Review spt 8 000btu single hose portable ac

My computers are in a 180 sq.ft. room on the second floor of my condominium. While my unit has central air, this room is always 4-5 degrees (F.) warmer than the downstairs. In fact, due to the design of the A/C air ducts, this room only gets about half the airflow that goes to another, smaller, upstairs room. In short, it has always been way TOO HOT, especially in the summer, and computers don't like heat.

I bought SPT 8.000btu because of the rave reviews on Amazon, and while I am very pleased with my purchase, there are a few areas where my knowledge was lacking prior to my purchase. Originally, I planned on setting up this unit to use in two different rooms, at two different times of the day, but I soon discovered the casters are too small to safely move the unit with the carpeting I have (though the casters would work well on hard floors). Also, changing the window kit setup and the exhaust vent from one room to another would be way too inconvenient to do on a regular basis, so I quickly abandoned that idea.

Here are a few more points to consider:

1. The unit is much bigger than I thought it was when I looked at the photo on Amazon. Be sure to check out the dimensions before you buy it (see photo).

2. If you have a window that opens by sliding the glass from side to side, and that window is recessed into the wall more than one inch or so, the four inch wide window kit that comes with the machine will not work without some modification. This is because the oval-shaped vent in the kit is about three inches wide, but it quickly flares out to a 6 inch diameter circular vent. In my case, I had to buy a 4 inch wide (1/2" thick) board to place in my window, just to the right of the window kit, along with additional weatherstripping, in order to make it fit in my window (see photo).

3. Whether the fan is on high or low, it is very noisy, especially when the unit is cooling. I could not even imagine sleeping in a room with this noise, unless the only choice was sleeping in a very hot room, then I'd have to get used to it. Keep in mind, however, that the fan runs continuously, whether or not the unit is cooling. It only goes off when you turn off the power.

4. The direction of the vent can only be adjusted vertically, not from side to side.

5. While the exhaust hose can be extended to a maximum length of 59 inches, the minimum vent height above the bottom of the machine is 12 inches, and the maximum vent height above the bottom of the machine is 47 inches (photo from the manual). Also, the vent should be free of any kinks.

6. The unit uses 900 watts of power (photo from corrugated carton).

Nevertheless, with all of the above reservations, this machine really delivers the cold air and my room stays much cooler than before, and for that I am very satisfied with the purchase. In addition, the unit comes with a remote control with the same functions as those on the main unit. It is very convenient to use.

One other note: there are two drain plugs on the back of the machine. The first one is located about 15 inches above the base of the machine. If you want to continually keep the machine drained, this is the only way to go. A one foot (approx.) clear plastic hose is provided for that drain, but it will also accept any 3/4 inch threaded hose (I used a 3/4 inch washing machine hose). I ran that hose into a large glass bottle by drilling a hole into the plastic bottle lid and inserted the hose's other end (very easy to do).

The other drain plug is located about one inch from the base of the machine. It holds the contents of an internal tank. You can use one drain or the other, but you wouldn't use both. If you use the internal tank and it fills up, the machine will stop emitting cold air, although the fan will continue blowing, and the display will give an error message indicating a full tank. While I haven't tried this method, I think it would be much more inconvenient in use, especially if your machine is sitting on the floor. I hope this review helps. Thanks for reading.

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