Portable room AC??

[Anonymous-0]

I am thinking about getting a portable AC for my shop. I can't use a window one. Does anyone have any ideas or comments? Thanks!!

 

[old]

Find one of those old AC units made for a mobile home. Some of them had a pair of tubes one inlet one outlet and they work well for a shop. Put the suction up high and the blow side down low. I was going to do that but the one I picked up started to leak freone before I got it in place, sure was unhappy when that happened
Hobby farm

 

[rustyfarmall]

A reefer unit from a refrigerated semi-trailer works well also if you can put up with noise from that tiny little screamin diesel.

 

[JGarner]

I know what you ae talkig about. I had begun to see them in Europe about 3-4 years ago. Shop ownes in centuries old buildings were using them. They would have worked better if they would have kept their doors closed.

Figure out a way to build a small trap door that the condenser will slip though and allow a foam other flexible member to close on the liquid and suction line hoses. The condenser/fan unit is on wheels and rolls around where it can blow cool in the most efficient spots;ie, on you!!

I am seeing Pep Boys Auto Parts here in Houston advertise a 12,000 btu (1 ton) unit for about $400 and Sam's had an 8,000 BTU unit for about $350 the other day when I was there. I don't think the guys below have seen these units yet, they are real new to the US.

 

[Farmall MD]

Exactly!!! I've been tryin to talk my boss into a refer for years. Gets mighty hot in the weld shop in the summer. I don't think they'd be too bad in price at a junk yard. Doug N

 

[Anonymous-0]

I use one of those portable a/c units (9,000 BTU) in the shop (12' x 25') and it works fantastic. Wheels around so it can be moved easy.
Gets the temp down to where its bearable. I got mine on the internet as I got tired of window units.
I see Home Depot, Lowes and Walmart now sell them in the 350-400 dollar range for 9k to 12k BTU.
I even use the portable for the camper.

 

[Anonymous-0]

The sales rep for Lawson was in the shop today and showed me some they sell that use a garden hose and cold water. Not cheap, about $800 for the small one.

 

[kito169]

The 20-25 year old units that my company buys, in good working order cost $3000-4000. They are off trailers. If you buy one off a bobtail it"s a little cheaper and they have diesel and electric motor (230v-3 phase).

 

[ldj]

I never heard of such a thing. How do they work? How do they get rid of the condensate? How do they get rid of the heat that is removed from the air. I know they couldn't let it out right in the room. That would be counter productive to remove heat and then put the heat back.
L.D.

 

[HENRY E NC]

The portable units have been aroud for at least 8 years when I saw them in Boston Mass. They have a condensate pan you have to empty and they have a hose with a window blank (similar to a window unit) that exhausts the heated air. They are neat and very efficient and much better than a window unit.

 

[kyhayman]

I got one of those in my farm office and another in the studio. Got them for a little over $300 each at Sams House of Horrors

 

[TimS in Mo]

Another option is a mini-split system...they are very popular outside the US, we put one in a room addition that was hard to keep cool and was making the whole rest of the house warmer than we wanted as a result....a one ton mini split worked like a charm to solve that problem.

There is an indoor piece that mounts on the wall, some tubing and wiring that run thru about a 3 inch hole in the wall, then a small outside compressor unit.
Link to mini split units

 

[Anonymous-0]

The boss bought one of these for my office at work 2 weeks ago (Wants it cool when he chews me out) 300 bucks at the local Wally World. The hot air is vented outside the room by a 4" dryer type tube. The condensation water is collected in a bucket on the floor behind the unit. Works pretty decent.