List Price: $581.00
Sale Price: $402.15
Today's Bonus: 31% Off
Before buying this unit , I did lots and lots of research. Consensus seems to be that you need about 40% more BTUs for a portable air conditioner than for a window AC and about an additional 10% more in BTUs if room gets lots of sun. I think this is why so many posters on many portable AC reviews(all brands)complain of lack of cooling. They buy units that are too small because they base it on the BTUS needed for window units. You can use a search engine to get guidelines for size or AC needed. I use this Sunpentown 1010E in a 275 square foot room that gets lots of afternoon sun. It cools very well with a strong air flow. No matter what you buy, look for cubic feet per minute air output. More air flow , more cool air. This one is 276 cubic feet per minute, which is more flow than many of the others of its size.
The foam insulation for this unit is ugly looking but it does seem to fill up the gaps in the window space so no air seems to get in or out. I keep the hose straight and as short as possible(it accordian folds to shorter length)so that hot air exits quickly and there is less heat reintroduced into the room.
Re ugly foam:You can also go to a store that sells and cuts plexiglass to window opening size and have them cut a circle to vent the hose(pricey because cutting a circle is expensive-$25 for the circle and $5 per straight cut for the plexiglass edge). Gives a nicer look tho than the foam insulation! Someone else on another website recommended Formular(see corning website) pink foam insulation board that you can cut with exacto knife to fit the window and a hole for the hose. Dow also has similar insulation board--there is one that is foam board and one that is styrofoam. I got the foam board because it is more rigid and because it has a moisture resistent coating. Remember that it will be exposed to the outside of the house and might get some rainwater/sprinkler water on it. Also, the foam comes in large sheets(96" high and 48"wide). I brought a box cutter to score/ cut it down to fit in my car. Used a six inch wide piece in my sliding glass door. Traced the inner circle of the exhaust nozzle
and used box cutter to make cuts around the circle and punched the circle out. I fit the hose through the hole and then attached the nozzle on the other side to keep hose in place.
I see Sunpentown also separately sells a metal sliding window insert with hole(other companies include it for free). Not sure if it is for this model or not. They have a website and very helpful customer service. I called them with questions twice before I bought.
I live in a dry area so I never have had to drain water. The machine also uses air condensation to cool the ac coils further so it is very energy efficient with great air floor and cools very well. Very, very quiet. I compared all portable acs in 9000 to 10000 BTU range to find the one with lowest watts consumed and this one draws only 873W / 8.15A. I have 15 amp breakers and didn't want to cause tripping or overheating of wiring. Would have gone for 12000BTUs if I had 20 amp breakers since I have very sunny room. Cools well and better if you start it earlier in the day when not at highest heat of the day so it doesn't have to work so hard(true for any ac actually) and will work more efficiently
Additional notes:All portable acs have non-insulated hoses, you can wrap them with insulation to reduce the amount of heat regenerated into the room.Also, the unit and hose should not be in the direct sun.
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The idea of a portable AC is great. The Sunpentown machine itself is great, it really churns out cool air. The problems with the design in my opinion, which any potential buyer needs to be aware of, are the following:1) the exhaust pipe going from the machine to the window is not insulated, so it actually becomes very very hot when the machine is operating at full bore. It is not hot enough to pose a hazard when touched, but it actuallly re-heats the room on the way to the window. Overall the room does cool down but there is an inherent inefficiency in the way the room is cooled on one side of the machine then partially re-warmed on the other. Commercial units I've seen utilize an insulated pipe as exhaust.
2) The window mounting supplies for the exhaust pipe are a complete joke, a real slap in the face to the consumer. What is needed is something rigid which can be sized to the window frame. The company supplies a piece of flexible foam to be cut to fit. It barely stays upright in the window frame. Handy people might want to cut themselves a piece of plywood or plexiglass instead.
The company has a potentially wonderful product. They need to supply a better (insulated) exhaust, and more realistic supplies for the window mount.
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It couldn't cool an 11x12 room (high ceilings) while a window a/c with half the rated BTUs does ok. Its fan is very, very loud (although not the compressor).GREAT customer support for a ROTTEN product. Avoid it!
Honest reviews on SPT WA-1010E 10,000-BTU Portable Air Conditioner with Remote Control
I've had one for a couple of months, and am VERY disappointed with it. It puts out cool air, but definitely not cold air... Consequently, at best, it can get my bedroom down 10-15 degrees in temp, after several hours of running full blast. (Note that I quickly gave up trying to use it in my livingroom, where it would make almost no detectable change in room temp...)A MUCH better choice I think would be to go with a std window unit (albeit it would be more difficult to install). It would work much better, and be much less expensive as well!!!
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It is incredibly loud. I bought it "just" over a year ago and today it literally DIED. For several weeks it has become even louder, making terrible grinding noises. I would move it, shut it off; sometimes it stopped and sometimes it did not. Finally today it make an extremely loud noise and died. I think spening this kind of money and having something last only a year is pathetic. Save your money and do not buy this.
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