8,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner - EdgeStar

Price : $349.00
You Save : $99.00 (28%)

Product Description

The EdgeStar 8,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner (PAC8000S) is an ultra-compact portable air conditioner that delivers a frigid blast of cold air and fits in almost any space. This compact portable air conditioner is stocked full of features. It is capable of cooling up to a 225 square foot room, while offering a dehumidifying function and three speed fan. The EdgeStar PAC8000S portable air conditioner is our value choice pick for those customers that are looking for a great price, but don't want to sacrifice quality or features in their purchasing decision. This EdgeStar portable air conditioner also has an adjustable 24 hour timer, so you can set it and forget it. This is a great unit for situations in which you need a stylish unit that provides powerful cooling and versatile operation. This portable air conditioner is environmental friendly and meets new RoHS standards. RoHS, also known as the lead-free directive, stands for Restriction of Hazardous Substances. The goal of RoHS is to restrict the amount of certain toxins in electronic and electrical equipment such as lead, mercury, and cadmium. This restriction lessens the harmful impact these toxins can have on the environment and allows for the safer disposal and recycling of electronics and electrical equipment.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 59 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B001THVNUO
• Item model number: PAC8000S
  

Product Features

• Cools 150 to 225 Square Feet (depends on heat load)
• 24 hour programmable timer, 3 speed fan with directional air discharge louvers
• Dehumidifier function- up to 71 pints per day, Adustable digital thermostat control
• Energy Requirements: 115 Volts / 60Hz; 7.9A; 840W
• Window kit (38" max) with extendable exhaust hose up to 49" included

 

8,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner - EdgeStar

 

Customer Reviews

Hello everyone!
Portable air conditioners work by taking the air from your room, cooling it, and blowing the hot air out through an exhaust hose attached to your window.
But blowing hot air to the outside creates negative pressure inside your room which, in turn, pulls in more hot air from the outside (the amount of air blown out is equal to the amount of air pulled in). It is kind of self defeating.
The portable air conditioner is able to cool your room as long as the air it exhausts is hotter than the hot air pulled in, then there is an overall cooling effect. But as the temperature outside increas, a small A/C unit may not have enough BTU to to cool the air enough to compensate the hot air being sucked in.
I made the mistake of using a traditional web based cooling calculator to estimate the amount of BTU's needed for a portable A/C. If I had read the web page more carefully I would have noticed that these BTU calculators are for window/wall mounted air conditioners. The major difference between a window A/C and a portable A/C is that the window unit has its heat exchange coils outside and does not create negative pressure in your room (in other words, the cold air in the room is not directly diluted by warm air being sucked in from the outside). Without the negative pressure, there is no hot air being pulled in, so the amount of BTUs needed to cool the room is much less. Of course, even with a window A/C, warm air still seeps into the room but at a lower rate.
I estimate that I would need at least 50% more BTU in a portable air conditioner than that shown in web based BTU calculator for my needs. So instead of the 8,000 BTU Koldfront unit, I should have gotten a 12,000 BTU portable air conditioner.
Note: some portables A/C have two hoses, one for the exhaust and one for the intake so they do not create negative pressure. These units are more effecient and the web based BTU calculator should apply.
Here are the key takeaways:
1. Unless you have a two hose model (which maintains neutral pressure in your room), these portable A/C units are inefficient and are more costly to operate than a conventional through the wall/window air conditioner.
2. If you can, try to get a two hose portable A/C unit. But if not, then you will probably need to increase the portable's BTUs by 50% (or 1.5x) when using a conventional web based BTU calculator. CompactAppliance tried to warn me but I didn't listen. What did you expect from a 13yr old? :-).
3. Do buy from a reputable dealer, such as CompactAppliance. They graciously accepted my return without any hassles. Be sure you always read the vendor's return policy (some have reasonable restocking fees but some won't take it back at all!)
I hope this was helpful.

So, I live in a studio. Not very big at all. You would think this air conditioner would be able to handle keeping it cool. Well, not so much.
Regardless of how low I set it, or how long I kept it running, it kept my studio at 78 degrees. It was actually a better deal to shut it off, open the windows/door and let the air circulate. It actually got cooler in there once I did that.
Moreover, the hose you connect to the window vent is an eye sore, and isn't flexible enough to let your place the unit somewhere convenient. So you end up having to leave the A/C unit in the middle of the room instead of neatly in a corner or against the wall because the vent hose doesn't allow otherwise.
This is pretty much the worse purchase I have made in a LONG time. Worse of all, it doesn't even make sense for me to return it. The seller charges as 12% "re-stocking fee". Moreover, I would need to carry the huge 70+lbs box up and down stairs to get it back to my work so UPS can pick it up. The box is very flimsy once you remove the nylon ribbons that it comes sealed with, and doesn't really allow you to transport it without spending some money on repackaging.
So yeah, I'm stuck with a $300 70+lbs paper weight. Good times.
[EDITED 07/30]: So I was contacted by the seller (CompactApplience) and their conclusion was that my studio was too big for the 8,000 BTU rating. They actually let me return just the A/C unit without having to worry about packing all the awkwardly-shaped pieces, and reimbursed me for everything, including shipping. Although I've decided NOT to try a different unit with a greater BTU rating, I'm leaving this review here so that hopefully people looking into buying this or any other unit are aware of the importance of considering the size of the room you're trying to cool down when you choose the unit BTU. I was remotely aware of that, but didn't look too much into it, and you saw what happened... Luckily for me, the seller handled the situation superbly well. A happy ending, after all. :)

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