I'm needing help on buying an ac unit. I would like a small portable one. My question is, is there any portable ac units with a heater that automatically turn on and off so that it will keep my temp where I have it set? Or any advice on how to keep the temps pretty consistent. I'm running 1800w all air cooled.
Portable A/C unit
- Thread starter vickg35
- Start date
bubblenuggs
New Member
I would suggest getting a separate heater with t-stat. That way you don't have to worry about a dual unit. The cost is astronomical. You can set both stats at 73 and when it's above ac will work and below heater will work. Just my 2 cents
- Thread starter
- #3
bubblenuggs
New Member
That's the beauty of the forums. We can all put our brains together.
JuanCarlos
Well-Known Member
I have a portable AC (the kind that stands up, not a window unit) and have to say, for the BTU rating it really sucks compared to a smaller window unit I had before. If you want to spend some cash you can buy a mini split which will do what you need all in one unit but installation is serious.
- Thread starter
- #6
Ripples
Well-Known Member
I have tried several NONE have worked well... Do you have Central Air? If yes try running a vent into the tent! I reverted back to my window unit. Not one portable had the power too keep it cool... Good luck...
- Thread starter
- #8
JuanCarlos
Well-Known Member
If it has to be a portable I would definitely by a unit larger than you think you need. If it were me I would buy one that says it covers double whatever the actual square footage is.
Happy Hemper
Well-Known Member
You need to figure the BTUs of all equipment operating in the tent then consider the air exchange. The unit you chose will need to have a BTU rating above your figure by a comfortable margine, 20% may do it. Perhaps we have an HVAC guru here at 420 that can give a authorative answer.
iwltfum
New Member
20% should do it, but it will be hard to calculate the BTU's of all the equipment operating because some of the equipment that is generating heat is actually cooling things down (namely open air fans and can fans). AC's are a pain to size because if you size it too small, it won't be able to get the room down to the temp you want, but it will drop humidity significantly. Too big and it will cool your room too quickly without removing enough humidity and that leaves you with a whole different mess of problems (and it's a very inefficient way to run air conditioning. The other reason it's a pain is that there is no good equation to figure out how many btu's you need for a certain area.
If your space is under 1500f3 (10Lx10Wx10H) then you will probably need somewhere between 2500-5000 btu's/hour.
If it's between 1500f3 and 3000f3 (20Lx15Wx10H) then you will probably need 5000-8000 btu's/hour.
If it's bigger than that, let me know and I can look at my chart again.
The point is that if you half the volume, the math does not work out so that you will need half the BTU's. It follows a (rough) reverse exponential curve.
JuanCarlos
Well-Known Member
I am at about 200 square feet and with highs around 90 degrees my 10,000 BTU Honeywell portable AC is having a hard time keeping up. It's set to 72 degrees and is only maintaining 75 degrees with an outdoor temperature of 89 degrees.
JuanCarlos
Well-Known Member
Forgot to mention, that is NOT in a grow room, that is in a regular bedroom. No grow equipment at all. Just a regular bedroom with a computer, tv and bed.
iwltfum
New Member
Do you have the ventilation set up properly?
If you have run it for a couple of months, the filters could be dirty.
If you have intake or output vents that aren't sealed off to the room, that can affect the performance as well.
I was using cubic feet by the way, not square feet (or cubic meters, which I had posted originally). For that size space, 10,000 should do it, unless the "out" vent on the AC is open to the room or the room is pulling air in/out by means other than the AC
EDIT:
oh haha. never mind anything I said then
JuanCarlos
Well-Known Member
Trust me, I previously had a 5000-8000 BTU (older unit I have had forever) window unit that I know cooled just as well as this portable POS. And this was an old window unit that had been sitting around. The portable technology in my opinion is just no match for a window unit.
iwltfum
New Member
They do have a bit of a reputation for being hit or miss. I think they are better for very small spaces. like 60sqft or less.
JuanCarlos
Well-Known Member
I did a good bit of research before buying the Honeywell, it was one of the top rated units. It's definitely a huge miss for me. Now I am looking at taking the hit to sell it and buy a decent window unit.
Im in a 5x5 and running a spider farmer sf4000 and 2000. Summer here is ridiculous and im growing in my garage. I have a small 6k btu window unit in the garage and its a dual car garage. Im need ing something either in my tent or a bigger window unit. Any suggestions that would be the best?
