Boiling today and wonder if cheap air conditioners exist...

Pandilex

Hope this is the right forum

Is there such a thing as a small, cheap air conditioner? The ones I found online are all pretty hefty units and cost upwards of 150 quid.

I'm pretty sure they would all chill my tiny room to -5 on full power. Does anyone know if you can get cheap small ones? I don't want to install it, just pop it in the corner by the window so I can hang the hose out, but I'm not having a whole lot of look on google.

I'm melting!

jrrowleyws

Even if you could get a cheap one, they are expensive to run! In previous years I've seen ones for ~£70 online.

moonrakerz

jrrowleyws wrote: »

Even if you could get a cheap one, they are expensive to run!

I have had an air conditioner for about 10 years, I have never found it expensive to run.

At present I have a 14,000 btu unit similar to this:
http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=10847509&fh_view_size=10&fh_eds=%3f&fh_location=%2f%2fcatal!!!1%2fen_GB%2fcategories%3c%7b9372015%7d%2fcategories%3c%7b9372041%7d&fh_refview=lister&ts=1274647482871&isSearch=false

Very effective, if a little noisy. If you get one of these don't hang the hose out of the window !
1. The hot air from outside comes in the window.
2. The hose gets very hot and acts like a radiator.
The machine spends most of its time trying to get rid of the heat it has generated itself.
Stand it up against the wall and put a hole through the wall directly behind it.

Don't fall for the ones they call "air coolers", they are a waste of money - buy a fan !

Pandilex

Thanks for the advice, those air coolers did look dodgy to me! 200 quid or whatever is much too expensive for me, I will keep hunting. Sadly I can't drill holes through my rented accomodation wall, so hose out the window is what it will have to be!

Gloomendoom

My father bought a hose out the window AC unit. As has been said, they are not very efficient. Not only do you get a hot hose giving off heat, but also the air being blown down the hose and out the window has to be replaced by more air coming in... usually the hot air from outside coming back in through the open window!

PasturesNew

Air conditioners have limited use in this country. I'd probably buy a de-humidifier, which would cool the room down. It can also be used in winter to reduce/remove damp ... and it also replaces a tumble drier if you stand it beside a clothes horse to dry your clothes. One item, several uses.

chivers1977

PasturesNew wrote: »

Air conditioners have limited use in this country. I'd probably buy a de-humidifier, which would cool the room down. It can also be used in winter to reduce/remove damp ... and it also replaces a tumble drier if you stand it beside a clothes horse to dry your clothes. One item, several uses.

You say that PN but we have a dehumidifier in our kitchen as we have had a burst pipe under the floor. It is soooooooooooo hot as it throws out so much heat from the back!:eek: Not sure whether this is just because it is an industrial one?

Cakeeater_2

If you have sash windows you can get a venting kit so theres no gap around the pipe when it goes through the window. But I've never seen a kit that would fit the other 99% of windows we have in the UK where they open out. Anyone seen a kit for UK windows ?

cybergibbons

PasturesNew wrote: »

Air conditioners have limited use in this country. I'd probably buy a de-humidifier, which would cool the room down. It can also be used in winter to reduce/remove damp ... and it also replaces a tumble drier if you stand it beside a clothes horse to dry your clothes. One item, several uses.

They heat the room up. Where do you think the heat goes? You get the 150-300W the compressor and fan use, plus all the latent heat from the water condensing.

Gloomendoom

cybergibbons wrote: »

They heat the room up. Where do you think the heat goes? You get the 150-300W the compressor and fan use, plus all the latent heat from the water condensing.

They do give off heat, but they remove the humidity from the room. This means that a human bean's built in cooling system functions more efficiently. It is hotter but it feels cooler.

That is why Florida at 30°C feels more uncomfortable than Death Valley at 47°C.

Ebe_Scrooge

In true MSE style, there is a cheaper alternative. Use an ordinary fan, then drape a damp towel on a clothes horse, chair or similar, in front of it. As the water evaporates it cools, giving you a current of coolish air into the room.

OK, it's never going to be as effective as a purpose-made air-con unit, but it's cheap 'n' cheerful, and be honest, how often does it get really hot in this country ?

Caveat - just be sensible, and make sure the towel is not soaking wet so that it drips water all over the socket where you've got the fan plugged in. And make sure it's not so close that it gets tangled up in the fan blades :-)