Portable AC Units

[HoustonHunter94]

With this heat wave, our AC is struggling to keep up. From early afternoon on, it is running constantly to keep it 80 degrees when its 106 outside. Needless to say, it is pretty miserable trying to go to sleep at night when its 80+ in the house and I was wondering if anyone has purchased a portable AC unit and if so, how good do they work? Looking at putting it in the bedroom at night to at least get some rest. It looks like they can be had for $200-$500 range.

[Walker]

We have several and they work good in smallish areas like a bedroom. Must vent them out thru a window. Can't remember what brand we have but we got them at Sams.

[chrisk]

We have 2. Air went out a little while back. Thought we would be cool and try one out with our Jackery but drew to much and didn’t workout. We kept one in our bedroom. It worked for us but it will constantly be on.

[Nova]

We have one we use in our camper. I didn't want to spent 1500 on an additional rooftop air so I decided to try one. It works pretty well. Recently, the blower motor went out on my home ac and it was down for a day or so. We used that unit in a bedroom to keep cool. If you have an Ollie's around, they sometime have them pretty cheap. We got a GE brand for just over $200.00

[HoustonHunter94]

We have several and they work good in smallish areas like a bedroom. Must vent them out thru a window. Can't remember what brand we have but we got them at Sams.

Good to know on the venting them. I hadn't thought of that and it makes sense. Will need to think about that.

[PoppinPiggies]

Anybody use one in a garage? I have been thinking about putting one out there so it's not so miserably hot if I want to work on something.

[MooseontheLoose]

I bought this one from Home Depot when our AC went out earlier this summer. I put it in our bedroom and kept the door closed so it was comfortable sleeping at night and was cool enough during the day while we waited for AC parts to come in. I work from home and popped in there every so often to cool down. It got to the mid 80s in the house when the AC was out but it was noticeably cooler in the bedroom with this thing going. It never got to 60 like I set it at, but it was significantly cooler than the rest of the house. Home AC is fixed so now it's going to the lease and getting installed out there.

I would buy one again in a heartbeat if put in the same situation. Simple set up with just a wall plug and hose to the window.

[txbowman12]

Might take a look at those over the sill window units

https://www.amazon.com/Soleus-Air-Exclusive-Conditioner-Putting/dp/B085P28D2S

Anything portable is going to have to be vented (as stated above) and you will have either drain the condensation or get a unit that uses the water to cool, but won't be as effective in high humidity

[BarBBar]

Two issues I ran into with window units is having to hire an electrician to install a separate dedicated 220 volt outlet so breaker doesn't kick off (need for this depends on size of the AC unit), and proper window mounting so water drainage doesn't rot out window sill. I sleep better with the hum of a window unit, but you'll never hear an intruder coming.

[bigjohntex]

This is what we use. Trust me. You want a dual hose unit! Single hose dumps cool are across the condenser then out of your house! Pulling in more hot air from outside! This one is even on sale.
Whynter ARC-14S 14,000 BTU Dual Hose Portable Air Conditioner with Dehumidifier and Fan for Rooms Up to 500 Square Feet, Includes Storage Bag, Platinum/Black, AC Unit Only https://a.co/d/2EMV7sA

[Walker]

Single hose units don't bring in outside air. Dual hose units do.

[Leverhunter]

Anybody use one in a garage? I have been thinking about putting one out there so it's not so miserably hot if I want to work on something.

Got one in the garage. Had to cut a hole in the garage door and put in a dryer vent to exhaust it through. Takes the edge off but your will want it as close to you as possible. I bought the biggest one I could find that ran on a 110 circuit, when it dies the next one will have a dedicated 220 outlet and be much bigger.

[dbaio1]

JR,

Just had a friend do exactly what you are talking about and it has worked well. Cooling the bedroom down to 72 in hottest part of the day 4-6 pm. He got an 8000 btu unit that runs off standard plug with easy single vent to window that is easy to set up and take down.

[TheSchwartz]

I just went through this in my office. Tried a portable A/C unit and after a week I was buying a mini split. Wish I would've never tried the portable unit. It's loud (comparatively) and inefficient. Ran all the time. This wasn't the cheapest one either. The mini-split is in a whole different league. I can barely hear whether it's on or not and it keeps the space cool all day with no issues.

Edit: I spent around $700-750 on the mini-split and did the install myself. But it also heats, so you can factor in the cost of not buying a heater if you need one of those also.

[HoustonHunter94]

Thanks for all the insight. I am going to replace the capacitor on the outside unit tomorrow and see if that helps. Our upstairs unit is blowing cold but downstairs gave out yesterday. We can sleep upstairs tonight and hopefully that replacement tomorrow works. Fingers crossed.

I love Texas and all but I think Iowa, Kansas or Wyoming is in my future.