Should I Buy a Portable Air Conditioner/Heat Pump? Top Pro's & Con's & Dual vs Single Hose

UPDATED 2024 Cooper & Hunter Dual Hose Portable AC/Heat Pump: amzn.to/4cNNoFe
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In this video we discuss whether or not a portable AC is a good option for your situation and why you should choose one that has dual hoses.
Thanks for watching and subscribing! As an Amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support!
0:00 - Portable AC/Heat Pump Intro
1:45 - Higher Efficiency Options
2:28 - This C&H Unit's Features
3:03 - Cooper & Hunter Portable AC/HP
3:28 - Portable Air Conditioner Accessories
4:59 - Portable AC Operating Modes
6:31 - Portable AC Inner Components
9:07 - Condensation Management
11:52 - Operating Without The Cover
13:22 - Temperature Range
13:41 - Dehumidification Mode
14:48 - SUBSCRIBE!!!
Blessings from Minnesota,
Ben

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Best U Shaped Window AC: amzn.to/3XZGRTx Good 2nd Option for Dual Hose Portable AC: amzn.to/3S7sOHJ

[@senoajisakaa469]

*Works so well **Fastly.Cool** that it only requires daytime operation until high temp and humidity are overnight. It is difficult to get to side filters, but back is easily accessible.*

[@RXSVN_2]

Why do people keep injecting that link everywhere?

[@Dis_Dude_Ben]

@@RXSVN_2 to give us viruses.

[@GM-xk1nw]

this guy keep spamming his trash product under every air cooler video

[@robertonery8358]

I'm from Porto Alegre south of Brazil. I needed it for a while while I was living in a makeshift home. It was the salvation and my family didn't get hot. Even though it had a very limited capacity, I helped by placing fans and the thermal sensation was pleasant enough. My unit did not have two hoses, but there were instructions on you tube on how to adapt one more to the air intake. I liked this video so much it's worth a thousand likes

[@RatusMax]

This was the best portable AC videos I've ever watched.

[@MrWzeljunior]

Just in time when I'm considering buying a portable ac! Thanks!

[@viewfromthewindowofaflorid7656]

It’s such a in-depth and useful review!

[@rj.parker]

Good video. One comment on gfci wiring. It is not necessary to ground a gfci in order for it to protect users from shock. A gfci is monitoring the current flow in the hot and neutral legs and will trip if there is an imbalance with having a ground connected. Generally an imbalance is caused by leakage current to personnel or objects. In fact, it is acceptable by code to use a gfci in a bath or kitchen outlet originally wired with two wires and no ground. As before it still provides protection by ensuring the hot and neutral currents are the same. Code does require a tag on the groundless use of a gfci indicating it is wired without a ground, similar to the tag required when you operate a standard receptacle off a gfci's output. Finally, a gfci is not a surge suppressor that does require a ground for maximum benefit.

[@chuckychuck]

I had a single hose ac for decades it cool my room down like an ice box put a insulator sleeves over your exhaust hose to save energy, heat temp coming off ofthose are 114-118 degrees sleeves cost you about 45.00 or DIY with hot water tank blanket or bubble wrap.

[@circuitbreaker9001]

Thank you for that video. I have one of these units at my cottage for the really hot days. Have wondered how it gets rid of the water. I also did not know what the top drain fitting was for. Now I do. These units work really good for when you only need them for a short time.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

That's definitely the right application for one of these!

[@donnelsheffield8034]

Good to see a new one from you

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Hopefully will be cranking videos out a bit faster going forward... HOPEFULLY... Ha

[@sabriath]

I got two of the Wynter dual hose portables, they pretty much do the same thing except that they have a mini water pump that will actually remove the water into a small tapped hose that you feed through the exhaust pipe and out the window sill. You pretty much never have to drain it, ever.

[@wisdomwisdom817]

Brother you are the best teacher I have ever seen. You explain things so wonderfully. Thank you brother.

[@davewmck]

Fascinating and informative as usual. 👍

[@hunter.on.channel.19]

Oh man,,I'd love a video like this over 70 pint dehumidifiers....great video thanks

[@petebovenzi8119]

Good to see you again my friend

[@nnvasen-good-energy]

Finally I know where that small motor & wheel at the bottom of the condensor is for: to sling the condens up into the condensor and get rid of it. I transformed at least 4 of these units already and found the wheel always. I try to find other applications for these heat pumps, like water/air heat pumps.

[@frankfrias1263]

Very well spoken and knowledgeable. Thank you

[@stephenbowden4766]

A very interesting and informative program, THANKS FOR THE GREAT VIDEO.

[@Eddy63]

Great explanation as usual ... Thx for sharing ... Seems like a nice product ...

[@alexb.1524]

Thank you for the information on this

[@iBuyPowerKumbaya]

Very good job with the video everything is well explained 👏🙌

[@mishkaulitkin9476]

Excellent educational video! Thanks a lot!

[@miniair]

You and technology connections should have a debate about this subject.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

That would be super fun.

[@VannBergHVAC]

When you have a dual hose setup in the window, you have the intake and discharge hoses right next to each other. All that hot air from the condenser being sucked right back in! No no for me. I would install a dryer vent on the exhaust just my 2 cents great video

[@checopacheco420]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge 🤩🇲🇽

[@Quis85]

Someone said these are crap no matter of brand. Unless you are using it for temporary lost of power and have a generator type situations. Well; I will say; I live in Florida. And we have Hurricanes and Thunder Storms and power always goes out. As well as when summer starts that's when you learn your Ac Unit can't keep up so it goes out. That's when these Portable Units are a life saver 🙌. I've used mine twice. Matter of fact two days ago! And 1200 btu and it kept my place nice and cool. For me! It pays for itself and a GREAT INVESTMENT 👍🏿! I'VE also made money as well. Family members Ac Unit goes out and everyone knows I'm the prep guy lmao 🤣! So I charge them to use my Unit! IT sits 365 waiting to be used anyways. Because I only purchased it for hurricane season and every blue moon power outage. So if you know whay EVERY BLUE MOON means. Then you basically know; it catches dust from NEVER BEING USED. So yeah I charge folks. It's expensive and part of my hurricane survival kit! Along with Quite generator 4250 watts and etc. Nevertheless I've never thought of using this as a permanent cooling unit. I always and ONLY saw these things whenever the big unit goes out. If you live in apartments. These Portable units are what they give you until they can fix the AC. That's what really gave me the idea to get. That and Hurricane Irma was the last draw for me. I SAID NEVER AGAIN! I was hot for two week! I could care less about that damn generator lmao. 😂I was hot! I know I know why I didnt think to buy a Portable unit then! Idk!!!!!!😂 but I have it now! Lmao

[@razyjoe]

Thanks! Great video

[@westpacmortgagecapital]

Clear housing FTW!!!! 13:30 your hands turned black for awhile.

[@jameswrate4838]

Well done! 👍👍

[@TheTruthSeeker756]

I like the transparent cover idea but I don’t think my wife and guests would approve 😆

[@REXXSEVEN]

5:50 WOWW!!!!! So that explains the reason why inside of my apartment there is an air draft is coming through the electrical outlets and through the cracks and spaces near radiator pipes, and around the hinges of the front door to my apartment. I thought that it was because of the fans I had running but I thought it made no sense that they would cause this. It's because of the portable air conditioner pulling air into itself and then pushing it outside, causing depressurization in the apartment. I had no idea.This is the reason why cigarette (and marijuana )smoke is entering from an upstairs apartment into my bathroom and also from the hallway and from an apartment next door to me. A real nuisance when it happens. I only have one portable AC unit and it is affecting the entire apartment in this way. Unbelievable, I didn't know this was the cause. I also like the part where you mention humid and unconditional are entering the apartment because of the one duct portable air conditioner set up.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

You could try to modify your unit and attach a second hose to the area where the unit pulls in air to cool the condense. I might make a video demonstrating this at some point. Glad that the video helped you get a better idea of what is happening!

[@mikemotorbike4283]

or open a window a crack. People like fresh air too. Another problem with the one pipe system is that its taking the new expensively conditioned air hovering close by to evacuate the heat, before that new air gets a chance to get further into the house. Its basically sucking out what it just made. It'd be good if you cud vent that cooled air farther away from the unit, or through a wall, so it takes in only uncondtioned air. But this negates the purpose of these, to cool the room they are in. This inefficiency applies to the heat pump made hot air air too. RVs also have this problem. The air grill is so poorly designed that half the air is recirculated through the unit repeatedly before it gets a chance to get into the room, and on the roof the same problem, poor design means the heat circulates around and around inside the unit until a bit gets to leave. There are Styrofoam baffles you can buy(or make) to retrofit your RV aircon so you can achieve the rated cooling power. One thing about fans creating a vacuum in the house: there are several fans in your home that create a vacuum already: the bathroom fan, stove fan, dryer fan, wood stoves, and gas furnace fans all do this. Although, the gas/oil furnace by code has to have a hole by it to draw in air to balance the vacuum effect. A potentially dangerous situation exists when the other fans are on is that they will draw the combustion gasses back down the furnace flue back and into the living area, killing people with carbon monoxide. An especially bad danger with powerful dryers while the other fans are also on simultaneously, its too much for the cracks in the building envelope to supply, as some of your viewers mentioned. The apartment/condo dweller smelling hall odours shouldn't be. Code requires the hall to be positively ventilated(a highly pressurized hallway pushes air into the apartments under their doors). Perhaps there is someone smoking in the hallway, but most probably the building superintendent, under management orders to increase efficiency, has been encouraged to find ways to save money. So the super, "under pressure" has turned off the fresh air fan which pressurizes outside air into the hallway. This should be addressed with the manager. This is a fire safety issue- a legal and insurance liability, to keep hallways clear of smoke in the event of a fire. If there's a fire, firemen could die, and you don't get insurance.

[@wisdomwisdom817]

Awesome job thank you so much

[@SCORPIO2011]

So hot air is expelled right next to the cooling inlet,so thereby pulling hot air back into the unit

[@theirisheditor]

One type of portable AC I would like to see on the market would use water instead of air hoses. This way the waste heat could be used to heat a paddling pool, outdoor hot tub, etc. and would solve the issue with casement/swing windows (common in Europe) where hose panels don't fit. With two garden hoses running out the window for the feed/return, the window could be closed further and the AC placed further from the window. I have seen a video a while back where someone modded a portable AC to heat a hot tub, so it's certainly possible.

[@BIGDTV76]

Very nice sir..

[@GRACFUL1]

The metering device is magical, from liquid to vapor, for vapor back to liquid.

[@humblerawat]

Great video and details Benjamin.. this answered most of my questions. I wish if you do energy comsumption comparion of Heat pump of these portable unit vs Ceramic heaters. I bought Hisense one from Costco this year.

[@rkramer5629]

*Technology Connections has entered the chat*

[@TheBamaChad-W4CHD]

Great video. I live in Alabama and the two vent system seems like it would die quickly here. If it had to pull this incredibly humid and hot Alabama air in it just couldn't cut it for long I think. The only hope is trying to cool by recycling the already cooped air. I'm definitely no hvac person so it's just my thoughts lol

[@gavincurtis]

If you have one that the compressor runs but not cooling, you should be able to recharge it instead of landfilling the machine. From the online jungle place, order a Supco BPV31 piercing valve and also a R12 ro R134A low side adapter. Place the valve on the low pressure (cold pipe) from compressor and refill with standard automotive AC recharge kit from car parts store.

[@nickolaswilliams935]

Evaporating the water via the condenser and not needing a drain hose is actually a secondary benefit, the primary reason they do it is actually because of the efficiency boost you get to the condenser because the water has to absorb energy in order to evaporate. Thus the unit can be made a little smaller and get the same BTU rating as a larger unit that drains its condensate overboard. A very nasty side effect however is the condenser slowly rots itself to death from corrosive attack. If you don’t care how long one of these machines lasts, don’t connect the drain. If however you need it for more than a season or two (they aren’t cheap), you need the drain hose or it will eat itself alive.

[@danielsoderstedt1941]

That's hocus pocus. My 14 year old portable with condensate slinger has a condenser wich looks like new, even though you can hear the water splashing when it operates on humid days. Ordinary water dont destroy condensers...😂

[@nickolaswilliams935]

@@danielsoderstedt1941 Ok boomer

[@richardc1983]

Corrosive attack? It's just humidity from the air that the top cooling coil removed and sent down to the bottom. Why would it now be corrosive and rot the coil as it drained through into the bottom. Sorry but this is BS.

[@nickolaswilliams935]

@@richardc1983 you’ve clearly never taken a failed one apart, when you have you’ll understand WHY it failed

[@richardc1983]

@@nickolaswilliams935 No I've just worked in A/C for 20+ years, I know nothing... Do explain though which you still haven't explained.

[@dalel2810]

SACC is the most important thing to consider

[@larrymaiolo637]

Thank you for the video! Do you have any recommendations on how to prevent mold forming in/on drain pans?

[@Gastell0]

Wish these were available in Europe, for some reason there's effectively one model that has bad design as it has both intake and exhaust through one split hose of non-standard oval form

[@andresmatty3864]

The past yea for so has been rather traumatic with working in healthcare and being laid off and having to make major moves a home that, to say the least, was in complete dures. Your videos have helped me macgyver this place into a decent working condition with your AC and breaker panel instructionals 👍👍

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Awesome! Glad I was able to be of some assistance.

[@petkoandreev7869]

These portable units regardless single or double hose are great for a back up of your central AC until you get it fixed. I have a single hose one which I keep for a back up, use in my garage when working on cars (it wont cool the room but helps a lot) and run in an addition to my central unit in the office where I run servers and gets hot. They are also great when there is no power and you have to run a small generator and have AC in one room. With all being said they are great units to have. Just dont waste more than $500 thinking they will do a better job. Just buy the cheapest and keep in storage.

[@mikemotorbike4283]

just remember the between uses, the little reservoir dries out and the dust/fluff in the evaporated water will harden like cement and little moving pieces like floats will get stuck. So you have to do some maintenance. This is what kills carpet shampooers between uses.

[@RsBGroups]

Thank you

[@MFMP007]

Cool video

[@izfidaAJ]

The #1HoseAC Shall Be #Banned!.

[@AlexandrShut]

Thanks for the video! Is that AC designed to work 24/7? I'm looking for cooling part of garage with a few servers (like building some 'box' with drywall around rack). Portable AC looks promising, but it's not clear about durability

[@freightshayker]

Thanks

[@madfreakinc2]

I turned my single hose portable into a dual hose by using a second hose and the box it came in. I taped the box to where it pulls air in and put the hose in there and ran it out the window and i noticed that the compressor actually shuts off more often since the room keeps the cool air in. I also noticed that my exhaust hose has a piece that makes the exhaust hole smaller and when removing it the water builds up and causes the ac to shut off until i drain the water but reattaching the piece to restrict some of the hot air leaving helps to evaporate the water and i never have to drain it

[@conradpaul6100]

More info pleasd

[@madfreakinc2]

@@conradpaul6100 you can youtube converting portable single hose ac in to dual hose but basically u want a hose covering the back where it pulls air in and run that hose outside the window so it sucks air from outside rather than sucking air from inside the room causing a vacuum suction in your room to pull hot air from under the doors or window creases causing the room to be filled with hot air. Instead your ac will just suck air from outside through the hose to be use to cool the condensor leaving the cool air in the room to cool the room

[@rob4197]

@2:29 - those are poor ratings. My 50 pound unit (14"x14") is rated at 6500 sacc btu and consumes ~1000 watts. The 76 pound one (18"x16") in the video will likely consume ~1250 watts to get 7000 sacc btu. For some people, that can mean an extra $100 for electricity per year.

[@johnbuchecker5603]

Excellent

[@tomgrant6563]

Great explanation. You should be a teacher. I'll check out the rest of your vids!

[@peli71]

A portable ac blows air via a tube to the outside. That means it need to suck in warm air into the room. Hot air contains a lot of moisture. This moisture will be water when cooled and has either to be collected in a reservoir or needs a lot of additional energy to be excreted via the hot air output. So what is the efficiency of such a device?

[@JT-bb9di]

Would love to see a video where you've modified a single unit into a dual hose unit!

[@richardc1983]

Loads of these on KZbin just search for convert single hose to dual hose portable air conditioner

[@sailingeden9866]

I would think that cooling the condenser with cold air from the room would be more efficient than cooling it with hot outside air, even though they seems counter intuitive. I have been using portable units for over 20 years and I think they work great. Wrapping insulation around the exhaust hose helps with efficiency.

[@user-xq7cp4rn3v]

what was your temperature at the outlet of the air conditioner? I didn’t buy a new air conditioner and now, when it’s very hot, it cools very poorly. Yesterday we put it in the room to see if it would cool it and it did a very bad job of it, it only cooled down to 24 degrees overnight and in the morning it was already 27-28 degrees in the room. When we turned it on for the first time, it cooled the kitchen to 21.5-22 degrees and the rest of the rooms to 24.5-25 degrees

[@DJ-vm2zi]

Would it work well on a 10 x 14 three season room?

[@red94mr28]

No, the most important consideration is the Dept of Energy's new SACC value. SACC stands for Seasonal Adjusted Cooling Capacity and is the standard for rating portable air conditioners. A single hose portable AC with a SACC value of 10,000 is much better than a dual hose with a SACC value of 8,500.

[@FRUGALWITHJOHN]

As long as you are paying the hydro bill. Here is a video of what is wrong with a single hose portable A/C unit 5:55 mark on the video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mWjTaHaGdqeNaas

[@red94mr28]

@@FRUGALWITHJOHN That's only your opinion on the single versus double hose debate. What I posted was how to determine the better unit using the Department of Energy's new SACC rating. It's easy to fact check. Your video is akin to chocolate versus vanilla or Ford versus Chevy.

[@FRUGALWITHJOHN]

@@red94mr28 Not just my opinion, It's real life experience. If I run the single hose heat pump when it is cold outside, my garage will lost heat faster when I turn off the 75,000 BTU heater. My A/C/Heat pump been in the garage over 10 years now and it is an excellent air exchanger.

[@red94mr28]

@@FRUGALWITHJOHN Well, sucks to be you but those are unconfirmed results by a random KZbin guy at a specific location in a specific structure with an uncontrolled outside environment. SACC is based on science. It doesn't say whether a single hose or double hose system is better for a random KZbinr's needs, only which machine is more efficient as determined by the SACC value.

[@FRUGALWITHJOHN]

@@red94mr28 The change in testing, the new SACC ratings therefore may appear lower than previous ratings on unit packaging, even though the model has not changed. (So a 5000 BTU unit will use less power than a 5000 SACC) So the double hose unit will reach 5000 SACC with less power. Just do some more research, it will give you a better understanding.

[@brentjohnson6654]

Thanks for the video. Question on the 2 hose concept: assuming the outside air is 105+ like here in Texas right now is it good to be cooling off 105 or 85 inside temps? I understand the pressure concept but this is not for a home but a shop. Just trying to understand the problem hot outside temps will cause the air conditioner. Thanks again for your videos. You always explain the why behind things. Also I would love a transparent cover also.

[@dinonuggetzzz5357]

Do i still need to hook up the hose if im using it as a heater?

[@ia6363]

Mine use to make 20 litres of water a day in 8 hours, the evaporator catch pan holes clogged up so I pulled it apart and drilled bigger holes in it, it never made water again because the condenser heat and fan blew it out the window, I think it work cooler after that, made me wonder why the factory didn't make it like that.

[@earljohnson7675]

Only problem I see with there hose setup is how close the intake and discharge hoses are away from each other to me there to close but I’m sure they work better than the single hose contraption that’s why I don’t use mine bought mine 15 yrs ago and it just sits surprisingly it still works good

[@linden5576]

🤣🤣 you say even though it’s later and almost at the end of air conditioning season, it won’t be long and it’ll be air conditioning season again!😁 🤣😁 I wish that were true, but here in Michigan with about eight months of cold weather I mean you’re talking October through May! I just thought I would throw that in there😁🤣🤣

[@parkershaw8529]

I will either buy a window unit and enjoy its affordable price, or I will buy a mini split and enjoy its quietness. Portables are marginal at best, even for the dual hose ones.

[@mikropower01]

In Germany they sell these "single hose air conditioner" too ... this is so useless. Some people try to made a "two hose air conditioner" out of a single hose device, but often it does not work or you have to let the device open. The use of distilled water will increase the ability of this air-conditioner to get rid of the heat. But in Germany we use these devices mainly to pump heat into the building. The moisture of the air will freeze into the fins of the device if it is cold outside and then it needs a defrost-cycle. In my case (split-device) the defrost-function does not work. I have build a insulated housing around the outdoor-device, then there are two servo-motors to close the doors, deactivate the fan of the outdoor-unit and then it activates the cooling-mode. The fins of the outdoor-unit will defrost and inside it will get a little bit cooler. If it is inside 15°C, then the cooling function do not start, so I had to manipulate the NTC-temperature-sensor. I simply add a parallel sensor to the NTC, then the device get the information that it is over 20°C inside.

[@mikeslater6246]

Just a minor correction to your terminology. The water coming off the evaporator in an air conditioning unit is condensed water, not distilled.

[@mikropower01]

@@mikeslater6246 - I only want to say, this type of water can not damage the metal-fin / slats. Not a bad idea.

[@mikeslater6246]

@@mikropower01 thanks for the explanation but to be honest that would be impractical. The water in the system that is used to help cool the condenser is coming off the evaporator and is the way that the system eliminates condensate without having to pump it out of the house or catch it in a bucket and keep emptying it. To add distilled water to this device to help cool the condenser would be a labor intense and possibly expensive option.

[@mikropower01]

​@@mikeslater6246 - I do not mean it this way. I would not add some water, only the way how the system get rid of the water was interesting. For me, the condensate and the distilled water is the same. There is no salt inside. If you have distilled water, then the water was condensing somewhere too, maybe inside of a cooper- or glass-pipe.

[@mikemotorbike4283]

or just call an HVAC technician to fix the issue, if its really broken and not a design flaw.

[@Kyleramsey999]

I have a Pioneer single exhaust hose and I'm looking for the proper way to clean it, or any of these units for that matter...thanks

[@kikijewell2967]

Just what I was looking for*! I love your enthusiasm and passion for your profession - you're probably the only one who wants to curl up in front of a glass front heat pump instead of a fireplace. Lol (*Except I was hoping to see where the clips are to open this bad boy up... I have an aquarium pump hooked to the drain hose, and I want to mount the little pump inside add a circuit to run it automagically. Glad to find that float switch! Looks promising!) I hope eventually to install a permanent minisplit, but until the divorce is final, this is what makes sense.

[@sAINT898]

I got a Whytner 12,000 btu unit to cool and heat a space. But so far it hasn't been that great at heating. The air coming out is only in the mid to nigh 80°. Seems like the air is cold by the time it's a few feet from the unit. Not sure I'll be keeping it.

[@frankvelador1836]

I just watched this video. I see it is 2 years old. Do you still recommend this particular portable AC, or is there another brand/model that has improved on this? Thank you for the detailed videos.

[@kevinwelsh7490]

is there a 5000 Btu portable a/c WITH two hoses AND small form factor 12"x13"x26" ? I think that would work in my van conversion camper. thanks

[@Thomas-wn7cl]

Why have manufacturers not made a cold climate high seer inverter PTHP unit yet? Thanks for the video!

[@LXXero]

I had just taken apart my portable unit as the bottom tray was filling up with water and throwing an error code. It was nasty and filled with wet clumped up dust. But I got to learn all about the "slinger" as they call them. I had to separate the 2 coils and vacuum out the dust. Mine is only a single tube and you're definitely right, it creates a negative pressure. I didn't know about the two duct units, good to know for next time. Fortunately my house has some inlet ducts in the basement, as it's a newer house, so it's never been a huge deal.

[@AaronMetallion]

Same issue here! Single hose unit, filling up about 1-2 buckets a day. Thank you for this little write up. So I basically have to deassemble, and clean out the evaporator coil at the bottom. Is that all? Would you know if lightly spraying the coil with water in the shower or using a water spray bottle is okay?

[@paulcary5452]

I want to know if the heat pump actually pushes heat out just as efficiently as in a/c mode

[@Vmssupplies]

There is a nasty catch when it comes to condensate management. When you turn on heating mode, the condenser becomes evaporator and vice versa - the whole idea of dissipating water fails as in heating mode the lower coil plays the part of condenser and water just collects in the tray - is not being moved to the evaporator which, in heating mode, is the upper coil. A simple solution would be to employ a simple pump + sort of a spraying nozzle (as used in humidifiers) that would do the job of transporting the water from the bottom coil to the upper one but the manufacturers will have to catch up before that happens. Now it's draining the tray every week in winter months and the upper condensate spout for obvious reasons won't work. 🙁

[@JT-bb9di]

This is so interesting! Indeed, running my portable unit in heat mode causes the water tray to fill up fast! But i have a problem.... The drain hose outlet (middle of the back of the unit) doesn't seem to work - the lower tray keeps filling up! The manual says to use the drain when in heat mode. Is my unit faulty, or, is it as you say, the water will always fall to the bottom in heat mode (thus the manual is wrong) NB today I've created a workaround where I've managed to attach a house to the water tray outlet (located at the very bottom). Let's see if this solves my problem!

[@kikijewell2967]

@@JT-bb9di yes the heat mode drain port is the one at the bottom. But unless _the entire hose is below the drain_ the water can't flow out. Ug! I added an aquarium pump to mine but I have to manually turn it on when the pan is full. Better than nothing!

[@leifhietala8074]

The condenser coil evaporating the gathered condensate is just smart. As awful as portables are, this is the smartest feature any of them have and you don't see it replicated in other kinds of HVAC systems, which is a wasted opportunity.

[@captainobvious9188]

I’ve been looking for something like this for a tiny house on an off grid lot. I can have a friend bury some corrugated pipe as an earth tube for cheap to feed its outside inlet.

[@mikemotorbike4283]

That is a great idea for both heating and also cooling! Yud need like 75 feet id imagine, snaking back and forth, or more. The only problem with pipes like this, is when the intention is for the fresh air to enter the house. The pipes attract vermin, disease, rat and mouse poop, mould, bacteria and dust. Think legionnaires disease in moist ventilation systems. Not so much a problem when the ground air is just being used in the unit internally and being exhausted, such as in a two pipe system.

[@captainobvious9188]

@@mikemotorbike4283 Yeah, that follows with what I was thinking - Sort of a poor man's ground source heat pump, but wouldn't have to be super careful about earth tube air.

[@JT-bb9di]

Hey Benjamin, great video! I have a question. I have a portable unit similar to this (with heat pump function) but it is a single hose unit. My question is, where does the energy to heat the room come from? It does indeed heat the room up so I assume that the energy comes from the air sucked into the room via the negative pressure. Is this correct? How would this compare efficiency wise to just running a resistive heater? The spec sheet seems to say 2x heat out for every unit of energy in, but I'm sceptical. Thanks!

[@OrientEspresso]

With a heat pump, the energy comes out of the air. In A/C mode, shoot cooled air into the room and hot air out the exhaust. In heating mode, shoot the cooled air out the exhaust and heated air into the room. They take air and split it into hot and cold portions, using energy to do that, and give you the hot or cold air you want, exhaust the other.

[@classic287]

How come I missed this one? Just found it. Awesome video. I wish it existed a few years ago. I did work for a millionaire couple, and they had 5 of these in the house. I kept them running the best I could, but the touch pad controls were below the air vent and they were wet most of the time, so finally they became useless. I don't remember if they had 2 hoses. They ended up having split a/c installed

[@westsidehvac1097]

cool interesting video

[@Zoyx]

Need some hacks to this setup. Like insulating the hoses and the window.

[@BobbyFigliola]

Just found your channel... some very useful knowledge . Is it just me or does Ben kinda looks like. "the Beaver".... We found him...he grew up well eh?

[@Ladarian_]

The air in my crawlspace is unheated and colder than the rest of the room - would this work in heat pump mode if I ran both hoses into the crawlspace instead of outside? Amazon replies talk about heat pump mode not needing any hoses but that doesn't make any sense. Any advice?>

[@TheTruthSeeker756]

So it’s pulling in that sweltering outside air to cool itself off? Doesn’t make sense to me. Plus the hose exits are so close to each other. Isn’t the intake just going to suck in the hot outtake? This thing appears to be fighting itself lol.

[@TylerHVAC]

How do you clean the condenser coils if it has no filter or anything.

[@Ron_Masterjohn]

Do they make a outlet to run in thru my wall instead of window?

[@patriciaedwards2833]

Would it work ok if it is 40 Celsius and over outside ?

[@bobniles1928]

My RV AC has a condensate slinger to get rid of the water.

[@porcupinepete8110]

So Lets think about this, a dual hose set up pulls in 100 degree hot air from the outside, cools it and blows it into the room and the second hose vents heat from the unit. Right beside the intake. A single hose unit will draw in cool air from the room to continue cooling it and blowing back into the room while excess heat from the unit gets blown out to the outdoors. Sounds like a much more efficient way of doing things. The negative air pressure idea is more of a gimmick used for advertising. Not an actual problem.

[@madfreakinc2]

With my single hose unit i actually ran a second hose and used duct tape and found it works better for me. the outside air only gets to around 90-95 but the portable ac seems to work better this way vs the single hose setup

[@tbone9405]

What about the condensation during heat mode?

[@takenusername]

Do most dual hose inverter ac units use a similar design?

[@synonys]

Using condensation water on the condenser coil must increase its efficiency.

[@LowsJuan]

When you look at the window fitment panel and you think who buys these there is a big disconnect. If you live in a house your best bet is a window a/c because is so much more efficient compared to portables. The right sized window unit will turn your room into a meat locker whereas the most portable units will take ten degrees off the outside temp. (present device may be the exemption). So the people who buy these are generally not people who live in houses but apartments. The common placement for these panel/hoses is through a sliding door which means that this panel is about 6ft too short and the hoser are probably the same. Windows in most apartments are not double sashed which is what this seems to be built for. I have had twin hosed units before and except for the noise, they were helpful but they are far from perfect. The biggest negative I see here is they want $1500 for this in January so for that, I could get a mini-split

[@johnb9394]

Anything that pumps air out a window is sucking hot air back in all over the house. Single hose sucks..lol

[@tedlahm5740]

Very interesting. Dehumidifier mode still need to deal with the (water) as it does not evaporate to the outside? Thank you.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Correct. In dehumidification mode you need to connect a drain hose to the upper drain pan location.

[@mikeslater6246]

@@BenjaminSahlstrom but the condensate drain hose can be routed into a condensate pump whose output can be sent to a floor drain, slop sink, or any other connection that would take the water either out in the sewer or to a drain that exits the house. These devices are available at Walmart, Amazon, and any number of other commercial sources.

[@JohnnyUmphress]

Constantly wetting the aluminum fins on the condenser will corrode the fins rapidly. Also, in very humid areas you will be constantly dumping the water tray.

[@ethelryan257]

I have an ancient Amana - 1967. It hasn't corroded. Never had to 'dump' the water, it drains out of the rear. Of course, that's a window unit. These portable ac/heat pumps either evaporate it or pump it out of one of the hoses.

[@richardc1983]

How does it deal with condensation in heating mode?

[@CT-vm4gf]

How does it remove the condensate when it’s in heating mode 🤔

[@zcqian]

So I got a unit that has a hose-in-hose design which is somewhat similar in that it doesn’t pull conditioned air out of the living space

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Seems like that would be a cleaner looking setup.

[@mikropower01]

@@BenjaminSahlstrom - But then you need bigger holes in the wall and you have to separate the heat-flow outside.

[@redeye2629]

We use to have these on a commercial scale but they had drain pans we had to empty a couple times a day.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Now that would get old FAST!

[@redeye2629]

@@BenjaminSahlstrom it did we’d have to go back twice a day to empty them till the parts came in for the chiller