Are Those Home Air Conditioners On Wheels Any Good?

[Lopburi99]

With our new windows in the television room, the a/c in that room now can keep up pretty well with the April heat. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do in the dining and kitchen areas (we have a/c in the bedrooms). With the new windows in the tv room the other rooms are warmer, correction hotter. My wife is roasting in them. I guess those rooms were cooled by the air leakage through the old jalousie style crank out windows on the tv room wall. My wife says we should buy a mobile unit and just roll it where we need it. I doubt it is that easy a solution.

I'm considering buying one of those units Big C sells which is a standalone a/c on wheels. The air coming from those doesn't seem very chilly to me at Big C, I am wondering if they are worth a crap. Having no large condenser like the wall mounted units makes me question their effectiveness. I don't want to blow 6-10K on something which would prove to be useless. Sure wish there was a Sears-type store (like in the US) where we could return the sucker if we weren't satisfied.

Thanks

Edited April 30, 2012 by Lopburi99

[lovelaos]

Don't bother, they use them in our meeting room at work. Firstly you have to put the outlet hose somewhere which means leaving a door/window ajar defeating the object, they feel like a fan only slightly cooler and much more expensive to run.

[Naam]

I am wondering if they are worth a crap

they are!

[Sayonarax]

There good for people who rent non a/c homes or for very small rooms. I would look at getting insulation in your roof if you don't have it yet.

It can change your house's overall ambient temp by 2 or 3 degrees Celsius and Bats are fairly cheap at home pro. If you want the really good stuff you need to find a professional company that will go in your roof and spray it in. Im not sure who does it over here but the company that does it in Australia is Cool n Cozy and this stuff works wonders!

[notmyself]

I am wondering if they are worth a crap

they are!

lol

Saw them in Tesco a few days back. I stopped to check the prices just out of interest and a salesman jumped on me and asked if I was interested. I said I just leave the fridge open if I need to cool the room down. Does that work he asked me! I just shook my head and walked away.

[CharlieH]

As said above, if you dont vent them to the outside they just blow cold out the front and hot out the back !

If you put the pipe through a window etc it kind of defeats the whole object.

If its a smaller room, you want to knock a hole through the wall for the pipe then might be Ok, but then you lose the mobility of the unit which again kind of defeats the purpose.

Basically, Crap ! (imho)

[Lopburi99]

Just what I wanted to know, and figured. Ceiling insulation? Maybe that is next. Thanks guys.

[pastitche]

As said above, if you dont vent them to the outside they just blow cold out the front and hot out the back !

If you put the pipe through a window etc it kind of defeats the whole object.

If its a smaller room, you want to knock a hole through the wall for the pipe then might be Ok, but then you lose the mobility of the unit which again kind of defeats the purpose.

Basically, Crap ! (imho)

We have one in the smallest bedroom vented through a window pane. Works fine but as you say that means its not mobile.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Bite the bullet and install a proper unit. This is why Thais cook outside. . .

[astral]

Simple answer NO

[vtjforyou]

Useless !

Better buy a cheap 10k aircon even if its too small for the room, it will cool better than this shxt.

[Naam]

There good for people who rent non a/c homes or for very small rooms. I would look at getting insulation in your roof if you don't have it yet.

It can change your house's overall ambient temp by 2 or 3 degrees Celsius and Bats are fairly cheap at home pro. If you want the really good stuff you need to find a professional company that will go in your roof and spray it in. Im not sure who does it over here but the company that does it in Australia is Cool n Cozy and this stuff works wonders!

"insulation in your roof" is an unspecific layman's term. a lot of people are duped by claims that spraying the roof tiles with foam works wonders but the actual result is negligible. people who had it done and then claim it works wonders suffer from hallucinations.

what really works wonders is a 5cm (2") applied (sprayed on) hard foam insulation on the gypsum ceiling boards of a single story home (rather expensive @ 450-500 Baht per m²) and a proper ventilation of the attic. but the real wonders can only be felt in connection with active cooling by airconditioning. without active cooling any money spent on insulation is spent rather inefficiently.

during the hot season we have average ambient outside temperatures of 35ºC (Chonburi/Pattaya area). assuming insulation prevents the inside of a home to rise above 32ºC does that make the home comfortable? night/early morning temperatures are presently 29-30º, how will the insulation help? will it make the home cooler? the answer is no because insulation assists the inside heat sources to increase temperature.

[CharlieH]

The most effective cooling I have seen is a water pipe across the ridge of the roof, that pours water over the roof keeping it cool.

Water runs down the tiles into a gutter which channels it into a tub where it is pumped back up again in continuous loop.

I was amazed at the difference in internal temp it made.

Also seen some Thai eating places have the same thing, they had tin roofs but the principal is the same and seems to work well.

[NanLaew]

There's a few retail outlets touting a regular floor-standing fan with a water misting ability. The principal of this type of cooler works magnificently on open decks in Houston and similar can be seen in many places in Bangkok such as the sidewalk cafe at the Landmark on Sukhumvit. The single fan version starts at around 3900 baht with the most expensive one I have seen at HomePro for about 15,000 baht. That one had the largest fan and a huge water tank base for probably good for a small bar or cafe with a 'hot spot'. I bought a 4900 baht one from Makro for the front porch and it works great... as long as one can keep the natives topping up the water tank!

[bangkokburning]

To be fair, they do their job well enough for what they are. The trouble is they are pretty much worthless for cooling even the smallest of rooms. Then you have the hookup and the noise - and the power costs.

Go for a swamp cooler and just suffer the difference. You can put bottles of ice in the tray to cool the water.

[chonabot]

My wife bought a portable unit for about 3k last week - you put ice into the back of the unit and it blows fairly cold air for a while ( until the ice melts )

[samran]

yeah not really worth it, as it spits hot air out the back, so unless you can spit the hot air out into a room you don't need/outside then you are just upping your electricity bill for no effect.

Having said that, they are useful for emergencies.

We had one at work when our offices aircon were broken down/on weekends when we'd have to come in and work and the central building aircon was turned off..

If I was having an outdoor party with a sealed off clear tent for example, a couple of these for might be of use for a one off-er.

[necronx99]

Yeesh at the replies..

Yes, they need to be vented out a window. They come with a venting hose and window fitting for just such a purpose!

Are they any good?

They are what they are, a low power portable unit.

They will cool a insulated sealed room of about 4x4 meters with some effectiveness.

They are not as good as dedicated units.

They will not do much in an unsealed room or much larger space.

The water cooling system for the compressor is also a bit of a bother in very humid climes as they need frequent draining.

[geriatrickid]

The problem with misters is that if the water is not clean, you can cause respiratory problems for some.

My friend has a portable a/c unit. Sadly it doesn't do the job. Better to invest in ceiling fans and a cross draft capability and of course a proper a/c unit.

[Soutpeel]

The most effective cooling I have seen is a water pipe across the ridge of the roof, that pours water over the roof keeping it cool.

Water runs down the tiles into a gutter which channels it into a tub where it is pumped back up again in continuous loop.

I was amazed at the difference in internal temp it made.

Also seen some Thai eating places have the same thing, they had tin roofs but the principal is the same and seems to work well.

And what happens when the water reaches 38/40 degrees C due to radiant heating, and there is no cooling....sure you didnt just dream this one up....I have seen coiled tubing on a roof to heat up swimming pool water, but running water down the roof will not provide an "effective" cooling system

[Lopburi99]

I am thinking the best solution short of spending money I don't have is what we did tonight. We opened the doors of the three rooms off the problem area and turned on the a/cs in each room. Then we placed a fan at the door, blowing the cooled air into the problem area. Not too bad! That will at least knock the heat down to bearable in those rooms.

[farang000999]

Just purchase a couple of standing fans and have the maid/wifey clean them out on a very regularly basis and they will blow air cool enough to keep you comfortable.

The best cooling option is to grow trees around your home that will grow branches to shade your home. Then you want to basically cut off the branches that won't provide shade but just create mess.

[thaibeachlovers]

My wife bought a portable unit for about 3k last week - you put ice into the back of the unit and it blows fairly cold air for a while ( until the ice melts )

I paid 4,000 for one of those and it is pretty useless, and yes, I have a supply of water bottles in the freezer. I only use it because I paid so much for it.

[Hostile17]

There's a few retail outlets touting a regular floor-standing fan with a water misting ability. The principal of this type of cooler works magnificently on open decks in Houston and similar can be seen in many places in Bangkok such as the sidewalk cafe at the Landmark on Sukhumvit. The single fan version starts at around 3900 baht with the most expensive one I have seen at HomePro for about 15,000 baht. That one had the largest fan and a huge water tank base for probably good for a small bar or cafe with a 'hot spot'. I bought a 4900 baht one from Makro for the front porch and it works great... as long as one can keep the natives topping up the water tank!

Those fans are shit, i bought one and not only has it broken twice(its at home pro's repair center once again right now) the myst does absolutely NOTHING even with cold water. Wish i had bought 6-7 regular fans instead. Even brand new, the cheap fans at tesco are much more efficient.

And those 6-12k baht unit at tesco are shit. I bought one a few months ago and sold it again to an unsuspecting farang a few weeks ago. It,s shit. oh god its shit. The room i used it for is really small (i even had a hole for the hot hair). a 5000btu should freeze the room. The portable AC was 9000 and the only way i could feel cold was having it 30cm away from my chair directly on me. It becomes a simple expensive to run and super extremely noisy somewhat coldish fan.

May baby jesus have mercy on the unsuspecting farang. Might be that guy up there as i sold it for exactly 4k

Edited July 10, 2012 by Hostile17

[nocturn]

The most effective cooling I have seen is a water pipe across the ridge of the roof, that pours water over the roof keeping it cool.

Water runs down the tiles into a gutter which channels it into a tub where it is pumped back up again in continuous loop.

I was amazed at the difference in internal temp it made.

Also seen some Thai eating places have the same thing, they had tin roofs but the principal is the same and seems to work well.

And what happens when the water reaches 38/40 degrees C due to radiant heating, and there is no cooling....sure you didnt just dream this one up....I have seen coiled tubing on a roof to heat up swimming pool water, but running water down the roof will not provide an "effective" cooling system

Not sure about your experience, but pumping river water over the roof certainly works for a number of float houses in kachanaburi

Edited July 10, 2012 by nocturn

[1BADDAT]

The most effective cooling I have seen is a water pipe across the ridge of the roof, that pours water over the roof keeping it cool.

Water runs down the tiles into a gutter which channels it into a tub where it is pumped back up again in continuous loop.

I was amazed at the difference in internal temp it made.

Also seen some Thai eating places have the same thing, they had tin roofs but the principal is the same and seems to work well.

And what happens when the water reaches 38/40 degrees C due to radiant heating, and there is no cooling....sure you didnt just dream this one up....I have seen coiled tubing on a roof to heat up swimming pool water, but running water down the roof will not provide an "effective" cooling system

When water evaporates, it provides a cooling effect. It actually draws heat away from the source. Some of the water running down the roof evaporates. This causes the roof to stay cooler. As long as the evaporated water is replenished, It continues to do its job.

The concept of the fans that spray the mist is the same (and swamp coolers). The problem in Thailand with those units is that the humidity is quite high. This makes the units much less effective because less water actually evaporates and thus the temperature does not drop as much.

Regular fans do nothing to cool a closed room. They actually raise the temperature of the air because they require energy to operate. The reason they make you feel cooler is because they aid in the evaporation process of the sweat on your body.

I am sure that not all will agree with these statements, but they are not my opinion, they are laws of physics.

[Kwasaki]

I have a Central Air one in a bedroom at the moment, when I first bought it, I thought it was mobile, literally but when delivered there were long concertina pipes to vent out of a window or door.

Anyway took out a glass panel from the louvre window fixed the outlet, great !! Made the room very cold quickly many types of settings and a very strong fan, and enough noise to drown the soi dogs barking.

After a while there was water all around the unit spreading across the tiled floor.

I looked at the instructions properly, and yes why didn't think of putting the hose that come with the unit onto this little pipe tucked away where the water was coming from at the bottom of the unit.

The scientifically placed bucket was filling with water at quite a rate so the decision was made to drill a hole through the wall and hey presto job done.

I am getting another air-con for the bedroom now at half the price people staying complain of the noise will stick the fixed mobile portable unit in the kitchen.

[thaicbr]

With our new windows in the television room, the a/c in that room now can keep up pretty well with the April heat. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do in the dining and kitchen areas (we have a/c in the bedrooms). With the new windows in the tv room the other rooms are warmer, correction hotter. My wife is roasting in them. I guess those rooms were cooled by the air leakage through the old jalousie style crank out windows on the tv room wall. My wife says we should buy a mobile unit and just roll it where we need it. I doubt it is that easy a solution.

I'm considering buying one of those units Big C sells which is a standalone a/c on wheels. The air coming from those doesn't seem very chilly to me at Big C, I am wondering if they are worth a crap. Having no large condenser like the wall mounted units makes me question their effectiveness. I don't want to blow 6-10K on something which would prove to be useless. Sure wish there was a Sears-type store (like in the US) where we could return the sucker if we weren't satisfied.

Thanks

If you buy from Tesco Lotus they do 7day no quibble return on electronic equipment I think this also applies to these. Just check.

Sent from my GT-P1010 using Thaivisa Connect App

[Kilgore Trout]

To be fair, they do their job well enough for what they are. The trouble is they are pretty much worthless for cooling even the smallest of rooms. Then you have the hookup and the noise - and the power costs.

Go for a swamp cooler and just suffer the difference. You can put bottles of ice in the tray to cool the water.

Swamp cooler in Bangkok??

They only work in very low humidity. We had one in Arizona and it worked great. Here it would be worthless.

[gregb]

The most effective cooling I have seen is a water pipe across the ridge of the roof, that pours water over the roof keeping it cool.

Water runs down the tiles into a gutter which channels it into a tub where it is pumped back up again in continuous loop.

I was amazed at the difference in internal temp it made.

Also seen some Thai eating places have the same thing, they had tin roofs but the principal is the same and seems to work well.

And what happens when the water reaches 38/40 degrees C due to radiant heating, and there is no cooling....sure you didnt just dream this one up....I have seen coiled tubing on a roof to heat up swimming pool water, but running water down the roof will not provide an "effective" cooling system

When water evaporates, it provides a cooling effect. It actually draws heat away from the source. Some of the water running down the roof evaporates. This causes the roof to stay cooler. As long as the evaporated water is replenished, It continues to do its job.

The concept of the fans that spray the mist is the same (and swamp coolers). The problem in Thailand with those units is that the humidity is quite high. This makes the units much less effective because less water actually evaporates and thus the temperature does not drop as much.

Regular fans do nothing to cool a closed room. They actually raise the temperature of the air because they require energy to operate. The reason they make you feel cooler is because they aid in the evaporation process of the sweat on your body.

I am sure that not all will agree with these statements, but they are not my opinion, they are laws of physics.

I like the idea.

Is there a company in Thailand that actually does this? I am aware I could engineer it myself and hire guys to install it, but I don't have the time right now to deal with it or the desire to supervise the process. Is there an actual company that makes a system like this and will install and maintain it for me?