Portable AC unit

[FiremanWanderer]

I’ve been seeing more and more portable AC units being sold around the country. Has anyone purchased one or know if they are worth buying? Seems like a nice idea for summer camping (we don’t have an AC in our 2005 hawk, just a 2 way fan) they look small, battery powered, affordable and super handy. Does anyone have any info on these?

 

[FiremanWanderer]

Portable *

 

[dakozicki]

I saw some posts about them on the FWC Owners FB page. Folks were less than impressed. I don’t have personal experience with them. So, I’ll be following this.

 

[JWL]

I’ve looked into those and my take is the small ones are worthless, the big ones take up too much room and the hose that exits the heat is still inside and heats up the room you are trying to cool.

 

[brokenhornmw]

Do you have links to any of the AC units you have seen? We are also looking for a unit for our camper.

 

[bajaphile]

Are you sure they aren't swamp coolers? Air conditioners require a lot of power. Even the small camper ones (8,000 btu) would still pull around 1,500 watt. To get proper cooling in a camper, you'll need a generator to power them.

 

[FiremanWanderer]

Thanks guys! And the ones I’ve seen are similar to this one below ...

https://www.morealis.co/products/portable-air-conditioner-mini-quiet-ac-unit-for-small-room-2?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping

 

[CoreyTrevor]

Hmmm. A cute little (Chinese) swamp cooler they are calling an air conditioner, over and over.

And no mention that it won't even work unless humidity is low.

 

[JWL]

Well the diagram does show “hot dry air”. And yes, any humidity at all and they don’t work.

 

[longhorn1]

I just purchased a small GE window unit, 5,000 btu. 2014 Grandby front dinette. Cut 36" x 21" 1/2" plywood and opening for the unit. Popped the emergency window and slid the unit in. Used pipe tubing and RefectX to insulate around the unit. Plugged in and camper got cold quick. Paid $169 for the A/C

 

[CoreyTrevor]

How many watts does that thing draw?

Does it pop put easily for when you are driving? I like not chopping a huge hole in the back of the camper.

 

[brokenhornmw]

I think we are going this route too. But with a Frigidaire 5k btu. Saw a few videos were you can run it with a 2k generator.

Found a small mini split for boats that runs on 12v but was very pricey.

 

[Sharx]

After considering building a micro-"swamp-box" cooler after checking a few YT videos, I decided to try a small (7"x 5" x 7") cheap fan in a box that has a water tank. I looked at many and many bad reviews on others. This unit has the easiest to fill and largest tank I saw in these cheap units. I knew the only real way to get real cool air out of it was to fill the tank with ice, soak the filter with water, and freeze both. Once out, I fill the tank with ice water and I was pretty surprised how well it worked as long as you have it close. It will run as cool as the tank is, but it's not going to be an A/C, I didn't want/need one of those that bad. It's name is "Microhoo", on Amazon about 60 bills.

 

[CharlesECheese]

Longhorn -- Not knowing this thread existed, I did the equivalent for my hawk flatbed about a week ago using the escape window also but decided to use the nearby rear jack bracket to mount a cantilevered support. My window a/c is 5k btu and about $140. hope to use solar to run it about 5 hrs at night. Haven't tested it out yet but lifting into position is a bit awkward. not for road use. I used 80/20 for support and 2" foam insulation. will test it out soon...

 

[DavidinPhx]

Any updates on doing this? How did it work?

 

[Advmoto18]

I bought a Climate Right unit in 2016 thinking it would be the solution for the southeast's hot, muggy nights.

Nope...too heavy and bulky. Further, the unit requires shore or generator power. I prefer not camping where shore power is provided and listening to a generator out in the boonies is a non-starter as well.

The unit comes with a heater as well which I had no interest in. I contacted the owner of the company to inquire if I could purchase a unit without the heater components to save weight. He said no and wasn't interested in pursuing such a project.

Grant did manage to set up this unit and use it for his now sold FWC.

As such, I now accept camping on hot, muggy nights as simply a "fine and pleasant misery".

 

[longhorn1]

5 minutes to pull it out, store it in a tote, and take the shelf apart, close the window and go.

How many watts does that thing draw?

Does it pop put easily for when you are driving? I like not chopping a huge hole in the back of the camper.