Best portable ac unit

[Grossman90]

I'm planning on buying a portable ac unit for my fish room that is only around 200sq feet. I have the room closed off due to pets and my younger son always wanting to mess around in it. With it being closed off it gets warm and hot. Right now i have a fan blowing out the window to keep it not as humid but with summer approaching im looking into getting an ac unit. Im looking for something that will help keep it cool and shut off when it hits the degree its set to so i can save on my eletricity. I read most will also work as a dehumidifier while cooling down the room. Thanks

 

[Naekuh]

no portable AC's suck hardcore.... im assuming your talking about the one you hookup a tube to a window.

What you want is a chiller.
How large is the tank?

But portable AC's are horribly inefficient, unless you get the ones with dual intake/exhaust, and even then they are still horribly inefficient.

Also don't even bother with dehumidifier....
Again depending on size of tank, its like a snake eatting its tail.

The less humidty your room has, the more your tank will evap, and so on, until a equalibrium is attained.
So you'll be increasing evaporation in your tank, which will cause your ATO to kick in more, which will again cause the AC to dehimidfy, and repeat back to one.

Hence again, you want a chiller, and not a AC.

The only time a AC wins, is if you have a large tank, or several tanks, and you can control the ambients.
But even then, the AC would need to be grossly overpowered.

 

[Grossman90]

no portable AC's suck hardcore.... im assuming your talking about the one you hookup a tube to a window.

What you want is a chiller.
How large is the tank?

But portable AC's are horribly inefficient, unless you get the ones with dual intake/exhaust, and even then they are still horribly inefficient.

Also don't even bother with dehumidifier....
Again depending on size of tank, its like a snake eatting its tail.

The less humidty your room has, the more your tank will evap, and so on, until a equalibrium is attained.
So you'll be increasing evaporation in your tank, which will cause your ATO to kick in more, which will again cause the AC to dehimidfy, and repeat back to one.

Hence again, you want a chiller, and not a AC.

The only time a AC wins, is if you have a large tank, or several tanks, and you can control the ambients.
But even then, the AC would need to be grossly overpowered.

There are 4 tanks in the room. The humidity will be terrible in the summer since it will be too hot to keep the window open and all the tanks make the room warm to begin with.

 

[Biokabe]

What you want is a chiller.
How large is the tank?

But portable AC's are horribly inefficient, unless you get the ones with dual intake/exhaust, and even then they are still horribly inefficient.

Also don't even bother with dehumidifier....
Again depending on size of tank, its like a snake eatting its tail.

The less humidty your room has, the more your tank will evap, and so on, until a equalibrium is attained.
So you'll be increasing evaporation in your tank, which will cause your ATO to kick in more, which will again cause the AC to dehimidfy, and repeat back to one.

Hence again, you want a chiller, and not a AC.

The only time a AC wins, is if you have a large tank, or several tanks, and you can control the ambients.
But even then, the AC would need to be grossly overpowered.

A chiller is not the answer. OP isn't concerned about tank temperature, they're concerned about room temperature. Chillers actively heat up the room they're in, as does any cooling device. The only reason air conditioners can actually cool is because they can dump the heat they generate outside. Most chillers don't have a way to exhaust air outside of the room, so any cooling to the tank will come at the cost of heating the room.

However, you're right that portable AC units are terrible. The fact that the actual compressor, by necessity, lives inside the room inherently limits how much they can cool the room. Even as they produce cold air, the A/C itself and the exhaust hose radiate heat back into the room. It's still a net cooling effect, but it's not that great.

@Grossman90, how big is the window in the room? What style of window is it? You'll have much better results with a window A/C unit rather than a portable. Window units aren't as good as central air, of course, but they're better than portables in every way. Cheaper, quieter, more effective, more efficient - if there is any chance of using a window unit, you're better off going down that route.

 

[kindafun]

My desire for a portable AC is if power goes off and I’m running for awhile with a generator.

Following…

 

[Grossman90]

A chiller is not the answer. OP isn't concerned about tank temperature, they're concerned about room temperature. Chillers actively heat up the room they're in, as does any cooling device. The only reason air conditioners can actually cool is because they can dump the heat they generate outside. Most chillers don't have a way to exhaust air outside of the room, so any cooling to the tank will come at the cost of heating the room.

However, you're right that portable AC units are terrible. The fact that the actual compressor, by necessity, lives inside the room inherently limits how much they can cool the room. Even as they produce cold air, the A/C itself and the exhaust hose radiate heat back into the room. It's still a net cooling effect, but it's not that great.

@Grossman90, how big is the window in the room? What style of window is it? You'll have much better results with a window A/C unit rather than a portable. Window units aren't as good as central air, of course, but they're better than portables in every way. Cheaper, quieter, more effective, more efficient - if there is any chance of using a window unit, you're better off going down that route.

Its a big sliding window. It opens by pulling it to the side. I think its around 50 inches tall. The problem is how hot and humid the tanks make the room. I was thinking about maybe just getting a tall baby gate to prevent my son and cat from getting in the room and go from there on keeping the room not as humid/warm.

 

[Biokabe]

Its a big sliding window. It opens by pulling it to the side. I think its around 50 inches tall.

Unfortunately, there aren't many window units designed to work with that style of window. That's not to say there aren't any, but they are more expensive than regular top-down units, and choice is limited. Easiest way to find them is to search for "Casement Window Air Conditioner" or something along those lines. "Sliding Window Air Conditioner" also sometimes works.

Depending on how handy you are, you can make a regular top-down unit work with a sliding window. What you do is essentially build a frame for the A/C that slots into your window. You can get fancy or basic with it - at the most basic level, you can just cut a sheet of plywood to fit the gap above the window unit, and then close the window on it and lock with a window lock to hold it in place.

I have the same style of windows and have built three different frames over the years (and am about to build two more this year). I go a little fancier with mine - I build brackets that slot around the sides of the window unit to hold it in place, also usually incorporating an exterior brace to support the weight of the unit. The first two I built, the top portion is a double-layer plywood sheet sandwiching about an inch of insulation. The last one I built did away with the plywood and instead replaced it with two quarter-inch sheets of polycarbonate.

If you don't want to go that route, just go with the casement units. Prices on those look to be between $500-$800 for an 8,000-10,000 BTU system. Portables in the same power range are comparably priced, but remember that a portable will have to use a significant amount of its cooling power just compensating for its own waste heat. It's not an apples-to-apples comparison.

 

[FUNGI]

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[Malcontent]

I have this one. It's about as good as portable ACs get, with an inverter compressor and dual hoses:


I think it's made by Midea and sold under various other names.

 

[FUNGI]

I have the bigger unit running in my garage. Quite, cheap to run and doubles as heater also. SUPER easy install. And yes, Midea

 

[theMeat]

Get a small split system unit. Maybe a multi unit system that you can run to different parts of the house. They cool, heat, and dehumidify.

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

No issues with salt in the air? I will have a small room (100 sq ft) but can't do a window unit. I was looking at the 9K BTU mini split. I was concerned with salt screwing with the wall mount unit.

 

[theMeat]

No issues with salt in the air? I will have a small room (100 sq ft) but can't do a window unit. I was looking at the 9K BTU mini split. I was concerned with salt screwing with the wall mount unit.

Not an issue. For the most part water evaporates, salt does not. That’s why we put rodi in our tanks to replenish what evaps. That’s not to say a small amount doesn’t. Not enough not to get a split. Mine is literally right over my 220g for three years, no signs of any salt or degradation

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

Not an issue. For the most part water evaporates, salt does not. That’s why we put rodi in our tanks to replenish what evaps. That’s not to say a small amount doesn’t. Not enough not to get a split. Mine is literally right over my 220g for three years, no signs of any salt or degradation

I ask as my water room, where my RODI and Salt tanks are wreaks havoc on anything that will rust. But, it’s in a room with no air handling, so the humidity plus salt must be the issue. My gas line to my water heater is a rust pit. If I leave a pair of pliers in that room for 2 days, it’s rusty. The room has a door that is always open, 5 feet from my garage door that is only closed 10 hours a day.

 

[cilyjr]

CANT GO WRONG WITH THESE

As someone who works in HVAC, I beg to differ. I've seen a few installs that absolutely went wrong.

 

[Naekuh]

Split room is probably the best route, however again... your gonna get so much condensate on your evaporator coil, be prepared to do service on the drain line often.

Dust will accumulate... then you got condensate, then you got a slury dust solution which later turns into a blocked drain.

Also how large are these 4 tanks? im wondering if a 8k btu will even be sufficient.
Otherwise i think for the larger you will need a electrican as those require a 240V.

Not an issue. For the most part water evaporates, salt does not. That’s why we put rodi in our tanks to replenish what evaps. That’s not to say a small amount doesn’t. Not enough not to get a split. Mine is literally right over my 220g for three years, no signs of any salt or degradation

No but humidity will wreck metals that are not stainless.
A AC will help with that if it is on, but again on a fish tank... humidty works on equalibirum.
The dryer a room is, the more your tank will evap, and the AC will need to be on more often to control the humidity.

Which is why i said a chiller with open windows is probably a better option, but if the OP has 4 tanks... then keeping the room ambient stable is probably a cheaper route.

But as for controling humidity, i wouldn't get your hopes up.

I ask as my water room, where my RODI and Salt tanks are wreaks havoc on anything that will rust. But, it’s in a room with no air handling, so the humidity plus salt must be the issue. My gas line to my water heater is a rust pit. If I leave a pair of pliers in that room for 2 days, it’s rusty. The room has a door that is always open, 5 feet from my garage door that is only closed 10 hours a day.

Yep i know that feeling well.
I don't think there is anything you can do about that, other then try to vent fresh air.
A dehumifier will help, but at the cost of more evap.

Dehumidifers are not designed to work well, when you have a large source of evaporation, or a open air enviorment. That is how those miracle water generating machines are made from. Basically pulling condensate from the air into liquid though a evaporator, or a cold side Thermoelectic Petlier device.

 

[theMeat]

Ac units that dehumidify dehumidify in cool mode. Ideally you want the unit slightly undersized to accomplish that. Get an oversized unit and you will cool but not dehumidify even when in dehumidifier mode. Which is basically cool mode with low fan speed.
The drain pipe shouldn’t be a problem either. As long as it’s pitched enough you’re good to go.

 

[KC2020]

I'm using a Midea portable in a 415 sq ft room and it works great. And yes it does have an option for a vertical placement of the intake/outlet but you'll have to extend it. I did with mine and it was worth the trouble.

 

[cilyjr]

Also how large are these 4 tanks? im wondering if a 8k btu will even be sufficient.
Otherwise i think for the larger you will need a electrican as those require a 240V.

Mitsubishi makes a 115v line up to 12k. It's the muz- jp12.

All the jp are 115v I am pretty sure.

 

[PapaFishRocks]

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