Free-Standing Room Air Conditioner?

[jyl]

My house has an appx 650sq ft attic that has been built out into a family room/play room. In the summer, it is too hot up there. 85F+ when the rest of the house is 75-78F.

I've installed blackout blinds in all the skylights and an exhaust fan in the only opening window, but it is still too hot. The ceiling is not warm to the touch, so I think the insulation is okay, anyway I'm not about to rip out the ceiling and re-insulate. There is only one inadequate vent up there for the central A/C. And the LCD TV acts as a 250 watt heater.

So I am thinking about trying one of those freestanding air conditioners that are about $500 and rated at 10,000-12,000 BTUs. Like this one.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_04278902000P?vName=Appliances&cName=Air+Conditioners

Does anyone have one of these, or similar? Do they work well?

[IROC]

We used one of these in a 240 sq ft bonus room over the garage in our last house. It worked relatively well. It actually had to run quite a bit to actually keep the room cool, though (this was in Alabama with afternoon temps as high as 105 and a dewpoint of around 70F on occasion).

Two things: Ours was relatively loud (think of the room AC units on many hotels) and it also produced alot of condensate that you had to empty on a regular (many times a day) basis.

It did do what it was supposed to do, though. This bonus room was my son's bedroom and he would cool that sucker down to 60 degrees or so until I would make him turn it back up.

[JeremyD]

I have one in my garage - they work but they are noisy

[Danny_Ocean]

The lower the relative humidity, the better they cool. Don't buy a "toy", get a professional model. Here's one I bought (based on JeremyD's recommendation) for my shop in FL:

[Danny_Ocean]

For the money, you should also check out a "split system". These are compact versions of a whole-house air handler and work very well.

[jyl]

DannyO or JeremyD, can you give me the brand/model for that one?

IROC, 60F, damn, if I could just get the attic to 75F I'd be thrilled.

[widebody911]

The problem is that you have to get rid of the hot air, otherwise you're just moving it around.

We user coolers like the ones that danny_ocean has for temporary cooling problems in data centers; for longer term use, we vent up through the ceiling tiles.

[Danny_Ocean]

Originally Posted by jyl

DannyO or JeremyD, can you give me the brand/model for that one?

Mine is a "MovinCool". I believe JeremyD's is a Shing-Chen HomeDepot special...

[Sunroof]

We have a HEIER brand stand up unit on our sailboat. Its 10,000 BTUs. Whats nice about the HEIER units are that the condensation gets evaporated in the exhaust so thier is no worry about condensation draining. The standups come with a 10-12 plastic expandable vent hose and window fitting. Its a zip to open the window set in this six-inch high piece and attach the vent hose. We use a port on our sailboat for venting. A word of caution; heat really radiates off this vent hose, so you will want minimize the size of the hose to reduce the radiant heat coming of it. They are very dependable and easy to store away off-season.

Good luck

Bob

[Danny_Ocean]

Originally Posted by widebody911

The problem is that you have to get rid of the hot air, otherwise you're just moving it around.

We user coolers like the ones that danny_ocean has for temporary cooling problems in data centers; for longer term use, we vent up through the ceiling tiles.

Yes, mine is vented out a window. In an attic situation, he can readily add a gravity (pressure?) operated louver.

[IROC]

We looked into the systems called "mini-splits" also, but cost of installation was prohibitive (based on our application). Starting from scratch that would be the way to go. We just needed something to supplement the existing HVAC and take the edge off.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by Danny_Ocean

The lower the relative humidity, the better they cool. Don't buy a "toy", get a professional model. Here's one I bought (based on JeremyD's recommendation) for my shop in FL:

That looks like an evaporative cooler.

Will do nothing in Portland.

Need a refrigerated (A/C) unit, but it will generate a lot of condensate.

The heier (HAIER?) unit sounds interesting, tho.

[Danny_Ocean]

Originally Posted by IROC

We looked into the systems called "mini-splits" also, but cost of installation was prohibitive (based on our application). Starting from scratch that would be the way to go. We just needed something to supplement the existing HVAC and take the edge off.

They're relatively easy to install. You have to get electric to the unit(s) and plumbing between the two. Once they're in place, you can call an A/C guy to charge them up.

[Danny_Ocean]

Originally Posted by tcar

That looks like an evaporative cooler.

Will do nothing in Portland.

Need a refrigerated (A/C) unit, but it will generate a lot of condensate.

The heier (HAIER?) unit sounds interesting, tho.

It's not an evaporative cooler. It is a portable air-conditioner, 24k BTU's (it has a compressor/evaporater, etc.). If it will work in SoFLA, it will work anywhere. Has a drain tube which removes the condesate or you can install a condesate pump for longer distances.

http://www.spot-coolers.com/air.php

[IROC]

Originally Posted by Danny_Ocean

They're relatively easy to install. You have to get electric to the unit(s) and plumbing between the two. Once they're in place, you can call an A/C guy to charge them up.

Yeah, ours being in the attic essentially and no real good place for the outside condensing unit made it just enough of a PITA to go with the portable unit for the few months out of the year when we really needed it.

You're right, though - in the end it is the best solution.

[Danny_Ocean]

Originally Posted by IROC

Yeah, ours being in the attic essentially and no real good place for the outside condensing unit made it just enough of a PITA to go with the portable unit for the few months out of the year when we really needed it.

You're right, though - in the end it is the best solution.

I have to always remind myself that the rest of the country isn't as bad off as South Florida when it comes to A/C. I forget that most of y'all don't have to turn yours on for more than 1~2 months out of the year!

[widebody911]

Why not cut a hole in the wall and install a window-mount unit? That's what I did in my shop.

[David]

I have a two ton window unit in my garage and it's too loud even for a garage.

I'll go with a split system when I'm up for spending some money.

[Danny_Ocean]

Originally Posted by 125shifter

I have a two ton window unit in my garage and it's too loud even for a garage.

I'll go with a split system when I'm up for spending some money.

They ain't that expensive...and @ 220v, will probably consume less electricity than a window-unit (and more efficient):

http://cgi.ebay.com/FRIEDRICH-SPLIT-SYSTEM-AC-AIR-CONDITIONER-23-000-BTU_W0QQitemZ290239417576QQihZ019QQcategoryZ20711Q QrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp163 8Q2em118Q2el1247

[JeremyD]

Originally Posted by Danny_Ocean

Mine is a "MovinCool". I believe JeremyD's is a Shing-Chen HomeDepot special...

Hey Hey - Mine is the edgestar 1200 - one ton

I bought a used one on craigslist for $180 - I got a free chung pow chicken and an order of yellow rice with mine.

Even though Mr. Danni_Ocean said it would not work - it actually serves my needs fine for the garage and does work at removing the humidity and cooling.



I plumbed a hose to discharge the water (it was filling up the internal pan quickly) and modified a dryer vent to discharge the hot air.