Portable Air Conditioners

Reviews

I noticed that all portable air conditioner reviews give either 4 or 5 stars or 1 or two stars. The difference seemed to be that the one or two star people did something major that caused the problem, and you could tell what it was, just by reading the complaint. (return a unit that is leaking when you open the carton, stand it up and wait two hours before trytin to turn it on, so that the freon is not flodding the pump (it will break), etc. I am a chemical engineer, and have worked with both the theory and practical aspects of AC.- so let me give you a brief rundown of how to ick te best unit for you, and how to get the best performsnce afterward: 1. Picking a unit: (use the sortable list on www.portableacguide.com to compare different models) a. There are two main types: 3-in-1 and 4-in-1. 3-in-1 modes are Fan, AC and Dehumidifier. The dehumidifier mode uses the AC to cool the air until the water comes out, then puts the hot ir it sends outside when working as an AC unit back into the room instead of sending it outside. 4-in-1 adds a heater. Cheap designs use an electric heater coil placed in front of the fan. (Ok if you only want a little heat, now and then, or if you want heat when it is colder than 41 degrees outside. (buy this in Maine.) More expensive 4-in-1 units do not use an electric heater, but act like a "heat pump"- that is, they work like good home units popular south of the mason dixon line (wiki it, kids). More about this when we get to my FAQs on mode 4. Mode 1 FAQ While buying an AC just for the fan is not smart, don't underestmate the fan only control. Moving air over you can add 5 to 6 degrees to the temprature you feel is comfortable. If it is only 76 or 77 degrees out, try just sing the fan, and pointing it at you. It will usually o the job unless the humidity is extremely high. Mode 2 FAQ: AC size is measure in BTU but typically you need 6000 BTU for a room that is 200 sq ft (eg, it is 20x10 or 14x15). This is if the room is well insulated, the sunlight does not stream in, and the AC is left on so you don't need a quick cool-down. people by an 8000BTU unit and expect it to cool the hot, hunid 350 sq fot bedroom in 1/2 hour. The web site I recommended has tips on correct sizing. One tip I will add is that the exhaust hose is 15 inches fully collapsed. The more you extend it nd make it go around bends, the poorer it will work. Lots of sharp bends and fully extending the hose will "derate" the effective size (and efficnecy) by possibly as much as 20%. When in doubt, buy bigger- but too big a unit will make a gale when the fan is on, and will cycle on and off way to often. Mode 4. (yeah, its out of order, but this is for a good reaon). Heat pumps reverse some valves in the AC unit, and suddenly, the pipe going outside gives off cold air, and the indoor part puts out hot air, This is roughly twice as energy efficient as the cheaper heating coil, but stops working around 40 degrees of outdoor temperature. Mode 3 FAQ: Dehumidification only, and, oh yeah, an AC does dehumidification while it cools- Actually , the AC dehumidifies too. If the basement is too damp, you can use a portable unit to warm it up a little and dry it out a lot. Then, if it gets too warm, switch to AC and cool it and dry it. For htat matter, just sit a windo unit on a chair, and let it blow back into the room instead of out a window, and use it as a dehumidifier. In coastal regions, and near rivers and lakes, the air is very humid. Dehumidifiers must cool the air as much as an AC to get rid of the water, (and use as much energy as an AC does), but they dump the hot air back into the room instead of pushing it outside. unless you have a cool damp basement problem, the Dehumidifier only mode is not the answer. But what happens to the water from the dehumidifier action? An AC may use more energy removing the water than cooling the air. (this is why it tale so long to cool a hot, humid room the first time, but if it is keep closed, so that the next day it is only hot, it will not take nearly as long to cool it down again.) A room sized machine will typically remove 10 gallons (40 pints) or more a day. The water runs to the bottom of the unit. Window units drain the water that collects in the bottom of the unit out the window. A portable AC has to collect it. Typical collection resevoirs hold less than 4 pints, at which time a float switch stops the cooling and leaves only the fan (so you think it doesn't cool after just a few hours use if you just plug it in and let it run.) You can attach a hose and drain continuously (use a hose clamp if you do), or else empty the tiny resivoir each time the AC stops cooling. The trouble with using a hose is that the hose is not very high off the floor, and the resevoir will simply overflow if you don't notice it is full. Here is my solution. Elevate the machine a few inches by standing it on a set of bed leg height adjusters (>$10 at a hardware store), then, attach the hose, and fashion a hook to hang the end of the free end of the hose up on the machine. I straightened a large paper clip and tied it around the hose near the free end, and bent the end of the paper clip so that it hooked into a convenient spot high enough up on the machine to know the hose would not overflow before the float inside the machine shut off the AC. Since the hose is transparent, I can see how full the resevior is, and, without shutting off the AC, unhook the hose and drain it into a 1 gal plastic jug that sits on the floor and has a hole in the side near the top. Hang the hose back up on its hook, and use the water on your plants or in your iron. (it is actually rain water that you made yourself). The reason, by the way, they can remove 40 or more pints a day, and only have a resevoir 1/10th the size, is that they blow most of the water they collect onto the condensor coils (the ones that put hot air back outside). This water helps cool the coils and makes the AC run more efficiently- and you don't have to dump it. (They do this to help get back the energy required to remove it from the air that is going into your room.) About 90% of the water collected will be used this way. This means that if you have no humidity, your energy bill will be about the same, since you don't take it out, and don't put it back. However, if you do live in low humidity, maybe you should be buying a much cheaper evaporative cooler, that cools you by spraying water into the air. If I can go back to mode 4 (heater, again, It also means that the manufacturer of units with a heat pump mean it when they say that when you use a unit to heat with, set up a continuous drain. Spraying the water on the normally hot (now cold) side will form ice, and freeze up the unit, causing it to fail to operate, and possible damage to the compressor. For the advanced student, who wants to continuously drain the unit in the summer, Just remember that you are eliminating one of the big energy reducing feature- the re-use of the water to spray cool the hot condensor coils. My hose trick can be modified by putting a tee connector in the hose above the drain outlet of the unit, but below the height that causes the compressor to shut off- connect an overflow hose, and any water that is needed for the cooling of the coils will be available, but the exces will be available to safely drain away. hopefully, you are now hagh enough to draininto a 5 gallon plastic gas can, or something, but you have to know what you will do with all that water. They sell plug in drain pumps that can be used to keep your overflow can emptied out, and that can pump the water through a small plastic tube wherever you want it. Have a whole house AC and don't need more? read this: My house is in Florida- typical daytime temp of 94, with 65% or more humidity, and while night time temps go down to 70 by about 3 AM, the humidity goes up. No one lived in Florida by choice until the invention of AC. My reason for buying the portable units was to create a "zone" in my bedroom at night, (set the Hose AC at 80), and also to have small unit that I could put in my TV room in the cold months to use between 7 and 11 in the evening when we like to watch tV (let the whole house cool, and sleep under blankets in the now cool bedroom when we go to bed.) For this reason, I got a 4-in-1, and because I live below the mason dixon line, I got a heat pump version. I hope this review prevents you from experiencing any of the reasons why so many people had bad experiences with the same products others found to work well.

Reviews

Bought this at Pc Richards, and promptly returned it. It is barely able to keep a small living room cool, ever after insulating the hoses as recommended around the web. Get an in wall unit it's much cheaper and energy efficient, don't waste your time with these portable ac's, unless you have no other option.

I am using to cool a large living room. It does not cool completely because the room is large, so it may not be the product fault. I am overall satisfied with the product, but I agree with other reviewers about the following points: a) the exhaust hose gets warm and so it leaks heat, so the AC is not as efficient as it should be ... but I wonder if this is an issue with other portable air conditioners as well. b) if in dehumidifier mode, the AC shutdowns every half hour and the water tray needs to be emptied. The water receptacle is very low and it makes difficult to drain it, and also it is too heavy for me to lift (I have a bad back.) Fortunately, I use it either in Cooling mode or Fan mode, not in Dehumidifier mode. In Cooling mode, one does not need to empty the water tray.

This is a great air conditioner for a medium size room where window unit cannot be installed. PROS: 1. Dual hose (better efficiency) 2. Relatively quiet 3. Remote control 4. Takes only about 10 Amps to operate at full blast CONS: 1. The remote is not easy to operate for people with bad eyesight and buttons on the panel are invisible. 2. The output hose dissipates substantial heat. SUGGESTED MODIFICATIONS: 1. Stick bubble wrap or some other heat-insulating material around the output hose or it will work like a space heater in your room. 2. Fit a half-inch plastic hose to make draining of the water tank easy. The unit turns itself off when full of water. I used 3 feet long hose and placed it permanently behind the unit facing upwards. To empty the tank I lower the hose.

I live in Queens where the summers can get very hot and very humid. In these conditions my basement becomes an unbearable place to be. My basement is rather large and there are bars on the windows so I could not fit a traditional AC. The only option was a portable and this unit looked good to me at 14,000 BTU's and a dual hose design to expel hot air outside while at the same time intaking fresh air. The Amana so far has worked beautifully. The basement does not get very cold because of it's size, but it is VERY comfortable. Now I can watch TV or work on the computer in absolute comfort instead of becoming drenched with perspiration. I am very happy with this purchase and I'm not sure what the other reviewer was writing about that the AC would shut off every 30 minutes. Mine runs all day with no problems and it's actually less noisy than the fan I was using. I highly recommend this AC.

Will only run for about 30 minutes and then turns itself off because it needs to be drained because the dehumidifier receptacle is so small. Also, the drain plug is so close to the floor that you can only use a very low dish to catch the runoff.

Reviews

For our 25th wedding anniversary we spent a week on the south shore of Kauai (Hawaii). Even in November the temperature and humidity gave me second thoughts when we first saw our condo. Great location, great amenities, no A/C. I can take humidity during the day, but at night I love to sleep in a cool and dry environment. I was curious to note that in the bedroom closet there was a Sharp air conditioner unit; I was of course familiar with conventional a/c and window a/c, but not this type. Okay, even without a manual it didn't take long to figure out how to turn the thing on, adjust the louvers (motorized), set the temperature, and so forth. All I can say is, WOW! After 30 minutes the bedroom was as frosty as I wanted, and dry! The device was very quiet and the exhaust hose connecting to a wall vent was hot to the touch, demonstrating all the heat extracted from the room. We had 6 wonderful days (and nights) in that unit, thanks in part to the portable a/c machine. I have no familiarity with the reliability of the unit or what it did with the condensate (we must have taken gallons of water out of the air) but it worked beautifully for us. Highly recommended.

The box says that this is recommended for rooms 360 to 410 square feet. My room is less than 380 square feet and has low ceilings. This unit did not cool down my room at all. It was only 83 degrees outside, I ran the unit for 3 hours and the inside did not get any cooler than 81 degrees. I let the unit run as the outside temperature cooled to 79 degrees and inside remained at 81 degrees. If you have a small room, this is probably one of the best portable air conditions you can buy. The only other thing I really don't like about this unit is that all of the control is with the remote control. If the remote control is lost or breaks, all you can do is turn on the unit and it goes into default mode. If the unit remains plugged in, it goes to the last setting you used. If the unit gets unplugged, it goes to cool mode with the temperature set at 69 degrees. You cannot change that without the remote control. There is a place to hang the remote control on the backside of the unit. The unit is fairly light and compact for a portable air conditioner. There are a few that are smaller and a few that are lighter. It is the quietest one I have heard. However, the 36 dB that they claim is when the fan is on low. When on "Maga cool", the unit is pretty loud. Not so loud that you have to jack up the sound on your TV, but loud enough that it could bother you if you were a light sleeper. The installation kit is well made and sturdy. It can go into windows up to 48" wide (double hung) or tall (slider). Some other units only have kits for up to 38". Unless you have something unique about your window, you can install this in about 30 minutes. This unit won't work on one of my windows because the hose hits a shutter frame. Or course, you can always construct your own adapter to make it work on just about any type of window. But, if you go through all that effort, you may just want to get a window model. I have read reviews where some people claim that this unit had no trouble cooling a 400 square foot room in 100 degree weather. There a lot of factors about a room that will determine how effect the air conditiner will be, such as is there a ceiling above the room, or another floor, how much sun is there on the room, how high are the ceilings, etc. But, the air that comes out of the unit is cool, but not extremely cold. I don't see how it can cool a room that large. One problem with all of the portable airconiditioners is that they have a hose to exhaust the hot air out a window. These hoses are never insulated, so they radiate some of the heat back into the room. The longer the hose, the more inefficient your cooling will be. And, the room gets hot on the backside of the unit, because of this. For a room above 360 square feet, you probably need to get a unit that is at least 12,000 BTU, unless conditions are perfect in your room.

(3 stars for quiet design, 2 more stars if it will remove condensation via the vent hose and not require a bucket or water draining during AC operation) (3/29/07 update: Ran the Sharp for 3+ hours and the unit expelled most of the condensate out the vent hose as the internal tank only had 2-3 ounces of water collected.) Picked up the Sharp CV-P10MC 10,000BTU @ Costco recently however the weather has not been warm enough here in the NW to thoroughly test the unit out yet. The unit is indeed very quiet however I'm concerned that it may require regular draining of collected condensed water during AC operation as my short 30 minute test collected 4-5 ounces of water. (I have a Windchaser portable AC unit that never seems to collect more a few drops and never stopped because it needed draining or required draining) Sharps manual states it removes up to 60 pints of water a day in Dehumidification mode only, which requires regular draining of the internal collection tank (4-5pint capacity) or the attachment of an external bucket for longer uninterrupted operation. In AC mode, Sharp's website and manual states: "Bucketless Design. No water tank to empty. The built in condensate disposal system sends the water out of the exhaust hose. " "This air conditioner evaporates water condensed during cooling operation within the unit through the exhaust air outlet. Although water flowing sound way be heard, this is normal." I assume the Sharp AC unit will not require and external water collection bucket or internal water tank draining when run in AC mode only. My Windchaser portable AC unit (purchased last year)never once needed any condensate water drained during the whole season. The Windchaser manual states that it removes the condensed water through the air vent hose via an evaporation process that also cools the internal compressor unit. I assume this is the same type of process Sharp is referring to in its manual however the proof is in real life use. To anyone who has used the Sharp portable AC unit last season; Please report back and let us know if it removes condensate water via the vent hose in AC mode and DOES NOT require you to stop the unit to drain water on a regular basis or require an external water collection bucket. Thanks!

After getting bit with a 25% restocking fee from another retailer on the Soleus MAC12K, I decided to give the Sharp CV-P10LC Portable Air Condtioner from Costco a try. First off, the manual was pretty well written and detailed. The instructions were clear. It took a while to install the window venting kit because it was a bit more complex than the competition's. It was a marked improvement over the other venting kits that I've seen. There were foam insulation to plug the gaps from the window and fits almost perfectly. Also, you would have to remove the screen from your window for the installation. It was close to 100 degrees today and when the unit first turned on, I can feel that it was starting to cool the room. One key feature is the horizontal louvers can be set to automatically move up and down to distribute the air to cool the room. One press of a button and it can be set in the desired position, particularly useful if your bed is close to the ground as other units cannot adjust the vertical air flow but just sweeps the air side to side. Another plus is that it's not as noisy as the other models that I've tried (Sharp claims 36DB in low fan mode). You don't have to turn the volume up to watch tv. One thing that is missing is that the remote does not display the current room temperature. This item would get 5 stars if it were cheaper. But even at $489.99 it's well worth it.