Opinions on Portable Air Conditioners

shorts

Member
Dec 3, 2012
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I am considering getting a portable air conditioner so I could move it between rooms to cool whichever area I need, instead of buying an air conditioner for each room.

Portable air conditioners seem to be popular here, but then on the various DR classifieds sites there's tons of them for sale, far more in number than standard split ACs, which is giving me an impression that they don't work all that well. Also various internet reviews indicate that they don't perform as well as split ACs.

Without having used one, it seems that there is some negative of having one in that a door or window must be kept ajar for the exhaust tube to hang out. But I have no idea about the actual utility they have of being able to cool a room.

Anyone with a portable air conditioner care to share their experience?
 
Aug 6, 2006
8,775
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38
A friend had one of these and he said that it took twice a long to cool ins bedroom as a window unit. I do not know what the capacity of either unit was, though.

The room needs to be pretty well sealed up to keep it cool.
 

pauleast

*** I love DR1 ***
Jan 29, 2012
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The only thing that makes sleeping possibly for me here is A/C. Having said that. They make window adaptors for the exhaust hose. They expand and retract respectivly.
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
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We thought about buying one too, but they only work well with double hung windows, which aren't common in DR.
 

skynet

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Aug 25, 2013
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They work great!!! I just sold mine last Month after having it for 6 Years...bought it at Carrefour In SD for 12,000 Pesos was of course 12,000 BTU, usually 1,000 pesos per unit so to speak. And, if you get cold in the cooler Months, use the exhaust for heat, just be sure the filters are clean and your good to go, no dirty air. What I liked most besides being portable, was its functions. Not just an A/C but dehumidifier, fan, and could program it to come on or off over a 12 hour duration etc. It was made by Sharp, never had an issue with it...Only negative is with portables, they need to be drained after a few hours of use but that depends on the day, condensation build up which may not happen therefore you may never need to drain it off.

This is the one I had but shows only 10,000 BTU, 100% recommend it...

Newegg.com - SHARP CVP10RC 10,000 Cooling Capacity (BTU) Portable Air Conditioner
 

drstock

Silver
Oct 29, 2010
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Cabarete
I have one which I use in different apartments when clients want one (and pay for it!). It seems to work pretty well as long as you wedge the outlet tube pointing out of a window and remember to put down and empty a draining tray for the excess water. You also need a strong enough electrical circuit to plug it in to.
 

reilleyp

Well-known member
Dec 12, 2006
1,190
663
113
I am considering getting a portable air conditioner so I could move it between rooms to cool whichever area I need, instead of buying an air conditioner for each room.

Portable air conditioners seem to be popular here, but then on the various DR classifieds sites there's tons of them for sale, far more in number than standard split ACs, which is giving me an impression that they don't work all that well. Also various internet reviews indicate that they don't perform as well as split ACs.

Without having used one, it seems that there is some negative of having one in that a door or window must be kept ajar for the exhaust tube to hang out. But I have no idea about the actual utility they have of being able to cool a room.

Anyone with a portable air conditioner care to share their experience?

Don't buy the portables. Air conditioners need more air than what is available inside the house. When you buy a single vent, it forces the airconditioner to bring in air from the outside from various sources. You can literally feel the vacuum when you open the door and you can feel the air coming in from the fans in your bathroom. From what I have read, the dual vent, or dual air exchange portable air conditioners are not much better. I bought a Haier, and I am not happy. Going to import window units, and just replace them every four years. Such is life at the beach.
 

Spicedwine

New member
Apr 25, 2006
568
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We also have a 12,000 BTU portable unit, it works well if you are not trying to cool a room that is to big for the size. Ours has the window kit, that fits sliding windows, along with the venting hose. Never had any trouble adjusting it to fit different windows. The biggest issue I see with them, is the draining of the water, we adapted a 5 gallon water jug, and that solved the problem for me. We also have ours for sale, due to relocation, we don't need this anymore.
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
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They can easily be adapted to jealously windows and sliding windows with the attachments they come with when new. Mine is a 2 hose unit. (hot and fresh air)

Help me understand this JD... with the kind of windows we have [if you remember, they are the small jalousie type], how could we possibly use one of these? The slats don't come off that I know of.....
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
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South Coast
It can be done with your windows, but you would have to drill out the 4 rivets that hold the bottom slat and remove it. The slat can be installed again later with a rivet gun. (note, if your windows are very narrow, it may be a pain to do all of this.

This type of A/C comes with a sliding vent base that would be laid horizontally where the bottom slat was located.
.

Thanks JD, I've just had a mental image of the look Mr. AE would give me if I suggested this, LOL. I guess we'll be going back to wall units, since we already have the metal cages outside each bedroom - and our bedrooms are too small for the smallest split ac's.
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
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Ha ha.. I can see his face too!

I would argue however, that a 10K split unit is too much for your small bedrooms. They would do an excellent job of quickly cooling down the room, and the thermostat would control the temperature almost perfectly.

Okay, will look into them, thanks [as always!]
 

yopote

New member
Jan 22, 2012
39
0
0
u are a very lucky guy

bought mine for 6 months did not cool at all . had to get rid of it.. i will never recomend this units
They work great!!! I just sold mine last Month after having it for 6 Years...bought it at Carrefour In SD for 12,000 Pesos was of course 12,000 BTU, usually 1,000 pesos per unit so to speak. And, if you get cold in the cooler Months, use the exhaust for heat, just be sure the filters are clean and your good to go, no dirty air. What I liked most besides being portable, was its functions. Not just an A/C but dehumidifier, fan, and could program it to come on or off over a 12 hour duration etc. It was made by Sharp, never had an issue with it...Only negative is with portables, they need to be drained after a few hours of use but that depends on the day, condensation build up which may not happen therefore you may never need to drain it off.

This is the one I had but shows only 10,000 BTU, 100% recommend it...

Newegg.com - SHARP CVP10RC 10,000 Cooling Capacity (BTU) Portable Air Conditioner