Portable Air Conditioners

Reviews

Pros: This is a durable wall sleeve. With a little effort the pictures on the instructions can guide you through a solid installation that will be heavy duty. If you feel comfortable cutting through drywall and adding support beams to studs, you can handle this project in a weekend. Having this wall sleeve makes it easier to insulate around the sides of the A/C unit for an air-tight installation. Hot outside air stays out, cool inside air stays in. Cons: The instructions are very poorly written. They offer different details depending on the brand of wall sleeve, but it's not easy to determine the brand of this wall sleeve. I measured the dimensions and made my best guess from there. Also not clear in the instructions is that you need to REMOVE THE BACK PANEL. You won't know this from the instructions. The back panel is a sheet of aluminum and a grate. The sheet of aluminum should be removed and the grate only placed in the back of the wall sleeve. I installed it with the aluminum in place and the A/C unit will overheat in about 3 minutes, shut off the compressor, and only blow hot air. Then the unit won't blow cold air again until it cools off again. ($65 service call later...) I removed the aluminum and left the grate and the A/C unit has been working fine. The hot air is now free to escape from the back of the wall sleeve. I'd also like to see a water drip or spigot thread on the back of the wall sleeve. The condensation from the unit will collect in the wall sleeve and drain to the back where there are two holes in the lip of the sleeve. I rigged something to help it drip away from the unit, but it would have been preferrable to have something engineered as a part of the sleeve. There were a few minor corners bent when my wall sleeve arrived. Better packaging could prevent this.

Instructions are not very clear. Difficult to figure out where to put the various pieces of foam and insulation. In theory this should be a whole lot easier. The sleeve itself seems to be of ok quality. Overall, average buy.

This sheet-metal box is worth about twenty bucks. It doesn't come adequately packed, mine arrived in poor shape. The workmanship is indifferent, the foam baffles were attached incorrectly. The installation manual was written by someone with a strong aversion to communication.

I bought this product from Abt after they told me on the phone it was required for a Frigidaire FASxxxxxx installation. They were wrong. The FAS family of A/C's are 18" high, this box is approx 14" high. The FAS family can be installed through a wall without a sleeve, the A/C metal outside is a sleeve in itself. The sleeve sold here is for a masonry wall. I was replacing an existing through the wall unit with another. The new unit was all I needed. This sleeve was a waste as well as the $23 I spent to return it. Abt gave me bad advice. I'll not use them again

Be forewarned!!!. Cutting into your wall is not a simple task. This is NOT a window box it IS a kit to install a window unit through a wall you Will need to create a hole in the wall to put this through. I've installed kits like this a few times it's a wonderful idea for a pertinent installation of what is normally considered a tacky yet important appliance. Things you should know before starting this project. Location of studs. (you will need to put this box in between studs never cut through a stud to install this device. If the stud spacing is to small consult a professional before you attempt an install. or risk you whole wall collapsing with half your roof.) if you must cut through a support you will need a double header and footer around the box. Location of outlets and wires inside the wall (You don't want to cut through any wire/pipe in your wall so don't put this OVER a plug as most plugs are dropped in from the attic or above(even if you live in a trailer.) Ok dangerous part over with. :) These last few items and hints are just for looks. 1. Get some molding to go around the exposed edge. 2. Have some foam or flashing to put on the outside of the box or risk water inside the wall in storms (basic stuff) 3. Have all the tools you'll need BEFOR you punch that hole in the wall. 4. Have a friend on standby just in case. Not all kits will have molding or (make pretty) bits a bobs so expect to go to a home supply outlet of some-sort Installing these isnt all that hard a proficient carpinder can do it in under an hour. But expect to spend most of the day on it. think weekend project take it slow. Oh ya almost forgot. run the AC on a flat surface for a while BEFORE you start in on the box and figure out how much of an angle you will need to insure the blasted thing drains OUTSIDE! and i mean let it run for a while it takes upwerds of 5 hrs to get a liquid buildup enough to drip. Depending on the kit itself and your local humidity you may need to drill in a drain hole near the back of the kit (NOT THE AC) the kit! don't go drilling into your AC Tools i used. Tape Measure Level Drill Hammer nails/screws Screwdriver bit for drill. Saws-all Flashlight dust mask (drywall dust and junk) screw driver (for where the drill wont catch) old sheet/tarp drill bits. one big one for starting the saws-all (double header) one to two 2x4's Ripsaw (hand saw circular saw .. something to cut the 2x4) LONG nails and or wood screws (DO NOT USE DRYWALL SCREWS) Spare Drywall the hole inside will probably be larger than the required size for the box if you have to make a header. (drywall make pretty junk) To make your life a little more easy use some header hangers (steel strips to hold up the header instead of just nails. to create the header. open the wall back untill you can see 3 studs Cut the center stud out to the apropret gap. Cut the 2x4's to the length to span the gap between the 2 outer studs you will need 4 of these. Check your fit Screw the 2x4's together lengthways to make them 4x4's Use the hangers or nail in these new headers to the other studs and secure the center stud to the header. the connection point to the outer studs is the important part. Pick where you want your box cut the outer hole and install. Patch Drywall make it nice and install molding around the box slide the AC plug it in and enjoy the cold air. :)

Reviews

I really liked the idea of the split system, and the idea that it could be a lot quieter than a window A/C. I needed the 25' hose kit since I was installing it on a second floor room (~250 sq ft), so I had to order through the distributor instead of Amazon. It's now installed and it works - cools and heats really well. It's a bit noisier than I thought from the other reviews, but it's a lot quieter than the old window unit it's replacing. We use the room for meditation and yoga - we were hoping for something even quieter, but its internal squirrel cage fan seems a little off balance, and various plastic parts sometimes rattle. It arrived in three packages - the outside unit, the inside unit, and the hoses. For me the hardest part about installing the outside unit was that I had to put in an outside disconnect box for power, and all the conduit and fittings that required, and a dedicated 15 amp circuit. It took a couple of days and about four trips back to the hardware store to get it right. It easily just sits on a couple of 12"x12" pavers from Home Depot - you could use cinder blocks - just something under the feet. The indoor unit was hard to mount - it's heavy and awkward - you need two people. I had to buy a 2-3/4" hole saw to make the hole in the wall for the hoses (pipes), power cable, and condensation drain line (one hole for all). But it does snap onto the bracket when it's done. The (amazing!) instructions are actually adequate, but they had me buy a torque wrench for the refrigerant flare fittings, which it turns out you don't need - a regular adjustable wrench (or two) is fine. It took a couple of trips up and down the ladder with soap solution and the wrenches to get the fittings snug and not leaking. The thing they don't tell you is that to get the air out of the system you press the Schrader valve stem for 3-4 seconds (it really blasts out) on the "T-branch valve" (which is closed, while the fluid line valve is open). Then you're good to go. The tape you're supposed to wrap the hoses (pipes), cable, and drain line with is not sticky - it's just a strip of thin vinyl, and it's too easy to drop it from high on a ladder while you're wrapping. But it finally works. The last thing that got me was when it was all wired up, nothing happened. I used a test meter and verified that power was going to the outside unit from the disconnect box okay, and to the cable to the indoor unit. I finally had the determination to open the cover on the indoor unit, remove the 5 screws, and remove the middle cover. Then I removed the metal cover from the electronics module (one screw) and discovered that the cable had pulled and one of the power connectors was now about one inch too short to reach where it was supposed to connect! Another trip to the hardware store and I had an extension (the cable could not be pulled back since it was now all wrapped tight with the hoses). It was hard to plug in, but with a long pair of needle-nose pliers I finally got it. Putting it all back together is tricky (a true Chinese puzzle) but patience works, and the air-direction vanes are not damaged, and everything fits nicely. And it works! I figure I saved $1000 by installing it myself (based on one bid from an HVAC guy), and I'm happy I did. I'd definitely do it again.

So far everything is great with my order. I received the mini-split rather quickly and it had all the parts and accessories that I expected. I haven't had it installed yet so this is just a preliminary review. I will give a follow-up on the installation process and then a final review on how well it's working. By the way, I was surprised and pleased to find that I had received 25ft of hose instead of the advertised 15ft. I'm not sure if I'll need that much but we'll see. What you don't get is wall mounting brackets or a platform to sit this thing on. You'll have to order the wall brackets separately (as I have done) or go to Home Depot or Lowe's and get some concrete tiles. Four 1ft x 1ft tiles will do the trick. I'm planning on installing the hardware myself and then having an HVAC tech come complete the process regarding trimming down the hoses if necessary, evacuating the hoses, checking for leaks, and any other stuff that would require a professional HVAC person and their specialized equipment can do. I've done considerable research and have learned that this is the best thing to do to insure that you don't damage the unit once it's in operation. Any amount of moisture or dust or whatever that might be in the hoses will cause the unit to eventually fail not long after first use. Here is an excellent video on how to install the unit: [...] and also a website with instructions and photos: [...] So any way, stay tuned.

This is a very nice unit at an amazing price for a mini split. It is so quiet I have to check to make sure it is running by sticking my hand in front of it. I'm sure I'll stop that soon. I won't take points away for the lousy installation instructions as you really should have some a/c install experience but someone with medium to high DIY experience should be able to handle it. The hardest part is running the lines. You have to be very careful not to kink them. I had to shorten the line set and redo the flare connections at the compressor end, no big deal unless you don't know what I'm talking about. The indoor unit is all plastic shell but it looks good and is practically silent. The outdoor compressor section is all metal except fan blade and very quiet as well. All in all a great deal and nice unit for the price.

Great Product! Quick ship. Very quiet unit inside and out. My weather has been relatively cool, thus a real test will come with the heat. My only complaint is the manual and instructions. They are somewhat less than precise, however tech support is great via phone. I am not very handy or experienced and I got it done.

After lots and lots of research, we finally decided on the AmVent mini split for my master bedroom. We chose this due to the "quick connect" system. The wiring is easier and you don't have to have an HVAC tech vacuum the lines like the other brands do. I wasn't here when my husband installed it, but I did get quite a few phone calls from him while he was trying to figure it out. The instructions are extremely brief and written by someone who uses english as a second language. Luckily, I had printed out basic installation instructions from another brand's website, which helped. He had a hard time finding the phone number in the paperwork to get further assistance (he doesn't use computers), but once he found it, he was able to get the info he needed to finish the job. He is very handy and does a lot of diy stuff at our home so it was a pretty easy install for him with the right instructions. Had I been here to find the info he needed on the computer, it would have gone very quickly and easily. It hasn't been too hot here yet, so I have only used the ac briefly, but I think it's going to be great. It's tons quieter than our window unit. If this works as well as I think it will, I will purchase a larger unit for our living/kitchen area.