 Amazing Appliance! |
| Review Date: July 8, 2010 |
| Reviewer: C. Lyles, |
Let me start off by stating the circumstance that inspired my purchasing this product. I live in Louisiana, which is one of the most humid states in the nation. The central air unit in the apartment I live in has a freon leak due to maintenance overflowing the compressor with it which lessens the amount of cool air it can release. The owner (landowner) does not want to front the funds to replace it, and naturally, with temperatures these days in the mid and high 90s, my apartment can get pretty hot. So, I started checking around for portable air conditioners when a friend suggested I do so, and I stumbled onto the product page for the SPT WA-7500M 7,500 BTU Portable AC with Manual Controls. After doing a little research, this item had pretty good reviews with a few lesser ones here and there. Taking a chance, I went ahead and bought it, and let me tell you, I don't regret it one bit!
SETUP
The SPT WA-7500M is very easy to get set up. All you have to do is connect the hose to the unit and to the window slider kit (which can be extended either horizontally or vertically depending on your window type). Be careful though, for what holds everything in place are small screws that if you drop accidentally can be very tedious to find. Next, place the filter into the unit, then you're ready to go!
OPERATION
Let me say that with it being 7500 BTUs, it can work effectively for a room no larger than 200 sq. ft. (where the room I have it in is about 150 sq. ft.). Any room larger than that, then you may want to consider purchasing one with a higher BTU rating. Otherwise, this product will do fine. It has three nobs which control various things, as well as four LED indicators that signal whether it has power (from the outlet), if fan operation is working, if cooling is turned on, and if the water tank (collects the moisture in the air as it cools the room) needs emptying. The three nobs control the thermostat, fan operation, and timer (where the max time is 8 hours). I set the thermostat to about one bar shy of its coolest setting, set the fan operation to low cool, and set the timer to 8 hours. It ran beautifully. I could feel the temperature in the room drop very steadily, and the room reached a very comfortable temperature for me in about three hours, which is fascinating since my central air cannot do that in 24! When the timer reached 8 hours, the unit shut down completely on its own. I did not have to turn any nobs or anything, for it handle that step itself.
Overall, I have had a great experience with this product. I recommend it to anyone who has a small room that you could use a cooling boost for added comfort. |
For what it is, I give it 5 stars
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| Review Date: July 31, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Fixup, North West Coast |
In comparison, my 500W window AC runs cooler, but this 620W portable is so much more convenient. In my area, we need an AC only for few days a year; it was a pain to mount/unmount the window AC in summer/winter. So this one is perfect here, just plug it to the power and window and we have a good night of sleep.
It uses only 620W (300W less energy consumption than other portable ACs in this class), so we set it to the lowest temperature and let it cool continuously. The noise level is acceptable; we place it on upstairs and can barely hear it downstairs. Ran it for 24 hours and no need to drain water. In case the light says the tank is full, don't drain the water too much as the water tank is used to cool down the machine for better efficiency. I also cover the hot hose with thick cloth.
During a heat wave, we start it in the morning with all windows closed and it keeps our house to 87F while the outside is 105F. Without this AC, temperature would be 91F even at downstairs, too high to stay with and upstairs would be simply baking. 87F is OK, especially for a day or two only. After the sun goes down, we still leave it on but open all the windows. This helps hugely on a heat wave in a otherwise cool area like Oregon vally. Hard to live without it. However, I think it is useless in a hot area like Texas.
The window mounting kit was missing, called SPT and a gentaman told me it would arrive in 3-5 days. What a customer support! While I'm waiting for the kit, I simply cut a hole on a small flat box and it works like a charm.
Unless your wife is a neat freak who asks you to unmount a window AC every winter, then don't buy a portable AC. The latter is significantly less cool than the former. But if you're as lucky as me and your area is not hot enough to worth a central AC, then you'd better get this. |
Works well!
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| Review Date: August 5, 2010 |
| Reviewer: RI_Mike, |
| I've never left Amazon feedback (only obligatory feedback for non-Amazon sellers), but I felt I should give my 2 cents for portable ACs, considering how much confusion is out there. I spent many hours researching portable ACs and so far I'm glad I chose this one. It's a no-frills portable, perfect for my 11x13 bedroom not only for its cooling/dehumidifying coverage but also because it includes a 51" window kit which nicely covers my 48" slider window, and, because my apartment complex rules do not allow window units, the "portable" nature of this unit is a must. It also weighs the same as a comparable window unit, and I have yet to need to do any draining despite continual usage during this humid New England summer. My only concern is whether it's going to last at least 5 years as I hope or if it doesn't last the summer. But so far so good! |
Portable air conditioner
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| Review Date: July 14, 2010 |
| Reviewer: jane, |
| Well, what can I say except that this is a well built machine, performing its magic in a hot room. |
works well
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| Review Date: June 16, 2008 |
| Reviewer: C. Brown, Evanston, IL United States |
I bought this unit to replace a window AC that is no longer allowed in our condo building. The primary purpose is to dehumidify our entire condo (only 850 square feet), so we are using this unit for a space larger than it is designed to cool. But, even so, it works well and it has a phenomenal Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) of 12.5, so you get 7500 BTU cooling for only 650 watts of power.
To respond to the previous review that rates this unit poorly, I'd like to go over the points that reviewer mentioned from my perspective...
1)drying the air - this unit will take the relative humidity in our condo down more than enough to make a muggy day comfortable indoors. If we turn the unit on early before the heat of the day, it will maintain the temp in our condo as it drys the air, not bad for a unit designed for a small room.
2)it must be drained of water - true, but most of the water it produces is evaporated over the heat exchanger and sent outside. A small amount of residual water is what you must empty and we find the unit will run for several days continuously before emptying is needed. A light indicates when the water tank is full. The drain is very low as the previous reviewer mentioned, so it is helpful to roll the unit to a stair-step so you have some clearance below it for the water to pour out. This is an inconvenience but unless you have trouble bending over, not a difficulty.
3)it has wheels that are small - yes, it may take effort to roll over a carpet (unit is 60 pounds) but no problem on hardwood floors.
4)hard to move, nothing to grip - haven't found this to be a problem. There are handles (one on each side) and anyone who is able to handle the weight should have no problem. No air conditioner is light and compared to wrestling with a window unit this model is a snap to move.
5)poor window exhaust seal - I don't understand this criticism. The unit comes with panels and a pre-cut hole for the exhaust hose. All fit together tightly to make a tight, rattle-free seal with no duct taping required. The panels allow a fit to any size double hung window.
The unit has two squirrel-cage fans, one for cool air, one for exhaust. The noise they produce is from rushing air, not motor noise so there is no annoying hum or buzz. There are only two fan speeds and they don't differ much. If I had my wish I'd want a slower speed available. The amount of air moved is great. I can sit in a chair twenty feet away from the unit in another room and feel the draft, so I use the unit as a fan when the cooling/dehumidifying isn't needed.
The exhaust hose will expand or contract to fit the length you need to reach the window from the back of the unit. There is a quick disconnect that snaps the hose into the unit, so you can quickly disconnect the hose if you need to move the unit for any reason. The hose screws into the plastic fittings at both ends so it won't pull apart on you.
The exhaust air to the outside is hot. As a result the hose will get warm. That warmth adds to room warmth and you don't want that heat in the room. I recommend wrapping some vinyl backed fiberglas insulation around the exhaust hose to keep the exhaust heat from the room you are cooling.
This unit has ONLY an exhaust hose. Without the intake hose of more expensive models, it must take room air and exhaust it outside. This means warm, humid air will be pulled into the room as a result. This lowers the cooling and dehumidifying efficiency but we haven't noticed this to be a problem.
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