Question about how those portable air conditioners work.

[cjchaps]

I have a question about portable air conditioners like this one..

They have a tube that goes out a window. Do they recycle the air inside the room only or do they take air from outside and bring it inside the room?

 

[FoBoT]

they blow the hot air out the tube to the outside
that is how the heat is removed from the room, it goes out the tube/window

 

[Minerva]

The condenser (part that gets hot) pushes the air outside. If you run it unvented it's a dehumidifier.

 

[cjchaps]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
they blow the hot air out the tube to the outside
that is how the heat is removed from the room, it goes out the tube/window

Do they then bring air from the outside in to replace the air that they blew out?

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: cjchaps

Originally posted by: FoBoT
they blow the hot air out the tube to the outside
that is how the heat is removed from the room, it goes out the tube/window

Do they then bring air from the outside in to replace the air that they blew out?

no
the inlet is on the front of the unit

 

[BigJ]

Portable air conditioners are for the most part absolute crap.

And the tube is purely for venting. It does not draw air in through the tube.

 

[Minerva]

LIke a window shaker OUTSIDE air is drawn across the condenser coil. You have TWO tubes which are a supply and return. THe supply pulls air from OUTSIDE into the unit and across the condenser coil. This air which is hot is discharged out the RETURN hose. These units do NOT change the pressure in the conditioned space. (in other words they do not need make up air)

 

[FoBoT]

they are better than nothing, if you are hot and can't use a normal window unit

 

[cjchaps]

The reason I ask is that the house I moved into a few years ago has an addition on it which never gets cold enough in the summer. I was thinking of getting one of these and venting it into the crawlspace which is kind of musty and I wouldn't want the room I am trying to cool to smell musty.

 

[mugs]

Why not use a window unit?

 

[cjchaps]

I want to keep have it run in the corner of the room which is out of the way and away from the windows.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: cjchaps
I want to keep have it run in the corner of the room which is out of the way and away from the windows.

So you want to spend an extra $300+ dollars because you don't like it in the window?

 

[FoBoT]

the tube isn't that long, it has to be fairly close to the window anyway

 

[Minerva]

Window units can be mounted through the wall. As a matter of fact a lot of the large ones are set this way. Of course if you're venting into another part of the house, condensation management becomes an issue. Window shakers use gravity and will drain on the outside. You could braze a catchpan beneath it and have a small rubber hose drain to the outside but it has to be watched! If it clogs and the pan spills over and water comes down through a ceiling it makes a mess.

 

[cjchaps]

Yea - I would spend the extra money to keep it out of the way. I read that you can also attach a tube to them which I could also feed through the floor to my sump and drain the water there....