Portable Air Conditioners

[Doe Be Doe]

My building has central air conditioning. The system is either on heat or a/c. We switched to heat a few weeks ago when it turned cold. Now, it's very warm and the building has not switched back to a/c.

 

Does anyone know if those portable air conditioners work? I'd always heard that they were a waste of money but that information is old.

 

Thoughts or ideas?

 

Thanks.

 

Doe

[+ Truereview]

When you say portable AC, do you mean a window unit or something else?

[+ bigjoey]

I looked them up on Amazon a few weeks ago during a hot spell. There are reviews there. Some models have good reviews and some not. Some other sites have reviews as well. I am planning on getting one next Summer for a bedroom that doesn't quite get cold enough.

 

Wonderful how easy the internet makes product reviews available like the old Consumer Reports. Just like reviewing movies or restaurants, almost every type of product review can be found. Not long ago, I needed a new washer and dryer and bought a Speed Queen, a brand that was unknown to me. The reviews were spot on in their praise of the product. Actually, as I type, I forgot we are o na review site!! Escorts or air conditioners, just do your research.

[Kevin Slater]

I had one in an old apartment. It was ok, not great. You're always better with a through-the-wall or through-the-window unit (well, central air is best of all, of course), but if that's not an option, portable is better than nothing. They consume more electricity and don't work as well, but in the height of summer it beats having nothing. You know you'll need a window through which to vent it, right? (Although one of the Home Depot guys mentioned a ventless model to me once. I've tried to find such a thing subsequently to no luck, so maybe I simply misunderstood him.)

 

Kevin Slater

[Irtwo]

Kevin is right. Those portable air conditioners don't work that great. And yes, they have some, ventless types, but they are even worse. You'll be better off with a large fan.

[craigville beach]

I have one for the 5-10 days each summer that I need one (I live in a higher elevation in a rural area with a great number of trees around me). The plus is: the exhaust can go into and out of the window fairly quickly and easily, it doesn't take up a whole window for the full season. When I don't need it, I can still have the full use of a fully opened window.

[rvwnsd]

A co-worker has one in her 100 year old Craftsman home and loves it. I am looking for one to put in my home office, which is typically 10 degrees warmer than the rest of the condo, thanks to southwest exposure. In addition to seeing no point in air conditioning the entire condo when I am only using the office during the day, the AC thermostat is in my living room. That room is a comfy 75 degrees while the office is a little oven.

[Zman]

They are better than nothing. But be careful of your floors: they often leak. Some models are worse than others in this regard so check the Amazon (and other) reviews closely. The last one of these I had I bought used on Craigslist. It was a good deal and it did a good enough job but it leaked so much I ended up putting it in a big plastic tub to catch all the water.

[MsGuy]

(Although one of the Home Depot guys mentioned a ventless model to me once. I've tried to find such a thing subsequently to no luck, so maybe I simply misunderstood him.)

 

And yes, they have some, ventless types, but they are even worse.

 

http://cdn.tilledsoil.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/child_questioning_header-640x240.jpg

 

OK, so air air conditioners don't create 'cold', they take heat out of the room's air and transfer it somewhere else. Unless you're talking about a window unit small and light enough to easily tote around, it's hard to picture exactly what a 'ventless' model is supposed to be doing. Somewhere there's gotta be a heat sink.

[Doe Be Doe]

Thanks for the replies. Hopefully the hot spell will pass and the subject will be moot.

[mike carey]

Does anyone know if those portable air conditioners work? I'd always heard that they were a waste of money but that information is old.

Thanks for the replies. Hopefully the hot spell will pass and the subject will be moot.

Be careful with this. From experience in offices where people brought in heaters because their cubicle was too cold, the building central heating will probably detect the fact that it's not warning your apartment enough and throw more heat into it, negating the effect of your portable aircon.

[Lookin]

OK, so air air conditioners don't create 'cold', they take heat out of the room's air and transfer it somewhere else. Unless you're talking about a window unit small and light enough to easily tote around, it's hard to picture exactly what a 'ventless' model is supposed to be doing. Somewhere there's gotta be a heat sink.

 

They're called 'swamp coolers' and they work by evaporating water into the air, kind of like the way perspiring works. To work at their best, they should be in a low-humidity room, preferably with an open window which does act as a vent for the moistened air. But they'll work (sort of) in a relatively closed room too.

 

We had a rudimentary one in India, in which a fan blew from behind and through a bundle of straw which was kept moist by water dripping through it from a reservoir at the top. Problem was, it was hot and humid at the time so, while a cool breeze came out the front of the contraption, the room became uncomfortably humid.

 

We were better served by praying to Ganesh for an early monsoon. http://www.boytoy.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif

 

http://api.ning.com/files/lET3ABatHUnHc7AJwTpNMtFGQ-zbJddB2bA2*zn-x9WAXSI*ICimUKrdV*wpGrM0FwsN-0NgzlJ-0euFtulEtS0LkROQr26w/ganesh4.jpg?width=737&height=552

[OneFinger]

It's been a very warm summer in San Diego and my apartment doesn't have AC. So, I went to Lowes and purchased a portable room AC. It has a exit vent that is installed in the window.

That has been my lifesaver this summer. Works well and keeps my small apartment livable. At times I wish it was cooler. But, it is so much better than no AC. I'd buy again in a minute. But, I'd spend more money for a larger unit rather than buying one that says it will cool my small apartment.

[johnjohn]

I looked them up on Amazon a few weeks ago during a hot spell. There are reviews there. Some models have good reviews and some not. Some other sites have reviews as well. I am planning on getting one next Summer for a bedroom that doesn't quite get cold enough.

 

Wonderful how easy the internet makes product reviews available like the old Consumer Reports. Just like reviewing movies or restaurants, almost every type of product review can be found. Not long ago, I needed a new washer and dryer and bought a Speed Queen, a brand that was unknown to me. The reviews were spot on in their praise of the product. Actually, as I type, I forgot we are o na review site!! Escorts or air conditioners, just do your research.

[johnjohn]

Yea Speed Queen Washer /dryers are the BEST I have sold most all the other brands, they are the best and the only washers that still fill up with water.

[+ Italiano]

I have purchased two for my apt in Chelsea where I moved last May, as the building charges a lot of money to mount the usual ones at the windows, and I don't like to keep them there in winter time.

I bought one 8000 BTU for the bedroom and one 10000 for the larger living room. These new LG don't need has the water emptied and they don't leek.

Quite noisy, they work fine, but still I wish that in some hot days the one in the living room would make it colder.

I would buy one