I cannot get a window unit due to my window size, and this unit came with a window kit that fit my windows. It worked absolutely perfect for 2 months. Then, on a particularly hot day, the bucket filled up with water and the unit shut off. I drained all the water, which is an absolute pain in the rear to do due to the drain being less than half an inch off the floor. The unit leaks water like a faucet ever since, all over the floor. There is really no effective way to use it anymore. I ordered a different brand that doesn't have water leakage issues. I should have listened to all the reviews I read. I practically paid several hundred dollars for a few months use. What a waste. The unit cools great, but what good is that with water all over your carpet? Stay away from this product.UPDATE: The unit only leaks when moved. If the water reservoir fills up, and must be drained, the unit must be moved to do so because the drain plug is literally right on the floor and there is no pan or container you can get under it. The reservoir will fill eventually, the unit will have to be drained, will have to be moved, will leak. Once all the water leaks out that is going to leak the unit works great until its time to drain again. Like I said, it took 2 months before I had to drain, but this process was a major PIA. I would avoid this unit, but I still gave in another star because it does not leak except during the drainage process.
I have two portable air conditioners and both are made by Soleus. This is one of them and the other one is a 14,000 BTU unit. This one cools a 166 sq ft room that only needs to be cooled ten to fifteen degrees and it's more than powerful enough for that. It can bring the temperature down in fifteen minutes or so.
Portable air conditioners, until fans, need to have an unsightly and awkward tube connected to the window. These tubes are inevitable flimsy and don't fit well. They seem unacceptable unless the only alternate solution is to suffer in the heat and then suddenly they don't seem bad.
Soleus is perhaps the best portable air conditioner manufacturer. I haven't ever had a non-Soleus unit but I've heard horror stories about others. I've heard bad things about these too but I haven't had anything bad happen.
This is probably the smallest and cheapest good unit on the market so if 8000 BTU is enough for you, this is an excellent bet.
Buy Soleus Air PE2-08R-62 Evaporative Portable Air Conditioner, Dehumidifier and Fan, 8,000 BTUs Now
. . . if you're mindful of one limitation: it condenses lots of moisture into a limited capacity container, and will need to be emptied or drained. It's built low to the ground, so I put it up on a little platform and attached the short included plastic hose to the drain port and put a container under it to catch the "drip" (which when it is very hot and humid is really a "stream"!). Recognizing that limitation (discussed in previous reviews), I've avoided any problems and have been quite pleased with the product. It cools well and in my limited basement space where it is used, it does fine.This works well for the particular conditions in which we're using it. We're happy with it. We live in northern California, where hot weather is usually also dry, and evenings are cooler. We put this in a bedroom that gets very hot during the day and doesn't cool down quickly enough at night. Instead of trying to fit the "window kit" into our old-fashioned window, we just leave the window slightly open with the end of the vent hose sticking out while the unit is running. We run it at bedtime and it cools the room down nicely. I gave it only four stars instead of five because of a couple of design flaws: (1) Though I don't expect that we'll have to deal with emptying the condensation tank much, if at all, it's true that the opening is awfully close to the floor, and I can see that in a more humid environment, where it would need emptying more often, it would be pretty awkward. I don't see why the designers couldn't have put the hole a little higher up so that you could actually get a pan or bowl under it. (2) The instructions said to keep the vent hose as straight as possible, but they put the vent hole at the bottom of the unit too. Most people don't have their windows at floor level, and putting this thing on a table or something would also be awkward, since it's so big and heavy (90 pounds, I think). That said, it works just fine for us sitting on the floor with a 90-degree bend in the hose, so I guess that's not such a big deal.UPDATE: We've had it for almost a year now and are still satisfied with it. It gets the room nice and cool very quickly, and we have never yet had to empty the condensation tank. So that's not a big problem in a dry climate.This was described new in box with a warranty. In fact, item died after two short months. Contacted Amazon and told too late for return and referred to manufacturer. Manufacturer is in California. I called the 800 number and upon supplying the serial number, I was told the unit it was actually refurbished three years ago. Even though it looked unused in box , it was refurbished in 2008 ! No Warranty exists on my purchase! upon close inspection, it had been well cleaned, but there are signs that this unit was really used and simply cleaned up to make it look new. I got two estimates for repair..$ 180.00 , and $ 220.00 . Diagnoses charge $ 90.00 ... last appliance I ever buy from Amazon !
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