Recommendations for a Portable Air Cooler

[Kirano]

Hi ya'll.

Might anyone be able to recommend a good, portable, not bank breaking and most of all, effective, air cooler?

The summer sun, (which blazes through my window 11am to sunset) combined with my 4870X2 is making my room a little unbearable to work/game/sleep in. Frustratingly, once my room gets hot, it tends to stay hot, unless there is a howling, frosty gale blowing outside. More frustratingly, the higher the ambient temperature, the higher I have to set the 4870X2's fan speed to keep it at reasonable temps (I usually aim for below 75 degrees C) and past 50%, it sounds like a jet engine.

I bought an air cooler about a fortnight ago (The 'Portable Air Cooler Fan Unit', manufactured by 'Kool') but I'm in the process of trying to send it back. Though it apparently can cool down to 2-3 degrees C when you add in icepacks (which I have tried) its basically just an oversized fan, which feels cooling when you stand in front of it, but isn't actually cooling on the larger scale and in the longer term...

Any suggestions will be greatly appreaciated...

[peterb]

This has been 'aired' before. Basically you are only going to get a true cooling - that is a real lowering of the ambient temperature - by using an air conditioning unit. Basically does what your 'Kool' unit does but using the same technology as a refridgerator to cool the room.

As it is effectively a heat pump (pumping out out of the room, the other end of the unit, where the heat is exhausted - needs to be outside the space being cooled, otherwise the heat just goes back into the room, plus the heat generated by the unit itself. It might feel cool standing in front of it, and you could blow the stream of cold air over the computer, but ultimately you are only achieving a short term gain.

So you could try that, but if you are serious about cooling the room, you need to be looking at a split unit. B&Q sometims sell them for DIY use and will probably be as cheap as anywhere.

Just had a look at the B&Q units - looks as if they are all in one - so the warm air has to be ducted away.

there are some DIY split units here:

http://www.cooleasy.co.uk/product_quick_connector.htm

and here

http://www.vyair.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idProduct=26

The other option is to improve the cooling onyour computer. Again you have the same problem in that the heat generated hs to be exhausted to the outside, but (depending on the aspect of your room) you could install watercooling, with the radiator mounted remotely.yolu could duct cooler air into the fan intakes from a cooler room using felixible ducting sold for tumble drier exhausts. I don't know how easy or effective it woul be, but it might be worth a bit of experimentation before you go spend a couplke of hundred pounds (or more) on an aircon system.

[scaryjim]

Ideally, your best bet is a portable air con unit - I have a slightly older version of this B&Q model coupled with some extensible ducting - the stuff peterb was talking about would work fine - to exhaust the air through an open window / door / other aperture (ideally you'd want a hole in an external wall the exact diameter of your exhaust pipe, but that might be taking things to extremes ). Portable air-con units should have a short flexible hose on the back already for just this purpose, and at that point it's just a question of extending that hose to ensure it vents outside the room.

I suggest a portable unit simply because it's more flexible - in a particularly hot summer there's nothing like being able to cool the living room down during the day when you're sat watching tv / DVDs, then being able to cool the bedroom down in the evening too!

[Kirano]

Thanks for your recommendations peterb and scaryjim! I can see how the ones you've suggested would work much better. In theory the one I have now (and will shortly be sending back) is supposed to absorb the heat from the air into a tank of water but from the fact that its not cooling the room down, it's obviously not working. A heat pump system would seem the way forward.

I think it would definitely be a pipe out the window job, rather than bashing a hole through the exterior wall (I've done it before. It tooks hours and was by no means fun!) A portable unit would also be ideal for the exact reasons you've suggested scaryjim! Extending the pipe shouldn't be too much trouble. I imagine that vacuum pipes might be of a similar size (?!?) and I know there's a broken vaccuum cleaner in my garage just waiting to be put to good use!
Money is becoming a bit of a premium now. My expenses are racking up. My room needs redecorating, the carpet is falling apart, my desk was fine when I was 12 and my chair is great if i don't have to sit in it! It's not going to be a pretty month for my bank account! I'll have to hunt around to try and find some cheaper models. Though I may just have to suck it up and accept that the money set aside for an Xbox 360 with Halo Reach, will need to go on an air conditioner.

When it comes to the cooling of the computer, I think the fans do the job ok. The problem is, my computer is currently sat on a chest of drawers about a foot to the right of my face so there is a direct line between jet engine graphics card and my ear! When I rearrange stuff and get my new desk, the computer can go underneath it and I've observed before that will absorb a lot of the sound... It will of course also trap the heat underneath the desk so thinking about it maybe liquid cooling with the radiator venting the heat somewhere more open would be a good bet. Thinking about it, I have a few extension cables spare... couldn't i just run it over to the bathroom, turn the shower down to cold and cool it that way... that would work too right?

[Barrichello]

http://forums.hexus.net/general-disc...ditioners.html

[scaryjim]

... I imagine that vacuum pipes might be of a similar size (?!?) ...

Good Lord no! The pipes for venting portable air-cons (and, indeed, tumble driers) are much larger than vacuum cleaner hose. Like I said though, any hardware shop should carry something similar - possibly as tumble drier hose, or more likely as kitchen extractor hood hose. It's generally a very thin plastic - similar to heavy duty rubbish bags (the ones designed for rubble / hardcore) - supported by a spiral of medium-gauge wire to hold the shape. The spiral also means it will extend and contract as required.

A linky may be easier - you're looking for something like this

[peterb]

As scaryjim says. The trouble with venting out of an open window is that you are letting more warm air in - but cutting a 110 mm hole in a wall isn't much fun without a hole saw. However that would be your cheapest solution. The split units are probably more effective, and only require two smaller holes to be drilled - but then you need to mount the condensor unit outside on a wall - and they are more expensive.

This is a recurring problem, ads the link Barrichello posted shows! Given the weather forecast this evening, the problem may soon diminish - at least for a while!

[directhex]

As scaryjim says. The trouble with venting out of an open window is that you are letting more warm air in

Mine came with a big foam cutout to put in the window gap

[Kirano]

Thanks for your links and advice Hexusians. I've just realised actually that as well as windows, I have an air vent in my room. It's closed up at the moment and I suspect, if I found the right air con unit and with a little fiddling it could be adjusted to suit the purpose. I certainly shouldn't have to bust any new holes in the wall, but it would be a fixed unit, so I'd lose the portability side of it. Though as you say peterb...

Given the weather forecast this evening, the problem may soon diminish - at least for a while!

I think the thing is, the british weather is hardly hot for more than few months of the year so it may be that this venture will prove to be more expensive and time/effort than it's actually worth Of course, these air vents are actually in most of the rooms in the house. If I found a relatively cheap but effective way of setting up these air con units, I'd imagine it might put the sale value of the house up. If it puts it up more than the cost of the air con units and the fitting, then it would definitely be worthwhile... Any thoughts?

[listy]

scan normally have one in today only when it gets closer to the summer ranges from 140 to 200quid

mate has one of them but never asked him how hes gets on with it mind

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Cool-...w-System-COOL!

^^ link dont work for some reason but quick find code (link should work now)

LN18450

[TooNice]

"Portable" is being used quite loosely to describe those AC. I was going to get one of them, until I realised that they tend to weight 30-45kg. Do check if you can move that sort of weight between where you intend to use them without breaking your back (think stairs).

[directhex]

"Portable" is being used quite loosely to describe those AC. I was going to get one of them, until I realised that they tend to weight 30-45kg. Do check if you can move that sort of weight between where you intend to use them without breaking your back (think stairs).

If it's not bolted down, it's portable!

[jim]

If it's not bolted down, it's portable!

True.

[oolon]

The power rating of the units peterb listed means the need to be on there own circuit, which means the power needs to be installed by a professional. All save the smallest one which had the power rating of a kettle (think or the cost). I had builders cut a hole in the wall for my portable aircon unit, they used a BIG hole saw to cut out a nice circular hole. An open window lets warm air back in and is not secure when you are out. My aircon unit also has an extractor fan option which is good enough for all but a month or two in the year. My unit takes 1kw on cool and 80w on extractor fan.

[roorooroo]

I have a portable air conditioner..i've cut a hole in my computer room door and stuck the hose in there..opened the window outside the room and vent the hot air out that way. When i'm not using it i use the end cover i got with the hose to block up the hole in the door..lol.