I need some honest help buying a portable air conditioner...

[Chaotic_Warlord]

So we have new windows in the bedroom and since we don't have central air in this house me and the gf are looking at our options for air conditioners. We can't screw the units into the windows because they are sealed and screwing into them will destroy them. So our only option is to get a portable air conditioner but I don't know anything about them nor do I know anyone who has one or has experience with them. I think I've set my mind on an LG model that is at Home Depot, but I honestly don't know anything about the output or issues of a portable unit and the people at home depot aren't any help either. So I need some honest feedback here on a couple of things.

1) Is it true that you should get a higher BTU output compared to what you would get for a window unit?

2) Are the LG models any good? If so what kind of customer service and support can I expect if a problem does come up?

I've opted for the LG models because I know LG makes some fairly good quality appliance and I've never heard a complaint about them, but I don't know what BTU I should get. The room we are putting this in is a 200ish sq. Ft. bedroom with practically wall to wall furniture. I say the 11000 BTU should be fine, but the gf likes the room to be ice cold and the Haier 9,9000 BTU window unit we have (but can't use now) doesn't make the room cold enough for her.

3) Will 11000 BTU portable air conditioner make a 200ish sq. ft bedroom walk in freezer cold or should we get a 12 or 13000 BTU model instead?

Thanks in advance for any and all feed feedback.

[Bubba1]

So we have new windows in the bedroom and since we don't have central air in this house me and the gf are looking at our options for air conditioners. We can't screw the units into the windows because they are sealed and screwing into them will destroy them. So our only option is to get a portable air conditioner but I don't know anything about them nor do I know anyone who has one or has experience with them. I think I've set my mind on an LG model that is at Home Depot, but I honestly don't know anything about the output or issues of a portable unit and the people at home depot aren't any help either. So I need some honest feedback here on a couple of things.

1) Is it true that you should get a higher BTU output compared to what you would get for a window unit?

2) Are the LG models any good? If so what kind of customer service and support can I expect if a problem does come up?

I've opted for the LG models because I know LG makes some fairly good quality appliance and I've never heard a complaint about them, but I don't know what BTU I should get. The room we are putting this in is a 200ish sq. Ft. bedroom with practically wall to wall furniture. I say the 11000 BTU should be fine, but the gf likes the room to be ice cold and the Haier 9,9000 BTU window unit we have (but can't use now) doesn't make the room cold enough for her.

3) Will 11000 BTU portable air conditioner make a 200ish sq. ft bedroom walk in freezer cold or should we get a 12 or 13000 BTU model instead?

Thanks in advance for any and all feed feedback.

I have 6 window a/c's in my house plus ceiling fans (improves the efficiency).You should be able find a BTU requirement calculator chart on line. They take into account more than just square footage, they also take into consideration the # windows/doors, how many exterior walls, etc. You don;t want to go too small or the compressor will run all the time trying to keep up and that draws a lotta juice). You also want to avoid going too big, because what you save on it cooling more quickly, you lose it because it uses more juice each time the compressor kicks in.

Most of my bedrooms have 5 or 6000 BTU and they cool fine. Just gotta be dilligent about keeping doors closed in rooms that have the a/c on. If you leave a door open, the room will never get cold.

I'm not familiar with LG airconditioners, but I can look up Consumer Report ratings for you once you figure out the size you want. Some brands do better than others depending on the size.

[Jesda]

Mitsubishi portable air conditioners are proven, but I dont know if they're readily available in the US.

LG's washers and dryers are known to be expensive and troublesome, though pleasant to use while they're working. Dont know anything about their AC units.

[frapjap]

LG's washers and dryers are known to be expensive and troublesome, though pleasant to use while they're working. Dont know anything about their AC units.

What washer and dryer isn't pleasant while working? (open distasteful jokes here).

Back to the a/c thing...
http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... KYBEPMCMAY#

I have an older model of this style that I bought when it was already a year old. I've had it for 4-5 years and its been nothing by dead nuts reliable. However, knowing what I know now about it here are some things I'd suggest that you keep in mind when purchasing:

- just like your fridge, filter, the fins and coils WILL get dusty. Really dusty. Look for a model where the outside "shell" plastic is easily removed with a few screws. Using 10-15 minutes to disassemble it and using the hose attachment on your vacuum cleaner to clean the dust 1-2x per year will greatly lenghten the life expectency , effectiveness, and performance of your unit.

- Go big or go home. For a portable a/c, get 12,000btus or better. Its not that much of a price difference to not consider it. Plus, its portable! You can move it to the living room if you so desire. Like Joel mentioned, you don't want the thing to blow hardcore for 10 minutes, turn off and then cycle on again 8 minutes later because it reached the thermostat temp. IMO- this pisses me off when I'm awake and even more so when I'm trying to sleep. To much irregular noise.

- Timers. Hopefully your model has a clock and a simple program timer that you can tell it to turn on at 4:30pm to cool the room off before you get home. Remote controls are also neat.

- Ducting. Its cheap and crinkles up the parts that you're not using. This allows you to move your a/c closer to where you are and using less power/fan to keep you cooler than a traditional window unit and lowers your power bill.

- Efficency- I dont notice much of a bump in the power bill with my unit, maybe $15 extra at most.

- Quiet. They're MUCH quieter than a window unit. Remember those older (but not the oldest) units that were in hotel rooms that had that nice gentle hum to help you get to sleep? Mmmmmm, perfect white noise.

- Water collection bucket. Check the size. On hot summer nights I have to get up and empty mine after about 5 hours of running at 64 degrees. When the bucket fills, mine beeps 3x, it gets REALLY hot, and I cant sleep anyway. It becomes automatic and I barely ever remember doing it in the morning. I could just raise the kick-on temp, but I like to keep my room cold enough to hang meat in. Anyway, make sure it is large enough if you don't want to be disturbed.

I'll post pics if you need.

Joel has some excellent suggestions- look for reviews and don't buy blind. Theres nothing worse than a hot day and a craptastic a/c unit.

[Chaotic_Warlord]

Thanks for the awesome info Ray, I will look at the model you have and see how it compares to the LG model I'm looking at. The room we are putting it in is a 12x13 bedroom with wall to wall furniture. A 10K btu window unit gets the room plenty cold for me, but then I also get cold easily, she wants the room to be sub zero so I guess I'll be getting a 12 or 13k BTU portable unit.

Bubba, if you can get me the Consumer Reports full info on the LG 11000, 12000, and 13000 BTU portable air conditioners that would be awesome, here are the model numbers:

11000 BTU - LG LP1111WXR Air Conditioner
12000 BTU - LG LP1210BXR Air Conditioner
13000 BTU - LG LP1311BXR Air Conditioners

Thanks guys, please keep the info coming, I need to get something ASAP.

[Bubba1]

Ok, CR tested only 1 LG Airconditioner in their most recent group test, a 6000 BTU window unit and it tested among the best but was not recommended (possibly for being a new model). But as far as a/c ratings go, they vary greatly by model number, For example, both the top rated and lowest rated models were made by the same company (Haier). The LG model # was GL6000ER, $280

Regarding portables, CR noted: "if a portable is your only option,, select one with dual hoses, which were better at cooling in their tests, but inferior to window units."

As far as picking the right size, I assume you did not yet look up the BTU chart, so here are some very general guidelines:

5000-6500 BTU generally cools rooms up to 300 sq ft
7000-8200 BTU up to 400 sq ft
9800-12500 BTU up to 650 sq ft

Obviously there are several other variables like wall construction, windows, doors, # of exterior walls, and the direction the walls face, ceiling height, etc.

Bigger is not necessarily better. buying a model too powerful won't improve cooling. What happens is it'll cool the room quickly but not remove enough humidity leaving the room cold and clammy. With the other variables added in, you windows might require more BTU, but probably not as much more as you think. Tim Allen's more power fixes everything does not really apply to air conditioning. I suggest you do some BTU homework and get the right size unit, it'll save you more money in the long run.


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