PO PROCESS?

DIMENSIONS?

MATERIAL?

APPEARANCE?

SHIPPING?

PAYMENT METHODS?

PICK-UP IN VANCOUVER BC?

AVAILABLE IN MY AREA?

USAGE?

COMPARISONS WITH OTHER PRODUCTS?

SUITABLE FOR DIFFERENT LAPTOP MODELS?

NON-SLIP FEET?

CARRY-CASE?

COOLING EFFICIENCY?

DESIGN IMPROVEMENT SUGGESTIONS

CUSTOMS PROBLEMS?

REFUND?

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- DIMENSIONS? -

Q. Could you please tell me what the height and weight of the KoolSink are? Thanks!
A. The height of the KoolSink® is 1 3/8" and the weight depends on the model - check here.
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Q. Does the KoolSink make direct metal contact with the bottom of my powerbook? Or do the rubber feet on the bottom of the computer sit on the KoolSink? Direct contact would of course dissipate heat best.
A. Apple PowerBooks have four rubber feet keeping them positioned about 1/8" off the KoolSink®. This is beneficial for allowing air to pass through and not obstructing the internal fan's air intake.
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Q. How much space (in inches) is there inside the Metal Return? I am concerned about scratching the delicate (painted) finish of my Titanium PowerBook G4, when it is stored with an inverted KoolSink. Although this may be moot with the new hard anodized PowerBooks.
A. The inside dimension of the return is 1 1/4" and is designed to accept the Titanium Powerbook. Our customers have informed us that they use a soft cloth to prevent damage when they use the inverted KoolSink®. Also, keep in mind that the laptop has small 'feet' to effectively separate the laptop from the KoolSink®.
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Q. I'm looking for a "lifter" for my Inspiron 8200, not so much for the heat, but for the ergonomics...I can't seem to find, on your website,. What is the height of the lift piece, or the degree of angle of the KoolSink?
A. The KoolSink® 'tilts' your laptop to a better ergonomic angle of 9 degrees.

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Q. I have a Dell Inspiron 9100 (Widescreen--15.4"), roughly 11" x 14" x 2" 
Since you don't have a size that exactly matches, would you recommend going up to a larger size?

Would there be a problem with the feet not fitting, if I chose the 13" with a 14" notebook? 
A. In your case where the laptop is slightly larger than the 'Large' KoolSink® that we offer, we suggest that you turn over the laptop and measure the distance between the rubber feet. In most cases, the inside dimension would be less than 13". If so, we would recommend the 'Large' KoolSink® for your notebook. In other words, the laptop feet should rest on the KoolSink® rather than the base of the notebook.
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Q. Could you tell me if it is possible to ship to the U.K. and what the cost would be? 
A. Yes, use the International order option. Regular Shipping & Handling is US$27 and Fast Shipping is US$32
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Q. I don't want to wait "1-3 weeks" - Could I give you my FedEx # instead of paying $19.83 for the fast service.
A. We would gladly ship your KS to you using your Fedex account. Please ensure that your account accepts orders from Canada and specify what service you'd like us to send it on.
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Q. I'm in Australia. What is the s/h fee.
A. The KoolSink® international shipping & handling charge is US$27 for Regular and US$32 for Fast.
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Q. If I order two KoolSinks, do I pay shipping on each one going to the same address?
A. Whenever possible we bundle same sized packages and refund the difference, after we've been billed by CanadaPost. Our rate is the lowest available rate for the weight that we ship.
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Q. I would like to order an aluminium KoolSink for my 17 inch PowerBook. With fast shipping, how long will it take to get to Montreal?
A. Fast' shipping costs CDN$19.50 and you should get your KoolSink® in about 3 business days.
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Q. I’m in the UK and am ordering 2 KoolSinks. Why not mail them in the same package to save on postage?
A. We airmail to Europe by Small Packet Service which has a 1 kg. limit per package so the most economical shipping will still be 2 separate packages.

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Q. I wondered if it was possible to pay with a credit card (VISA)? If not, do you have any resellers?
A. We accept VISA through PayPal. We feel very strongly about security over the internet, therefore, we are leaving the secure transactions over the web with the experts. If you do not have a PayPal account, it is easy to sign up for one. Please go to http://www.paypal.com to obtain more information.
We also have many happy customers who have ordered by mailing a cheque or money order to us.
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Q. The whole PayPal thing confuses me so I want to know if I can just call you and we do it over the phone with my Credit Card.
A. The reason why we accept payment through PayPal is because they have a secure web site for accepting credit card information. We prefer to provide our customers with the confidence that their payments are accepted securely at no extra cost to you. For the fastest turn around, you can also mail us a U.S. money order. That would take a couple of days for the mail to reach us. We do not accept credit cards over the phone.
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Q. If I submit a mail order with a personal check, considering that the check needs to clear before you send the item, approximately, how long does it take before I get my KoolSink at my home in California?
A. US cheques take approximately 3-4 business days to clear. If you choose 'Fast' delivery, it takes approximately 3-4 business days to arrive in California. Barring any unforeseeable events, you can have your KoolSink® within 8 business days from the time of your cheque's arrival.
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Q. I am not a PayPal member. Can you give me a fax number, so I can fax you an order?
A. You may fax us your order (604-648-9403), however, we will need to receive payment either by cheque or International money order.

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Q. I've been asked to order a KoolSink for my organization.   Would you be able to Invoice us?
A. We have a special Purchase Order system for instituional orders. For details see FAQ PO PROCESS?
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Q. Are there any on-line stores that carry your product?
A. Our on-line ordering system has enabled us to successfully ship world-wide in as few as three days, so we have little reason to have other on-line stores carry our product. However Higoto in Germany does distribute our products.

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HP Pavilion ze1250 .................. Either 'Medium' or 15" model
Sony PCG-GRV516G ............. 'Large' model
Sony A190 ............................... 'XL' model
Toshiba 17" Sattelite ............... 'XL' model
Holltwood 'Silver' 17" ................ 'XL' model  
Dell Lattitude 17" ...................... 'XL' model
IBM Think Pad R50P ............... 'XL' model  

for other models, check the dimensions info image... (NOTE: weight is also shown for reference)

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Q.  Presumably, the anodized aluminum stand will not prevent the fan from coming on altogether but rather reduce frequency of this. Could you give me a rough idea about how often the fan comes on under heavy usage, and, even then, do you think that this will be at full fan speed?
A. The testimonials on the web site are there to give our customers a better idea of the workings of our product, in real world usage. There are too many variations and conditions that activate the fan during use such that we can't honestly account for each situation. However, one customer has reported that while doing digital music mixing, the KoolSink® has helped keep the fan from coming on. Another has said that compared to another laptop stand that has two active fans drawing power from his notebook, the KoolSink® performed equally well.
In summary, we have better than expected performance from our customers' experience with respect to preventing internal fans from activating.
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Q. We're interested in cooling our laptop. Have been researching the different products on the market and wondered how your device was any better than the aluminum versions that also have two fans as part of their assembly.

A. The majority of laptop users typically do not operate their cpu's beyond the design range that the KoolSink® cannot keep the fan from switching on. These users of our product have appreciated the quietness of their laptops once they've placed the KoolSink® underneath since it significantly reduces the temperature, thus keeping the fan from switching on. This is obviously not the intent of those 'other' devices that you are referring to.
We have received reports of users who haven't experienced the heat reduction with the KoolSink®, even though they are not performing cpu intensive tasks on their laptop. These users, we suspect, have a defective thermostat controlling the internal fan. The last "group" of laptop users, in our opinion, should really consider doing their cpu intensive tasks on a desktop with a higher cooling capacity. Although the technology is advancing, the laptop is not yet made for such use. Perhaps in the future, there will be faster and cooler chips produced, enabling processor intensive tasks on the laptop.
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Q. Is there perhaps any spec. on how much cooling the anodized aluminum stand would provide (i.e. temperature reduction in degrees cel/far)? This product sounds great for a passive solution yet the fan issue is obviously a major concern with regards to audio recording near the machine(1Ghz powerbook) so basically any additional info. regarding this product is welcome.
A. The actual cooling properties of any material, including the anodized aluminum depends on various factors, including ambient temperatures. Another critical variable is your computer itself. Some computers operate more efficiently than others, and may result in the fan coming on more, or less frequently. Therefore, even if I was sufficiently familiar with the laws of thermodynamics, this information does not translate directly to real world applications.
The feedback that we've received from our customers is the best information that you can obtain and use to evaluate your purchasing decision.
We do not know of any other passive cooling product on the market that performs as effectively as our KoolSink®.
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Q. What makes your product effective and why is it better than other stands?
A. We've always maintained that the combination of both convection and conduction cooling properties embodied in the aluminum KoolSink is superior to the vast majority of laptop stands, many of which are plastic and therefore have no thermal conductivity property. This is also born out by the satisfaction of our users, after shipping KoolSinks world-wide for several years now.
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Q. I was wondering why this product works, if there is a gap between the powerbook and your product? Does it really work because it sounds a little too good to be true.
A. Heat is transferred in three ways, conduction, convection, and radiation. The gap prevents the transfer through conduction, but does not eliminate the other two means of heat transfer. In fact, it creates a narrow path for the venturi effect to take place, that of increased velocity of air movement. The increase in air velocity accelerates cooling through convection.
The third method of cooling is radiation. The large surface area of the aluminum allows for greater heat dissipation once the heat has been drawn away from your laptop computer.

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Q. As the KoolSink appears to be formed from 3 precise bends made to an aluminum sheet (and bends weaken metal), how do you keep the bend that forms the leg from fatiguing to the point that it collapses?
A. Fatigue (failure) is a condition in the metal developed when it is subjected to repetitive stresses. Bending the metal once does not cause fatigue, rather, it's an inelastic strain that is permanently implemented into the metal. It is more correct to say that the bend cause the metal to be 'hardened', thus more brittle. ...you will not be subjecting the KoolSink® to repetitive bending and un-bending of the metal, so there is no need to concern yourself over fatiguing the KoolSink®.
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Suggestion:
I just bought an aluminum KoolSink for my Powerbook. Wouldn't it work even better if it were enameled or anodized black? You would think that the black would absorb the IR from the bottom of the Powerbook better than shiny aluminum.

Response:
With Apple's recent introduction of black 13" MacBooks, we now offer a black anodized version of KoolSink.
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Suggestion:
Perhaps a thin (rubber?) coating inside the Metal Return would prevent damage. Is this feasible?

Response:
As any coating would reduce the effectiveness of the KoolSink's cooling properties, we feel that a rubber coating is not appropriate.
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Suggestion:
Your aluminum KoolSink...does work as advertised, and it does work better than the Podium Coolpad; however, during processor-intensive operations with my PowerBook plugged into the AC adapter, the fan(s) will always turn on.
Why not make a small cutout in the top-center of your KoolSinks and mount a small, low-speed fan powered by USB? Call it the "KoolSink Ultimate." The fact is, the type of noise the internal PowerBook fans make generally sucks. If you could come up with a fan with a different audible signature, you could have another hit on your hands. You could mount the fan in a different place depending on the specific PowerBook. The 15" PB's get really hot under the 5 to 8 keys while the 12" PB gets hot under the left palm rest.

Response:
Thank you for writing to us with your suggestion. We value each and every idea to improve our product.
As for your Powerbook fan remaining on during processor intensive tasks, this is where the heat output far exceeds the design cooling of the KoolSink®.
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Suggestion:
I own a PC notebook with a cooling fan that sucks air in from the bottom.
I think your products would be good - except - that I think in my case it would prevent proper cooling of my laptop computer.
Thus I'd like to make a suggestion that you manufacture a model that has perforations in it.
I suggest 5 mm diameter circular perforations spaced 1 cm apart would be good.

Response:
Thank you for your suggestion about our product. We appreciate you taking the time to write to us.
I am curious which model your laptop is. I would think that the maker of your laptop would have taken into consideration that your laptop will be placed on a flat surface. I would guess that there would be some kind of 'feet' that would raise the underside of the laptop sufficiently off the resting surface to allow for proper ventilation. If so, our KoolSink® would work for your laptop as well.
The reason we purposely did not place any perforations into the KoolSink® is to take advantage of the venturi effect that comes from passing the air through a narrow opening. By not adding more openings in the surface, the natural convection currents are then accelerated by the venturi effect. In addition to the radiation principles of cooling, the venturi effect is fundamental to cooling your laptop, and what makes our product superior to any of our competitors' "laptop stands".

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