Has anyone had experience using portable air conditioners?

[Saint Nick]

I was looking to get one for a room in an older house with no central air. It is a smaller wood working room. I would cut a hole in the house and hook the exhaust up to that. I forgot to mention that there are no windows in this room.

If anyone has any experience, do you have any brands to recommend or certain things to look out for?

 

[her209]

Do you have a rodent problem?

 

[Saint Nick]

I'm not too worried about a mouse popping out of my air conditioner...at least I won't be worried until it actually happens. At which point I will immediately create a thread on ATOT about it and it will go into the history books as one of the most popular...... 😀

 

[Dirigible]

If possible to use a window unit, do that instead. The portable ones work, but are much more expensive than an equivalent window unit. If you are in a humid area, the portable ones may have issues with too much condensed water building up as well.

 

[hanoverphist]

i use a window unit for my server closet. it is built into the wall now, no real difference imo. the room size will make your choice for you usually, i chose the smallest one i could find (100sq ft) due to the closet being only 6'X4'X7.5'

if youre not in a humid area, why not look at a swamp cooler instead? mebbe that would mess with the wood tho.

 

[Saint Nick]

If possible to use a window unit, do that instead. The portable ones work, but are much more expensive than an equivalent window unit. If you are in a humid area, the portable ones may have issues with too much condensed water building up as well.

Our summers in Nebraska can get pretty humid, but they can be pretty dry, too. Right now it is pretty humid, but later this summer it will start to dry out a little bit. I was worried about the unit freezing up on me because of too much water, but I think I might be all right, especially since the rest of the house is cooled/dehumidified through other means.

 

[nageov3t]

if you have the option, I'd get a window unit over a portable.

it's a little bit of a pain to install/uninstall, but you're only doing it twice a year. I usually install mine memorial day weekend and they stay in till Halloween-ish (except this year... I've convinced myself that if I install my window units that means I'm not moving this year. lol)

 

[Saint Nick]

I'm sorry everyone, I forgot to mention there were no windows in the shop!

 

[CPA]

I use one by DiLonghii. It works well, however you still need a window or a door to vent out the warm air. I use it cool down our garage that we've turned into a gym.

This is the one I have. Amazon reviews aren't good, but I've had no issues with mine and it does quite well

http://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-Pingu...822616&sr=1-15

What it doesn't show is that there are two large hoses that connect to the back that need to be vented to a window.

 

[nageov3t]

I'm sorry everyone, I forgot to mention there were no windows in the shop!

if you're cutting a hole anyways, why not just make it a little bigger to fit a whole AC unit? :twisted:

 

[Saint Nick]

I keep reading reviews about portable air conditioners, but they all seem so negative.

I'm hoping its only the negatives posting about it and the people who are happy aren't saying anything. I'm about to bite on one, but just a little afraid, I guess.

 

[JoeKing]

I've got one in my basement, it actually runs triple duty as an A/C, heater, and dehumidifier. Works great IMO, the ability to control temperature where I want to for minimum hassle is a big plus.

But you do have to watch out for condensation. From the units I've seen (we have several at work for back ups in case central air dies) they all have some method to catch the water that is extracted from the air, and depending on how humid the environment you'll have to empty out the water every so often.

My own unit downstairs is pretty nice in that there's a little drainage tube that I can run to any open drain nearby.