This is not a common arrangement, but a very savvy one.

i had one.

friend gave it to me. it worked well, for a 15x15 room. you didnt freeze your butt, but i was cool. put a couple of people in there, turn on a few applicances and the unit would struggle cooling the room. it wasnt a powerhouse. i learned to keep the doors shut, and managed the temps okay.

what was damn near impossible; the noise. the unit we had was so loud. and the amount of water it collected in the drip pan was amazing. i was constantly dumping that thing out. you couldnt forget it..or it would overflow and run water all over the floors.

i gave it to my brother. he is gonna run it in his pop up camper during summer fishing trips.

HVAC 101: Air conditioning takes heat and humidity from a space and moves it to a place that is less objectionable (outside)
A/C is removing heat from the space as well as humidity therefore it must be vented outside. I have a Delonghi Penguino in a 24x40 area of my barn that serves as a rec room/hangout for the kids. I like it but don't know that I'd be able to put up with it in my house since it is a bit noisy.
For what it is worth, the Delonghi I have does not need to have a condensate drain. I haven't torn it apart to figure out how it works but I'm guessing there's a tray over the compressor. I did see a claim that the moisture is removed with the exhaust but I can't see how that's possible since the CFM of the fan isn't that high.

Ugh, I went through that, looking for a spare. Most of our windows are casement, and even the cheapest casement A/C unit was twice what a decent "normal" unit went for. I don't know why, but they really bend you over for them.

I live in FloRida, heat index on any given day 100+° 2 weeks ago my brand new (3 years old) compressor that was improperly installed, shook itself apart.

I called the AC company on Saturday morning and they informed me they could not come until Monday.


I busted out my 12K BTU window unit and my 12K BTU stand alone unit put one in the living room and one in my master bedroom, then closed off the other 2 rooms.


Observations.


The window unit runs non stop and never hiccups.


The stand alone need constant attention.

You periodically have to shut it down and drain the condensation from the reservoir. A window plate has to be installed in order to dissipate the hot air the unit makes.


In the end, if I were to buy another unit, I would buy a window unit.


If you can afford to, purchase a Mitsubishi split unit or ductless unit. I am close to installing one in my garage.

https://www.amazon.com/Mitsubishi-Mini-Split-Inverter-15000/dp/B074PYFNNG

Taken yesterday at the well site in West Texas. Both the XRF and XRD like to be cold. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1530012381.jpg

What are you up to?

Well site geochemistry for a large oilfield service company. Been doing this since 2011 and it is always an experience.

I have a split ductless to one day install in my garage too. I picked it up on CL a couple years ago but haven't installed it yet. Was contemplating a window unit that also has heat, but the ductless would be more energy efficient so am going that way.

Agree with your assessment on the window units....they just keep going and going. Dang noise is the only downside...lol....

Good luck with your repairs, Jim!

Those mini splits are sweet! But there is a bit of hole cutting and installation required. I used to install Mitsubishi ductless splits.

I knew you were working in oil, just wasn't sure which job. Cool.

Best.

It was fixed a week ago and the repair made me think.

I need to open a HVAC business here in Florida. It is a license to steal.

I was charged $900 to solder and fill the system with 12 lbs of R-410A.

I looked it up, I can buy a 25 lb bottle off Amazon for $120. I was charged $700 for 12 lbs.

I am not joking I am laying the groundwork to open a small one with a partner.

I am getting in on this scam.

Have Fun! The startup cost is a bit high and you need refrigerant certification to service AC units. Once you have the certification you'll need to drop some money on a recovery unit, refrigerant weigh scale, leak detectors, oxy/acetylene torch, tubing cutters, business insurance..... well, you get the picture.

The 609 certification is cheap and easy.

Did you know that as of Jan 1st this year, you (meaning, us non-certified persons) cannot buy containers of R134 larger than 2 pounds? So, that $150 30 pound jug of R134 that we all love...can't buy it anymore. Only the 12 ounce cans and the 24-36 ounce cans with the hose and port on them.

That 609 certification sounds nicer and nicer each year...

We have one in our living room in NW Ohio. It works in cooling the room, and an adjacent room down a few degrees, but MUST be vented outside, and drained regularly. On a hot, humid day, it will condensate 2-3 gallons of water that must be dumped, or drained away somewhere safe (not on the floor when you forget).

I'm still on R22 here.

Going to take apart and clean my outside condenser unit this week.

A whole new change out will cost $3-3.5K, as quoted to me by a local HVAC contractor friend, so I'm doing what I can to eek out some more time with the current setup.

Running my window unit periodically helps with that.

Solid move. I wish I kept my 17 y/o system on my house. It never gave me problems.

Plus the cost of a service vehicle and insurance for that type of vehicle. Some truck stock and the above mentioned tools.

If you have employees, they will need to be well compensated. Those who are not will do cash jobs on your dime. Was talking to a HVAC contractor a couple of summers ago and his long time employee had skimmed over $10000 over a number of years.
Some will still steal from you regardless.

The on call after hour service calls can be lucrative but are a pain in the azz when it comes to your personal life.

Had a rub through on my condensing unit and patched it up yesterday. Took me longer to find all my tools than to repair the system....

Glad I didn't have to pay for that!

One of the reason I no longer do HVAC work... well, except for family... and friends..
I think once you're in, you're in. My whole family and all of my friends know I buy and sell construction equipment and haven't done HVAC for over a decade.. but I still get calls and because I can't say no when someone calls, I'm there helping, only now I don't charge anything. I need my head examined.

Ironic.

I knew my system was fubar on Saturday morning, I was home nursing a cold and thought I was running a fever. I checked the thermostat and it read 87° when it was set at 77°.

I shut down the system, set up the portable unit then went to my storage to get the window unit.

I then called the AC company I use and they told me they do not work weekends so I would have to wait until Monday.

I waited until Monday because they seem to be honest.

Until I saw the 1000% markup on Freon on top of the service call charge.

I paid $72 a pound for freon that costs him $5 a pound

I am all for markup to cover overhead, that is over the top and they all seem to be on the same page.


Additionally, when I put in my system 17 years ago my "friend" told me he was installing at his cost. Which was $2,400.

I was friend with his partners brother who was at odds with them at the time.

He pulled out his price sheet to show me what their cost really was. It was $800.

So they made $1600 giving me the system at cost, you know, friend prices.



Look, I am a contractor too, when these same people need surveys, I did it for free.

I drove my company truck there with my 10K+ in equipment in it, using my insurance and overhead of my office and staff to give them a survey for FREE.

When I needed an AC system what did I get? They cannot help themselves with their greed they have to rip off their friends too.

Point is, I no longer do free Surveys for anyone. I no longer use friends for my AC.

Last Friend ripped me off too. Also, his negligence cause half my house to flood and I felt bad (I have no idea why) hammering him for his mistake. I ate the 2K insurance premium and recently $900 service call because he has installed my entire system wrong.

As a small business owner I understand overhead. Not sure why everyone seems to think pointing that out is going to light a light bulb over my head.

I also know the markup for AC systems is outrageous, every friend of mine in the business is printing money and trying to figure out ways to spend it.

I want in on the scam.