Advice Needed: Portable Air Conditioner
Summer is here, which is bad news for me due to excessive allergies. I literally cannot sleep with a window open or even use a window AC, as even with the vent closed, it'll still manage to draw in a little outside air....the pollens give me nocturnal asthma and I have so much trouble breathing I can't even fall asleep. I lived in a home with central AC last summer, but this is no longer the case. Basically, I need a portable AC unit to cool a 13x20 bedroom that will vent hot air either under a doorjamb or - I'm wondering if this is even possible - down a heating vent. I see a ton of models on eBay and locally and have no idea what to look for. I don't mind emptying a water reservoir, but I simply cannot have the windows open, period. If I can solve this problem for around $500, all the better. Any advice is MUCH appreciated.
Answer:
The name I heard for those is mini-split. No duct work is required, The evaporator mounts in the room and condenser mounts outside with just the freon tubes and power connecting them (and probably drain somewhere). They are more expensive, but do not vent room air. I have an 8000 btu/hr Maytag portable that I use to cool my upstairs (until I have a chance to do something about broken glued in window shaker). It has full 5 yr warranty and does not really accumulate moisture, since that is used to cool the condenser and goes out the vent as vapor. But window A/C units usually do not vent room air in or out unless they specifically have a vent and it is opened. So if the original OP could not cope with a window A/C, I do not see how a portable would help, because that does vent out hot condenser air, and air has to come in somewhere else to make that up. Maybe an electrostatic air cleaner would help (like the Ionic Breeze advertised on late night TV). Fortunately I am only allergic to grass pollen, so I only get hit if out in the weeds from late May through early July.