Anyone know anything about Portable AC units?

[toggleswitch]

Standard sleeves are better than chopping a non-standard hole in the wall (for a side-breather) and having to replace a unit and modify the hole.

Really, for a bedroom used mostly at night-- unless you are directly under a hot attic-- 11k is probably too large.

 

[volvoguy87]

Difference in capacity.

I am shooting for 11,000-14,000 in a portable unit to compensate for the heat produced by the machine in the room and some other significant deficiencies I have read about on the specific models of portable ACs I have been researching. For a window unit, I would only need to go as high as 8,000 BTUs.

We are restoring the windows and window sills. I know window units, when properly installed, pose no danger to the window sill, but Wes is familiar with the damage resulting from poorly designed and/or installed window units. I am confident I can install a window unit with no problems, but it' not my house.

As for toughing it out, that is not an option. Last summer it was over 90 and HUMID at night in my room. I can sleep with high humidity or high heat, but not both. Also, I work a lot from home and my desk is in my room. I would like to be able to work and sleep without drowning in my own sweat.

Who makes good window units that are less likely to vibrate?

Thanks for all your input,
Dave

 

[petek]

I remember those "Norge" type window units that were split in half where the window closed right through it. But the one I had was made by a company called Heat-Controller of Jackson Michigan. They probably made the Norge units because they rebranded them for dept stores as well. They worked equally as well for side-sliding windows as well as double-hung because there was only a small perhaps 2" square tube joining the two halves in the bottom right corner. Very ingenious design and virtually no louder than a table fan on low inside. I wonder why no-one has brought them back?

 

[foraloysius]

Here's another dual hose portable air conditioner. I've seen the Soleus models more often on the internet. I agree with Pete that a dual hose model is the only way to go with a portable machine.

Bathroom, Kitchen - Faucets, Sinks, Hardware - Ferguson Home

Huge Online Savings on over 500,000 home improvement projects: Shop faucets, sinks, lighting, hardware, fans, appliances and more at Ferguson Home.

www.compactappliance.com

 

[toggleswitch]

Become nudists and threaten to leave the blinds/shades open.
The fear of the neighbors complaining should be enough to shake Wes into allowing window-units!

Good, then an un-restored window is the perfect place for one!

 

[toggleswitch]

Actaully the health and comfort of the inhabitants of the house should be more important than the windows.
Besides cooled and dehumdiifed air will be benefitial to the house/structure itself.

Look, water in a bathroom adds to maintenance issues and mold and rot. But, is one not supposed to use water to sustain the life of the ceramic tiles or the wallpaper or the sheetrock or the shower curtain?

Perhaps there has been A case of A window unit rotting A window somewhere (hint: take it out in winter), but you guys are aware of the potential maintenace issues and will be smart enough to avoid that scenario by being observant.

Should one not also cook with gas because it places a coating of yellow-brown sticky residue over every surface in the house starting with the kitchen? Yes, these are called byproducts of combustion and are unavoidable. One simply has to wash walls and ceilings and floors and paint constantly when cooking with gas. Does that mean no stove too, to preserve the kitchen?

 

[toggleswitch]

An 11k to 14k "portable unit" will be using about TWICE the electricity of a window unit of 4k to 8k BTU/h.

The cost of electricity of a portable unit will FAR exceed the cost of running a smaller window unit + window repairs.

A one-hose portable A/C that sucks cooled air though the machine and pumps it out the window is just not green. Period.

 

[spankomatic]

This is the one I had. It was rather noisy. Always had to empty that drain pan or it would start clicking. I think it worked real hard to do a lot of nothing. It only brought down the room temp about 3 degrees. I would take it every summer to "camp" and use it in my 8x10 finished Tuff shed. I ended up selling it and getting a window air conditioner instead. HUGE difference. No drain pan to worry about. Significantly quieter. Much more efficent. Cooled the Tuff shed right down on very hot (110 degree) days. I would not buy another one again.

Jim

 

[spankomatic]

2

 

[spankomatic]

3

 

[foraloysius]

Jim

I have exactly the same airconditioner. Portable ones are the most common overhere in the Netherlands because our windows are different and make it impossible to install window air conditioners. With a carton lid and an extra hose I converted it to a dual hose one. I will have to take a picture!

 

[foraloysius]

Here's the picture. I improvised, but it works, this unit is much more efficient now. Still very noisy though.

 

[norgeway]

Wes wont allow!!!

Well if Donald said there could be no window unit...or dishwasher or anything else...he could find someone else to live with, it gets over 100 here and with 80+ humidity, there is either air or murder!!!

 

[circlew]

Whole-house fan

Hey Dave, although it would be of limited value in the daytime, an attic fan may cool the house down enough at night to make sleeping comfortable. Many of my relatives in the south had these before air conditioning was affordable to them. After dark they would open the windows and turn the fan on, and the strong breeze would cool the house down in just a few minutes. These were located in the ceiling of the hallway outside the bedrooms. I don't know how the house is set up, but that might not be practical if the attic is finished. There are other models available that mount in an attic gable behind louvers. This of course would require leaving the door to the attic open when the fan is being used, or having louvers in the door. Hope you guys will find a way to keep cool.

 

[toggleswitch]

Today's window units now use plastic and sytrofoam where metal once was.

The good thing is that the styrofoam makes for a quieter unit, and it absorbs and attenuates vibration(s).

Plastic fans have less mass, are better balanced, and also lead to less vibration. Ditto rotary compressors. The movement is balanced and vibration, if any, is minimal. The comprtesso sits on rubber mounts and springs. The compressor may vibrate, but such vibration is not tranferred to the frame/base of the A/C unit OR to the window in which it is housed.

My father simply cut-to-fit white aluminum sheets and made a protected path for water that came throught the screens to exit the area between the windows and the storm-windows. Of couse the storm windows need to have two "weep-holes" (in the cauliking) for water to escape to outside the house!

WHEN THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS WAY.

NYC lanlords are prohibited BY LAW from banning window air-condtioners. They MAY charge $5 per month for wach unit for the wear-and-tear on the window and the outlet. NO ONE DOES because there is none!

 

[toggleswitch]

To prevent any fear of vibration simply mount an "L" angle bar to hold the top of the unit (instead of the window holding the unit) and screw it to the sides of the window frame.

This will also allow the A/C to be well-supported while the window can still be opened for cleaning or ventilation.

Any reputable dealer can install one this way. You'll pay good money for such a thing, but if it means reduction of fear and peace of mind.............

Be sure to sepecify if you need the unit to be removable in winter, or "permanent" (year-round).

 

[volvoguy87]

Whole House Fan.

We live on the 1st 2 floors of the house. We rent out the 3rd floor, so we have no attic access (and not much of an attic to access anyway). Appliguy was kind enough to give me a big 1950s Robbins & Myers window fan. It's a real window fan, not a box fan. It moves a ton of air and I turn it on high-speed exhaust when the temperature outside is cooler than that inside. Unfortunately, although it moves lots of air, it is of insufficient capacity for the 1st 2 floors.

Wes and I restore old fans and although they do move lots of air, it's hot air.

Still working on it,
Dave

 

[spankomatic]

Here is a photo of my Sunbeam window air conditioner that I bought for $89.00 on clearance at Circuit City a few years ago. It is only 5000 BTU and works WAY BETTER than the portable hose model I had. This one will keep the "Tuff" shed 68-70 on a hot 105 degree day. The portable hose model(9000 BTU) just could NOT keep up and would be in the upper 90's inside. Just to give you and idea of the SIGNIFICANT difference between the two models.

 

[spankomatic]

2.
Its very small and light weight. I only bring it with me to camp every summer then take it back home.

 

[richardc1983]

an opinion from the uk

in my job our company services air con I have had a lot of interest previously in this area also.

I used portable a/c units with 1 hose for 2 yrs to cool my flat in summer... it was very expensive to run and a 12000btu unit struggled to cool 1 room down and would run constantly. I had to keep doors closed all the time as it would struggle and was very noisy.

I turned it into a 2 hose unit by using a spare hose and making a funnel on the back of the unit and using duct tape to seal it so that the unit would pull air in for the condenser from the outside rather than sucking the cold expensively produced air from the room I was trying to cool and throwing it outside! This worked better but still not ideal.

The cooling load on my room is about 2kws however I was using a 3.5kw portable unit to cool a room and it still wasnt enough, they are weak they are not very good!

I now have split inverter a/c, it is great, silent, and cheap to run. If you are using portable units make sure you get the biggest you can afford as even if you have oversized you still need to take account that the single hosed models will extract a lot of the cool air out of the room and then warmer air from other rooms will come in to replace it... defeating the purpose of it!

Go with window ac or split ac if you can afford it, i sold all my portable units and this pretty much covered the cost of the split unit!

I use LG split units, they are cheap to buy and run.