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This portable A/C works great. I sincerely doubt that it will really cool a 450 sq ft area but it does a great job for my bedroom upstairs...which is all I was really concerned with. My bedroom measures 13' x 12' or 156 sq ft and it takes about an hour to get from 85° F to 69° F. Setting it up was a breeze. The only problem I had was with the window exhaust kit. The expandable PVC plastic window mount wasn't long enough to cover the entire height of my bedroom window...it's about 5 inches too short. I had to cover that space with a piece of plastic that I cut to fit and duct taped in place. One thing I don't like about this unit is the placement of the exhaust hose...it's in the back. Some units have it on the top of the unit so that you can place the unit almost flush against the wall. The back of my unit sticks out about a foot and a half from the wall which makes getting around it a slight pain in the rear...but hey, at least I'll be cool this summer :). Another con...it doesn't have oscilating louvers. The louvers are fixed and can't be adjusted up or down. There are lateral louvers behind the front grill that can be adjusted manually from side to side with a slider. Oh...and one more thing...it's pretty loud when the compressor is running. It takes some getting used to.
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This portable A/C has received excellent reviews based on its performance, high EER efficiency, and eco-friendly designs. I have had it for two weeks and it really works! The only issue I have with this A/C is the design of its vents. The vents only allow left/right adjustment; not up/down. Cool air come straight out. If you set the unit on the floor, the cool air can only reach below your waist! How can the unit efficiently cool the space with cool air staying down low? I have to set the unit on a table. Other brands have vents on top and adjustable. I consider this a major design flaw and needs to be corrected.Best Deals on Whynter ARC-12S 12,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner, Platinum
So it's been hot and yes I've been cheap, but after a month of unrelenting humidity and heat, I finally gave in and got myself this Whynter portable unit. In part recommended by a friend and part cos I'm love clean designs. It came in a tall serious looking box and I was able to unpack and hook it up relatively fast. The unit itself was a nice metallic finish. Now for the real test. Temperature as reported on in the last hr was 87degrees. Turned the unit on high and set it to 70degrees. The room that I'm cooling is not huge but has about an additional 25sqft of closet space that I'm trying ot cool as well, so that's about 280-300 sqfeet of area and 12ft high ceilings. Stood in front of the unit for awhile to cool down. It felt very reassuringly cold. Definitely was working away.Left the room for about 35-40 mins and when I returned, it was definitely way more comfortable. I would estimate that it was close to 76degrees. That cooling rate was trememdously better than the 2 year old window unit that decided to fail on my last month. It runs fairly silent even on high. For the price and overall performance over the past couple of weeks, I give it a solid thumbs up.
Honest reviews on Whynter ARC-12S 12,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner, Platinum
This portable AC is great. I have an upstairs apartment which is always 10 15 degrees warmer than the outside temperature. This unit takes the room temp down from 85 to 65 in less than an hour (the room is approximately 400 square feet).I've been using this device for a month now, and here is a list of Pros and Cons:
(I can't comment on the window attachments because I have my unit backed-up against a sliding screen door. I have a piece of Plexiglas extending from the top of the until to the top of the door frame to keep the warm air out.)
PROS: Lightweight, relatively quiet (compared to my last unit which was a WindChaser 9,000 BTU), cools quickly and efficiently, and the charcoal filter cleans the air so there isn't that musty smelling A/C odor.
CONS: There are only two minor cons with this unit, but I had to dock it one star because of them. 1) The vents sit low and can only be adjusted from side to side, not up and down. I have to raise the unit about 12 inches off the ground for maximum cooling (I placed a sturdy stool under it). 2) The drain hose is poorly designed/located. My unit does not leak, but drainage is awkward, and I have to tip the AC back to get it to drain right.
OVERALL: I love this unit and would definitely buy it again.
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I've had this for almost two months now, having made an "emergency" order during the middle of one of our Summer 2012 heat waves in Chicago when my bedroom window unit finally gave out. It has fully met my expectations, but expectations are the key concept. You must understand certain things about these units before ordering:1. They are noisy. All the mechanicals are now inside your room, not outside your window. I got used to it and have no trouble sleeping, but I am not a light sleeper. Consider your own sleeping styles.
2. Many of these units require drainage or emptying a water collection tray. This unit does not. It has a great way of evaporating the moisture it collects back out through it's exhaust. I have never had the unit stop due to it being full and it runs 24x7.
3. You must have a way to vent the unit by connecting the hose to the supplied window insert. I had just enough room left above my existing window A/C to insert the supplied frame for the exhaust hose. This configuration takes up space. Plan for the unit and the hose setup to take up room!
4. As many other buyers have pointed out, you cannot compare BTUs of these units with that of window units. I took the advice of others and bought a unit one capacity level ABOVE what I thought I needed and I am very glad I did. If I had bought the unit that said it will cool a room the size of mine, I don't think I would have been satisfied. Yes, they are expensive, but buy big or be unsatisfied.
Installation:
Installation was ridiculously simple. The box was structured such that after cutting the straps, the whole box top and sides lifted right off of the unit. Once out of the box, the pre-affixed wheels made it easy to just wheel it into the bedroom. The hose and window insert were easy to install. There is one design flaw though, inherent in these units. They place the fresh air intake right by the exhaust hose exit in the rear. This means the unit competes with itself to cool the air, because that hose gets HOT!. Simple solution though. Buy insulated duct wrap at the same time you buy the unit and wrap the hose in it from the back of the unit to the window. Or as a temporary measure, wrap the hose in bath towels, especially close to the unit intake, to reduce the heat produced by the exhaust hose.
Operation:
I turned the unit on after plugging in and it fired right up, producing cold air. It's not freezing cold, like older window A/C's, but it is cold. It took about an hour to take the room from 87 and 60% humidity to 76 and about 40% humidity. Like other buyers, I do find the limited movement of the air output louvres to be annoying. You can only move the airflow form side-to-side, not up and down. If you have a high bed, you'll want to consider raising the unit up onto something, preferably something very sturdy. It has three fan levels, but I usually keep it on low. The remote works well, but no light so you may have to use a flashlight at first until you memorize the position of the buttons by just feel.
One thing I haven't tired yet that I do plan on is running it as a fan in the winter. I like to have background noise when I sleep. You can run the unit in fan only mode without the exhaust hose being connected. It's the dehumidify and cool functions that require exhaust to the outside. The fan alone, without the compressor, is actually very quiet but just noisy enough for steady background noise.
Efficiency:
It claims to be energy efficient and uses an environmentally safe refrigerant. I have to say that it does cool well (as long as you understand you probably need one unit size larger than recommended) and it does seem to efficiently evaporate all the moisture it collects out through the exhaust (there is a fan that stays on constantly to ensure this). But when I got my first electric bill after running 24x7, I knew it was efficient. My energy usage declined by about 25% year over year, with this unit plus another window unit running versus two window units. And that was during a month when it was hotter this year than last.
So all in all I am very happy with my purchase. But understand how these units differ form window units and buy one size larger.
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