Recommend for Portable Air Con. TRENDS good?

LMF2046

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Any recommendation for portable air con? Today saw at Carrefour selling a portable air con brand called "TRENDS" for SGD399 9,000BTU and SGD 599 for 14,00BTU. Anyone use this before?

Super hot recently....
 

ktee

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Portable is last choice if you can't:

1. install split unit
2. casement unit (quieter & wont take out precious space)

Portable is not portable as they need to modify your window to let the air-duct thru to get the hot air out. Like a washing machine with a duct to let out the water. Unless you make air-holes everywhere you want to port this air-cond. :)

New portable air-cond dont need to pour water as it uses water pump to pump water when it is full. However, salesman recommends to push the portable (dont topple it) to toilet & empty the water there to get the 'slime' out.

Car-for is selling Trends 9k at 399+45 (installation), 12K at 599+45 inst & 14K at 799 (incl installation). It takes about 2 weeks to get it done as current global warming weather spikes up the demand for air-cond.

I got the 14k btu portable (bigger set & stronger air) as i cant install casement due to my corridor facing room. The 12k & 9k use same blower & same size, only compressor is diff.

According to salesman, this air-cond is Singapore brand, made in china & using Toshiba compressor. Warranty is 5-yr compressor, 1 yr other part.

Guess this is the cheapest portable around. If u pay by posbank c.card, u get 5% rebate. You can opt for 0% installment but no 5% rebate.
 

xingkia

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Portable is last choice if you can't:

1. install split unit
2. casement unit (quieter & wont take out precious space)

Portable is not portable as they need to modify your window to let the air-duct thru to get the hot air out. Like a washing machine with a duct to let out the water. Unless you make air-holes everywhere you want to port this air-cond. :)

New portable air-cond dont need to pour water as it uses water pump to pump water when it is full. However, salesman recommends to push the portable (dont topple it) to toilet & empty the water there to get the 'slime' out.

Car-for is selling Trends 9k at 399+45 (installation), 12K at 599+45 inst & 14K at 799 (incl installation). It takes about 2 weeks to get it done as current global warming weather spikes up the demand for air-cond.

I got the 14k btu portable (bigger set & stronger air) as i cant install casement due to my corridor facing room. The 12k & 9k use same blower & same size, only compressor is diff.

According to salesman, this air-cond is Singapore brand, made in china & using Toshiba compressor. Warranty is 5-yr compressor, 1 yr other part.

Guess this is the cheapest portable around. If u pay by posbank c.card, u get 5% rebate. You can opt for 0% installment but no 5% rebate.

jus a qn, is portable aircon cold enough to cool the room? anyway where do u place the duct then?
 

ktee

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jus a qn, is portable aircon cold enough to cool the room? anyway where do u place the duct then?

It depends on the room size. I guess 14Kbtu will be able to cool a small room. I will get mine installed next tues. wait til then.

I will place the duct out thru the small top window of my window. They will put something to block the other open area. Will take pic & show u. ok. :)
 

Lancelot

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jus a qn, is portable aircon cold enough to cool the room? anyway where do u place the duct then?

13-14k BTU is sufficient to cool a 400sf room. The duct will expel air through the window, your installer will install a faceplate for the duct.
 

peacepc

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Hi, how is the result? I am wondering why need an installation if it is portable. Is there other brands?

Thanks
 

ktee

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Hi, how is the result? I am wondering why need an installation if it is portable. Is there other brands?

Thanks

It is portable but not totally portable cos you need installation for an outlet (a small oblong hole about 13cm in 'diameter', oblong-wise) for the hot air to gush out - else the room will be full of hot air! If you install such holes at every place which you intend to place the air-con, then it is v portable cos you can juz move it to any place in your house. If you can think of a way to suck out the hot air (eg. by gettin a long long long hose pipe which can reach any place in your hse), then it is super portable. can even place in your kitchen, toilet, corridor, car park :eek:, etc, etc. :s13:

There are other brands like carrier but trend is most cost effective (ie cheapest by btu).
 

ktee

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It depends on the room size. I guess 14Kbtu will be able to cool a small room. I will get mine installed next tues. wait til then.

I will place the duct out thru the small top window of my window. They will put something to block the other open area. Will take pic & show u. ok. :)

Sry pic not ready yet. will upload when done. :o

The guy came to do the installation did a very rough job. He only used the supplied Trends plastic faceplate & some plywood to make the structure. The installation was super fast <20min & he's done! However, there are gaps everywhere for cold air to leak out. I had to do many patchwork to make it good. Works that i did:

1. got silicon glue to seal all the gaps.
2. cut out the aluminium grill to make a hole big enough for the fat pipe to pass thru.
3. tightened the pipe+hole connecting point with screws so that it wont fall off due to the sheer weight of the tube & the fragile thin plastic faceplate that Trend supplies.
4. Put a wire net to cover the air-outlet hole to prevent bird, cat, rat, etc to sneak into the fat pipe!

The unit works as it should, ie cold enough for my room. Only drawback is it takes up some space & cld be noisy if you cant stand the noise. Initially, it is noisy, after a while, i got use to it as the noise is like an oscillating floor fan set to high mode. I dont sleep in the study/computer room, hence it is fine w me.

It is your tolerance to noise level which you need to consider before getting 1 set. If you are tolerable, then, this is the best choice after normal split & window/casement unit. :o
 
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Davidtzld

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i bought a 9k btu unit from trends to cool my small attached room after upgrading works... just delivered today...

The room is only about 8 by 9 ft which is around 72sq feet? but so far i`m not getting anywhere below 27 deg from the aircon unit display.

I figured out my door is not really tight and i can feel air rushing in from outside the room possibly due to air pressure.

Will get something from homefix tml to fix the problem and try again... Abit disappointing though... will also post picture on my setup soon.
 
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ktee

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Ok, pics ready!

The air-cond:

DSCF0188.jpg


The hose to the window grill:

DSCF0190.jpg


The connection - note the cut grill:

DSCF0189.jpg


The outside hole:

DSCF0187.jpg


ta ta! :o
 
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ktee

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i bought a 9k btu unit from trends to cool my small attached room after upgrading works... just delivered today...

The room is only about 8 by 9 ft which is around 72sq feet? but so far i`m not getting anywhere below 27 deg from the aircon unit display.

I figured out my door is not really tight and i can feel air rushing in from outside the room possibly due to air pressure.

Will get something from homefix tml to fix the problem and try again... Abit disappointing though... will also post picture on my setup soon.

David, my room is about 3mx3.5m. I only set the temp to 25 as it is cold enough for me since i let the air-cond face me directly. Imagine the cold air blowing directly at u. :) the temp also hover around 27degree but i hack care... as long as i m comfortable.
 

ktee

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thanks for the update info..

i called the trends ppl and they also ask me to put the aircon and blow at myself.. but the problem is i cant do that as the unit is behind my back on top of a ledge and the location just cant blow the air at myself.. Anway i find it amusing that i have to blow the unit at myself when i paid like 400 bucks for it..

The air that blows out is also not very cold when i set it at 16 deg as i previously had experience with a unit from my friends house... i`m arranging for trends to send down their technician.. hopefully smoething is wrong with my set so i can get an exchange if not it would be useless to me! = (

You shld get them to chk. Even if i set at 25deg, the air blown out is cold. I hv to shift the air-cond so that it doesnt blow directly at me otherwise it will be too cold.

Like i said, this is better than nothing. if u can hv other alternatives (eg upgrading from system 2 to system 3 or 4), drop this portable thingy! :o it is much quieter & more efficient.
 

zcjtv33

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zoo123

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Hi, what is power consumption for 14k btu portable air-com compare with normal split unit

air-com???

if this air-con ruuning 8 - 10 hours daily, how much would it be cost per month????
 
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aclexx79

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I just ordered my 12000 btu unit, was initially thinking to get the 9000 btu set, but am afraid it can't cool my room properly. It's about 4m by 5m.. Previously using sharp 7200 btu for about 3 years.. Some suggestions to improve cooling efficiency, place the unit on a table strong enough to withstand the weight of the unit, elevating will help to reduce he lenght of the exhaust pipe and also simulate those system aircons where usually the aircons are placed on a higher ground. Another method is to use curtains to cover light penetrating portions of windows, lastly the right btu for the right room size is important. Will update soon on my experience with the unit on tues. Cheer.
 

aclexx79

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i bought a 9k btu unit from trends to cool my small attached room after upgrading works... just delivered today...

The room is only about 8 by 9 ft which is around 72sq feet? but so far i`m not getting anywhere below 27 deg from the aircon unit display.

I figured out my door is not really tight and i can feel air rushing in from outside the room possibly due to air pressure.

Will get something from homefix tml to fix the problem and try again... Abit disappointing though... will also post picture on my setup soon.

hihi, btw, you mentioned that your room is 72 sq feet, that is equivalent to 6.6888 sqm, which is around 3m x 3m...i guess you will still feel cold with the air blowing at you.. :) the 27 degree usually is the temperature near the compressor.. try to keep your exhaust pipe as short as possible.. :)

check out this site.. http://www.air-conditioner-home.com/ac-btu-guide/
 

aclexx79

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the first aircon that i received broke down in about half an hour.. the fan stop blowing after a while, then i restarted the system hoping it will work.. to my dismall, still not moving.. called trends to ask for a replacement and the person told me to let the system rest for one day, told me that the coolant inside the system not stable yet.. :-( ... i told him i wanted a one for one replacement cos im going away and this might overshot the 7 days one to one exchange policy, the person keep trying to ask me to hang on to the set.

Finally, the replacement set came just a while ago, the technician tested my old set.. told me that inside was frozen.. come on.. how can that be??

im putting the set on now.. at lowest fan speed and at 25 degrees.. hopefully the motor can slowly run in .. and wont cause further problems.. fingers crossed and hopefully i make the right decision to get trends 12k btu($599) vs europace 12k btu($899)...

i rate their customer service at 3.5 / 5..
 

aclexx79

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used the aircon for one whole nite, rather cold... room temperature dropped to about 27 deg, i only activated the aircon temperature at 24 deg and fan speed at first lvl. Rather pleased with the function, only draw back is the sound is slightly louder than my first sharp unit.
 

aclexx79

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used the unit coming 2 weeks, noticed that there is a intermittent rummbling noice somewhere near the compressor.. dun know is it the evaporating system taking effect, or is it something wrong .. the rumbling will stop and the unit goes back to near quiet state, then start again..

overall still satisifed with the unit.. in terms of cost per BTU..
 
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