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Portable Air Conditioner Experiences

Carjosse

Carjosse

Sit Nomine Digna
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Has anyone here had experiences with portable air conditioners? Would you recommend them?

I am just dying in the heat, I have two fans in my studio apartment but they can only do so much. My windows do not accommodate a window mounted one so my parents want to get me a portable one but I have heard mixed opinions about them.
 
Yeah man, nothing like an east coast heat wave and it’s the ****ing humidity that really does it, out west it’s dryer heat, so it’s no as gross and now I at least have air exchange which does make a big difference though of course air conditioning is the gold standard.

Sleeping with a fan on you is the low end solution but ****, I find it kills me, I wake up drier than a beach.

I’m sorry I have no experience with portable air conditioners except for attempting to build one of those low tech DYI styrofoam ones which didn’t go all that well but having lived in what I will affectionately refer to as “Halifornia” which can have similar summers to Montreal, I know your pain.

Last time I was back was during the 2012 during the heat wave, almost died.
 
I've been in several rooms where they were used and they are a ton better than not having one.
 
Carjosse said:
Has anyone here had experiences with portable air conditioners? Would you recommend them?

I am just dying in the heat, I have two fans in my studio apartment but they can only do so much. My windows do not accommodate a window mounted one so my parents want to get me a portable one but I have heard mixed opinions about them.
Click to expand...

A friend uses one. They have a large open living/dining room area and it keeps the whole room very cold.

They have something like this one: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Frigidai...e-Control-for-Rooms-up-to-550-Sq-Ft/591367079

Walmart has a wide range of units, though most will run you $200+.

https://www.walmart.com/browse/home...air-conditioners/1072864_133032_133026_587564
 
Carjosse said:
Has anyone here had experiences with portable air conditioners? Would you recommend them?

I am just dying in the heat, I have two fans in my studio apartment but they can only do so much. My windows do not accommodate a window mounted one so my parents want to get me a portable one but I have heard mixed opinions about them.
Click to expand...


The portable one we purchased for our inlaws has been going for 4+ years. It isn't used full time as the house benefited from onshore flow that kept the house cooler in the evenings.

Ours was like this one... https://www.walmart.com/ip/Haier-9-...hguid=f9901cb2-f5a-16ba3f0b98e5b8&athena=true

Good for one room. Two if the rooms are small.
 
Mycroft said:
A friend uses one. They have a large open living/dining room area and it keeps the whole room very cold.

They have something like this one: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Frigidai...e-Control-for-Rooms-up-to-550-Sq-Ft/591367079

Walmart has a wide range of units, though most will run you $200+.

https://www.walmart.com/browse/home...air-conditioners/1072864_133032_133026_587564
Click to expand...

Well a family member gets a very large employee discount at a hardware store chain so I can get one pretty cheap thankfully. I currently have a $400 dehumidifier that my family got for free because someone returned it to the store because the box was damaged and the store couldn't resell it.
 
Only go with the dual hose models because only the dual hose types will offer anything near the efficiency of a window unit.
Also, be prepared to deal with the condensation because ALL air conditioners produce water, and portables are no exception, and you will not want to have a constant puddle under the unit.
A simple rubber hose and a tiny fish pump will work to expel the water to the outside.
 
Carjosse said:
Has anyone here had experiences with portable air conditioners? Would you recommend them?

I am just dying in the heat, I have two fans in my studio apartment but they can only do so much. My windows do not accommodate a window mounted one so my parents want to get me a portable one but I have heard mixed opinions about them.
Click to expand...

They work alright but window ac units are more efficient. The one I had died after the first year and paid 300 for it being mobile so I could move it room to room, would cost almost as much to recharge it as it would to replace it.


A portable ac still requires decent sized windows, as it uses them to vent the heat from the refridgeration process, otherwise you are countering any cooling effect. If your windows can handle it I would highly reccomend a small window unit or a window mounted swamp cooler used on vent to create a draft fan effect which moves more ait than 20 fans through your house simply by leaving windows cracked open.

Edit to give you an example, in east texas many houses run swamp coolers even though it is too humid to benefit from water evaporation. They simply use them as external mounted fans that force air into the house with an exit causing a house wide movement of air through pressure differential, it was a cheaper mod then building an actual draft fan prior to ac units becoming common and many house even in the east texas heat and humidity still use them.
 
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beerftw said:
They work alright but window ac units are more efficient. The one I had died after the first year and paid 300 for it being mobile so I could move it room to room, would cost almost as much to recharge it as it would to replace it.


A portable ac still requires decent sized windows, as it uses them to vent the heat from the refridgeration process, otherwise you are countering any cooling effect. If your windows can handle it I would highly reccomend a small window unit or a window mounted swamp cooler used on vent to create a draft fan effect which moves more ait than 20 fans through your house simply by leaving windows cracked open.

Edit to give you an example, in east texas many houses run swamp coolers even though it is too humid to benefit from water evaporation. They simply use them as external mounted fans that force air into the house with an exit causing a house wide movement of air through pressure differential, it was a cheaper mod then building an actual draft fan prior to ac units becoming common and many house even in the east texas heat and humidity still use them.
Click to expand...

I have very tall horizontal opening windows that can only be cleaned by removing them. I don't think a window mounted anything would work in that situation.
 
Carjosse said:
I have very tall horizontal opening windows that can only be cleaned by removing them. I don't think a window mounted anything would work in that situation.
Click to expand...

Then you can still use portable ac so long as the dimensions match what the box says because unlike window ac the vent can be mounted horizontally or vertically meaning if you have tall and thin windows it should work if it is within the specs listed on the box.

Measure the openings on your window before you buy, as some units require larger windows for vent than others.
 
beerftw said:
Then you can still use portable ac so long as the dimensions match what the box says because unlike window ac the vent can be mounted horizontally or vertically meaning if you have tall and thin windows it should work if it is within the specs listed on the box.

Measure the openings on your window before you buy, as some units require larger windows for vent than others.
Click to expand...

Well the window I would put the vent out of is 0.75m (~2 1/2') by 1.5m (~5') so I think that should be big enough.
 
They don't work nearly as well as the same BTU window units. Basically they are a very small window unit that vents hot air out a clothes drier type tubular vent - costing 300% more than the same BTU window unit. They do need to vent outside - so accordingly it also produces a window more easy for a burglar to get thru. We have both window units and these portables, and the window units of the same BTU rating out perform the portables that cost significantly more.
 
Carjosse said:
Well the window I would put the vent out of is 0.75m (~2 1/2') by 1.5m (~5') so I think that should be big enough.
Click to expand...

The average studio is under 1,000 sq ft. Requiring 6,000 btu cooling units or less. A more powerful unit will cost less to run, cool more efficiently, with less draw on the compressor. There is no reason, assuming you have a bathroom window, to not vent a portable through the bathroom window. Plexiglass sheeting becomes your friend. Vent from the highest possible point. Use a narrow necked jug for draining.
 
OldFatGuy said:
The average studio is under 1,000 sq ft. Requiring 6,000 btu cooling units or less. A more powerful unit will cost less to run, cool more efficiently, with less draw on the compressor. There is no reason, assuming you have a bathroom window, to not vent a portable through the bathroom window. Plexiglass sheeting becomes your friend. Vent from the highest possible point. Use a narrow necked jug for draining.
Click to expand...

Since the consumption portion of my power bill is $4/month cost is not really an issue but I will keep it is mind for the noise level.
 
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