Mini air conditioners

hennypenny · ‎03-10-2010

I keep seeing ads for mini airconditioners. I was wondering if anyone had tried one?

We had never needed AC due to being a mile or so from the ocean, but weather patterns have changed and we have had some scary heat.

I am tempted to fall for one of the ads, but need to hear from others.

MIHS66 · ‎05-12-2020

My sister and I both bought one. They worked great in small spaces. I work from home and set mine on the desk near me and I could really feel the cool air while I worked. I bought mine because my sister liked hers so much. The only problem was that when we tried to use them this season, hers leaked and mine wouldn't stay on. Maybe you will have better luck with some of the newer more expensive models.

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

What do you mean by a mini a/c? Do you mean those portable units on wheels and the hose goes out your window? If so, I know a few people that have those and love them. For one friend that's her only a/c in her house. Someone else I know uses it upstairs in her bedroom because although she has central air, it doesn't get her upstairs that cool.

I have contemplated getting one for our family room. We do have central air but we get the blazing hot sun on the back of our house and we have no shield from it at all. Consequently, we end up turning the a/c on 68 so we are comfortable in there. If we got a portable unit, we could bump the central air up but I'm not sure there would be any cost savings at all to our bill.

Lucky Charm · ‎03-09-2010

I'm not sure what you're talking about, I'm guessing it's not a small window unit compared to a whole house (central air)?

The ones on wheels that have a hose out the window, I do know someone who had one and the house was cool from it, but the house was more or less in the shade anyways, so I don't know if you have shade trees to help keep the sun off your house.

If you live in a low humidity area of the country, they have those swamp coolers I've seen talked about here on these forums. They seem to be a solution to those who don't have central air.

esmerelda · ‎03-10-2010

@Lucky Charm @Lipstickdiva and anyone else who doesn't know about these things must have popup blocker set to the max and have ads turned off.

*********************
Keepin' it real.

Kachina624 · ‎03-10-2010

@Lipstickdiva wrote:
What do you mean by a mini a/c? Do you mean those portable units on wheels and the hose goes out your window? If so, I know a few people that have those and love them. For one friend that's her only a/c in her house. Someone else I know uses it upstairs in her bedroom because although she has central air, it doesn't get her upstairs that cool.

I have contemplated getting one for our family room. We do have central air but we get the blazing hot sun on the back of our house and we have no shield from it at all. Consequently, we end up turning the a/c on 68 so we are comfortable in there. If we got a portable unit, we could bump the central air up but I'm not sure there would be any cost savings at all to our bill.

@Lipstickdiva I have rooms in my house that were virtually unusable at certain times of the day due to intense sun pouring in at 5800ft in altitude in the desert. Out of desperation, I got some window tint film and applied it myself. It was like night and day. I couldn't believe how it lowered the room temperature. As a bonus it also afforded me privacy in my front-facing bedroom.

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

@Kachina624 wrote:
@Lipstickdiva wrote:
What do you mean by a mini a/c? Do you mean those portable units on wheels and the hose goes out your window? If so, I know a few people that have those and love them. For one friend that's her only a/c in her house. Someone else I know uses it upstairs in her bedroom because although she has central air, it doesn't get her upstairs that cool.

I have contemplated getting one for our family room. We do have central air but we get the blazing hot sun on the back of our house and we have no shield from it at all. Consequently, we end up turning the a/c on 68 so we are comfortable in there. If we got a portable unit, we could bump the central air up but I'm not sure there would be any cost savings at all to our bill.
@Lipstickdiva I have rooms in my house that were virtually unusable at certain times of the day due to intense sun pouring in at 5800ft in altitude in the desert. Out of desperation, I got some window tint film and applied it myself. It was like night and day. I couldn't believe how it lowered the room temperature. As a bonus it also afforded me privacy in my front-facing bedroom.

@Kachina624, never thought about that. Thank you so much!

noodleann · ‎06-10-2015

@hennypenny wrote:
I keep seeing ads for mini airconditioners. I was wondering if anyone had tried one?
We had never needed AC due to being a mile or so from the ocean, but weather patterns have changed and we have had some scary heat.
I am tempted to fall for one of the ads, but need to hear from others.

Since they use water and a fan to cool, I think they'd work best in a hot, dry climate. I'm in a river valley and have to run a dehumidifier in the basement. Rising damp is a problem if I don't. I think those water fans (they're not ACs if they're what I describe) would wind up making me feel clammy at best, and a hot soggy mess at worst.

eddyandme · ‎09-24-2011

@noodleann wrote:
@hennypenny wrote:
I keep seeing ads for mini airconditioners. I was wondering if anyone had tried one?
We had never needed AC due to being a mile or so from the ocean, but weather patterns have changed and we have had some scary heat.
I am tempted to fall for one of the ads, but need to hear from others.
Since they use water and a fan to cool, I think they'd work best in a hot, dry climate. I'm in a river valley and have to run a dehumidifier in the basement. Rising damp is a problem if I don't. I think those water fans (they're not ACs if they're what I describe) would wind up making me feel clammy at best, and a hot soggy mess at worst.

A roll-up a/c has a built-in dehumidfier, but they're not those desk-top mini's.

noodleann · ‎06-10-2015

@eddyandme wrote:
@noodleann wrote:
@hennypenny wrote:
I keep seeing ads for mini airconditioners. I was wondering if anyone had tried one?
We had never needed AC due to being a mile or so from the ocean, but weather patterns have changed and we have had some scary heat.
I am tempted to fall for one of the ads, but need to hear from others.
Since they use water and a fan to cool, I think they'd work best in a hot, dry climate. I'm in a river valley and have to run a dehumidifier in the basement. Rising damp is a problem if I don't. I think those water fans (they're not ACs if they're what I describe) would wind up making me feel clammy at best, and a hot soggy mess at worst.
A roll-up a/c has a built-in dehumidfier, but they're not those desk-top mini's.

I'm not talking about those air conditioners and I don't think the OP is either. They're not "mini."