InstaChill Portable Air Cooler
Verified159 reviews
Mutton dressed up as lamb – I was on the phone this morning going to buy an Instachill. Then after waiting I gave up. Then I thought, "Y'know, I should check it out before I pay for one". Hell...I'm d#mn glad I did 'check it out'. On TV you'd think this was the best thing since sliced bread. But by the reviews, no-one has got a good word to say about it. I'm glad I'm… Read more
sticking to my policy of "never" buying anything that's on an info-mercial. I'll go to HN's and get a decent air conditioner. And if there's a break-down etc. I won't have to turn myself inside out trying to get it fixed and putting up with all the PR nonsense, excuse-making, and sliding sideways, that this crew specialize in. No Deal, on this piece of trash. And please Instachill, none of the smarmy follow up trash. Very insincere, and very suspicious, IMO.
Please please save your money and do not buy this. I thought it was going to be bad but it’s worse than bad so fool me. Get a $4 hand held spray bottle from Kmart. This is pointless . If I could give it Zero I would . Absolute trash Show details
Arrived promptly and visually attractive, sleek unit. Once set up expected what I saw advertised on T.V. So disappointing! Absolutely useless, a simple $20 pedestal fan is more effective. I wasted $300 and my time,all this cold water and icecubes and no difference. Useless in humidity which was definitely NOT on the ad when I saw it (December… Read more
2025). Total false advertising. Will never buy from this rip off company ever again. If you return within 30 days it costs you $100 ($50 for initial delivery and another $50 return postage). Save your money buy a proper air conditioner and if you cannot afford it just get a $20 fan. Sick of people in effect just stealing my money. Learn from my mistake. Do not buy from this company TV Shop any products.
Reviews with attachments
Perfect, works great, does what it says – I am not sure why all of the reviews are bad. Honestly, it works the way it is designed. It has a special design compared to other market brands. It has 4 pads, not 1. And the pad is huge and thick. And the fan, is extremely strong, like a commercial grade fan. If the fan isn't strong it cannot cool the room during high humidity level. I bought… Read more · 1
the units second-hand so I am extremely happy with them. The noise is ok for me as I understand that it is the only way to be. Still better than that of portable air conditioner. I found this product to be excellent and very cheap compared to a fixed system on the roof, which costs a lot more and requires maintenance. If you want a perfect solution, pay for split system, which is a lot more expensive to install and to run. This product has done the best it can be already. There are advantages and disadvantages of evaporative coolers. If you want it colder, you need to put ice constantly and open the window a bit so the humid air can be replaced by dry air. Costs $3c an hour to run in Melbourne Australia. This is an amazing product, a miniature of rooftop evaporative system.
Positive reviews
Exhausting or a blowing howling chilled out machine – Cathy. Maybe there is a little bit of banging around in my aircond because a critter has made it's nest in it. Banging around and all sorts of frightening sounds like the fan is slicing and dicing. But I heard it running around my back porch the other night. Phew!!! I said to myself. It's still alive. The parrots are chewing the wood near the air… Read more
cond and maybe it is that. Anyway we have a air fan and it is taking its place on the table. It is fan tastic.
Love mine ♥️ – I don't understand why everyone is complaining ?? - I purchased 2 second-hand ( one brand new in box and the other had been unpacked but not used) - I paid $200 each I live west of Brisbane - very hot here today !! Im using instachill in my bedroom and it actually got so cold I needed to turn it down to lowest setting - it does have water in it,… Read more · 1
which I agree it needs on very hot days, but others days works well without water - my only minor complaint is that it is loud but I have no problems living with that if it keeps me cool
Not using water – Why would my instachill not be uaing water. I ha e cleaned all the filters but this has not made a difference. The water level does not seem to be going down Show details · 1
Negative reviews
Poor quality , very disappointing – I purchased 4, when I contacted them to state it was noisy and DID NOT cool down the room I was told someone would contact me , by the time that happened my 30 day money back guarantee expired , they offered me a discount on a better upgrade but refused to refund or take back the 4 I purchased ! Definitely not worth the money , cheaper and cooler and less noise with a fan
Insta chill False Advertising – This insta chill does not work as they state on Tv, it does not cool the whole room or kitchen whilst cooling, if unsatisfied they will charge you for postage and handling at $50.00 to the dissatisfied customers cost.. You must be sitting right in front of the unit, but the rest of the room does not cool down as they state on TV. The ice draw is… Read more
that small, had trouble putting normal size ice into the draw. I rang to complain on the Friday I was meant to get a call back on Monday or Tuesday which did not happen as they were trying to make sure that the 30dy return policy would lapse..I bought this believing what they said on TV and I would say it is complete false Advertising. If they charge me the $50.00 for postage and handling I'll take it further and be letting A Current Affair know and I guess I'll get a lawyer for the $50.00 and the False Advertising...
i found the best way to get this product work use ice block – i found for best performance to have it mounted up next to an open window on a chair or somthing do not have widow shut as it will not work at all. put ice block in it o get a cooling affect a lot of work for little benafit i cant recommend this product Show details
Recent reviews
VERY DISAPPOINTED – Does NOT cool air as advertised on TV. It is noisy, and just blows the hot air in the room. Customer Service told me to unscrew the back and put a frozen bottle of water in the back! That is not how it’s advertised on TV. The advertisement on TV shows it produces instant cold air like an air con but far from it. I bought 2 Units and one is still… Read more
in box never used but they won’t take it back claiming it’s outside the trail period. Of course they won’t take it back as they are lucky they sold it in the first place. WASTE of MONEY. I’ll make complaint to Fair Trading to see if they can assist as I was sold a Unit that does NOT perform as advertised on TV. With all the BAD reviews I hope the Consumer Watchdog will look into this so more people don’t get ripped off. VERY DISAPPOINTED AS DOES NOT PRODUCE COLD AIR TO COOL ROOM AS ADVERTISED ON TV.I had to give it a Star review for my review to be accepted but this product does not deserve even one Star
Don't work when it's humid, simple science – The InstaChill is just a reincarnation of the hopeless evaporative air fans that were common in the 80s and 90s before real air con became affordable. They work on the principle that air can usually take up more moisture from a surface (in this case a water pad) which cools the air. However in humid conditions the air can't take up more… Read more
moisture so the device doesn't work. Generally these devices don't work East of the Dividing Range but can be effective in dry places like Alice Springs or Broken Hill. They probably work to some extent in Victoria or parts of South Australia but for the likes of NSW and QLD, forget it.
I don't own one but like many people 25 years ago I had a couple of the old style "coolers" and they all failed miserably during heatwaves.
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Instachill inside an air conditioned Shopping Centre – Their demonstration in an air conditioned shopping centre is a joke. Of course it’s cold inside any shopping centre. Fake and incredibly false advertising Show details
Aircond is the answer – Gidday cobbers. I read the reviews and I have something to say. I worked on water coolers for years in factories and houses. Is not air cond and you will be disappointed in the air cold and humidity that works well when you understand how humidity is your friend and how to use iced water. Buy an air conditioner if you want cold air. Humid coolers… Read more
I call them lowers the heat by 10 degrees in decreasing degrees above 26 in Australia. 30 degrees lowers to 25. 35 useless. In the US 105 F down to 65 or 68 F is a big relief.The bigger the system the better cooling down it is. High humidity in NSW is better to use dehumidifier to use humidity to cool your house down but eventually this won't cool down when the moisture in the house is sucked out of the air. So then turn the setting to aircond. I hope this helps.
Extremely disappointed – This is completely a waste of money, does not cool anything only circulates the air even though Im using in a small room, noisy and I specifically asked do I have to add water to the unit and was told by the consultant -NO! What a load of false advertising and TV hype. Save your money and buy a decent air conditioner, dont waste your hard earned… Read more
dollars on this unit, I cant imagine why its discontinued, but the TV advertising is still spouting how good this unit is.
This thing is so bad!!! – Does not work. Generates a lot of humidity, which means you've got to keep the windows open. Extremely noisy even on lowest setting. Tried it in home office, but can't even use the phone as its too noisy. Just blows hot humid air. don't wast your money. Don't trust the new models, they change the model number sticker, but its exactly the same… Read more
machine. Hard to fill, needs around 10 liters of water and if you move it around it spills all over the floor.
Wont cool anything – As mentioned by other reviewer, this unit is effectively a miniature evaporative cooling system inside your room. Evaporative cooling requires little to no humidity and a constant breeze, thats why home evaporative cooling systems are high up on the roof of houses. How can you replicate that environment inside a room. You would have to strap it… Read more
to an open window on days that are windy and hot for it to ever work. It would need to suck in the air with a fan and then blow it on a different fan system for it to remotely work. The ad shows heaters blowing in hot air so that replicated the outside hot windy day. It can't possibly work in humid environments/states such as Queensland. Its scientifically and technically impossible for these types of units to work in a room unless there is dry hot air blowing into the unit to evaporate the air in the pads. Its just a noisy as hell fan so yeah invest in a decent fan (not the cheap $20 ones from Coles/Woolies/Kmart) and buy a decent $100 fan from Bunnings instead. A fan will work better evaporating the sweat off of your body than using this unit. DO NOT BUY.
Do not purchase – It's the same as a 90.00 unit ,nothing special,we bought 4 of them do not waste your time or your $1700 dollars for 4 thankyou it's just a wind blowing machine , $50 bucks a pop .....
Noisy waste of money – If it only worked like the ad, the fan is noisy having it on during the night isn't an option as you can hear it even when it's in a different room of the house, and that's on low not high which is worse. When it is hot in the house this unit does nothing to help, A pedestal fan is just as good if not better and alot cheaper. Biggest waste of money better to save up for a split system Show details
Noise levels off the charts – Would leave 0 stars if I could. Putting cold water in and having it going directly on me is fine. But the noise is just off the charts. No way you can sleep at night with it even on low in your bedroom. Totally misleading ad. Wish I could get my money back but it's too late now Show details
Does NOT meet t.v add expectations – A pedestal fan blows cold air too if the air is cold, and is better value than this noisy air blower. Chill should NOT be in the product name. It DOES NOT cool down the room, it DOES NOT feel like an ice bath.DO NOT BUY unless you like wasting large sums of money and enjoy being disappointed. I also wish I had read these reviews before ordering.… Read more
Its gunna cost a fortune to send it back, so i feel as though I'm stuck with this dodgey product. The add is so misleading and I cant believe I fell for it. DISAPPOINTED is an understatement. Surely there is a law against such false advertising.So far it has handled being on constantly,changing the settings doesnt do much at all. On stinking hot days, it has not cooled the air, filling it up with chilled water doesnt even cool the air down. You have to sit directly in front of it to even feel the air blow. It is nothing like an air conditioner.the cool setting is not cool.
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Turn your house damp and musty – Don't waste your money all this product will do is turn your house into a damp musty and smelly and also creates mould and fungus to thrive be warned if you don't believe me try a $60 one from cheap as chips James Cherney is full of . you guesst it I can't put the emoji in Show details
Garbage – The demo is in a studio airconditioned at 24C. This cooler was amazing and the temp blowing was 24C. Imagine the temp being 40C. You guessed it, the temp will be 40C. Perfect for any situation. Show details
Don’t be fooled people. This is an evaporative cooler (they have been around for years) and are useless – Don’t be fooled people. This is an evaporative cooler (they have been around for years) so by putting water in the unit may cool the air slightly but makes the room humid and sticky. A proper air conditioner works by pushing the hot air over an evaporator which cools the air and removes the moisture(humidity). This is why all air conditioners… Read more
have an evaporator inside and a condenser outside to disperse the heat and water. A pump is used to circulate Freon type gas that’s used in your fridge between the evaporator and condensor. Either buy a split system or portable air conditioner with the hose you stick out the window or if you can’t afford that stick with a fan
This is terrible it doesn't even work – Does not blow out any cool air at all can't feel the fan and it cost me $124 to send it back and the tv shop is an absolutely disgusting company to deal with, NEVER AGAIN Show details
Ya canna change the laws o physics capt'n – Two fan heaters would be consuming a minimum of 4,000 watts, the "Instachill" would be consuming about 60 watts, just does not add up. By the way, the average lightbulb these days is 10 watts (LED) I don't think you can even buy the 100 watt ones anymore. When will our government stop these people from telling porkies in their adds? These things… Read more
are not much better than a fan, but 40 times more expensive. DON'T BUY ONE.......trust me, you will be happier with a fan.
Not good for Scorching hot days. Good for mild days – There is Good news and there is bad news. THE BAD NEWS: I can totally agree with the majority of the reviews here.. It is disappointing due to the fact that the name is misleading as it does not cool down the entire room on very hot days like it was advertised to do.. Last 2 days it was scorching hot. used this to see if it does work. It did not… Read more
meet the expectations after buying it new. I even added iced chilled water from empty to full in the tank as advised for best results. the results did not meet on that. this is in a room that is well ventilated as well.
THE GOOD NEWS: On the other side of it. whilst it's not made for scorching hot days. It does seem to cool down the room on hot nights though or mild and not so hot days. We had a scorching hot night last night, had this on cool and for extra measures i've put in some icey chilled cold water into the tank dispenser before bed. , that's when this thing does do it's job at night and did not get too hot or sweaty at night on that hot night.
The verdict for it. Not suitable for scorching hot days. But is suitable for hot nights though and mild temperature days. that's why this gets a 2/5.5 - 3.5 rating.
Does not work? Send it back even after 12 months if it does not do what they say – The unit must be fit for purpose if not send it back, start with cs if no go fair trading warranty is 12 months but if it fails after that by law they must accept it back. Being a fan you would expect 2 years of service but if it doesn’t work you can send it back anytime by law. Show details
Surprised anyone fell for this scam – The Insta Chill is an Evaporative Cooler, which Will provide zero cooling properties in climates that have any level of humidity. If you live in a sand desert like Saudi Arabia, Evaporative Coolers may work for you. Evaporative coolers are are nothing short of a Mould producing, legions Air making machine on wheels. I can't believe that people in Australia fell for late night TV sales pitch. Show details
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