Portable Air Conditioner recommendations?

[Natsmummy]

We are moving next week to a new rental property that won't have any air-con. It has been so hot lately that we want to get a portable air conditioner but have no idea about which ones are good. Any suggestions? Thanks :)

[tiggermamma]

We are looking too!! Somebody reply please!!:D

[naomis]

Hi ladies, you've basically got 2 options - evaporative or refrigerated air. Both work on the premise of sucking warm air in, cooling it and blowing the cool air out. Portable evaporative coolers simply plug into the wall, and you put water in the water reservoir. The unit then sucks warm air in, uses the water to cool it and blows it out again. Note with portable units, the air blown out will only be as cool as the water you put in the reservoir (you can put a bag of ice or 2 in there to help achieve a lower air temp), and you will have to keep topping it up with water. The air will become a little humid, so it's not very effective in humid weather. Portable refrigerated units come with a large hose, which must be popped outside an open door or window (so it can suck in the warm air). Both are only good at cooling small areas (ie one room). You can get either units for around $500 to $1000 from somewhere like The Good Guys or Harvey Norman. Hope that helps!

[ejbab]

We bought a Delonghi PAC140 last year with our xmas money from the govt :) it was over $1000 but so worth it as we live in a top floor flat which is baking hot and I was pregnant.
At the time it seemed to be the best portable out there and it certainly keeps our lounge nice and cool when it gets crazy hot here in Sydney. It's easy to set up and move from room to room although it is really quite big and fairly loud - not sure I could sleep with it unless I had earplugs in. But all in all, it's been a great buy as we had no alternative and I will be wheeling it out again soon as it's already hotting up.

[~Temet Nosce~]

I'm looking at getting a portable air con too, since we will have a little bub to keep cool and have never had air con... does anyone know what those water ones are like on electricity bills? Do they use lots of power?

[Natsmummy]

I'm curious about the power usage too...and must say I'm a little put off to hear that they are so noisy that you can't sleep with them on.

[tiggermamma]

Thanks Naomis that is good to know. Unfortuneately our house is open plan so it will cool what would be at least three rooms. It will necessarily be not so effective... We can't put one in the window as the windows are old fashioned and only 30 cm across with no way to install it. I am guessing a water one is the only way to go which means I will need to buy an extra freezer for ice as WELL. I guess that isn't so bad, I could buy a cow and freeze it too, that way I will have cheap meat!

I digress. If anyone knows of a good water cooling air con post a reply!:yes:

[Nightwolf]

we've got a portable water cooled air con and I love it atm
honestly the one we've got doesn't use that much power either & really isn't that noisy (unless you have it on high).
It's a IXL 42055. don't know if you can still get them as we've had ours about 3 years.

[CheekyChicken]

I don't recommend an evaporative cooler. We had one when we lived in Hornsby and Sydney has a bit too much humidity for them to be effective IMO. We had a very powerful one Ard $400 mark and yes they are cheap to run but they pump moist air into your home - ours was noisy and you get the sound of water trickling with it.

edit- this is what we got: http://www.convair.net.au/Convair_Products_M3000_a.htm

If I lived in a dryer climate I would recommend the one we got for effectiveness as the output was far better than others on the market- it is big and ugly though.

[tiggermamma]

Thanks cheekychicken I will look into that, as I am in dry as a bone Melbourne (well it can get muggy but not like Sydney methinks), I think evap cooler is the way to go!:yelclap: