Bought a Portable Air Conditioner

[RJM62]

This one, to be exact:

https://www.samsclub.com/p/delonghi-portable-ac-700-sq-ft/prod22880509

The central air struggles to keep the upstairs cool on hot nights. It can do it, but the rest of the house gets so cold I could hang meat in the living room. I'll give this a shot.

My only criticism so far is that the window attachment for the exhaust is less-than-wonderful. It's about four inches too short for the sliding window where I want to use the unit, and doesn't fit all that well width-wise, either. I'll probably pick up a length of board at the lumber yard tomorrow and make something that seals better.

Rich

 

[dmspilot]

You may want to consider exchanging it for a cheaper window unit Good luck in any case.

 

[Bell206]

The central air struggles to keep the upstairs cool on hot nights.

FWIW: Was dealing with same issue but not on separate floors. HVAC friend put in a separate air return duct in the affected room which dropped the temps 8-10 degrees. Not equal to the meat locker living room but way more comfortable.

 

[Stan Cooper]

With the 90+ degree temperatures here, my T-hangar is hotter than Hades. I do my own condition inspections, and mine is due by the end of this month. I'm seriously considering a portable air conditioner to avoid a heat stroke while working on the plane.

 

[MIFlyer]

If that doesn't work, you can pop a mini split in the upstairs for around $700 and a day's work

 

[Shawn]

Had one of those in a warehouse office that had no other climate control...thought it worked pretty good for what it was.

 

[Ted]

I’ve become a big fan of mini-splits for these sorts of situations lately. Last year when our single 4 or 4.5 ton HVAC went out we replaced it with two 3-ton HVACs (upstairs and downstairs) and a mini-split for the garage. I’m now thinking a 60k BTU 5-zone mini split for the shop we’re building.

Good HVAC is worth its weight in gold.

 

[RJM62]

You may want to consider exchanging it for a cheaper window unit Good luck in any case.

Sliding windows make that impossible. I could replace one of the windows, of course, which would probably be the easiest structural solution if I decide to go that way. But Sam's Club has generous return policies, so I decided to take a chance on this first.

It definitely puts out plenty of cold air and seems to cool the upstairs okay. The only problem is the poorly-designed exhaust hose mount, which I've partially addressed with a piece of board I had in the basement. I have a few ideas to finish the job to get a better seal around the edges.

Rich

 

[RJM62]

FWIW: Was dealing with same issue but not on separate floors. HVAC friend put in a separate air return duct in the affected room which dropped the temps 8-10 degrees. Not equal to the meat locker living room but way more comfortable.

Already have one. I also tried blocking the return ducts on the first floor to force the air upstairs. No noticeable difference.

Rich

 

[RJM62]

If that doesn't work, you can pop a mini split in the upstairs for around $700 and a day's work

I installed one of those in a friend's bungalow. It's definitely an option if this doesn't work.

Snaking the Romex would be a bit of a pain, but not the worst wiring job I've ever done. I suppose I could also run conduit outside the house on the rear-facing side and run THWN through it. I'd have to check the code on that, though.

Rich

 

[RJM62]

With the 90+ degree temperatures here, my T-hangar is hotter than Hades. I do my own condition inspections, and mine is due by the end of this month. I'm seriously considering a portable air conditioner to avoid a heat stroke while working on the plane.

I dunno about a hangar. That's a tall order. This unit is rated at 14,000 BTU using the old rating system. How many BTU's do the sun exert on the hangar roof on a sunny day?

It might take the edge off on a cloudy day, I guess, or at night. But that's a pretty tough cooling job.

Rich

 

[RJM62]

I’ve become a big fan of mini-splits for these sorts of situations lately. Last year when our single 4 or 4.5 ton HVAC went out we replaced it with two 3-ton HVACs (upstairs and downstairs) and a mini-split for the garage. I’m now thinking a 60k BTU 5-zone mini split for the shop we’re building.

Good HVAC is worth its weight in gold.

My county has no licensing for HVAC installation (nor most other crafts), and it shows. I'm still finding loose and leaky ducts.

Rich

 

[MIFlyer]

My county has no licensing for HVAC installation (nor most other crafts), and it shows. I'm still finding loose and leaky ducts.

Rich

In WA there is a lot of licensing for the trades, but luckily most homeowners are allowed to do essentially any trade if it's on your own primary home. My cousin and I did his 4 ton split (not mini) unit heat pump one weekend and it was a great excuse to buy all the proper tools for swaging, etc. Went about $800 in for a can of 410, an acetylene torch setup, expansion dies, nigtrogen tank and regulator, vacuum pump, tubing bender, guage set, etc.

I want more people to tell me what I "can't do" because it's too hard or not allowed... but yes, there are a lot of hacks out there too

 

[Ted]

I want more people to tell me what I "can't do" because it's too hard or not allowed... but yes, there are a lot of hacks out there too

Yeah, I’ve been strongly considering doing the mini split for the shop myself rather than paying the HVAC guys this time around. I’ll figure it out when the time comes.

 

[PaulS]

I have a house, about 3,000 feet, with a large upstairs bedroom. One zone, thermostat on first level. Bedroom heats up all day long, downstairs heats less and stays cool. My solution is to turn the fan on all day to circulate the air and keep the upstairs cool. Basically moves the warm air out of the upstairs room.

The other thing for Rich, is to make sure your system is working to peak efficiency. Filters, make sure the condenser coil is clean and has a full charge. All that said, I like those portable units when a window unit is not an option.

 

[PaulS]

Yeah, I’ve been strongly considering doing the mini split for the shop myself rather than paying the HVAC guys this time around. I’ll figure it out when the time comes.

For one system it can be tough to save any money. I had a central system replaced, 4 ton, I put a goodman in, which I could have bought myself and done. Basically the guy charged me about $1,000 more than what it would have cost me for the unit. He took away the old unit (a lennox) and put a new line set in too. He was there for about 7 hours. Works great, I would have had to buy a vacuum pump, gages, the line set, and the plenum adapter so it really was a wash.

 

[Ben Lowe]

I'm looking for a efficient portable aircon any recommendations?

 

[RJM62]

I'm looking for a efficient portable aircon any recommendations?

Too soon to say whether I actually recommend this one. I will say that the only thing I don't like about it so far is the window duct attachment.

It does keep things cool, though. How efficiently remains to be seen. It does draw slightly over 11 amps at full throttle.

Rich

 

[RJM62]

I scrapped the board and went with styrofoam because I happened to have some of a suitable thickness. I used some duct tape to give it that redneck motif.



Some weatherstripping on the one edge, and voila. I'll do the other edge the next time I have a reason to take it out. It wedges in there pretty snugly, though, so it's probably not necessary.

Rich

 

[Bob Noel]

Rich:

You might find that the plastic exhaust hose gets warm (or quite warm). When I was using a portable R2D2 air conditioner, I ended up using hose insulation around that exhaust hose.

 

[PaulS]

I scrapped the board and went with styrofoam because I happened to have some of a suitable thickness. I used some duct tape to give it that redneck motif.

View attachment 86447

Some weatherstripping on the one edge, and voila. I'll do the other edge the next time I have a reason to take it out. It wedges in there pretty snugly, though, so it's probably not necessary.

Rich

Damn, lol, that looks awesome!

 

[RJM62]

Rich:

You might find that the plastic exhaust hose gets warm (or quite warm). When I was using a portable R2D2 air conditioner, I ended up using hose insulation around that exhaust hose.

Thanks. I'll monitor that.

Rich

 

[MIFlyer]

For one system it can be tough to save any money. I had a central system replaced, 4 ton, I put a goodman in, which I could have bought myself and done. Basically the guy charged me about $1,000 more than what it would have cost me for the unit. He took away the old unit (a lennox) and put a new line set in too. He was there for about 7 hours. Works great, I would have had to buy a vacuum pump, gages, the line set, and the plenum adapter so it really was a wash.

In that case, I could see it. the vendor up here wanted 13K for a mini split, with me doing the electric. I bought all the professional gear the next day and now will install a half dozen in my lifetime with it. We tested my cousin's setup to 450psi for 24 hours and didn't lose a bit before evacuating the nitrogen and charging it.

 

[PaulS]

In that case, I could see it. the vendor up here wanted 13K for a mini split, with me doing the electric. I bought all the professional gear the next day and now will install a half dozen in my lifetime with it. We tested my cousin's setup to 450psi for 24 hours and didn't lose a bit before evacuating the nitrogen and charging it.

$13k for a mini split? There are a lot of hose bag installers out there, it took me about 4 quotes before I found a guy who generally just works for general contractors but came over and quoted it. He did a great job. If he had come back at $13k I would have done it myself too. He asked me what I wanted, I told him I like goodman, which he installed, and that I wanted the most efficient unit he had that didn't have a variable speed compressor or air handler motor (controlled variable speed) or an electronic controller. I wanted a unit where if I call a repair guy, he will have the parts on his truck. He laughed and said that's what he would do too.

 

[chartbundle]

When I had one of those portables it seemed to improve things quite a bit by adding an intake hose to it and running it to the window as well. Mine just had a cover over the intake port so I just got another hose and hooked it up and blocked the normal intake.

 

[PaulS]

Rich, what are you doing with the condensate?

 

[RJM62]

Rich, what are you doing with the condensate?

It mixes it with the exhaust air somehow and blows it out the hose.

Rich

 

[Bob Noel]

It mixes it with the exhaust air somehow and blows it out the hose.

Rich

I had one that did that, occasionally I needed to make sure the pan didn't overflow or get stagnate.

 

[RJM62]

I had one that did that, occasionally I needed to make sure the pan didn't overflow or get stagnate.

Yeah, the manual recommends doing that at the end of the season. I think it also has a sensor.

Rich

 

[Bob Noel]

Yeah, the manual recommends doing that at the end of the season. I think it also has a sensor.

Rich

maybe that was my problem (what? reading a manual?)...

 

[RudyP]

Rich - how is it working out for you? We bought a new house recently and the upstairs AC compressor failed (17 year old unit) so it’s quite hot upstairs at night. We are getting a new system but it will be 2 weeks to get installed so wondering about getting a couple portable units for the interim.

 

[Kenny Phillips]

I have a house, about 3,000 feet, with a large upstairs bedroom. One zone, thermostat on first level. Bedroom heats up all day long, downstairs heats less and stays cool. My solution is to turn the fan on all day to circulate the air and keep the upstairs cool. Basically moves the warm air out of the upstairs room.

The other thing for Rich, is to make sure your system is working to peak efficiency. Filters, make sure the condenser coil is clean and has a full charge. All that said, I like those portable units when a window unit is not an option.

That's exactly what we do, it works just enough to keep me from installing a mini-split in the bedroom.

 

[RJM62]

Rich - how is it working out for you? We bought a new house recently and the upstairs AC compressor failed (17 year old unit) so it’s quite hot upstairs at night. We are getting a new system but it will be 2 weeks to get installed so wondering about getting a couple portable units for the interim.

It works as expected in the cooling mode. I may test it later on in the dehumidifying mode just to see how well that works if it gets more humid.

In terms of cooling, it takes somewhat longer to cool the space than I think a 14,000 BTU window air conditioner would. I'd say about 20 to 30 percent longer. I expected that based on reviews I'd read. Apparently this is a common complaint about all portable air conditioners.

I guess the fact that the machine is indoors and gives off some heat of its own probably has something to do with it. The condenser coil of a window air conditioner (along with the motors and compressor) would be outside. On a portable, they're in the room being cooled. That's an unavoidable inefficiency inherent in the design. But life is a compromise. The workaround is to turn it on an hour before bedtime rather than half an hour.

It has a timer that will do that automatically, but I haven't used it because I don't need the air conditioning every night. Two nights ago it went down to 44F here.

Once the room is at the desired temperature, it maintains it well, especially at night when the sun isn't beating down on the roof. It does during the day, too; but works a lot harder at it. During the day, the compressor is pretty much always running. Usually there's no one up there during the day anyway, however, so that's not an issue. I just let it run a couple of days to test it.

I should add that the insulation in the roof is less-than-wonderful. Replacing it is on my to-do list.

The noise may be bothersome to some people. It doesn't bother me, but I'm used to fan and machinery noise. There is an audible murmur when the compressor kicks in that lasts a second or so. It might bother light sleepers.

All in all, I'm satisfied with it. It performs as I expected it would. But I wouldn't recommend it over a window air conditioner if that's a possibility. If you do buy the portable, I also recommend sizing it higher than you think you'll need based on the typical math.

Rich

 

[Skip Miller]

I should add that the insulation in the roof is less-than-wonderful. Replacing it is on my to-do list.

Rich

@RMJ62

Rich, why replace it if you can just add to it? I had a house a few years ago that had a whopping 4” fiberglass batts in between the joists in the attic. I just put in a layer of 8” or 12” (can’t remember which ) unfaced batts on top. Job done. Much less itching afterwards!

-Skip

 

[RJM62]

@RMJ62

Rich, why replace it if you can just add to it? I had a house a few years ago that had a whopping 4” fiberglass batts in between the joists in the attic. I just put in a layer of 8” or 12” (can’t remember which ) unfaced batts on top. Job done. Much less itching afterwards!

-Skip

I don't have that much room between the ceiling and the roof sheathing. I'm also considering replacing the roof itself, possibly adding a few inches for more insulation in the process. Otherwise I may remove the sheathing and spray foam insulation between the rafters. I also want to look into roofing materials that may have some insulating value.

It's all on my list of things to do, but I doubt I'll get to it this summer. Confusion about what was and wasn't allowed during the shutdown was part of the reason. I didn't want to start a project and later be told I couldn't finish it, or that suppliers couldn't deliver the materials, because of some arbitrary edict coming from Albany. In retrospect, I could have done it; but the uncertainty at the time led me to push it down on the list.

Rich

 

[MIFlyer]

I don't have that much room between the ceiling and the roof sheathing. I'm also considering replacing the roof itself, possibly adding a few inches for more insulation in the process. Otherwise I may remove the sheathing and spray foam insulation between the rafters. I also want to look into roofing materials that may have some insulating value.

It's all on my list of things to do, but I doubt I'll get to it this summer. Confusion about what was and wasn't allowed during the shutdown was part of the reason. I didn't want to start a project and later be told I couldn't finish it, or that suppliers couldn't deliver the materials, because of some arbitrary edict coming from Albany. In retrospect, I could have done it; but the uncertainty at the time led me to push it down on the list.

Rich

You're a wise man Rich! The more I read your posts, the more I respect you.

 

[genna]

I have a house, about 3,000 feet, with a large upstairs bedroom. One zone, thermostat on first level. Bedroom heats up all day long, downstairs heats less and stays cool. My solution is to turn the fan on all day to circulate the air and keep the upstairs cool. Basically moves the warm air out of the upstairs room.

The other thing for Rich, is to make sure your system is working to peak efficiency. Filters, make sure the condenser coil is clean and has a full charge. All that said, I like those portable units when a window unit is not an option.

A potential issue with this solution is that you are re-humidifying the air when fan runs without compressor. Whatever the condensate that was left in the system when compressor shut down is now being evaporated again buy fanning relatively dry air over it. Obviously depends on your climate

I was doing the same thing for a while, but the humidity in the house was too high.

I have basically the same problem(smaller house though) and have been doing some research and testing here in 3 level townhouse. Here are some findings.

Ecobee(which I have) allows multiple temperature sensors in the house and you can dictate which(or combination of which) control the HVAC. Doesn't help with temp differences, but with schedule it at least prioritizes the rooms you are in.

If you have open staircases, consider putting curtains. This helps A LOT. Cool air goes down. Covering part of return on the first floor seem to help a little in combination as well, but one must be careful not to unbalance the system too much

I've ordered this thing. https://flair.co/pages/catalog .While one can do this manually, that's annoying. Will see how well that works. Little pricey though.

Register booster fans are also an option.

 

[PaulS]

A potential issue with this solution is that you are re-humidifying the air when fan runs without compressor. Whatever the condensate that was left in the system when compressor shut down is now being evaporated again buy fanning relatively dry air over it. Obviously depends on your climate

I was doing the same thing for a while, but the humidity in the house was too high.

I have basically the same problem(smaller house though) and have been doing some research and testing here in 3 level townhouse. Here are some findings.

Ecobee(which I have) allows multiple temperature sensors in the house and you can dictate which(or combination of which) control the HVAC. Doesn't help with temp differences, but with schedule it at least prioritizes the rooms you are in.

If you have open staircases, consider putting curtains. This helps A LOT. Cool air goes down. Covering part of return on the first floor seem to help a little in combination as well, but one must be careful not to unbalance the system too much

I've ordered this thing. https://flair.co/pages/catalog .While one can do this manually, that's annoying. Will see how well that works. Little pricey though.

Register booster fans are also an option.

I think in my case it's less a problem with flow and more a problem with with heat introduction into the up stairs room when the sun is out. I have an ecobee in another house and it works great, but I think the delta in temperature might make the downstairs uncomfortably cool to maintain a reasonable temperature upstairs.

Another solution would be a separate zone for upstairs, but that introduces it's own issues. Running the fan on days that I know will be a problem works well so I'm happy. The system is well installed, there is very little residual condensate in the system, humidity fluctuations are undetectable.

I did the balancing thing years ago, most of the time the temps are pretty consistent, it's just the hot sunny days where it's an issue.

 

[RJM62]

You're a wise man Rich! The more I read your posts, the more I respect you.

Thank you. That's not something I hear often (and probably for good reasons, your compliment notwithstanding).

Rich

 

[Notrub]

My three ton system for my 60yr old 1850 sqft house is 27 seer and pulls 11amps running. I keep it at 68 all summer in va beach. Be careful portables and splits are energy hogs.....its funny how u need to be able to afford to save money.

I install geothermal closed loop systems for a living.