Review of personal coolers.

My first trip in the caravan was in warm weather with 44 degrees in the van and 42 outside. I sought a little relief and headed to the nearest hardware store and got the Companion USB mini evaporative cooler. This wasnt much better than LeSquirt (laundry sprayer) and cost over $100.

Further more, the unit runs off a lead-acid battery which should be regularly charged.

LeSquirt ($5 - $15) did a good job and works better with a thin T-shirt on (sorry fellows no topless women around) as the T-shirt acts similarly to the old Hessian water bag. LeSquirt can be enhanced with a battery fan but you need to have a good relationship with the battery store as you are going to use a few. Next was the construction of a Esky cooler (25L) filled with a bag of ice. This worked quietly with a USB fan from Cheap As Chips ($10) powered by a solar charged lithium power pack. The ice and the power pack will work for many hours. A 90 degree elbow (75mm PVC from Bunnings) enabled the cool air to be directed and it measured 3 degrees cooler than surrounding air. I think this cooling effect would be independent of the humidity. I couldnt resist the TransCool as it comes in cute box with handle with two adjustable 45mm outlets. However, as many have mentioned, it isnt going to do much in humid air and it IS rather noisy quite noisy!!. I got a 3 degree temperature drop with it running on half-speed (not as cool on a higher speed). Remember, evaporative coolers are dependent on; the quantity of air passing through and the rate of evaporation. All personal coolers are poor in this respect. So, the order of bang-for-the-dollar is; LeSquirt (sans fan), Esky cooler ($50 for materials), TransCool ($280) and the Companion Evaporative ($120 or so). The last two have questionable effectiveness especially in humid air. All are personal coolers and cannot be considered as a air-conditioner.