Good Quality Portable Air Conditioner- Recommendations?

[bsloan1960]

Normally I'd just buy one. But I'm asking because in the course of 3 years we bought 2 different portables (2 different brands) for about $500 each- and both started to leak after about a year.

I want to have one for the garage, but also for the bedroom in case the central air goes. I asked for recommendations in an existing thread about ACs but my question got overlooked.

Specifically what brand and price point- and how long have you used it?

[Stu from NYC]

If your central air works why do you need to run portable ones so much?

[bsloan1960]

If your central air works why do you need to run portable ones so much?

As I said, in case it breaks down, and also to cool the garage.

I wouldn't be running it "So Much"- just if the central AC breaks down, and to cool my garage. According to several previous posters they have purchased portable AC units for these 2 reasons. Some have said they used them when their central air broke down- and to cool their garages.

[eyc234]

Have a black & decker we use on our lanai when we lower the clear isinglass screens. Works good for cooling the area and is easy to setup.

[asianthree]

Wouldn’t a splitter in the garage be cheaper in the long run. No help for bedroom, but if you ac is bad wouldn’t you just replace it

[bsloan1960]

Wouldn’t a splitter in the garage be cheaper in the long run. No help for bedroom, but if you ac is bad wouldn’t you just replace it

Someone posted here that their AC went bad but only need a part. Due to supply chain issues it took a month to get the part

[asianthree]

Someone posted here that their AC went bad but only need a part. Due to supply chain issues it took a month to get the part

But that seems to be very rare. In all the years we have been in TV the pandemic is the only time things couldn’t be fixed quickly

[IndianaJones]

As I said, in case it breaks down, and also to cool the garage.

I wouldn't be running it "So Much"- just if the central AC breaks down, and to cool my garage. According to several previous posters they have purchased portable AC units for these 2 reasons. Some have said they used them when their central air broke down- and to cool their garages.
I have a Honeywell unit in the garage, was about $400 on Amazon, works great! Easy to install, also.

[nancyre]

Please keep something in mind - Garages are large and Hot (poorly insulated) The BTU needed for a garage is significant you will burn out the unit if you do not buy the proper size (BTU) no matter the brand

[Keefelane66]

Don't know what your problem may have been except maybe not draining water tank. We’ve got 2 almost 10 years old made in China only problem was the rat cage fan needed to be replaced after about 7 years plastic deteriorated self distributed.
All act like a dehumidifier there was one I saw that would take water from discharge tank and discharge as an aerosol had bad reviees

[retiredguy123]

Please keep something in mind - Garages are large and Hot (poorly insulated) The BTU needed for a garage is significant you will burn out the unit if you do not buy the proper size (BTU) no matter the brand
If you are going to try to cool a garage, you definitely need to insulate the ceiling, and the garage door.

[bsloan1960]

Don't know what your problem may have been except maybe not draining water tank. We’ve got 2 almost 10 years old made in China only problem was the rat cage fan needed to be replaced after about 7 years plastic deteriorated self distributed.
All act like a dehumidifier there was one I saw that would take water from discharge tank and discharge as an aerosol had bad reviees


Thanks for your reply. I ones we had both had a window discharge hose and a garden hose type fitting on the bottom. Instructions said that the garden hose was only needed in Dehumidify Setting so we didn't connect that hose since we were cooling only.

In both cases the leaks were NOT coming from the water outlet port on the bottom (dehumidify water outlet)- it was bone dry. That's why I was left with the impression that this type of unit was unreliable, and why I wanted to inquire before buying a 3rd unit.

[HospitalCoder]

Wouldn’t a splitter in the garage be cheaper in the long run. No help for bedroom, but if you ac is bad wouldn’t you just replace it

I got an estimate for $6,000 for split in garage.

[retiredguy123]

Thanks for your reply. I ones we had both had a window discharge hose and a garden hose type fitting on the bottom. Instructions said that the garden hose was only needed in Dehumidify Setting so we didn't connect that hose since we were cooling only.

In both cases the leaks were NOT coming from the water outlet port on the bottom (dehumidify water outlet)- it was bone dry. That's why I was left with the impression that this type of unit was unreliable, and why I wanted to inquire before buying a 3rd unit.
All air conditioners will produce condensate water from the cooling coil. But, some units are designed to cause the water to evaporate, so a drain pipe is not needed. That is the way refrigerators handle the condensate water. In the dehumidify mode, the A/C unit will produce more condensate water, so it would need a drain connection.

[Samcat13]

Well you asked a question And got one reply. Honeywell. I was hoping you would get a few more.

[retiredguy123]

Well you asked a question And got one reply. Honeywell. I was hoping you would get a few more.
Post No. 4 recommended a Black and Decker.

[Mrmean58]

But that seems to be very rare. In all the years we have been in TV the pandemic is the only time things couldn’t be fixed quickly

People, people. Just answer the original question. If you have a portable AC you like, recommend it. If not don't badger the poster on their reason for getting one. I'm sure everyone of you have made decisions others disagree with.

[Snowbug]

If you are going to try to cool a garage, you definitely need to insulate the ceiling, and the garage door.
I had Kalos install a Mitsubishi mini-split and they insulated the garage ceiling. Used a 24,000 btu unit. I bought a NASA insulation product through Amazon to put on the garage doors. R30 on the ceiling and R8 on the doors.