Portable Air Con Unit

The best place to buy this and that? Recommend shops and share your good and bad experiences.

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Marguerite & Steve
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Portable Air Con Unit

Post by Marguerite & Steve »

We are thinking of buying a portable air con unit, where is the best place to get one from, seen one in Leroy Merlin, but may get something better elsewhere...
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jethro
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Post by jethro »

Don't, for goodness sake. We have one and it is terribly noisy and can only cool a small bedroom. You also need to vent the hot air through your open window, which encourages mosquitoes. Bite the bullet and get a proper , reversible aircon system. You won't regret it. Unless, of course, you don't mind noise and are only cooling a small volume of air.
an' the wun' cried Mary.
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Eamon Avis
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Post by Eamon Avis »

Have you considered a good ceiling fan? The good ones are quiet, cool the air by about 10 degrees and you can run one all day on full power for the cost of a 100 watt light bulb.
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Marguerite & Steve
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Post by Marguerite & Steve »

Just come back from Leroy Merlin and bought one.. :roll: and just seen the comments. Well it is only for our bedroom, and our fan makes a noise., but need something a bit better than a fan so we will see. We have got somewhere to vent it and bought a back up as well, I have also bought a Destructeur d'insectes (electonic) a neat little thing, so we will see how that goes and my mozzie spray at the side of my bed :oops: but not sure when the mozzies are out. So come and get me if you can :lol: :lol: , as I speak I can hear a fly buzzing around and the flippin thing is switched on.. :roll: :roll:

Will let you know how it goes tonight.. :wink:
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Eamon Avis
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Post by Eamon Avis »

Marguerite & Steve wrote: Will let you know how it goes tonight.. :wink:
How did it go last night? No specific details just generally :)

I am a great fan of fans. If you get the right sized powered fan for your bedroom you don't have to worry too much about mozzies. Like all flying things mozzies don't like air turbulence.
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Marguerite & Steve
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Post by Marguerite & Steve »

Well I am knackered.. :oops: We set it up, vent out of the window with the attachment to go around the window until we get the vent done, paid 17 euros for the attachement, what a con, it a piece of foam with velcro bits...rubbish, so I pulled that down and put the unit on fan, it was ok, but did the same as my bedside fan, so switched that off, tonight having the actual air con on, yes noisy, so that is something we are going to have to get used to, well me, Steve could sleep on the M25.. :roll: I am struggling with the humidity...and age :oops: but once it's on it is good. If we were staying in the house permanently then I would invest in a proper air con system but with us selling I don't want to spend that money now.


* selling because we want a garden, we have a 25m2 roof terrace.*
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Allan
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Post by Allan »

Is it too late to take it back?

If it must be portable then your best option is a 'split' system. where you have an outdoor unit and an indoor one. That way the bulk of the noise is outdoors and you don't have a great big pipe going through the window. Instead you have a much smaller pipe carrying coolant.

Leroy Merlin sell one of this type which is technically very similar to a conventional fixed system

http://www.leroymerlin.fr/mpng2-front/p ... rall=on#10
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collioure_bee
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Post by collioure_bee »

Someone just gave me one of these portable ones. No problem with mossies as the martins and swallows fly round here and eat them before they get the chance to come in so I have the doors open all night anyway.

Are they expensive to run?
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Post by Allan »

collioure_bee wrote:
Are they expensive to run?
The simple answer is yes, most units are 2kw to 3.5kva

The units with the hose going out the windows are pretty inefficient. They get rid of heat by blowing it outside in air taken from inside the room. This air has to be replaced and generally comes back in through the window. So if it is warmer outside than in then you are actually dragging warm air back in the room.
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Nigel and Karen
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Post by Nigel and Karen »

I use one with no problems, I cut a hole in the window shutter fitted a bracket for a tumble dryer to it, so i can open the window and close the shutter the hot air vents out and nothing gets in?
I run it for a couple of hours before i go to bed then leave the roof fan on all night.
the room stays cool for ages.
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john
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Post by john »

I'd agree with Nigel and Karen on this. Portable AC units are NOT inefficient,they work very well in a smallish room,such as a bedroom. We use ours in very hot humid weather only,just as a backup to the fan. They can be a bit noisy,but just use some earplugs if that is a problem.

The sort of alternatives suggested are no doubt great,but they cost. Portable units are very cheap nowadays and easy to setup /use. Ideal for the PO where,in the main,the weather does not require all singing-all dancing aircon.
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Portable Air con unit

Post by LadyBass »

this site is "COOL" I was just thinking about wether to buy a mobile aircon unit a ceiling fan or a permanent air con set up and here it all is. All this great experience to save me all the hassle. Following peoples experience think we will go the mobile and fan route, we only have a small bedroom. Thanks again
Dulcie :lol:
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mrob343
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Re: Portable Air con unit

Post by mrob343 »

LadyBass wrote:this site is "COOL" I was just thinking about wether to buy a mobile aircon unit a ceiling fan or a permanent air con set up and here it all is. All this great experience to save me all the hassle. Following peoples experience think we will go the mobile and fan route, we only have a small bedroom. Thanks again
Dulcie :lol:
this site is "COOL"

Pleased to hear we could be of help Dulcie! :D
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Post by mpprh »

Just to say that I've been looking at these, too.

My local Weldom, as each summer, has a mountain of special offer portable AC's. The best buy seems to be a SUPRA 3100-10 at €328.

Anyone know anything about them ?

I see that they are €449 in the Gitem next door :wink:

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