air conditioners- portable vs window units

[FiremarshalRob]

Anyone have a particular preference. I'm in the market for one of these as well as a generator.

But, if anyone has any experience with the portable ac units, I'd like to hear.

Based on price, I'm leaning towards a 10k BTU window unit to keep my master bedroom and bathroom cool in case of another hurricane here in Louisiana.

Thanks.

 

[SLCraig]

Window unless you can't for some reason.

The portables still require a place for you to route the exhaust air, (At least the one's I've seen) and that is not pretty. Not to mention they are definitely larger than window units.

 

[JHZR2]

The only reason Id look at the freestanding unit is if you needed to keep the window looking semi-normal for aesthetic reasons, or you are cooling a room that has windows which would not fit an AC unit.

I'd recommend Freidrich X-star window units. Small, quiet, and very efficient. At least mine was also made in the USA.

 

[The_Jeff]

+1 on the window.

Around here Walmart is full of $99 5k BTU units. Efficiency rating around 10 IIRC. If just using in an emergency the efficiency probably doesn't make a huge deal. Let them settle their freon a few minutes after installing before firing them up.

With two pint size ones you can fire them off one at a time so the motor startup loading against your gennie isn't a big deal. And you could put two in two different rooms etc.

The humidity cutting of even an undersized one would be useful, and who knows, you could rotate the other one among your spare rooms or let it choke on your general living space.

 

[JimPghPA]

If you can, hear it run before you buy it. Some make too much noise.

 

[wallyuwl]

The main benefit of the non-window ones are that you can move them from room to room pretty easily. They are also more expensive and take up floor space. I'd go with getting a few window units if you don't mind how they look.

 

[The_Jeff]

I thought the non-window ones were for prissy apartment buildings and homeowners association rules?

It has to be inefficient to blast that waste heat through a dryer vent type thing then on out the window.

Whatever AC thing you get, get one without remote controls, fancy LEDs etc, more stuff to go poof if the generator starts surging.

My walmart cheapie window unit started making a grindy noise, turns out it was the air deflector lever arrangement. Gutted all that and it blows cold air straight ahead. The rest of the noise it makes could offend some people, a gurgly cacophony, the Ducati of AC.

 

[stockrex]

I have a portable, made by sharp, it has the EASY start option so a small genset can run it.
whatever you get you can get kit (capacitor) to make the unit easy start.

 

[Jim_Beverlin]

Go with the window unit if you can. I have a portable for the upstairs bedroom only because the master bedroom has only a slider exiting out to an upper deck. I do not want to cut an opening in the wall for a window unit.

The unit that I have is called "Royal Sovereign" and I purchased it from Sears. Far superior to the Sunbeam unit that I originally purchased from Walmart. The Sunbeam unit had paint peeling off of it and no where on their website could I find any information on the unit. Probably an offshore unit only through channels that only Wal*Mart can come up with.

 

[Scotty1981]

I have a portable and i hate it, wish id gone with a window, only benefit is i can move it from room to room easy since it rolls on wheels, it doubles as a dehumidifier also but it doesn't feel like it cools near as well as lower BTU window units.

I am saving now for a window unit to put in my main living area and it should cool the whole house since it would blast right into the hall to the bedrooms.

 

[Stu_Rock]

I have Sharp brand portable (one of the CV10 series), and I love it. It's really quiet and it does an excellent job keeping the 180 ft^2 back bedroom cool even on the hottest days. It's one of the best $275 I have ever spent.

There's a wall-mount unit in the living room of my house which has a lot more cooling power, but it has the noise to match.

With the two AC units, I can keep the house cool without difficulty. That back bedroom is just too far away for the main AC unit to have any effect.

 

[scurvy]

Two big considerations:

1. Window units place the compressor outside. 'Portable' units have the noisy, hot compressor inside.

2. Window units tend to be much cheaper. We recently got a Sharp 12k BTU/hr unit at Costco for $299 plus two rebates ($100 total). The comparable portable unit they had was 11k BTU/hr, no rebates, much larger & $349.

 

[xBa380]

I bought a Frigidaire two years ago and it is still amazing to this day (for my bedroom). I am a very hot sleeper, and central AC does not get cool enough for me (where my parents set it at, at least!).

I got a "best buy" model from consumer reports and have been happy with it. It was $149 or something online and have had no problems. It is fairly quiet and can get the room very, very cold. I usually have it around 64* though for sleeping, comfortable!

Window AC is amazing for small bedrooms/offices! Just be careful you do not get a unit too big for the room you place it in. It is wasted energy and it may not pull enough moisture out of the space. Make sure to buy one for the square-footage you require and no more.

 

[FiremarshalRob]

Thanks for the feedback guys. After reading the opinions on here plus some off the internet from researching, I think I'll save about a hundred or more dollars and get a window unit.

It may be a hassle to install and un-install, but the benefit of being comfortable during a power outage following a hurricane will be well worth it, especially for my 2 young children.

I'm leaning towards a Sharp and an LG unit at my local Home Depot. Probably 10-12k BTU.

I am thinking I will install it during hurricane season and then take it down afterwards. Power outages are not common in my neighborhood normally, but hurricanes Katrina and Gustav are different stories. We live about 2 miles away from our substation (DEMCO) and its all underground power lines in our neighborhood.

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted By: xBa380

Window AC is amazing for small bedrooms/offices! Just be careful you do not get a unit too big for the room you place it in. It is wasted energy and it may not pull enough moisture out of the space. Make sure to buy one for the square-footage you require and no more.


The on-off-on-off of an oversize one would interfere with my sleep.

Motel units are the worst for this.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

The guy above me got one of those portables 2 years ago...After only 3 days something went wrong with the drain on it and it flooded out his condo and part of mine...He returned it to Sears and bought a threw the wall unit...Due to the condo commandos you can't put one in the window and the wall units can't stick out more the 3 inches [like in most motels] so they cost alot more then a regular wall unit...All the condos have central air but another unit is really needed in the back near the bedroom in the miserable summer.

 

[mechtech2]

A portable is a window unit that is not attached.
Virtually the same thing.
Miami? Go get one!

 

[Deltona_Dave]

Having been through a few Hurricanes myself, go with the window shaker. The portables have to have a place for the hot air exhaust, and you have to drain the condensate buckets frequently. A window unit will not have those problems. I have a 8K BTU for my Master Bedroom (Frigidaire w/remote). My genny will keep up with it as it has a 15A outlet.

Dave

 

[Stu_Rock]

On my portable, the machine mists the condensate into the exhaust air, so you don't have to drain anything.

You can divert the condensate to a bucket if you want to keep it (say, for use in automotive cooling systems after running through a coffee filter).

I'm surprised to see so many complaints about the portables. I really like mine. It's very quiet and it does a great job cooling our 10x18 west-facing back bedroom.