Portable AC units

I got one of these at Lowes for our master bedroom. Probably 350-400sqft. I can get the room down to 68 degrees in the middle of Summer. Our regular AC unit just can't get it cool enough to be comfortable at night. Hovers around 74-76 so this supplements our regular AC and works perfectly.

Hisense 8,000-BTU 200-sq ft 115-Volt Portable Air Conditioner

I have one that works pretty well. Funny you should say 80 as that is where I set it so I can't say if it goes lower. It's bloody hot out here on Mars..........I mean Riverside

I bought the Haier 8K BTU model for my oldest daughters room (upstairs, big room, vaulted ceiling, sky lights) it does help but I can't get it below 76-7 degrees in there when it is 85-90 outside.

I am looking to put a mini split system in for my upstairs as I currently have the largest non-commercial unit you can have and it still doesn't cool the upstairs enough (3600 sq. ft. total up/down) in the middle of summer.

TXDirt wrote:

I got one of these at Lowes for our master bedroom. Probably 350-400sqft. I can get the room down to 68 degrees in the middle of Summer. Our regular AC unit just can't get it cool enough to be comfortable at night. Hovers around 74-76 so this supplements our regular AC and works perfectly.

Hisense 8,000-BTU 200-sq ft 115-Volt Portable Air Conditioner

One advantage you have is your central unit is supplying air to the portable at 75 degrees. Mine has to get air from outside at 93. Huge difference. If I could get 74 I would be happy as hell. Don't need 68.
My living room is about 400 sq/ft and I have the LG 12000 btu. 93 outside and 83 inside right now and it's been running for 2 hours. There are 2 problems with these portables that make them less efficient, 1. You cant just circulate the room air, you have to bring hot air from outside to displace the air going out the hose. 2. The hose is pretty hot. It acts like a little heater behind the unit. Window units don't have either one of those problems.

Anyway, just a PSA for anybody thinking about getting a room AC. Go with the window unit if you can. Cheaper to buy, cheaper to run and does a better job.

This is the article from consumer reports. : Portable ac

I got a Hisense 12K BTU from Lowe's last summer while in the Seattle area. First time in forever that I'd lived anywhere without central heat and air, and it was a pretty warm summer for Seattle. I only used it in the living/dining area and then had a few fans pushing some air to the bedrooms, etc. It didn't seem to work all that well so I started trying to figure out what was up. It was pretty warm behind the unit, and I found that exhaust air was coming out from between the unit and the plate that slides in and has the hose attached. I threw some duct tape on it and also taped up all the window to spacer joints and together those really helped the machine cool the area.

This year we are back over in Eastern Washington and have great working central AC, so I just had the portable unit stored in the garage. When our bookkeeper asked about getting an air conditioner for her office, I remembered the little portable and took it up. Had to drill a hole for a 4" exhaust (she doesn't have a window!) but after that she's able to get her and my foreman's offices (each about 12x15, connected by a doorway) to below 70. We've been pretty warm recently, so I'm pretty satisfied with that so far!

I just bought an Olmo split unit for one of my beach house rentals. Its ductless and cools the place really well. Removed the window banger. Lol

I've been thinking about getting one of those portable AC units. We only ever have a few days of really hot weather here each year, and I've always been able to open up my townhouse windows and sliding deck door and get some cool air flowing thru my place after the sun goes down. My problem is now I have smokers on the decks on each side of me, and unless the wind is coming from the south my place can reek of cigarette smoke in seconds.

So now I'm thinking about getting one of the portable AC units so I don't have to rely on air flow thru my townhouse. My condo association does not allow window mounted AC units, but lots of people break that rule and the board never enforces it. But still I don't want to mess with a window mounted unit.

I would recommend this one. When my ac was out, it was in a 600sq master and kept it below 80 even while it was around 95 out. Also on the other side of the non insulated interior wall it was 100+

Biggest downfall is the amount of water it will produce in the high humidity. If you can't run a hose out side, you would have to drain the water out often. In a crunch I set mine on table with a 5 gallon bucket to catch the water.


http://www.homedepot.com/p/LG-Electronics-14-000-BTU-Portable-Air-Conditioner-and-Dehumidifier-Function-with-Remote-in-Graphite-Gray-LP1415GXR/205649875

Have this one in a 14x22 insulated shed. It works ok but not great.