ARC-12SD

We read many reviews before deciding on this unit to cool my wife's studio, a 16x24 barn style building on our property (with 18' rounded barn style ceilings). It's a larger area, so we were looking for a unit with at least 12,000btu power. I toyed with the idea of getting a 240v unit, since I did run 240v power out there when we built it (we use a 240v garage heater for heat in the winter). We decided on this one because of the price-to-performance-to-ratings ratio (which isn't an actual mathematic ratio, but you get the gist). We were happy that ours arrived undamaged and complete. I had a very specialized installation, since this building has no windows that open (more on that later). After install, we powered the unit up and it began cooling the place down. The real test was a couple days later when my wife had a photo shoot with clients in there... I went and checked it out for myself and was very satisfied with the cooling! The space was very comfortable, even on a sunny, hot, muggy (70º dew point) day. It does make a bit more noise than we'd like for this space, but for the comfort of air conditioning, we're willing to make a sacrifice. It hasn't been in service for but a week now, but thus far it is everything we were hoping for. Now for my installation... If you have windows that open (double or single hung style), this install is super easy. For any other type of window, or, in our case, an installation without operable windows, the installation gets a bit trickier. I had planned this out in my mind beforehand and knew exactly what I was going to do: cut 2 holes (for the intake and exhaust) through the side of the building and install the hose mounting plate directly onto the wall. - I started by tracing the 2 holes to be cut by placing the hose plate on the wall. Quick cuts with the Dremel and I had 2 holes through the shiplap wall covering and drywall. - I then cut out the insulation to match the holes made on the interior. - I then marked center on the holes and drilled a small hole through the back of the exterior siding from inside the building. Moving to the outside of the building, and using the mounting plate as a guide again, I traced 2 circles on the exterior siding and cut out those holes, so I now had 2 holes all the way through the exterior wall. - To install the mounting plate on the interior, I actually *reversed* it, so it sits flush against the wall, and the mounting adapters for the hoses are attached with screws from the back side of the plate. To attach to the wall, I simply drilled and countersunk 6 new holes and used flat head screws. (For winter I will remove the plate, remove the hose adapters, replace the insulation, reinstall the bare plate without the hose fixtures, and then use the included hole cover piece to hide the holes and make it look a lot cleaner.) - For the exterior, I bought two 4" dryer vent kits, which come with sheet metal sleeves to install through the wall. Since the holes for this unit are larger than 4", I simply left the sleeves un-hooked and set them in the holes. They'll just help keep the insulation tucked where it's supposed to be, but aren't absolutely necessary. I decided on a flat louvered vent for the exhaust and an open-style angled vent (with critter guard) for the intake. I lined them up with the holes on the exterior and screwed them in to place. - *** Many have expressed concern with how close the exhaust and intake ports are to each other. I agree with their assessment (that they should be separated more, so you don't pull in hot exhaust air constantly), so I angled my intake away from the exhaust port. Looks a bit goofy, but this is on an unused, unseen side of the building. Even if people were to see it all the time, I'd rather have a slight visual quirk than be constantly overworking the AC. - Caulked around the newly installed vents to prevent water intrusion into the wall, and DONE! We now have a comfortable studio at a fraction of the cost of a mini combo unit. Very happy with the performance and quality thus far!

I purchased this unit to supplement the central AC in a ~150ft² home office with generous eastern/southern exposure and a vaulted ceiling. It has performed adequately in this role for about a month with average highs of 105F in TX. It does not perform as well as a 12,000 BTU window unit I have in another room (which can refrigerate some 300ft² down to 65F with ease), but I was not expecting it to. It has been able to cool the office to about 75F easily enough. I use the remote exclusively; I have not used the controls on the unit. I have found the timer function helpful, although I wish it were more sophisticated: it will count down to deactivation when running or count down to activation when off. The remote also sends commands based on its sense of the state of the unit (a mild inconvenience); for example, if you set timer then after it turns on wish to adjust the unit, the remote will be sitting in "timer" mode and it will take two (or more) button presses to get the unit to adjust to your preference. This unit is not quiet, but I do not find it excessively noisy, either. The blower generates what is effectively white noise and is louder than the hum of the compressor. You will notice when the compressor shuts off, but the unit will not be much quieter. It's not as bad as the vibration that window units tend to produce and transmit to the structure of the house. Thus far, I have not had any issue with the condensation collector - the unit appears to be recycling condensation onto the hot coils as advertised. Installation was a fairly straightforward process - I unpacked the unit from its fairly sturdy packaging and followed the instructions. I had to modify the vent plate because the window opening was approx 16" - too narrow for the included plate in stock form. A few minutes with a hacksaw and a miter box chopped it down to size - not terribly neat, but sufficient for its function. After the plate was modified I installed the hose connectors and taped it in place with generous amounts of duct tape. Coupling the hoses to the connectors was simple enough if one exercised care to "thread" them properly. It blew satisfyingly cold as soon as I fired it up. The nature of the hoses makes it difficult to situate the unit directly in front of the window. I wanted it off to the side, so that was not a problem. The hoses will get nearly hot to the touch, which is expected for the hot side of an air conditioning unit. I used the bottom of the shipping crate as a baffle to isolate the hoses from the intake. This unit will benefit from some improvements. I will fabricate a better vent plate next season that seals up better and leaks less heat. I also intend to us some rigid piping for the hot side, either insulated or with a better baffle to isolate the intake from the outside exchange piping. I may also build a small stand in case I find that condensation starts to collect in the drip pan.

Works perfectly. Only small complaint is that the valve to drain excess water is in the dumbest place, right at floor level, so that it's virtually impossible to drain it without spilling water on the floor.

An excellent air conditioner and easy to use the remote control. 11,000 BTUs is the perfect strength and the size of the air conditioner is not cumbersome for my apartment.

So far it seems to work well! The summer will be the real test though? As far as removing the hoses as one person complained about, I found all you have to do is firmly grip and rotate the hose coupler and that will push the tabs back, then wiggle it out! Very easy! I don't know why that is not in the instructions? As far as delivery, UPS did a great job, no damage to box at all!!! Update: I stand corrected, it does say in the manual to twist connectors to remove at the bottom of page 15 of the manual! A little hard to find though?

- There are many unheard of brands of portable ACs that you will see on Amazon, but in my opinion all these are just products that are made in china (nothing wrong with that) and sold in north america by small businesses in the US, that imports these products puts their name on it, and sell it to us! - I think these products that have reps only in the US should not be sold in Canada! - The problem with this is that these small businesses can not support their own product compared to well established brands that have service centers around the globe. Businesses that you don't know even where they are located, and at most they only have a phone number and sometimes only email. - For example, I figured after buying it that I am responsible for paying the shipping fees to the US if it broke I mean, even if it within the warranty period. So paying almost 600 dollars for this unit, plus shipping of around 300 dollars is just not worth the trouble! Now, talking about the AC itself, I can confirm that my window unit of 5000 BTU produced the same if not better amount of cool air. Add to that the portable ACs are known to be noisy. And I read many reviews of water leaking problems, I haven't used mine long enough to confirm this. If you can install a window unit then just go with that, but if that is not possible, and you don't mind spending a couple of hundreds knowing that it may not be worth it, then go ahead and try to find yourself a good one! It is like gambling but who knows it may work for you! My final advice, if you must buy one then at least, buy a well-known brand that has a service center in Canada!

Not pleased with the hose attachment. Mine broke trying to get hose off window...hoses are very short.