Evaporative Air Cooler ?

Anyone use Evaporative Air Coolers instead of portable AC? It cools by using water &/or ICE, Instead of dehumidifying like a portable AC, it adds humidity to the room.

Are these things efficient enough to cool a 8x10 room w/ air cooled hoods + dehumidifier?

I think I will be looking into a $500 evaporation cooler + $200 dehumidifier.. I can use the water from the dehumidifier to recycle into plants or the cooler. & it is cheaper than a $1500+ Mini-split.

Also the + humidity is good since I am here in so cal and it is always around 10-15% outside

I have never grown anything yet so I dont know how it is gonna work for you, but I do have a evaporative cooler keeping my 1600 ft^2 house cool. I got it for around 500 bucks at home depot and then had to get the motor, all the other stuff like pads and pump were included with it. it is installed just outside of one window and I crack the rest of windows throughout the house. it can be 90 degrees outside and even though people says it only works in the dry, it an be in the 40-50% range of humidity and it still works, but I got one slightly on the large size for my square footage.

Im guessing you are talking about those portable units that you use inside the house though. my cousin and my uncle have had one and in my oppinion they are a waste of money, they just dont do anything.