Portable Air Conditioner Question
I'm going to be moving to a rented apartment with no A/C. I'm thinking of getting a portable unit (the one at target seems cheap enough: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-12/qid=1086823565/ref=sr_1_... I'm not sure how exactly they work. I know there is a hose that is supposed to go out through a window, as an outlet for the hot air. How do I seal the rest of the window (the window slides to the side)? Also, will there be water dripping out that will need to be collected? I'd appreciate any other comment regarding this issue. Thanks.
Answer:
You could cut some material such as hardboard to size and block up the rest of the window space. , or , use some 2" thick by 3' long insulation that comes in a plastic wrapper along with some strong tape.. available at Menards. The purpose of the hose is to rid the hot condensor air which is generated whenever the unit is operating. Whenever an a/c unit is operating, it will wring moisture out of the air so, there must be a condensate collection pan at the bottom of the unit which would need periodic emptying , or, perhaps theres a garden hose that could be screwed onto the condensate pan if the units provides for this. close the window about the size of the exit hose(you have a hose about 4 inches diamater.. put that in the small opening of the window and tben put some cardboard or other stuff there to block the rest of then opening and then seal up with duct tape.... this will let the hot air out and then cool the inside air inside the room... you have a large water jug inside the bottom of the cabinet that you have to remove and empty about every 8 hrs... at work in an office bld. they had about 6 of these for the office when the main a/c unit broke... they just shovet the hose of the hot air up into the main a/c units vent and emptied the large water jab about every 4 hrs. and it worked for this closed window set up(modern office bldg.).