Question:
Are there any decent portable air conditioners on the market? I would
just use it in one room, and then close the doors to prevent the hot air
from the rest of the house from diluting the cool air. Window mounted air
conditioners would be difficult for us because all of our windows are
sliders. Any brands people find to be more rliable than others? I am
concerned about cost as well, so I would be particularly interested in any
portable air conditioners that work which cost less than $500 (if such a
think exists).
Answer:
I don't believe this is right. You don't want the compressor running all the
time this will cost you much more and the coils etc., will tend to ice up.
Yes the AC should be sized right. too small and it will run all the time, too
big and it will have problems with removing humidity and it will short cycle
etc. But most units have lower settings that can compensate for that.
Last year I did some research on portable units. There are some problems with
these:
1. You still need to have a cloths dryer sized vent hose going out a window.
2. They cause a vacuum or negative pressure that sucks hot air into the room
from under the doors etc.
3. They don't work as well as other units. More power used / less ability to
cool.
4. You can buy 3 to 4 window units for the cost of one of the portable units
~$1000.00
The best portable units I found were the ones where 1/2 of the unit is outside
and 1/2 inside, connected together with only about a garden hose size tube of
wires and refrigerant lines. That took care of items 2 & 3 above and are
quieter inside the house, but doubled the cost.
