Advice on buying an air conditioner? I'm a girl, btw.

[Ferret Lady]

ha ha. ok, i told you I'd do it (adding the I'm a girl bit.. heh ..)

it's SO hot in my apartment that i can barely stand to be in here so i need to get an air conditioner so i can spend more time sitting infront of my computer and posting on DVX User. heh.

but i don't know what to look for and i was wondering if you guys have any advice? i'm thinking i'll buy a used one on craigslist and i'm willing to spend up to $200. i'd like something that's easy to maintain and i don't have to install. just something that sits in my living room and maybe i have to empty the water thing occasionally or whatever.. i dunno, i've never had one..

my place is pretty big, well by my terms anyways... i think the whole apartment is like 900 - 1000 sq ft, if my memory is correct..

so any advice guys?

[JConnors]

My neighbour/uncle has a portable one, thats a conditioner dehumidifier. It works pretty well and don't think it's too expensive.

And yeah, it has been hot as hell here the past couple of days.

What about mounting one in a window, is that an option?

[Ferret Lady]

ya i could mount one in my window i think but being a girl and all i wouldnt know the first thing about how to install it and would probably drop it out the window.. ha ha..

no but to serious, i just want one that can sit on the floor, like one of those up right portable ones.... i was in futureshop the other day and they had these but they were like $600. my friend bought a $200 one (it was new) and said it didnt work at all..

so... do you know how many btu's i need for my place?

[ugafan]

you want to look at two things. btu and seer rating. the higher the btu, the larger area the air conditioner will cover. the higher the seer rating, the more energy efficient the unit is.

as far as instillation goes, it will be much easier to get two small window units than a large one. unless you're helga from american gladiators, you won't be able to lift a large air conditioner by yourself.

also, if you get two small air conditioners you can place one in your bedroom and one in the living room. that way you can have a smaller air conditioner running in your room at night instead of a larger one for the entire house that consumes more energy. close doors to cool off the room and use fans when you want to circulate the air around the house.

[Mark Harris]

man, you are a girl. How hot does it get in BC? Seriously.

[Ferret Lady]

thanks ooga booga. :) very informative post... sadly i am not helga. so you're idea of two small ones is pretty good except i think i can only afford one right now.. buying that mac pro really set me back!

[Ferret Lady]

man, you are a girl. How hot does it get in BC? Seriously.

heh. it's 27 degrees celsius already today, and that's OUTside. my apartment is always way hotter than the weather outside... living on a second floor apartment SUCKS.

[Ferret Lady]

do you think 10,000 BTU is good for me?

[ugafan]

thanks ooga booga. :) very informative post... sadly i am not helga. so you're idea of two small ones is pretty good except i think i can only afford one right now.. buying that mac pro really set me back!

if you look around you can find one for $99.99. target and sears both have them.
if you're strapped for cash you could just get one for now.

but if you see a deal on craigslist for a bigger air conditioner you could go that route.

10,000 btu is too small to cool an entire apartment. it will sufficiently cool one area of your place, but won't be enough for the entire thing.

[Ferret Lady]

i'd settle for my living room being cool. i just measured my living room plus kitchen and it's about 21ft by 17ft. any recommendations for how many btu's this would need?

[SimonB]

Scratch,

Buy two small window units off of craigslist + 24 pack for two guy friends who will install it for you, and follow with a cool party with cold beer.

Problem solved?

[SimonB]

And to answer your question, a good 10k BTU will cool an area up to 500 sq. ft.

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/ele/777691753.html
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/ele/763745555.html

[Ferret Lady]

thanks simon. good suggestion... guys will do anything for free beer, right? heh.

[ryan brown]

thanks simon. good suggestion... guys will do anything for free beer, right? heh.

Alright... I've been quiet thus far... but now this is getting a little out of control. The power is being abused!

Ohh, who am I kidding. Guys will do anything for beer (or in my case, Vodka Tonic).:beer:

On a serious note, I'm going to agree with the norm that the window units are much more "proven" than the stand alone's. AND can be picked up a lot cheaper...

Out of curiosity, is AC not a standard in Canada apts? or is this just a rare case?

[Ferret Lady]

Alright... I've been quiet thus far... but now this is getting a little out of control. The power is being abused!

Ohh, who am I kidding. Guys will do anything for beer (or in my case, Vodka Tonic).:beer:

On a serious note, I'm going to agree with the norm that the window units are much more "proven" than the stand alone's. AND can be picked up a lot cheaper...

Out of curiosity, is AC not a standard in Canada apts? or is this just a rare case?

by the power of greyskull i command thee!!!!! ah ha.. sorry.

anyways. phh. as if every apartment in USA comes equipped with air conditioning! some got em, some don't. i'm sure most newer buildings do but i live in an older, 3 story walk up.

[Postmaster]

I´m in the same boat 32 and more Celsius the whole week.
And 8 workstations on 10 square meters.

Phew!

Here in Germany AC is a rare beast.
I had one of the transportable stand allone units and gave it back after 3 days.

Need energy like crazy, and has an hot air "exhaust hose" that you have to route out of the window - that thing allone almost heats more than the unit cools.

Get a window AC or two - sure te best bet.

Many greetings from the hot, sunny down south (Bavaria),

Frank

[HorseFilms]

guys will do anything for free beer, right? heh.

If you lived closer...:beer:

[Ferret Lady]

well i'm actually having trouble finding some guys to help me install a window one.

what do you think of this one i found on craigslist? the guy said he'd sell it to me for $300 and deliver it.

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/hsh/758901832.html

[Postmaster]

As I sayd, forget it.
The exhaust hose is heating like hell, your electricity bill will raise to obcene figures and it don´t cool verry well.

Just leving the fridge doore open would be cheaper and cooler :)

Get a window AC!

Frank

[Ferret Lady]

As I sayd, forget it.
The exhaust hose is heating like hell, your electricity bill will raise to obcene figures and it don´t cool verry well.

Just leving the fridge doore open would be cheaper and cooler :)

Get a window AC!

Frank

i dont care much about the electricity cuz that's included in my rent and even if it wasnt, it's only for a month or two... i NEED to cool down, i'm dying here, so it's worth the money!

but i dont get it. if i hang the exhaust hose out the window, doesnt that solve the problem? i could even make some sort of contraption for the window that has a hole in it to attach the hose too... (i've been known to be quite handy in my day..)

why won't this one work? i just really cant install a window one on my own and dont have any guy friends avalable now to help...

[ZazaCast]

but i dont get it. if i hang the exhaust hose out the window, doesnt that solve the problem? ...


Hanging your hose out the window will bring you nothing but trouble...trust me! :laugh::laugh:

[Postmaster]

I had a similar one and - leaving the hose problem aside - it just didn´t cool enough for my taste - but I was a Penguin in my last life - so who knows, it may work for you.

Good Luck, Frank

[Postmaster]

Hanging your hose out the window will bring you nothing but trouble...trust me! :laugh::laugh:

Bwahahaha! You are killing me LMAO!!!

Frank

[JConnors]

You know its supposed to cool down considerably tomorrow. Do you really need one, the summer is going to be over in like 4 weeks and temp will start going down to typical Vancouver degrees. I'd save the cash and just by a fan. That being said, I'm in my office all day with nice air conditioning and by the time I get home, my apt is nice in cool in the evening.

[Ferret Lady]

ya i saw that it might even rain this weekend. but basically i do this every year... i roast in my apartment, and i think god, i wish i had an air conditioner... but then i dont buy one because i just think hey, summer will be over soon enough, i'll just save my money.

i have a fan but its not cutting it. my apartment doesnt start to cool down till about 3am. it's so bad that i dont invite my friends over anymore cuz they just suffer so badly!!!

i always seem to feel hot when others are cold anyways so i think i will use it a lot, too.

[adkimery]

I lived an apartment one summer that got so hot the ice cubes in my freezer melted. No, I'm not exaggerating.

That doesn't help w/you buying an AC unit, but I can sympathize.

-A

[Ferret Lady]

I lived an apartment one summer that got so hot the ice cubes in my freezer melted. No, I'm not exaggerating.

That doesn't help w/you buying an AC unit, but I can sympathize.

-A

what?! no way. your freezer must have been broken man. cuz that seems impossible..

[adkimery]

what?! no way. your freezer must have been broken man. cuz that seems impossible..
The apartment was basically a converted attic w/o any insulation in the ceiling. During the day it got over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and that was just too hot for the not-so-new fridge.


-A

[Ferret Lady]

adkimery, that is insanity. i can't believe you are still alive to tell the tale!!!!

anyways, i decided to take your advice guys. which is rare for me. i'm very impulsive. ha ha. i did a bit more digging and found an air conditioner that goes in the window on craigslist and not only is it being delivered to me tomorrow, but the guy and his friend are gonna install it for me!!!! AND he said it's like 45,000 BTUS!!!

i'm really, really excited. he said my apartment will be a refridgerator. yes. YES...

[ugafan]

anyways, i decided to take your advice guys. which is rare for me. i'm very impulsive. ha ha. i did a bit more digging and found an air conditioner that goes in the window on craigslist and not only is it being delivered to me tomorrow, but the guy and his friend are gonna install it for me!!!! AND he said it's like 45,000 BTUS!!!


i hate to be the bearer of bad news, but i think he is either lying or is misinformed about the size of the air conditioner. they don't sell window units that big in the south and summers are a lot hotter here than they are in canada. secondly, if the air conditioner is that big, you will need a dedicated 230 volt outlet. that means someone will have to do electrical work. if it's an apartment, you need permission from the landlord for that type of thing. i hope it does work out for you, i just have some concerns.

[Ferret Lady]

my bad! i just re-read his email and he actually said the btu's are somewhere in the 25,000 - 40,000 range.

better?

[ugafan]

a 25,000 btu air conditioner is still a beast and will not fit in all windows. if you have large windows, that's not a problem. just make sure it he is able to hook it up before you pay him. :)

[Ferret Lady]

a 25,000 btu air conditioner is still a beast and will not fit in all windows. if you have large windows, that's not a problem. just make sure it he is able to hook it up before you pay him. :)

thank you for the advice. i actually never would have thought of the electrical side of it so i'll be sure to bring that up with him tomorrow.

i did, however, make sure to ask him how big my window had to be, and gave him the measurements of mine. looks like it's gonna fit no problem, and he says he thinks my window is the same size as the one it's in now, so he might even be able to give me the glass (or plexiglass, whatev) thing to fill in the empty space when it's installed.

and ya does sound like a beast. he said it weighs like 150 pounds! i keep having visions of them dropping it on someones head when installing it... man that would suck... but seriously, i don't know how to fasten something that heavy to the side of a buliding and keep it secure.. but i guess he'll know... i'm slightly nervous!