water tank, there is much to like about this elementary swamp cooler, which uses an excellent fan for evaporating the water from a plastic honeycombed cooling pad that is kept moist by water pumped out of the tank. Depending upon the temperature and humidity environment, you may choose to use the fan without cooling and humidification. In particular, the oscillation of the airflow is excellent, without any externally rotating parts. Yet the design of this unit could be considerably improved, which of course would mean a price increase, perhaps a substantial one. To many users, myself included, such an improvement would be well worth the price. This cooler design is a good start to the problem of providing cooling without refrigeration, but more needs to be done to achieve a practical design with a minimum of frustration. A new model should be added to the line of evaporative coolers, with primary focus upon the design of an electronic water-level indicator and secondary focus upon incorporating a larger water tank, in order to decrease the frequency of having to refill the water tank. At the very minimum, the Owner's manual seems to be begging for an upgrade above its current amateur level, including more truthfulness and less wishful thinking. Above all else, there should be a simple presentation of the principles of evaporative cooling, prepared by an expert rather than an amateur believer; i.e., the "why" in addition to the "how." If half-star ratings were possible, I would now give this cooler two and one-half stars, rather than the two stars among the permissible choices. Luma Comfort EC110S Portable Evaporative Cooler with 250 Square Foot Cooling, 500 CFM Luma Comfort EC110S Portable Evaporative Cooler with 250 Square Foot Cooling, 500 CFM

I was facing another broiling summer in Northern California. I had had another swamp cooler that was a gift from a friend, who bought it at Costco. it worked weel enough for a few seasons, but had some features that were corrected for me buy is wonderful device. my old one didn't have a removable water container, you had to pull out this little door in front of the machine and try not to spill water everywhere as you filled it. I ended up using my watering can to achieve this litte chore, but it took ages to fill. This little guy is not only good-looking enough for the living room, but it really light weight without the water and can easily be moved around to give you cooling wherever you are. It is electronic and has several nifty features, like the 'Swing' mode, which engages this fan to turn, distributing the cool air in a wider arc. it has three speeds and modes for night which causes the fan to cycle through different speeds so that it uses the weather more efficiently, so that you don't have to get up in the middleofmthe. Ight to refill the basin, something I had to do with my first swamp cooler. If you live in a dry environment, like I do, you'll love this machine. Easy set up, with well-marked buttons that allow you to get it going right away. the addition of water can do great things for your health, not just cool you off. It can improve your breathing, your skin and hair. we humans like being watery, it seems. t also is good for your entire home, indoor plants and your wood floors will love this, too. Really, there is no reason not to buy this terrific device. it does what you need at a very reasonable price. I would recommend it to all my friends, in fact, already have.

What an amazing product! It cools great and has amazing air flow. I use this product in a much bigger space than it recommends, and it still works great! I also live in a pretty dry climate so the added moisture in the air is lovely! If you live in a climate with any sort of humidity, this is not the product for you. In dry, hot climates, it's the cat's meow!

Unit works great. Very easy to fill the water container at the back. It runs all day at a reasonable setting (on the palm tree breeze setting goes thru low and medium fan speeds to simulate sitting outside in a breeze). Has a remote and a timer. Can set for sleep mode where it eventually turns itself off. My office is usually not comfortable but with this little unit quietly flowing air past me I am able to be happier and work longer. Temperatures here have not been off the charts, just 80 degrees. I have not used the ice packs (supplied) but that of course would make the office feel cooler. This is not an ac unit. You need a window or 2 open for it to work as intended. Totally happy. Would have one at home if my wife didn't hate mechanised devices blowing air at her :*)

It worked for a year and then the pump[ needed replacing, we received one and paid the shipping charge. It worked for 2 weeks and then went again. We paid full price for this item and it is not worth it.

Cools the area nicely! Added ice packs for extra cooling. Only this is not a Luma, it is a New Air, still works well. Also it is not 500sqft, only 250sqft. Just to be noted

It cools down the room by a few degrees on a hot day, which is exactly what I was looking for. It's not nearly as effective at cooling as a regular air conditioner, but I was expecting that. It's an evaporative cooler, not an air conditioner; anyone looking to purchase it should research and clearly understand the difference between the two types of appliances. The only problem I have with it is that the water tank is quite small. It doesn't hold enough water to last a whole day. If I fill it up in the morning and turn it on maximum, by the time I get home from work it will be out of water and will have reverted to being a regular fan. The water tank should have been twice the size that it is.