Portable air conditioner

[dbt1949]

Any of you all have one of these?
I know it needs an exhaust hose to go out the window (in my case) but what about emptying water? Do you have a drip tank type thing that has to be emptied once a day or hours?
How satisfied are you with your unit?

[Unagi]

In Alabama , you will produce gallons of water a day.

You would want one with a gravity hose or better , one with a pump…. And set the hose out the window or drain.

[LordMortis]

Any of you all have one of these?
I know it needs an exhaust hose to go out the window (in my case) but what about emptying water? Do you have a drip tank type thing that has to be emptied once a day or hours?
How satisfied are you with your unit?

I've used them for emergency purposes in an onsite data center. They have a runoff hose that you can run outside with the exhaust. I good exhaust is very important. From a data center I just had the run off going into a bucket as there was no reasonable means to send the water outside or to a drain. It was so dry and air was so well circulating, I never had to empty it.

We ended up with two of something like this

12,000 BTU 115-Volt Portable Air Conditioner Cools 400 sq. ft. with Dehumidifier Function and LCD Remote White

Even at only 12,000 BTU they would blow a circuit with heavy draw if two of them were on the same line.

[Max Peck]

I've got a Kenmore portable A/C that I bought back in 2010 and it gets the job done. It isn't able to cool the entire apartment, but it keeps the bedroom comfortable. I've never needed to worry about draining it, but it can be rigged up to do so if necessary.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Any of you all have one of these?
I know it needs an exhaust hose to go out the window (in my case) but what about emptying water? Do you have a drip tank type thing that has to be emptied once a day or hours?
How satisfied are you with your unit?

I've used portable air conditioners in the past, and would generally advise to consider them as a last resort, especially if you can viably use a window unit instead. Because window A/C units tend to be much, much more energy efficient, so they cost less to run, provide increased cooling as a result, and minimise noise levels by keeping the compressor outside the room you're cooling.

Failing that, if a portable A/C unit is your only option, try to avoid single-hose portable A/C units and opt for a dual-hose system instead, for the reasons explained below:



Although if you're stuck with a single-hose system, adding insulation to the exhaust hose can greatly increase its efficiency, reduce operating costs, and increase cooling performance. Because that helps stop the heat passing through it from radiating back into your room.

[LordMortis]

Although if you're stuck with a single-hose system, adding insulation to the exhaust hose can greatly increase its efficiency, reduce operating costs, and increase cooling performance. Because that helps stop the heat passing through it from radiating back into your room.

We had to do that. We had to run a very long exhaust hose to vent through the ceiling and a lot of heat tried to escape by cheap thin plastic exhaust hose. In addition to not being energy efficient, the draw can be very hard on your power.

[Max Peck]

Mine is a dual-hose model with an intake and an exhaust that both connect to a vertical window adaptor. A window-mount A/C for the bedroom is not an option, so the in-room portable A/C is all I have to work with.

It also has a heating mode, so I sometimes use it as a space heater in the winter if the building's antique central hot water heating isn't cutting it. In that case I don't have it hooked up to the window and just let it recirculate indoor air.

[Jaymann]

I have a single hose model, but with a booster mid hose for turbo action.

[Unagi]

I've got a Kenmore portable A/C that I bought back in 2010 and it gets the job done. It isn't able to cool the entire apartment, but it keeps the bedroom comfortable. I've never needed to worry about draining it, but it can be rigged up to do so if necessary.

Whaaa ? It doesn't collect any water from the air?

[Max Peck]

I've got a Kenmore portable A/C that I bought back in 2010 and it gets the job done. It isn't able to cool the entire apartment, but it keeps the bedroom comfortable. I've never needed to worry about draining it, but it can be rigged up to do so if necessary.

Whaaa ? It doesn't collect any water from the air?

It does, but it unless the humidity is exceptionally high, the condensed water is evaporated and expelled through the exhaust vent along with the heated air. "Bucketless operation" is touted as a selling point in the product description.

Per the user manual:

Water drainage is not needed during cooling operation; if you do use direct drain during the cooling operation, the energy efficiency will be reduced. However, in extremely high humidity conditions (e.g. above 85%RH), condensed water may begin to accumulate in the bottom tray. When the bottom tray is full, the unit stops running and sounds a signal (8 beeps).

In 13 years of operation, I've never had it shut down due to the tray becoming full. The only time I manually drain it is at the end of summer to make sure there is no water sitting in it while it is not operating. The only time I'd need to hook up the drain outlet for continuous operation would if I had it running in dehumidifer mode rather than cooling.

[Unagi]

Interesting. I have no experience with portable units, but I read that if you live in a humid environment a unit could accumulate >10 gallons of water a day.
Obviously, that could be just plain wrong or even just true about certain types/efficiency of methods, etc.

Also, I always thought that all A/Cs worked as dehumidifiers... that's part of the "C" in A/C... No?

[LordMortis]

My central air unit dumps several gallons a day when we get in to the mid 80s or more.

[malchior]

Also, I always thought that all A/Cs worked as dehumidifiers... that's part of the "C" in A/C... No?

It's due to the temperature change at the coils. The air blows across the cold coils which lowers the air temperature and consequently reduces the capacity of air to hold water. That water effectively condenses on the coils and then collects, drains, or at some point evaps back into the air.

[Unagi]

Right, so a unit that doesn't produce water is simply one that isn't finding water in the air. There is no way to avoid water condensation if it's in your air.

[Max Peck]

The one I have does condense water out of the air as it cools it, but it then evaporates the condensed water and expels the heated water vapor along with the heated air as part of the cooling cycle. If the humidity is too high, then the evaporation can't keep pace with the condensation and the collection pan will fill up.

How Do Self-Evaporative Portable ACs Eliminate Moisture?

Fully self-evaporating units use various types of technology to remove moisture. Some models automatically recycle residual moisture and expel it through the exhaust hose. Others have dual exhaust hoses which enable the air conditioner to evaporate more moisture than only a single hose unit.

While self-evaporating portable ACs are able to remove accumulated condensation under normal operating conditions, when the humidity level in the room is high, or they are operated in dehumidify mode, some moisture will accumulate in the unit. In this case, these units have interior container or pan which can be drained, or the portable AC can be set up with a drain hose.

To learn more about the difference between partially- and fully self-evaporating air conditioners (and their draining options), check out our Portable Air Conditioner Buying Guide.

[Daehawk]

$20 @ Menards

[dbt1949]

Those don't work real well in closed spaces when it's already hot.

[Holman]

One thing to know is that portable AC units are really loud. The whole engine is there in the room with you, bouncing its noise off the walls rather than hanging outside in the open.

[em2nought]

Portable air conditioners are terrible! The air they put out feels damp all the time. They consume too much electricity too. What you should get is a mini-split ac. They're efficient and the air they put out feels very nice. For a bit more coin you can get one that heats also.

[dbt1949]

I have a new window unit ready to install. My health has deteriorated so much I can't install it. I can hire somebody or ask my youngest stepson to do it for me.
I was just looking for alts, for now and the future.

[Jeff V]

At my last IT job, all of our data centers had a portable AC unit for those all-to-frequent times when the house AC failed. The biggest issue is the hot air has to be vented somewhere. In most cases, we needed special ceiling tiles that could be connected to the exhaust hose to vent into a vaulted ceiling. If this was not possible, it had to be somehow vented outside of the data center. I don't think I'd recommend one as a primary cooling source, but if properly setup it might avoid a middle-of-the-night emergency.

[em2nought]

My health has deteriorated so much I can't install it.

This is the one area I'd consider NOT skimping in as you're going to be in that environment most of the time right? I'd definitely think about the mini-split then as it will make you as comfortable as possible. In the long run the increased cost will be offset by reduced energy consumption. Lowes carries them, and I think you can get it installed through them. They might give you the military discount too, although it doesn't apply to appliances anymore and I don't know if they consider an air conditioner an appliance or not. Doesn't hurt to ask. If you haven't unboxed that window unit, or had it for too long, I'd try taking it back. The mini-split is going to run more efficiently than the window unit too and just make a much nicer environment. The only issue you might have is you'll need a stool, better a sturdy step ladder, to remove and clean the filter once in awhile. You can easily rinse the filter off in a bathtub. Filter is pretty much like a window unit filter. They could do better there. I've seen where people build purpose built duct boxes over the mini-split indoor unit intake so they can use higher quality filters with it.

[em2nought]

If you're still interested in a portable air conditioner, and have an Aldi in your area they a good deal on an 8000 btu portable air conditioner for $169.99 this week. Cheapest by far I've ever seen for a brand new portable air conditioner.

[Alefroth]

One thing to know is that portable AC units are really loud. The whole engine is there in the room with you, bouncing its noise off the walls rather than hanging outside in the open.

This. We had to return one because we couldn't sleep in the room we needed it to cool.

[Kasey Chang]

There are those upright ones size of a small trash can, and they are actually quite bearable noise wise since they are not true heat exchangers. If you want a true heat exchanger with refrigerant loop that cost a lot more.

Most of the cheap crap are actually evap air coolers (i.e. swamp cooler). If they don't list BTU, it's a swamp cooler.