Recently I moved into a new office which doesn’t have AC.
While it’s not too hot most of the year, when it’s hot, I need to cool it down.
It’s a small space; only 450 sq. ft. so I thought I’d give the Blaux Portable Destop “AC” a shot.
FYI, it’s not an air conditioner. It’s really a swamp cooler.
So I ordered one online for around $90.
I waited.
And waited.
And waited.
5 weeks or something like that later (I stopped keeping track), it arrived.
By this time I had gone out and bought a portable air conditioner but I thought I’d give this swamp cooler a try. A swamp cooler, aka evaporative technology, is a cooling device via air moving through something wet. With Blaux, air is passed through an ice tray and then water-soaked sponge.
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Overview
It barely works.
Okay, it blows some cold air at you on the desk but it won’t cool down an entire room (or RV). Not even close.
I guess this is why they offer packages of multiple units. I would need 20 of these things in my 450 sq. ft. office to cool it down.
That’s not the worst of it.
The worst thing is you have to load in an ice tray. You fill up a tiny tray with water and then freeze it.
Guess How Long Until the Ice Melted and It Stopped Cooling?
The ice tray had fully melted within 50 minutes and it wasn’t even 90 degrees f. in my office.
This means that every 50 minutes (if lucky) you need to swap out the other ice tray, fill up the empty and start again.
If you have tons of these things in your room, you end spending your entire day swapping out ice trays.
Surely you have something better to do with your time.
I sure do.
After one go-around, I ditched the Blaux portable desktop swamp cooler and fired up my awesome Arctic King portable air conditioner. Within 15 minutes my office was nicely chilled. I didn’t have to swap out ice trays.
I can tell you have a new respect for my real AC.
Should You Buy the Blaux Portable Swamp Cooler?
No, don’t bother buying the Blaux portable “AC” unless you merely want a little cool air blown on your face at the desk. This it does. Don’t count on it actually cooling a room.
My Arctic King AC cost around $250. The Blaux swamp cooler cost around $90. I’d rather spend $250 on something that actually cools a room than $90 that blows a little cold air on my face for fifty minutes.
How Does the Blaux Air Conditioner Work?
I do have to hand it to Blaux in that they attempted to take an effective cooling system (swamp cooler concept) and make it better by adding an ice element along with a water shield.
Where I think the device falls flat is it’s too small to provide any real cooling relief.
It only takes a minute to figure out, but you do need to freeze the ice tray first. That said, if you use just the water shield, it does blow cooler air but not as cool as when you include the ice tray.
Here are my photos:
Here’s a photo with the lid off. The clear tray at rear is the ice tray. The blue thing is the water shield.
The clear tray is the ice tray. Air is blown through it. When there’s ice in it (just put it in the freezer) it cools the air. It’s smart, but the ice doesn’t last very long (50 minutes for me).
Here’s a close-up photo of the Blaux water shield. It’s like a sponge. I just ran it under a faucet until it was full. I inserted it into the designated area. This alone with cool the air but the ice tray helps.
What’s the Power Source?
It comes with a USB plug that you plug into a USB port. I guess that makes sense for a desktop cooling system. If you have a USB to outlet converter, you could plug it into a wall outlet.
How Many Ice Trays Does the Blaux Come With?
You get two trays which is good. The water in a tray freezes faster than it melts in the cooler so you won’t be without ice. The problem is you’re constantly swapping out an ice tray.
Does It Fit on a Desk?
Yes, it’s not very big. The image at the very top of this review shows the Blaux on my desk directly in front of me. Don’t be fooled by the blue glow – that’s LED lighting – not ice cold air haha.
Where Does the Melted Water From the Ice Tray Go?
There’s a small tray at the bottom that catches the melted water. It works perfectly well but you also need to empty this after every tray melt otherwise it will overflow causing problems.
This is one high-maintenance cooling system that merely blows some cool air on your face.
Does the Blaux Cool Down a Room, Car or RV?
I doubt it. Unless you have it one to two feet in front of your face, you won’t notice it. It won’t cool a car down and certainly not an RV.
Can the Blaux Be Used Outside?
Sure, but you won’t notice it. If it can’t cool down a room or car, it’s certainly not going to provide any cooling relief outside.
Conclusion
For what this does, which is blow some cold air on your face for 50 minutes until the ice tray melts, this is NOT worth the money.
Save your money and buy a real AC.
Is the Blaux a Scam?
Not really. It actually works but it just doesn’t cool down much space. I think the website should be a lot more clear that it will not cool down an entire room. In that sense it’s a scam but it does actually work – it’s just not terribly effective.
Why Do So Many Sites Give the Blaux Portable AC Such a Great Review?
I don’t know for sure but I suspect it’s because Blaux has a very generous affiliate program. What this means is that visitors to those sites who click a link and buy a Blaux, those site owners receive a percentage of the purchase price.
We do some affiliate promotions as well, but their restricted to products we like. Since I can’t recommend Blaux, there are no links in this Blaux review whatsoever.