Tangentially related, but how do you find portable ACs that work reasonably and reliably? I always found it so hard to search for them because it always seems like the reviews on these are difficult to trust. I've had at least one bad experience with one of them (single-hose) where it would just blow warm humid air sometimes, which was strictly worse than not running it at all. (At least something that might cool the air nearby consistently would be something useful, even if it can't cool the whole room.) I realize single-hose is probably a bad idea but somehow I don't have much faith in dual-hose either.
Thanks! I did look at Wirecutter actually, but for example the Amazon reviews for LG LP1419IVSM appear a little scary -- average 3.5/5, with 20% of them being 1/5. Have you actually had good experience with portable ACs from Wirecutter recommendations, or did you just recommend them in general?
I hate wasting window space with AC units and did a ton of research this spring while looking at portable ACs. I had the same concerns about the reviews for that LG model, but my conclusion was that most of the negative ones were for issues people ran into right away. Some serious issues, certainly, but maybe more of a quality control problem than a reflection of the performance of a typical unit.
I chanced it and figured I could return it if I got a lemon. On specs alone it’s clearly the most compelling portable on the market right now, and it has turned out to be a really great machine. The past few weeks have been brutally hot in NYC and it has kept our entire apartment very comfortable. With the variable compressor it can run super quietly, and it uses about as much electricity as the two window units it replaced. Freeing up two windows also means we can leave it off more often, which I prefer anyway.
I bought it and it broke within days, wasn’t motivated to go through all the support hoops. It wasn’t very cool even when working. Ended up getting a Fujitsu and it works well. Feels like a product segment ripe for better products to be fair, every model has mixed reviews and none seem well designed.
I don't know about portable, but FWIW the Wirecutter window AC reviews don't match my experience at all. They say that Friedrich is louder than LG, which I know to be false because I have one of each running in adjacent rooms.
It seems to me that portable units are all kind of equally meh. Seem to be about 50% as good as a window unit (which is about 50% as good as a mini-split or whole-home AC in my opinion). The dual-hose units don't seem to be a whole lot better than the single-hose units, honestly. Considering getting someone to professionally install a mini-split in my apartment to replace two portable units (1hose and 2hose).
I have a dual-hose version that looks very similar to OP's. I use it on-and-off when it gets hots. It can keep a poorly insulated bedroom cool, or two rooms bearable. It's loud to the point that I worry slightly about hearing damage if I sleep with it running, but as an AC, it's worked for several years.
