Venting a portable air con unit through a chimney with TV cables in it?

popcorn21

I’ve got a portable air conditioner that I want to vent through an unused chimney. I can’t vent it through the windows in the room it’s needed as they are too high. 

The chimney has had the gas capped, fireplace removed and plasterboarded over with a vent added for airflow. I want to unscrew the vent and place the hot air hose of the air con unit into the chimney so all the hot air goes up the through the chimney rather than out of a window. The chimney is capped on the roof but not sealed. The only problem I have is the chimney wall has a TV on it above the vent and the power cables from the TV, sky box etc are hanging down inside the chimney itself and likely to be close to where the hose will be, although I can move them slightly out of the way and try to tape them to the inside of the gap. 

Would it be safe to vent the air conditioner in this way? I’m not sure if the heat from the hose would damage or even melt the cables although I don’t think it would generate enough heat to do so but I don’t want to cause any damage.

plumb1_2

I’d be more concerned about condensation/ damp in the chimney.

ashe

As above I would expect condensation to run back down the vent, seems like an all round bad-idea. Do you not have an external wall you can put a vent to? you would hardly see if if you match the cover to external wall colour. 

tacpot12

The PVC cables insulation should be good for 70C, which is hotter than the air you are exhausting is going to be.

I'm not sure it will work though. The fan in the unit won't be sized to pressurise a chimney to force the air out, so you will be relying on convection, and I don't know whether it will work. However, it sounds easy enough to test it. Remove the vent, and see if it manages to cool the room down. You need to make sure there is space around the hose to allow the colder air in the chimney to sink into the room as the hot air rises.  

I don't think condensation will be a problem as the aircon unit will be exhausting very dry air. 

FreeBear

plumb1_2 said: I’d be more concerned about condensation/ damp in the chimney.

If there is an aluminium flue liner in place (as often used with gas fires), that would help to alleviate any problem with damp/condensation, but.... With the flue capped at the top, there may not be the required air flow, and then there is a problem with condensate running back down the liner.

I'd suggest getting a hose extension for the AC unit along with an adaptor plate and venting out the window. Just watch your energy bills when using the AC unit as it can get very expensive.

grumbler

plumb1_2 said:

I’d be more concerned about condensation/ damp in the chimney.

It's the same air that flows naturally through the vent, but more hot, not more humid. I don't see any reasons to be concerned about condensation.

popcorn21

Thanks everyone. I went ahead and tested it but it didn’t seem very effective as when I had it through a window in a different room and I could feel some of the hot air coming back through the gap between the vent and the hose.

I do have external walls but is it worth putting a vent in to the outside when the unit would only be used a few times a year? It’s on a main road and I’m not sure if putting a hole in the external wall would increase the noise coming in from the outside or letting cold air in the rest of the year. It’s not a job I could do myself so I would need to find a handyman to fit it.

FreeBear

popcorn21 said: I do have external walls but is it worth putting a vent in to the outside when the unit would only be used a few times a year? It’s on a main road and I’m not sure if putting a hole in the external wall would increase the noise coming in from the outside or letting cold air in the rest of the year. It’s not a job I could do myself so I would need to find a handyman to fit it.

I have an air vent in two rooms, one facing the road. Yes, it lets in noise, and depending on size, a lot of cold air during the winter. Unless you really need a vent for a fire, don't go punching holes in the wall. For something that may only be used a few weeks in the summer, it is better to have something you can use with an open window.

subjecttocontract

We had a 2 portable air conditioner vents drilled through the cavity walls....1 on the ground floor and 1 on the first floor. They are approx 5 inches diameter, they have a removable cover on the inside & a cover with flaps on the outside wall. The whole job took about 45 minutes. They look virtually invisible, nobody even noticed the vents are there. During the winter when they are not used I've made up a couple of small rolls of loft insulation inside a plastic bag that slide into the vents to insulate. Works perfectly for us.

markin

With 1 air hose systems for every ft of air you expel 1 is being sucked in from around the house and eventually from outside, some days I can get  easily 1 L per hr out the water drain hose into a 10l bucket, many newer models have splashing motor to evaporat that out the air hose with the warm air, you wouldn't want that condensing and running back down.

danrv

tacpot12 said:

I don't think condensation will be a problem as the aircon unit will be exhausting very dry air. 

The previous post mentions 1tr per hour from the hose. Bit confused as to what the hose emits.
My aircon multisplit has condensate pipes coming from each of the air handlers. Two of which go to a water pump and then onto the garage roof.