Air Conditioner Scam!

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is...

Hey Mike,

I recently saw this advert on Facebook and wonder if it might be a replacement for my power hungry RV air conditioner. I’m often camped far away from any electric power and depend on my generator to run my air conditioner. But gasoline is too expensive. Will this save me money? What do you think? - Lorraine

Hey Lorraine,

I get these Facebook promotions as well. Sounds interesting doesn’t it? According to the ads these little boxes will replace the expensive noisy A/C unit in your bricks & sticks house or RV. But is it real, or is it a scam to separate you from your money?

It’s a SCAM!

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! The laws of thermodynamics can’t be broken, and it takes significant energy to move heat out of a room with a traditional air conditioner.

This unit in the ad is basically a tiny evaporative air cooler (often called a swamp cooler” which works by evaporating water to create cooler air. But as the name implies it’s not a lot different than splashing water on yourself and standing in front of a fan.

My wife has a few of these cheap spray bottles with an attached fan which works pretty well at the beach or while sitting outside while camping. But we would never use them inside of a house or RV where the extra moisture can cause mold, or in a high humidity environment where you’ll be creating a “swamp”.

No, evaporative coolers won’t replace your RV A/C unit

Don’t waste your money on these scams. There are a few new RV air conditioners that use significantly less energy than the stock unit that came with your RV camper. But they do cost a lot more than your existing A/C, which is why the RV manufacturers won’t spend the extra money. How about I do a review on these new products next week?

Let’s play safe (and stay cool) out there… Mike