What could be more powerful than an air conditioner that runs on flashlight batteries?
September 3, 2009 2 Comments Dick’s Gadget Warehouse Friday, September 4th, 2009, Netcast 910
I put the mouse in the photo so you can see how massive this "Air Conditioner" is!I have two mail order “portable air conditioners” in Dick’s Gadget Warehouse. The Cool Wagen and the Port-Air-Conditioner. To call these battery-operated toys “Air Conditioners” is really a joke. They hardly work well as a fan! The object here was to fill the top of each unit with water. Then as the water ran down little tubes in front of the fan it was supposed to create “chilling” air. It didn’t. It often did leak however, so you had a nice puddle of water on your desk! Also battery life was fairly dismal, so it didn’t cost “pennies a day”. Replacing 4 D batteries every couple of days was not “cheap”. If you heard this Netcast (you can hear it at the link below) I held the Cool Wagen up to the microphone, so you can hear for yourself that it was far from silent, or even quiet, when running. About 20 minutes of that noise and I’m sure you would shut it off. But then again, I guess that would save power! Also the artists who helped create the printed ads for these crappy devices would add their own touches to make them seem grander than they were. In the ad, one unit has a “Master Control” panel shown. There is no such control on the actual product. Some 25 years ago they cost about $10 each plus $5.95 for shipping. Yes the shipping raised the price by about 60%. In today’s money, they would cost about $25 to $30. A rip-off then, and it still would be one today! But people today are a lot smarter about shopping.
Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw910
Reader Comments (2)
OMG! I used to have one of those! In fact, it led me to create an 'evaporative cooler' for a car I had that didn't have A/C. Since I live in Tucson, AZ, some kind of cooling is an absolute necessity during the summer. (BTW, the correct term for such a device IS 'evaporative cooler')
J/P=?
Hay Dick,
Check out the USB powered modern incarnation!
http://www.myhandycooler.com/Handy_cooler/Intro._Personal_cooling_fan__personal_air_conditioner__personal_air_cooler..html