Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Whynter 14,000 BTU Dual Hose Portable Air Conditioner

My windows can't handle a window air conditioner without major hassles. Great to have a solution I can use for the odd week of too hot weather then easily put away again. Nice to have the option of cooling the bedroom area at night and the wife's home office during the day. I like the ARC-143MX. The 3M filter instead of the carbon one (ARC-14S) means more air flow but no odor removal. Pick the model on that difference. Cools my 13x13 bedroom down from 81 to 72F in 30 minutes. Outside temperature usually dropping from 87 to 80 at the same time. I appreciate not having to dump out water! Casters roll easily. Not designed to go upstairs at night and downstairs every morning. Handles are just indentations on the sides of the shell: wouldn't take much to drop and lack of anything to grip makes two person carry by handles an iffy thing to do. Shell does not handle torque stress well. Compressor noise is a little too much for me to sleep next to but quiet enough to hold a conversation while standing around the ARC-143MX. The window kit is plain PVC and screws might strip out: it needed some caulk and stick-on foam strips to not let in outside air and bugs. Would be better if window kit was designed so intake and exhaust could be spaced as far apart as the width of the window opening instead of fixed at a few inches apart. Remote easier to use than front-facing controls on unit because unit display awkward to read unless kneeling. Unit is tall enough that the cold air is mixing in the upper part of the room and not getting trapped by the bed or couch. Power cord length is good but I can see where longer would come in handy. For a product in this price range, the timer should be upgraded to do daily scheduled on and off timings.

I like the ARC-143MX and hope the next model gets a few tweaks.

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