Portable Air conditioner

D

Dr Who

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Hi All

Do these work in Cape Town as I am now living in a very hot block of flats which does not permit air conditioners on the exterior walls? As I know in Durban they never tended to due to the humidity.

Regards
 
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Yeah you get them, but they have a hose to drain all the condensation, this usually hangs out of a window, or somewhere.

DO NOT buy these cheap air coolers that work with water or ice. It's total crap. I have one, and it's only convenient for me to use as a plain fan because of the remote control.
 
Thanks _ i know about the horrible hose, my thinking is that you can send this to the bathroom or something. Just looking for something that should help and be moved around.
 
The hose is also quite big so the window must be open a bit wide. As far as I remember its about the size of a small drain pipe.
 
Dr Who said:
Thanks _ i know about the horrible hose, my thinking is that you can send this to the bathroom or something. Just looking for something that should help and be moved around.
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Yeah, into a shower or bath or something, perhaps a container of some sort. I'm not sure how much water it produces.

kang said:
The hose is also quite big so the window must be open a bit wide. As far as I remember its about the size of a small drain pipe.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it is rather large! :eek: Compared to the thin pipe coming out from my aircon's outside unit.
 
Slootvreter said:
Yeah you get them, but they have a hose to drain all the condensation, this usually hangs out of a window, or somewhere.

DO NOT buy these cheap air coolers that work with water or ice. It's total crap. I have one, and it's only convenient for me to use as a plain fan because of the remote control.
Click to expand...

MIne actually works uite well, IF I put Ice packs in the water reservoir. But only good for one room though.
 
The problem is the outside unit itself as nothing is allowed on exterior walls. So I dont have a choice.
 
Thanks - Yes it will mainly be used for evening time. and maybe moved if its very hot to the lounge area.
 
I just put a portable delonghi aircon In my home/office. Works extremely well, but a bit noisy.
You need to vent the air outlet properly, cut a hole in a wall or window. So they are not easy to move around. You can't really vent the air to the bathroom, it's just too hot.
 
Portable air cons work well but the vent pipe is the only complication. They often come with fittings that work for sash type windows but don't really work well for other types. You can use a piece of cardboard / fibreglass as a sort of blanking plate or cloths/towels at the window. An air con is a heat exchanger so it is not ideal to have the window wide open venting the air con but letting in hot air at the same time.

There is usually a tank for condensation built into the air con and it needs to be emptied periodically.

Regarding venting to the ceiling - it is possible but I'm not sure whether it's advisable. The air con we use had diagrams explaining the dos and donts of the vent pipe layout. I can't remember if vertical venting to the ceiling was a do or dont....
 
Get yourself one of those cheap chinees fans with the water mister at the front. Works well enough :)
 
wetkit said:
Get yourself one of those cheap chinees fans with the water mister at the front. Works well enough :)
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Stay away from those if you're living on the coast - the last thing you want is MORE humidity in the air.

I bought one of those portable air cons last year. It's great for a small area (like a room).

But bear in mind:

- It costs a fortune to run
- It's loud
- Wall units seem to be more cooler - you'll never get the room as cold with a portable.

I tried doing maths and somehow worked out that it costs about R1 an hour to run (last year). Not sure if that still stands.

All you need is a window to stick the heatpipe out of, then you're good to go.
 
Thanks, I am just looking to chill a room a few degrees and it will be worth the R1. I will look for some 2nd hand ones to test.
 
Why then not look for a window unit?
Easy to install and would be cheaper than a portable unit.
 
Yea i also got one of those portable ones on wheels. Just a big air vent pipe that needs to stick out the window and then a tray for the water. Mine got the option, you can plug in a water pipe and just let the water flow out wherever, or you use the tray and empty it periodically (every few hours usually).

As was mentioned, they are very noisy considering the space they cool (or heat), but they most definitely do a better job than fans or semi fans that blow water.
 
also have a portable a/c ... all I can say is dont mise if you going to buy one
 
I have one in Cape Town, but you need to keep the window closed. Replace the glass with a solid replacement such as hardboard and then cut out a hole for the exchanger pipe. It works quiet well and cools down the entire flat.
 
Dr Who said:
Hi All

Do these work in Cape Town as I am now living in a very hot block of flats which does not permit air conditioners on the exterior walls? As I know in Durban they never tended to due to the humidity.

Regards
Click to expand...

That's a crappy rule. Rather relocate.
So what do the other residents do if aircons are not allowed?
 
mak2000 said:
I have one in Cape Town, but you need to keep the window closed. Replace the glass with a solid replacement such as hardboard and then cut out a hole for the exchanger pipe. It works quiet well and cools down the entire flat.
Click to expand...

Which make?

I know the Russel Hobbs 12000 BTU portable is a good buy, I've seen and felt it in action, its about 8k though.
 
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