Before buying this unit , I did lots and lots of research. Consensus seems to be that you need about 40% more BTUs for a portable air conditioner than for a window AC and about an additional 10% more in BTUs if room gets lots of sun. I think this is why so many posters on many portable AC reviews(all brands)complain of lack of cooling. They buy units that are too small because they base it on the BTUS needed for window units. You can use a search engine to get guidelines for size or AC needed. I use this Sunpentown 1010E in a 275 square foot room that gets lots of afternoon sun. It cools very well with a strong air flow. No matter what you buy, look for cubic feet per minute air output. More air flow , more cool air. This one is 276 cubic feet per minute, which is more flow than many of the others of its size.
The foam insulation for this unit is ugly looking but it does seem to fill up the gaps in the window space so no air seems to get in or out. I keep the hose straight and as short as possible(it accordian folds to shorter length)so that hot air exits quickly and there is less heat reintroduced into the room.
Re ugly foam:You can also go to a store that sells and cuts plexiglass to window opening size and have them cut a circle to vent the hose(pricey because cutting a circle is expensive- for the circle and per straight cut for the plexiglass edge). Gives a nicer look tho than the foam insulation! Someone else on another website recommended Formular(see corning website) pink foam insulation board that you can cut with exacto knife to fit the window and a hole for the hose. Dow also has similar insulation board--there is one that is foam board and one that is styrofoam. I got the foam board because it is more rigid and because it has a moisture resistent coating. Remember that it will be exposed to the outside of the house and might get some rainwater/sprinkler water on it. Also, the foam comes in large sheets(96" high and 48"wide). I brought a box cutter to score/ cut it down to fit in my car. Used a six inch wide piece in my sliding glass door. Traced the inner circle of the exhaust nozzle
and used box cutter to make cuts around the circle and punched the circle out. I fit the hose through the hole and then attached the nozzle on the other side to keep hose in place.
I see Sunpentown also separately sells a metal sliding window insert with hole(other companies include it for free). Not sure if it is for this model or not. They have a website and very helpful customer service. I called them with questions twice before I bought.
I live in a dry area so I never have had to drain water. The machine also uses air condensation to cool the ac coils further so it is very energy efficient with great air floor and cools very well. Very, very quiet. I compared all portable acs in 9000 to 10000 BTU range to find the one with lowest watts consumed and this one draws only 873W / 8.15A. I have 15 amp breakers and didn't want to cause tripping or overheating of wiring. Would have gone for 12000BTUs if I had 20 amp breakers since I have very sunny room. Cools well and better if you start it earlier in the day when not at highest heat of the day so it doesn't have to work so hard(true for any ac actually) and will work more efficiently
Additional notes:All portable acs have non-insulated hoses, you can wrap them with insulation to reduce the amount of heat regenerated into the room.Also, the unit and hose should not be in the direct sun.
SPT WA-1010E 10,000-BTU Portable Air Conditioner with Remote Control Feature
- Portable 10,000-BTU air conditioner for rooms up to 300 square feet
- 38-pint dehumidifier in AC mode; self-evaporating system; 3-1/5-pint water tank
- Digital thermostat with remote control; 2 fan speeds; 11.45 EER
- 62- to 90-degree F thermostat; 12-hour timer; washable air filter; carbon filter
- Measures 16 by 15 by 30 inches; 1-year limited warranty
SPT WA-1010E 10,000-BTU Portable Air Conditioner with Remote Control Overview
Stay COOL and breathe fresher air with our WA-1010 units. Enjoy a comfortable year-round environment with an air conditioner unit. Cooling, dehumidifying and fan features all in one. Powered by a 10,000btu cooling capacity, it ideally cools or heats an area up to 300sq.ft. Uses new UL required LCDI, Leakage-Current Detection and Interruption, plug. Self Evaporating Technology during the cooling or heating process, water is extracted from the air into the unit. Most of this water is then recycled and used to cool the cooling coils and make it run more efficiently, cooling as well as energy. Exhaust hose installation required and all standard accessories included.
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Customer Reviews
Poor at drying the air & very cumbersome to move - Alesia -
We have the WA-1220M model of this product (virtually identical). If you stand right in front on it, up to about 5 feet away, it's nice. However, it has several drawbacks:
1. It isn't very good at drying the air; evaporation is needed for effective air-conditioning (whether in your car or your home).
2. It must be drained of the water it does pull from the air, and draining the unit is very cumbersome. It comes with a small flexible plastic tube that has to be connected to the rear bottom of the unit; the other end must be lower in order to drain or the unit really does very little and although there's an indicator light that will come on if the unit is quite full of water, it's very rare that the light comes on (and it only does so LONG after the unit has stopped cooling the air). We have taken to wrapping a large towel around the far end of the tube to collect water that drains, but basically you must tilt the heavy unit backwards to try to drain it. This is not particularly effective but it must be done.
3. It has wheels, but it doesn't roll easily (it's hard to push or pull it in a straight line and the wheels are so small even getting over a low rug is difficult.
4. Moving the unit up or down a single step can be accomplished by one person but since the entire unit is made of very smooth, slippery plastic (it has handles but they're very shallow & not helpful), it's more safely accomplished with two people.
5. Consider that this unit, while mobile, sacrifices a good window seal. The large exhaust hose (which pumps the hot air outside) resembles a telescoping dryer hose that easily falls out of the backside of the unit and is awkward to extend evenly. The unit comes with a smallish piece of foam with a cutout hole for the hose. However, you are left with having to find some way to block the rest of whatever window you choose to put the hole into. We use a large carboard box panel and cut a hole out of, then duct-tape the box into the window opening to block out air seepage. As you can imagine, it looks pretty tacky.
We wouldn't buy this again.
Poor at drying the air & very cumbersome to move - Alesia -
We have the WA-1220M model of this product (virtually identical but not RC). If you stand right in front on it, up to about 5 feet away, it's nice. However, it has several drawbacks:
1. It isn't very good at drying the air; evaporation is needed for effective air-conditioning (whether in your car or your home).
2. It must be drained of the water it does pull from the air, and draining the unit is very cumbersome. It comes with a small flexible plastic tube that has to be connected to the rear bottom of the unit; the other end must be lower in order to drain or the unit really does very little and although there's an indicator light that will come on if the unit is quite full of water, it's very rare that the light comes on (and it only does so LONG after the unit has stopped cooling the air). We have taken to wrapping a large towel around the far end of the tube to collect water that drains, but basically you must tilt the heavy unit backwards to try to drain it. This is not particularly effective but it must be done.
3. It has wheels, but it doesn't roll easily (it's hard to push or pull it in a straight line and the wheels are so small even getting over a low rug is difficult.
4. Moving the unit up or down a single step can be accomplished by one person but since the entire unit is made of very smooth, slippery plastic (it has handles but they're very shallow & not helpful), it's more safely accomplished with two people.
5. Consider that this unit, while mobile, sacrifices a good window seal. The large exhaust hose (which pumps the hot air outside) resembles a telescoping dryer hose that easily falls out of the backside of the unit and is awkward to extend evenly. The unit comes with a smallish piece of foam with a cutout hole for the hose. However, you are left with having to find some way to block the rest of whatever window you choose to put the hole into. We use a large carboard box panel and cut a hole out of, then duct-tape the box into the window opening to block out air seepage. As you can imagine, it looks pretty tacky.
We wouldn't buy this again.
A terrible waste of money!!! - Michael Timo -
I've had one for a couple of months, and am VERY disappointed with it. It puts out cool air, but definitely not cold air... Consequently, at best, it can get my bedroom down 10-15 degrees in temp, after several hours of running full blast. (Note that I quickly gave up trying to use it in my livingroom, where it would make almost no detectable change in room temp...)
A MUCH better choice I think would be to go with a std window unit (albeit it would be more difficult to install). It would work much better, and be much less expensive as well!!!
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Mar 07, 2010 07:01:35
