You can buy a decent small window air conditioner for as little as $140, as we found in our (available to ). Or you can spend more than twice that amount—$298—for the (shown), which promises to cool an average-sized room 'up to ten degrees' using the same energy as a 60-watt lightbulb. (Watch our exclusive video, below.) The Cool Surge might sound appealing when you consider the roughly 500 watts needed to run even a small. Ohio-based Fridge Electric LLC, which markets the Cool Surge, has even offered a two-for-one deal in full-page ads in The New York Times and other newspapers. But our tests show that when it comes to cooling a room, the Cool Surge is likely to disappoint you at any price.
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The Cool Surge is essentially an (also known as a swamp cooler) that bases its cooling claims on a concept thousands of years old. The unit's reservoir holds about a gallon of water and two reusable ice packs like the kind that go into lunch boxes and picnic baskets. The chilled water wets a curtain inside, and a fan moves air through it much the way a breeze would blow air through moistened fabric centuries ago. No compressor, no condenser, no refrigerant gas.
![Portable Portable](/uploads/1/2/5/5/125516802/501381983.jpg)
Could that ancient principle cut it in today's 'average' room? Consumer Reports tested two samples of the Cool Surge in the same lab we use to test air conditioners. At just over 200 square feet, our test room is actually a tad smaller than the roughly 227-square-foot living room in a typical new home, and, therefore, should be easier to cool. We controlled conditions around the room to simulate an 85°F dry summer day with a relative humidity of just 57 percent. As we found, the phrase 'up to' in Cool Surge's cooling claims does some heavy lifting: Our string of sensors showed the device failed to appreciably lower the room's overall temperature during a four-hour test. We also tested the Cool Surge at an even drier, desertlike setting of 25 percent relative humidity, again, at 85°F. Even in these conditions, which are suitable for an evaporative cooler, we measured a mere 2 degrees of cooling during the four-hour test.
Because of its negligible cooling in our tests, we've given the Cool Surge portable air cooler our Don't Buy: Performance Problem judgment. (The Cool Surge has a built-in heater with a faux fireplace; we didn't test its heater nor did we test this product for safety.) Confusing pricing policies and complaints about companies associated with Cool Surge also left us cold. The Cool Surge debuted in 2008 and was originally promoted by Universal TechTronics. The same company is a division of Heat Surge, which markets the —also known as the Amish heater—and pushed a that ultimately cost nearly $100 when you added in the mandatory warranty and shipping and handling fees.
We ordered the two Cool Surge units that we evaluated online and paid $298 for each, with no shipping charge. But when we later called the Web site's order line anonymously, we were told we'd have to pay $49 per unit for shipping, or nearly $100 if we had opted for the company's two-for-one offer. Another call using a different number listed in a Cool Surge newspaper ad yielded yet another price of $148 per unit—plus $49 shipping—for versions with 'slight cosmetic damages.' The two-for-one offer had apparently ended.
The Better Business Bureau warned consumers about Universal TechTronics' 'misleading advertising campaign' for the DTV converter and gave the company an unsatisfactory rating based on its pattern of complaints. While the BBB says it has no complaints against Fridge Electric LLC, that company shares the same Canton, Ohio, address as Heat Surge. A label on the Cool Surge units we evaluated referred to both Universal TechTronics and Heat Surge (shown). And when we checked the box, it listed all three names: Universal TechTronics, Heat Surge—and Fridge Electric. We found no problems with the Amish heater in our evaluations earlier this year. But our research found that the Ohio Attorney General's Office had 55 complaints against Heat Surge that included the product and its marketer. Bottom line: if you want to cool a room; click here for the latest Ratings (available to subscribers).
Or consider a fan if you want to save energy and feel cool from the blowing breeze; 20-inch models cost as little as $20 and use roughly 80 watts on their low setting—barely more than the 73 watts we measured for the Cool Surge on high. —Bob Markovich and Tod Marks.
Just in time for our first warm day in a while, today's Star Tribune had an ad from the Universal Media Syndicate for something called Mira-Cool. As it's described in the ad, it sounds indistinguishable from the Cool Surges they were marketing last year, which. Even better, in 2009 that concluded, 'Because of its negligible cooling in our tests, we've given the Cool Surge portable air cooler our Don't Buy: Performance Problem judgment.' What was the test CR put it to? Here are the details: We controlled conditions around a 200-square-foot room to simulate an 85°F dry summer day with a relative humidity of just 57 percent.Our string of sensors showed the device failed to appreciably lower the room's overall temperature during a four-hour test. We also tested the Cool Surge at an even drier, desertlike setting of 25 percent relative humidity, again, at 85°F.
Even in these conditions, which are suitable for an evaporative cooler, we measured a mere 2 degrees of cooling during the four-hour test.Of course, I don't know that the Mira-Cool is the same exact machine inside as Cool Surge. Here are the similarities, based on the generalities available in the two ads.
Cool Surge 'uses about 96% less electricity than air conditioners.' Mira-Cool 'uses 95% less electricity.' .
Both promote the idea of 'ice cooled air' (no hyphen), courtesy of two reusable ice blocks that are included. (Just like the kind you'd put in a picnic cooler. You have to keep refreezing them in your freezer every four hours, a detail not provided in the ad).
Both ads have quotes from an Operations Director named Chris Gallo or Christopher Gallow. What's up with the spelling change?. It's even the same price - $298 plus shipping, and you get a second one for free (except the shipping, which I understand from Consumer Reports and other sources runs about $50 per unit).
![Cool Surge Portable Air Cooler Cs 100 Manual Cool Surge Portable Air Cooler Cs 100 Manual](/uploads/1/2/5/5/125516802/446807782.jpg)
From looking at the two ads, it's clear that at least the outer shells of the two coolers are different, although they appear to be the same dimensions. It will take another review by Consumer Reports to find out if the Mira-Cool performs any better than Cool Surge.
Amusingly, the four photos across the bottom of the two ads are identical. Except they're not the same photos. Instead, the photos have been reshot with the same content:. An older woman with her cooler, holding up some type of certificate or bill or something. It's even the same document, with a big red triangle in the upper right corner.just not the same woman. (They've given her a dog in the Mira-Cool ad. Nice touch, there.).
A young girl rolling the cooler from left to right through a doorway. A family with mom, dad, two boys, and one girl playing a board game. A woman sleeping in a darkened room while the cooler looms over her. Repackaging the ad, repackaging the product. I wonder why? Didn't they build up any brand equity in the Cool Surge name last year?
One difference between the two ads: I didn't notice any claims about Mira-Cool being 'eco-friendly,' unlike last year's Cool Surge ad. Here's a about the Universal Media Syndicate, its many products, and its parent company, Arthur Middleton Capital Holdings. I just purchased two of them over the phone without looking at the reviews. The ad was printed in a way that is definitely misleading!!!
I thought it was an official announcement from the city but apparently I was all wrong. This is in fact a scam and I can’t believe I had fallen for it – spending $400 on two fan-like machines that should cost no more than $50. I am calling them to cancel the order tomorrow and if they don’t process a refund, I’ll file a complaint against them. Thinking about it makes me furious.
I hope this comment can save some of you from being ripped off. Thanks for the heads up.I was taken in as well.I saw the ad in Metro newspaper in Bklyn, NY, also a two page ad.I was tired and didn't do my usual research. While on the phone, I also started was offered the discounted price on One MIRA-COOL and was told that they had a number of units with 'cosmetic blemishes' and couldn't sell them at full price and for two payments of $98.50 could order one. The original price was $149 but they added the shipping. I Googled Mira-Cool and instantly regretted my decision! All of the reviews were pointing to a Bad Buy. My first payment is pending from my bank so I cannot cancel until tomorrow.
The good news is, I have a customer service number, my confirmation number and the unit won't ship until Sept. 17 so I should be able to cancel my order Tomorrow. I will post on my FB Page Not to buy this product! Thanks again Trish!.
The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things by Barry Glassner. Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives by Michael Specter. Eaarth by Bill McKibben. Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer.
Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask by Anton Treuer. Just Food by James E. McWilliams. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver. Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen. Manufacturing Depression by Gary Greenberg.
The Price of Civilization: Reawakening American Virtue and Prosperity by Jeffrey Sachs. Rembrandt's Eyes by Simon Schama. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. The Unidentified by Rae Mariz.
The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home by Dan Ariely. Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson. Where Our Food Comes From: Retracing Nikolay Vavilov's Quest to End Famine by Gary Nabhan. The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan.