Saturday, October 4, 2014

Discount Danby 13000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner

Danby Premiere DPAC13012H 13000 BTU Portable AC
Customer Ratings: 3.5 stars
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I took a gamble on Danby and it paid off. I am pleased with this purchase. I needed something that would support a taller window out of the box. This is one of the only units I could find with a window attachment long enough to accommodate my window. Sure i could have made my own attachment, but i didn't have the time or resources to do so.

This unit is used in our sewing/computer room. I am a huge computer enthusiast and my new PC build puts off a lot of heat. Unfortunately the room itself is the worst ventilated in the house. So even when the out central air is on this room bakes in the summer. It doesn't help that it's got the sun on it for most of the day because of how our house is angled. We live in a dry climate and don't use the dehumidifier feature at all. I can vouch for the how well it cools a 600 sq. ft. room. We are very pleased with how efficient it is.

I went into this purchase knowing that there was no programmable schedule. There is however a basic timer for on off. My complaints are more so oriented towards the noise it makes than anything else. The fan is continually on even when the unit isn't actively cooling. When cooling it is definitely louder than the basic fan, but not too bad. Overall this get's the job done well.

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I am so disappointed with this unit. Before I used it I borrowed my friends 4 year old Danby. Hers came

With two hoses. Hers worked great. I called Danby and asked why this one came with only one hose and they said they figured out how to make the same results with only one hose.

Anyway, I ordered it. It seems to have one major problem. I can't get it really cool. I put it on and hours later the room temperature is still the same. I put it on the lowest setting and it was cold next to the a/c but it did not project into the room. The only way I could get some coolness in the room was by putting a fan right in front of it to blow the cold air around the room.

I am trying to cool a big space but Danby said it can cool up to 500 ft.

I live in Southern California about 5 miles from the ocean and the hottest it ever gets here is mid 80's so I'm not talking about very high heat or humidity. The a/c should be able to cool under those circumstances.

This unit also comes with heat. Maybe the heat will work better than the A/C. It never goes below 48 in the winter and most nights it's in the 50's so maybe it will be able to handle that.

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Overall pleased. I wish it was more programmable. I would like to tell it to turn on at 3:00 everyday and turn off at 9:00, but can't. Would have given 5 stars if it were more programmable. Produces lots of condensation drainage 10 gals per day. Rated for only a 500 sq ft room, but cools my 900 sq ft basement just fine although it runs near constantly. Purchased open box for $249. Thought I got a good deal for that price.

Honest reviews on Danby 13000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner

I purchased this unit for a condo to move between the living room and bedroom. Central air would be preferable but this is a way cheaper solution for now.

This product is described as a portable. It runs on wheels and is easy to move on hardwood floors.

Where I have issues is in the window kits. I am happy that the kit fits both a patio door and a regular window. However, the panels are solid hard plastic with hard rounded edges-this means there is no seal of any kind against the patio door / window / frame and instead, a lot of gaps. (I had a portable AC 15 years ago that had soft edges to grip around windows).

As the kit uses plastic pieces that are of different widths (so that one slides into the other to create an expandable surface-think of a vacuum cleaner pipe that extends in sections) this means there are pretty big gaps around the edges of the narrower middle panel as well.

When running the unit as provided, I could feel air flow through all those gaps -a waste of energy because it means I am air conditioning the outdoors.

For now, I have put a lot of weatherstripping on the edges to fill the gaps... unfortunately, if I go from patio door to bedroom window, the weatherstripping is in the way if I want to adjust the panels.

The unit also uses a drain pipe or internal tank. The drain pipe is great... but where are you supposed to drain to? I drilled a hole through one of the window panels so I could run the pipe out onto the patio (this won't work for a bedroom window as it would be higher than the drain outlet on the AC unit). For the internal tank, there is a rubber stopper to keep it sealed (if you are not using the drain pipe). Unfortunately, there is no place to put this rubber stopper if you are using the drain pipe temporarily and want to switch back to the rubber stopper when you move the unit. For now, I have put it in a baggie and taped it to the back of the unit.

I have also noticed that the unit forgets its settings if you unplug it. It goes back to Fahrenheit and forgets the temperature setting.

So while it's billed as portable, the awkward window kit and forgetting settings every time it's moved make it a bit of a pain.

It's noisy but I expected that based on past experience with portable AC. It has a remote which is handy... the remote is a very basic, all-grey, thing and the battery compartment is screwed shut.

I'm not sure the AC unit is all that powerful regardless of how many BTU it's rated for. I think my old portable had much icier air coming out of it and I wish I'd kept it (I lived in a house with central air for a few years)-of course it's price tag was way more expensive.

All that being said, it's cheap for what it is and it's making my life tolerable during a long, hot, humid summer where I have to work at home.

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