Portable Air Conditioner?

AsSiMiLaTeD
AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,728
edited May 2008 in The Clubhouse
I live in Texas. It's really frikkin' hot here. Let's say I already have a central AC unit that cools my apartment to 70 degrees:

I have one room in my apartment that houses 5 computers running full time and it's always 10 degrees warmer than the rest of the house. What I would like is some kind of portable A/C unit to cool that room down a bit.

I've looked around at a few portable A/C units, but does anyone here have any reccomendations?
Post edited by AsSiMiLaTeD on

Comments

  • zingo
    zingo Posts: 11,258
    edited May 2008
    Here is a website that has a bunch of different models and info.

    From what I have learned, the hose out the window type work the best. I have also used the kind where you fill the compartment with water and that works ok as well.
  • obieone
    obieone Posts: 5,077
    edited May 2008
    I'm assuming this room doesn't have windows, so I'd go with zingo's recommendation
    IF it has windows, then just get a 5-6kbtu window unit. Around $200 @ Lowes/HD
    I refuse to argue with idiots, because people can't tell the DIFFERENCE!
  • avelanchefan
    avelanchefan Posts: 2,401
    edited May 2008
    Okay here is a question...how energy efficient are these? Has anyone used these with their current A/C system? Just curious to see if the saw an actual increase in thier Electric bill.
    Sean
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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited May 2008
    get rid of 4 computers.. and keep only one.. problem solved.. and you might make some money in the deal. LOL

    seriously. who needs 5 computers in one room anymore?
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  • doctor r
    doctor r Posts: 837
    edited May 2008
    I tried one of the stand alone room units on a enclosed porch with limited success. You need to be able to place the hot air vent tube out a window and be sure to empty the water retaining tray often to prevent a mild spill. The increase in electricity was a small factor in it not being used as often as I had originally planned.
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  • NotaSuv
    NotaSuv Posts: 3,860
    edited May 2008
    Thats why I moved up North.........I found the cheapest way to go was a nice block of ice and fan........water the plants with the runoff.....
  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,728
    edited May 2008
    danger boy wrote: »
    get rid of 4 computers.. and keep only one.. problem solved.. and you might make some money in the deal. LOL

    seriously. who needs 5 computers in one room anymore?
    That's not a solution, and not an option. I have 5 computers, each with a distinct purpose.
    1. Gaming rig that does nothing but play games, doesn't have any programs loaded except for games
    2. Main rig that I use to access the internet, forums, VPN into work etc, DVD burning, etc
    3. Design rig that I use for graphics design, web design, image rendering, and programmming
    4. Wife's PC
    5. File Server

    The gaming and Main rigs share the same monitor keyboard and mouse. The Design rig has it's own setiup. The Wife's PC and file server also share a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

    So in that room I have 5 PCs that run full time (I'm a believer in just letting a PC run instead of turning off and on all the time, and I blow out any dust once a month). I also have 4 monitors, but those are on only during use. I keep the two laptops either unplugged or in the other rooms, so they don't contribute any to the heat.

    So yeah, it stays warm in that room and given how much time I spend in there doing design work and playing games I may as well spend a little money and be comfortable.

    It's not about saving money on my electric bill, I said goodbye to that a long time ago. It's just about being more comfortable really.
  • zingo
    zingo Posts: 11,258
    edited May 2008
    Zero wrote: »
    Get naked.

    Always a good suggestion; you'd be surprised the variety of situations this works for! :p
  • trubluluc
    trubluluc Posts: 2,067
    edited May 2008
    ....just plain don't work so well. And they aren't cheap.

    I bought a good sized unit figuring I'd move it around the house and cool where we were. Home theater, bedroom etc. But I returned it 3 days later and bought a widow mounted unit.

    1st. You have to vent them outside, the heat needs to go somewhere, but the tube they give you to vent them isn't insulated and soon becomes warm thereby putting heat back into the room.

    2nd. All the machinery...motor, blower etc. is in your room, thereby generating more heat as it trys to cool the air.
  • obieone
    obieone Posts: 5,077
    edited May 2008
    Well, I'd suggest a ductless split sytem, but IF you're renting...
    I refuse to argue with idiots, because people can't tell the DIFFERENCE!
  • Ron-P
    Ron-P Posts: 8,520
    edited May 2008
    We have a Danby 12,000 btu portable. We use it to cool about 400sf and it works great. It replaced a 12,000 btu window unit, we like it much better.
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  • avelanchefan
    avelanchefan Posts: 2,401
    edited May 2008
    Well, I started looking into units for my house. Living in AZ can get warm, and we have a two story house, so of coarse the upstairs loft is always the warmest part of the house. Thats where we hang out the most, and do all of our movie watching. Last year it was not unbearable, but we did at times get a little sticky after a 2 hour movie. We have a ceiling fan but it just moves warm air.

    Like I said I was looking at the units from the website Zingo suggested, and it dawned on me that my grandmother has a unit that looks similar to them So I luck out because she is heading to Colorado for the warmer months, and she has not used the unit since my grandfather passed away.

    I picked it up earlier this week, it is a GE 8000BTU unit with the window inserts, and is the non-drip type. I was curious to see if it would even work due to sitting in storage for 2 years. I put the window piece in and fired her up and it really worked well. Our upstairs loft is probably 800 square feet, so the AC unit is a little to small for it, but after a good 30 minutes the temp dropped 2 degrees, and with the ceiling fan running it was distributing a nice cool breeze throughout the loft.

    Overall I was very please with it, now I just hope grandma does not ask for the unit back!:D
    Sean
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