Air Conditioner help needed!

17 years ago

Hi all! I live in an apartment and am thinking about purchasing a portable air conditioner.

To be exact, I am looking at the EdgeStar Extreme Cool 12,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner.

Does anyone have any experience with the portable air conditioners? Do they work as well as a regular window unit? Our rooms our fairly small (none more than 300 sq ft -- in Manhattan).

Advice is MUCH appreciated!

The reason we are thinking of a portable air conditioner is that installing an air conditioner in our 7th floor apartment is a real pain and limits the use of our windows. It would be nice to be able to actually open the window on a nice day (which we couldn't do with a window unit!).

Thanks!

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Comments (5)

maryland_irisman
17 years ago
The units work fine for what they are designed to do. Keep in mind, you'll still need a window to exhaust the condenser air but, it is a lot less cumbersome than an entire window unit.
simoneb
Original Author
17 years ago
Hi Maryland-irisman, thanks for responding!
Tell me, what do you mean by they work well for "what they are designed to do"? Does this mean they work as well as a regular window unit?

Also, I know we still need a window (which we have) -- I just thought it might be easier to drag the unit from room to room as needed and to pull they little window slide out, rather than have big units in each window at all times -- which would both block my views and be a pain to install and remove come winter!
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melanienyc
17 years ago
I am curious about this idea now that I am reading your message. Anyone else have feedback?
User
17 years ago
They're a LOT more expensive for the BTUs you get vs. a standard window unit. They're cumbersome to drag around, so they really aren't that "portable" when it comes right down to it. And they take up floor space. Another consideration is the power requirements. A 12,000 BTU AC will probably consume most of a standard 30 amp receptical circuit. Meaning that if you have it plugged in, you'd better not plan on running anything else off that circuit or you'll probably blow a circuit breaker. Some 12K units will even require a 20 amp circuit.

For apartment dwellers, a couple of smaller lightweight 5K units that can be strategically placed in certain zones often makes more sense than a portable. It'll be cheaper, for sure. You can usually find a small 5k unit for under $150. You'll have less electrical load, especially if you only run them one at a time when you are in the specific zone. Yes, you'll have to pull them out and store them when cooling season is over, but you'd have to figure out storage for a portable too.
weedmeister
17 years ago
CR apparently did reviews of some of these. They basically said that if you have to use one, chose a model that uses two hoses (one for intake, one for exhaust). They do NOT work as well as a window unit of the same size. You also want to make sure you have a way to drain the condensate (hose into a pan or whatever).