Does anyone have any thoughts on these vs the LG 14K (10,000 BTU, DOE) Portable AC that were available a few weeks ago? I am wondering how the larger one here at 8700 Btu can do 750 sqft while the LG at 10k btu can only do 500.
It’s hard to tell, since they aren’t giving you legit De’Longhi model numbers (I can’t even find any EL390 series, just the EX390 series). The BTU ratings in DOE standards are different from raw BTU claims, so you need to know which units are in use to compare. (Quoting area rather than air volume is kinda silly anyway)
But given that there’s no Woot warranty and the refurbisher (“Refurbished Products Service Center” with a pic of the warranty page? Seriously?) makes you ship it at your expense for service and ticks off your remaining warranty time while it’s in their hands, I…just wouldn’t.
I bought a De’Longhi factory refurb from Costco with full Costco coverage, which included free return at any Costco (it’s worked fine).
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FWIW, DO NOT buy anything this heavy from Woot. I bought an LG last year that came in a single wall cardboard box. It had been packed with 1/4" styro foam sheets.
When I received it from UPS, it was damaged beyond words. The box was crushed on all the corners, it rattled
as I picked it up with loose broken bits of AC housing.
The foam was CRUSHED FLAT. I was surprised it didn’t leak out the freon.
Trying to get rid of the damn thing was a major pain with Woot.
They wanted me to re-package it, drop it off at UPS.
2 weeks later it finally got picked up after hours on the phone and emailing Woot. NEVER AGAIN.
I bought one May 2020 here the 8700 DOE BTU unit. Using it in my 1200 sq ft insulated garage. So it’s not really enough for the space, but It’s been working fine & keeps the temp to about 15-20 degrees cooler than outside. BUT uses lots of electricity! Pulls around 1200 watts when cooling. Here in Idaho lately, it’s been running 24/7 with our 100+ temps.
Energy - HA! I have a couple of these running 24/7 for the last month for my puppers in IL near IA. I got my electric bill, two days ago and it was over $300. For a frame of reference my electric for the entire year (normally) is around $1,000. I paused for a moment and thought “not even going to stress about it,” as anything I can do to have my pups be comfortable in this 100+, 100% humidity is well worth it. I have to be super careful with heat and my English bulldog and my aussie wears a thick black mink coat (he refuses to take it off 
), so … but I know that my fellow Wooters love their furry animal members and 100% understand.
Not a good deal. These are refurbished! Not factory refurbished either from the details.
Aldi had a 8000 BTU portable AC unit two weeks ago. Mine still has 6 of them. Great deal, nice unit and not too loud. We use ours in our pop-up camper. There’s some details on the Aldi reviewer page, but no actual review. Let me tell you, it works great. Two years of camping and it’s done a fine job so far. It’s also only $199 NEW!
PRICE DROP
Small Print: If you already purchased, that money will hop back into your pockets soonish.
I really don’t recommend using a portable ac unless you have no other choice. The efficiency of an ac is that it takes outside air/return air and turns it into cold air. These may exhaust 85% of the heat dispensation, but with it is sending inside air outside and eventually they have to start pulling in air from somewhere. They will cause the air outside to move in to equalize the pressure. https://youtu.be/_-mBeYC2KGc
I bought one of these several years ago (I’m sure it’s a different model, but a delonghi nonetheless) and had no issues. It’s cooling the room I’m in right now.
I bought one last year, and it performs great! I didn’t want a window unit…I wanted portability and this machine has wheels. I roll it around from one room to another, or from one side of a long, rectangular living room to the other side. It’s pretty quiet, gets cold fast, has lots of control options, and has a remote. I’m satisfied and not disappointed in this purchase. I say buy with confidence!
I bought the DeLonghi refurbished 700sq ft a few years ago from WOOT for our cabin and this year it’s been running on average 10hrs a day. Our place is an A-frame cabin with a 27ft ceiling at the top so the unit is covering much more than 700sq ft. As long as we start it before it gets 80° it does a great job of keeping us comfortable. The outside temp has been 95°+.
My June 8-July 7 electricity bill went up $45.00 and I was there running the a/c for 20 days during that billing cycle. I’m happy with my purchase.
Just say no. On top of the issues with this particular model, this style of portable air conditioner is inherently inefficient. It blows cooled air out your window, creating negative pressure in your house that pulls in hot outside air.
If you need a room air conditioner, the window-mount style is way more effective and efficient.
Your solution is not a one-size-fits-all solution. For example, I currently live in an apartment. I’m prohibited from installing a window unit. Would be nice if I could have a window unit. But, I’m in an apartment where that’s not an option.
Also, it’s much easier to move the unit from room to room, as needed.
“It blows cooled air out your window, creating negative pressure in your house that pulls in hot outside air.”
Unless you get a dual hose model.
But honestly your approach of “Just say no” alienates those that cannot use anything but a portable style unit, unless you want to convince my landlord to allow me to do so, I’ll say yes to a portable unit (mostly because I already have one).
I use a portable unit because I literally don’t have a window in my living room to put a window unit in. I have two sliding glass doors instead (it’s a converted walk-in basement apartment and the only window is in the bedroom) so I have to use a portable unit or I don’t get any air conditioning at all. My portable AC does a great job, and even kept my apartment cool during three days of intense heat where it got up to 117 degrees. The hottest day was a bit of a struggle but it did much better than I expected. I read locals posting that their places weren’t doing nearly as well as mine, even with central AC.
As others have pointed out, there are exceptions to your rule and people need to go with whatever their situation allows, even if it isn’t ideal. I appreciate you taking the time to offer advice, but I hope you’ll keep these examples in mind for future reference. Thank you.
Dear alien,
Actually, these units suck AND they blow. If the temperature of the air they suck is hotter and more humid than the air they blow… well… enjoy!
Now that you are (should be) armed with all this knowledge, you should be capable of convincing your landlord yourself!
This isn’t a dual hose unit, though, so that’s irrelevant.
True, they cool at most one house