Has anyone tried a portable air conditioner?

seadoug

seadoug

Senior Member
Location
Texas
I posted last summer that I was ordering a "room cooler" from Amazon. It works fairly well, but it is really just a tower fan that oscillates. I did a little research and ordered an actual portable air conditioner. It is also a tower unit, but it holds 2 1/2 gallons of water for cooling and, if needed, 4 icepacks. I'm expecting it on Friday. It doesn't connect through the window like some units.

Just wondering if anyone else has tried something similar? If so, did it work?
 

No, I have never had one. My friend that passed bought me a small window unit but he passed before he could put it in. Still sitting in the garage. It was for my bedroom, I sleep better in a cold room. I should ask my son to take a look and see if he thinks he could put it in.

Let me know how it works out. It would be something I would consider!!
 
seadoug said:
I posted last summer that I was ordering a "room cooler" from Amazon. It works fairly well, but it is really just a tower fan that oscillates. I did a little research and ordered an actual portable air conditioner. It is also a tower unit, but it holds 2 1/2 gallons of water for cooling and, if needed, 4 icepacks. I'm expecting it on Friday. It doesn't connect through the window like some units.

Just wondering if anyone else has tried something similar? If so, did it work?
Click to expand...
No I haven't tried one like that but have heard of them before. I hope it works well for you.:)
 
seadoug said:
I posted last summer that I was ordering a "room cooler" from Amazon. It works fairly well, but it is really just a tower fan that oscillates. I did a little research and ordered an actual portable air conditioner. It is also a tower unit, but it holds 2 1/2 gallons of water for cooling and, if needed, 4 icepacks. I'm expecting it on Friday. It doesn't connect through the window like some units.

Just wondering if anyone else has tried something similar? If so, did it work?
Click to expand...
Simple do it yourself cooler. Small fan, 5 gal bucket, some 3" pieces of pvc. Load with some frozen milk jugs and your in business.


diy ac.jpg
 
I have no advice but let us know.

The unit at this lousy apartment is 30 years old and I'm not looking forward to this summer. Temperature or cost. I'm upstairs but don't get the afternoon sun. I think they have to explode before they replace them. There are some newer ones around but not mine.
 
Just an update. I received this and assembled it and it is working like a charm. I usually have the A/C turned down to 73 but tonight it is on 77 and the room feels cool!

COOLECH Portable Air Conditioners, 4 Modes &3 Speeds, Waterless Alert System & 2.4-Gal Tank for 20H Cooling, Smart Remote, 12H Timer for Auto Off, 3-IN-1 Evaporative Air Cooler for Room Bedroom Office​

Visit the COOLECH Store
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 49 ratings
 
Any cooler that needs water is a swamp cooler and if you donā€™t leave a window cracked slightly in the room it is in it will burn out in a few months because they are really swamp coolers. I know from personal experience and it was a painful lesson as it cost me 300.
 
I never owned one but knew someone who did and it was quite good for a portable. It was actually cold and not just blowing coolish air around.
 
We had a portable air conditioner in our last house which worked great . I donā€™t know what kind it was. I think it was a GE but not positive. Itā€™s good for cooling smaller areas, not meant for a cooling an entire house.
 
I don't have a portable air conditioner that uses water. Instead I have a Vornado which is room air conditioner,it certainly does the job keeping me cool on hot, summer days. I have one in my bedroom &living room
I won;t be needing them when I move, I'll be able to control the air in my new apt
 
I have been looking at the portable ac's. They dehumidify like a regular unit does. Some have tanks you have to empty but others have drain hoses you route out of a window. I think it would be nice to have one on hand for emergencies in case my central unit went out. I am too old for this summer heat! ;)
 
I have central air but I also have a large portable unit. It's on wheels but it's heavy. The big problem for me is that the large hose that comes out of the back keeps popping off the window insert. I gave up trying to use it, but maybe I'll let the handyman take a shot at it. Like I said, I have central air but had the idea that I could cool just the one room down without cooling an entire floor. When it worked, it did a very good job of keeping the one large room cool.
 
Just posting an update on this. I love this portable air conditioner. I do feel the cool air being generated. We are already in the mid 90's here in Dallas and it makes a huge difference at night in the bedroom.

My only complaint was that it leaked on the carpet so I put a towel under it. Towels would become soaked. Tonight I put a plastic pan under it and there is no leakage at all. I guess it must be perfectly balanced.

So many states are becoming hotter much earlier in the season. I saw that Las Vegas reached record heat for this time in June. I would highly recommend a portable air conditioner. Again, it is this.

COOLECH Portable Air Conditioners, 4 Modes &3 Speeds, Waterless Alert System & 2.4-Gal Tank for 20H Cooling, Smart Remote, 12H Timer for Auto Off, 3-IN-1 Evaporative Air Cooler for Room Bedroom Office​

 
Seadoug, do you have a full AC unit for your house and this is just an extra for a small part of the home?
 
I bought my elderly neighbor a stand alone a/c 3 years ago. She kept complaining that she couldn't sleep at night because her bedroom was to warm for her, so I bought her the stand alone a/c and she was so grateful that she baked me a chocolate meringue pie as a return favor. I had mentioned it to her once how much I enjoyed eating that pie my mom would bake and haven't had one since she died, so she made one for me and said it was the only way she had of repaying me for the a/c.

It was a pleasant surprise.
 
seadoug said:
Just posting an update on this. I love this portable air conditioner. I do feel the cool air being generated. We are already in the mid 90's here in Dallas and it makes a huge difference at night in the bedroom.
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Thanks for posting the review. I've been looking to try one. I didn't want to spend the money to try a big unit, so I bought a tabletop unit. It just arrived a couple days ago. I'll try it soon. If it works, then I'll try a bigger unit.

I had a portable AC, not an evaporative cooler like the one you got. It blew hot air out the window. It was super loud, and the hot air that it blew back out was very hot. It worked well, but it was super heavy and super loud, and because I needed to have an open piece of window to vent it out, that added to the heat in the room.

If I can find a lighter one that's hopefully not as loud, I'm considering getting another one. If the evaporative cooler/swamp cooler works though, that would be great.
 
What you have ordered sounds like a swamp cooler.

I have used a portable A/C before, it was either a Panasonic or a Sharp, good brand either way, and it worked great in a small room. It was not a swamp cooler - no water or ice needed. It was a real A/C and it had a venting tube that I ran out of a window or a sliding glass door. That part was a hassle. Toshiba makes one: Toshiba 8,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner Cools 350 Sq. Ft. with Dehumidifier and Remote in White RAC-PD1213CWRU - The Home Depot

Nowadays, I would go with a window A/C if I just have to cool one room.
 
@seadoug Toshiba 8,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner Cools 350 Sq. Ft. with Dehumidifier and Remote in White RAC-PD1213CWRU - The Home Depot

This Toshiba is only about $100 more than the one you got. I think you should return the Cooltech and order a Toshiba.

The vent tube and window frame thing does come with it. The only problem is it is meant for windows that open vertically, not horizontally.

But while you are at Home Depot, get yourself a piece of 4" x 8" Insulation Board. R-Tech 1 in. x 48 in. x 8 ft. R-3.85 Insulating Sheathing 320821 - The Home Depot.

It is easy to cut with a box cutter. You can cut a piece of that to put in the open portion of the window in order to vent it outside. Or even two pieces sandwiched together.

Of course, if this is a lower floor window, then you're going to have to get some kind of window locks to prevent people from breaking in, or on the outside, screw a small piece or board over the open part of the window in addition to locking the slider.

But I'm tellin' ya, the Toshiba will work much better than your swamp cooler.
 
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seadoug said:
Just posting an update on this. I love this portable air conditioner. I do feel the cool air being generated. We are already in the mid 90's here in Dallas and it makes a huge difference at night in the bedroom.

My only complaint was that it leaked on the carpet so I put a towel under it. Towels would become soaked. Tonight I put a plastic pan under it and there is no leakage at all. I guess it must be perfectly balanced.

So many states are becoming hotter much earlier in the season. I saw that Las Vegas reached record heat for this time in June. I would highly recommend a portable air conditioner. Again, it is this.

COOLECH Portable Air Conditioners, 4 Modes &3 Speeds, Waterless Alert System & 2.4-Gal Tank for 20H Cooling, Smart Remote, 12H Timer for Auto Off, 3-IN-1 Evaporative Air Cooler for Room Bedroom Office​

Click to expand...
I have a similar unit. I love it, too! I strongly advise cleaning it every year. I clean mine at the end of the season, before putting it in the closet. I found a you-tube video that showed me how to do it.
 
I had one and loved it, my son has it now in his room as I have upgraded to a split system.
They are great two summers ago we hit 40c and inside the house was a nice 18c.
 
Posting an update although this is not my thread.

It was a brutal summer. I bought both 2 evaporative coolers like the one the OP bought and a portable air conditioner that you vent out the window.

The evaporative coolers worked if the temp in the house was below 77 degrees or thereabouts. After that, it was just blowing air that couldn't cool fast enough. It also added a lot of humidity to the room which the air conditioner then had to pull out of the air which had me emptying the water in the portable air conditioner more often.

The portable air conditioner was loud but it could cool down a room when it got really hot. From what I gathered, in general, the bigger the room that it cooled, the heavier the air conditioner. I tried getting a compromise, so it was still heavy but not as heavy as the biggest ones, but it didn't cool like a huge one I had before.

Both were effective depending on what temperature and what you wanted them for.
 
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