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.). 'will a portable unit be efficient enough to cool me down some, or is it a complete waste of money? ME: I believe the specs said it was a 9000 btu capacity unit. That will cool approx. 850 sq. feet of room adequately. The concept is a good one with this portable unit . I say give it a try. I'm totally new to this newsgroup but find it amazingly full of information and advice - most of it *way* beyond my ability to put into practice. However, this one is something closer to home. I live in Australia and paid over $1200 for a portable air conditioner very similar to the one you are thinking of buying. Since my unit costs quite a bit more (even taking into account the difference in US and Australian currency) mine might be a bigger model. The brand is De Longhi and I've used it in my bedroom for a few years and it works beautifully! I feel the heat more than most people and have air conditioners in most rooms of the house, but when I rented a flat, I could not install a window/wall unit so I bought this mobile one. Mine also dehumidifies which I find ideal in the humid summer weather). Unlike the one you are looking at, mine doesn't heat as well - and I would think that would be an advantage. Because I feel the heat so much, my air conditioner stands directly facing me when I sleep during the summer, and given a reasonable time, cools the whole room well. (Then again, I *do* overwork it a lot!) As for the transfer of air: Like the one you are looking at, mine has a hose which attaches to an outlet at the back and sits in any partly open window or door. In order to save cooling, I first of all simply taped plastic around the rest of the opening in the window, but now that I am permenantly in my house, I have had a handy man install a piece of wood permanently along the bottom opening (of my up-down moving window) with a round hole in the middle to exactly fit the hose of the air-conditioner. Even if I had stayed at the flat, I would have eventually had a similar round hole sawn in the middle of a piece of wood (or sturdy, transparent plastic sheeting) to shield most of the opening. The hot air in the room is drawn into one vent in the air-cond., cool air is blown back into the room through another, higher vent, and all hot air is sent out by the hose to the outside. I don't know whether the air brought into the room is the same as that being taken out, only recycled through the cooling system, or if it is entirely from the outside, cooled down before being brought inside. Others may have a better idea. By the way, mine does not need to have water changed at all because it is not an evaporative air-conditioner. It is a fully refridgerative one, and uses a large canister of water ONLY to assist in the cooling process. All of the water in it evaporates out of the window. I only need to fill it when it is very hot to make the cooling more effective.