Portable AC units

[plung]

Do these things work well?

Need it for a home office in a townhouse with no central AC. Venting would be through the horizontal cheap single pane window. Can't do a window unit.

I was looking at a device like the one below. I'll spend upwards of $450 if needed on a good one that will last a number of years.

http://www.homedepot.com/Building-M...splay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051

LG Electronics 9,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner with Dehumidifier and Remote
$329.00

Venting will be a window like this

According to the chart, I will need upwards of 8,000 -10,000 BTUs

 

[aandpdan]

I have one similar to that, just one vent hose though. No problems. It's fairly quiet and does a nice job of cooling.

 

[theoldwizard1]

My BIL has one similar and it works well. You definitely need to check out the exhaust hose arrangement. I also assume there must be a catch pan for the water as any A/C really cuts the indoor humidity.

 

[aandpdan]

Not sure how that one works but the one I have exhausts it with the hot air discharge. It does have a drain too if the humidity is very high but I've never had to drain that, yet.

 

[lzenglish]

They work fine, as long as you remember to empty, or hard pipe the condensate line, to a drain source!. As a matter of fact, I think I will buy one soon, at our local big box store, for emergency situations.

Wayne

 

[plung]

Thanks for the inputs. I'm going to pick one out by the weekend and buy it before there are any heatwaves across the country. Don't want to resort to pepper spraying people at the store to get a hold of one

I will probably make my own window panel unit for the intake/exhaust and paint it to match the stucco outside to make it more discreet. I'll add another vent hole for computer exhaust. My desktop computer generates a lot of heat and I'll route a dryer hose or something outside.

If I owned the unit, I'd probably drill a circle vent hole through the wall

Some of the units do say:
Self-evaporation system, no bucket to empty

Hopefully I won't have to address any water issues.