topic Portable Air Conditioner (recommend?) in Home

Portable Air Conditioner (recommend?)

giraffe77 — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 23:24:40 GMT

For my 80-year-old parents who lounge in a small rancher, looking for a portable A/C for their living room. Thank you for any suggestions !

Needed Features:

Very quiet
Set on floor type, not set in window, but has a hose to the outside.
A/C only -- no dehumid. or heater type
Reasonable warranty

Edited my orig. post to state Q sells #H317375 Honeywell brand which seems to match my criteria. Thanks for those below who suggested Honeywell & all the other helpful suggestions! I would love to hear any other comments on this model or others.

Re: Portable Air Conditioner (recommend?)

Dinaki — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 18:08:09 GMT

I was checking you for you my dear and I found this one.

Honeywell CS071AE

PS: @giraffe77 May the good Lord give you always glory to your life as it is now your turn to give support, love and affection to your elderly mama and papa as they did when you were a baby.

Re: Portable Air Conditioner (recommend?)

DrKelli — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 18:28:56 GMT

I have a Honeywell. I've had it for about 8 years and it works great. I have central air but it does not cool the upper floor of my house very well, so I bought the portable. I usually run it at night (but have been running it during the day because I'm quarantined at home).

Re: Portable Air Conditioner (recommend?)

SXMGirl — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 18:36:43 GMT

@giraffe77 I have had several brands and like them all. Just make sure that you get them one that they do not have to drain. That can be cumbersome, especially for seniors.

Re: Portable Air Conditioner (recommend?)

msgb — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 19:16:48 GMT

My husband bought one of the mobile ones that QVC sells that is on wheels. I will say it is not too loud and that it is rather quite. He has looked and it is not one of the ones they sell now but it is a HAIER.

Re: Portable Air Conditioner (recommend?)

bonnie f — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 20:42:21 GMT

i had bad experiences with mine. i got 2 of them from home depot about 5 yrs ago..within the 1st yr where you have to vent it out the window it would come out. i would have to keep putting it back in.. no big deal... but then the other end where it goes into the back of the ac i had to duct tape it... that kept coming out... was so tired of that! i only got the portable ones because my dad thought they were good, better than window units.. i disagree.. you still have to vent it out the window anyway.. than last yr. i went to plug it in and it was dead.. tried all different outlets thinking it was the one outlet.. still nothing. reset it, still nothing.. well i was glad i wanted to switch to a window unit sooner or later.. i still have 1 more. i had one in bedroom and 1 in the livingroom....... well the bedroom one last yr was spitting out water out the top! i looked in the owners manual and something about maybe somethings clogged? but i didnt use them alot.. i work alot. dont leave them on when im not at home.. would put them on maybe around 4 turn them off when i leave for work, so not like i used them tons.. anyway i can use it, but water comes out the top, like a sprinkler thats set to low.. not enough to really make everything wet.. but anyway i got a window unit after all that and i love it.. cools down my place and it reaches to make my bedroom comfortable.. i had bad experiences with them. and i paid i think close to 400 for each of them. plus they weigh a ton.. i had neighbor help me get it down my steps.. very bulky.. dont get me wrong, they may be good. but not for me.. plus they take up alot of storage when you put them away, and i have small closets.

Re: Portable Air Conditioner (recommend?)

Foxxee — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 20:43:28 GMT

Get one where the fan cycles off and on with the compressor or it will run constantly. Fans are usually loud and not energy efficient. Cost more, but well worth it.

Some manufacturers will say no pan to drain, but there might be an area where water collects at the bottom of the unit in the back that must be drained for it to work. QVC's Delonghis are like that. This is a real pain because the units are heavy. I had to disconnect the unit from the window to do it.

Don't spend extra money for one with a humidifier included. AC's are very similar to humidifiers removing moisture from the air. My experience has been the humidifier just turns on the AC throwing out cold air. There is no humidistat inside where you can set the humidity to a certain level. Spend the money on a real humidifier.

Is their living room open where the AC might end up cooling other rooms? In other words, if connected to the dining room by a doorway, it would be cooling that too. Make sure to get the right size. I found you need a larger size than window AC's for the same square footage or it won't cool well.

Make sure the connection will fit their window. QVC's Delonghi I purchased last year did not fit my standard 29 inch window.

Look online to find a model to your liking. Look at reviews. There might be a demonstration on Youtube.

But, suggest you buy one locally. Ask for demonstration. Make a list of questions before you go.

Re: Portable Air Conditioner (recommend?)

J Town Girl — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 23:07:00 GMT

We had two of them for about 7-8 years years before we put in central A/C. I can honestly tell you that I just hated them. Since you have to vent them out through the window it puts your home in a vulnerable place for someone to push the hose out and remove the upper piece of plastic that covers the open part of your window and get into your home. This is particularly important if you leave your home during the day and especially during the nighttime hours when you are asleep.

Second they are loud and they have to be right in front of the window that you vent them out of. They are also very heavy to handle. They are not easy to set up and I think for an older person they would be very difficult to maneuver around and then get everything connected into the window.

If that is your only solution to get cool air into your home then they are better than nothing. I don't want to dissuade you from getting one for your parents.

I just want to make you aware of their shortcomings. The two we had were Kenmore's. They weren't inexpensive. I believe our first one was almost $500.00 and our second one was a little less.

Re: Portable Air Conditioner (recommend?)

speedy girl — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 05:35:41 GMT

My elderly parents said the AC made it to cool for them! So I ended up getting a couple stand up type fans and that was perfect for them. I bought them at Costco and they came with remotes, so that worked well for them as they didn't have to get up when they got warm or cool.

Re: Portable Air Conditioner (recommend?)

SurferWife — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 05:46:52 GMT

We have a Frigidaire Gallery 12,000 BTU Cool Connect™ Smart Portable Air Conditioner in our living room. It's great!

Re: Portable Air Conditioner (recommend?)

VaBelle35 — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 12:08:30 GMT

A general comment on these,,,,

Make sure if you live in a place with an HOA that allows this or allows it with restrictions.

My community allows them but you can't have it vent out a front window, you can only have it vent out a back window.

Re: Portable Air Conditioner (recommend?)

gardenman — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 13:12:33 GMT

I have a Delonghi Pinguino that I bought refurbished this year. It's louder than my old window units but does the job. It's rated for 700 sq ft but it has a bit of a hard time on the hottest days (temp goes up to 80-83 degrees despite being set for 77 degrees). People have a hard time with the hose coming disconnected, but I haven't had that issue. It's a bit of a pain to get the hose threaded onto the connectors properly (I had to use a pair of needle-nosed pliers) but once on there properly the connection seems pretty solid. I only paid $279 for it through Woot and even with tax, the total was a bit under $300. The list price for a new one was $649.99 so I was willing to take the chance on a refurb. A lot of the reviews of new units claimed they came with a broken base or broken casters, but mine was fine. (Very well packed in fact. Maybe they changed the packing?) Mine looks and performs as though brand new. All in all, it's a good unit and keeping me nice and comfy so far.

It has a drain but you only use that at the end of the season before putting it away. The "normal" condensate gets vented out the exhaust hose on this model. The remote is nice. You can adjust the temperate, setting (air conditioner, fan, dehumidifier, heater), fan speed, and even the angle of the vent from the remote. I'm happy with it.