quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:
I'm currently having trouble sleeping due to the heat. There isn't much in the way of insulation and the windows are old, single-panes, which means the heat of the day burns right into the house. My bedroom is upstairs while everything else is downstairs. I got into bed last night and the mattress was hot.

I've been looking at portable AC units on Amazon but don't really want to spend $300-400 on one that's going to be crap. My windows slide horizontally, so I can't mount a traditional window AC unit.

Anyone have experience with these?

I hear you. We have one of these Idyllis units. It works wonderfully. It should work well in your window. It will likely freeze you out of your room. I highly recommend it. I know you don't want to spend the money, but it will be well worth the investment in the long run.

 
Orguss, I dug into the closet and got the brand/model of the unit I mentioned above. As I said, it did a good job of cooling a person quickly, when directed at them. My wife never used it as a full room unit, per se, but the room was always cooler when she ran it against herself. It definitely won't cool a room as well as any kind of window unit or mini-split. She ran it in our crafts room, which is 215 sq ft, with a 9 ft ceiling.
 
It is an SPT WA-9000E, which model seems to be no longer available, replaced by the WA-9061H. You'll need to fashion about a 6-8" wide board that will fit into the track of your window full height, with the board being the right thickness to go fully into the track (1/2" in our case), then just cut a hole in that board to attach the exhaust hose, and close the window onto the board. Not much else, in the way of electrical draws, will run on the same circuit this unit is using. A light or two, laptop, even a small fan, but nothing like a vacuum cleaner.
 

You should be able to get a good window A/C for $250 and $50 for installation materials.

quote:

Originally posted by 41:
You should be able to get a good window A/C for $250 and $50 for installation materials.

Not for a casement window.

Yeah, I'm considering that now that I've seen it.

Also, there are a lot of references to casement windows, which I plainly described and even posted an example of exactly the window I have--which isn't a casement window.

So what size is your window opening?

How about some pictures.

quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:
Also, there are a lot of references to casement windows, which I plainly described and even posted an example of exactly the window I have--which isn't a casement window.

Correct, you have a horizontal slider. Ours are aluminum, some are wood. Casement windows are hinged on the sides, and swing out, either by pushing or using a crank.
 
If you completely remove the sliding pane (lift it out of its track, you may have to slide it into the open position to do this), is the hole that's left wide enough for a small window unit? And do you have a good dedicated electrical outlet nearby to power it. If yes, and you are willing to go that route, both 41 and whanson_wi have made good suggestions (on page 2) for how to do this. It can be done non-destructively, so you can simply remove the window AC and replace the sliding pane when you move. You would get a lot more bang for your buck in cooling power with a window unit vs a portable room unit, at the cost of some handy-man type work.
 

$100 off the Delonghi units until Wednesday, online only...

Bought the 11000 unit for my office $249

not sure what's going on with the link, if I copy and past or use the forum feature it doesn't want to show up, you may have to copy and paste

[URL=https://www.costco.com/De'Longhi-Pinguino-11%2c500-BTU-3-in-1-Portable-Air-Conditioner%2c-Dehumidifier-%2526-Fan.product.100340311.html]link[/URL]

quote:

Originally posted by cmr076:
I just bought this for my office as a temporary fix until I can get an HVAC guy out here... It SUCKS. My office is just over 200 square feet and it barely cools the area around the desk. And it's ugly.

My mom uses one similar, but larger in her 100 year old beach house. Hers works great. You can use the in horizontal slide windows no problem. You may need to add some plywood or Plexiglas depending on how tall window is. It does take 12 hours to cool the house as its 85℉ + when she gets down there. Then she has window units for MBR and guest rooms. Those work better/faster because you can shut the doors.

quote:

Also, there are a lot of references to casement windows, which I plainly described and even posted an example of exactly the window I have--which isn't a casement window.

quote:

Also, there are a lot of references to casement windows, which I plainly described and even posted an example of exactly the window I have--which isn't a casement window.

Maybe posting this again will help. I guess Attention Deficit Disorder really does exist.

The OP decided to spend the nights in the air conditioned mailroom at the post office.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Originally posted by cmr076:
I just bought this for my office as a temporary fix until I can get an HVAC guy out here... It SUCKS. My office is just over 200 square feet and it barely cools the area around the desk. And it's ugly.

My mom uses one similar, but larger in her 100 year old beach house. Hers works great. You can use the in horizontal slide windows no problem. You may need to add some plywood or Plexiglas depending on how tall window is. It does take 12 hours to cool the house as its 85℉ + when she gets down there. Then she has window units for MBR and guest rooms. Those work better/faster because you can shut the doors.

I run my home based firearms business out of a room in my garage. During a Texas summer it gets hot in there so I've used a portable A/C like these for over six years and have used around 4-5 different ones (I've bought new ones and taken them back to try different brands). My office is 64 square feet and my walls are insulated yet even a 14000 but unit struggles to cool 64 square feet. If someone has one that will cool off a 95 degree room I'd like to know about it.

quote:

Originally posted by 41:
The OP decided to spend the nights in the air conditioned mailroom at the post office.

Actually, it got foggy after this thread, so I haven't yet purchased one.