Split portable air conditioners for home use

[CharlieFar]

Hi, I am a newbie to air conditioners and have come across some used split portable air conditioners on Ebay, which I am interested in - but I see that you cannot buy a normal sized split portable air conditioner anywhere in the world (as far as I can find by Googling) any more - all I have found are 'mini' units for campervans and RVs. Are residential split portable air conditioners unreliable, or is there some other reason why they aren't manufactured any more? I've found UK companies selling split portable air conditioners for commercial use, but they are 7Kw units and cost over £4,000! I just wondered if anybody knows why the residential type split units are no longer made.

[Brian_UK]

Very limited market for portable split units in the UK for private home users.

The commercial units are generally used when a fixed system is shut down for some reason but cooling is still required.

[CharlieFar]

Thank you for your reply, Brian_UK. I was wondering if there was any reason I should avoid buying one of these units that are secondhand on Ebay - i.e. a design flaw which meant people don't want them for home use. I presume they are more efficient than conventional portable air conditioners, and don't cause negative pressure in the room they are used in (which I believe brings in warmer air from the rest of the house, which then has to be cooled down, since the air conditioner is constantly pushing air out of the hose which has to come from in the room that's being cooled.)

[Brian_UK]

From your second post I can see that you are not looking at a 'split' portable just a simply air cooled portable unit. Those are still sold.

Commercial unitsare also a lot noiser than a domestic unit, so don't try and watch TV at the same time. ;)

[CharlieFar]

Hi Brian, no, it's a split unit with a 2m long umbilical cord between the inside unit and the outside box. It's a 'Mizushi 10 split system'. I'm interested in whether it is more efficient than a conventional portable air conditioner that uses a hose to expel hot air. The Mizushi 10 doesn't use a hose, so it isn't expelling any air from the room you are cooling, which means no air from other parts of the house is being pulled into that room (and normally it would be warmer air which then has to be cooled down as well).

[Brian_UK]

Okay, the one you are looking at will be better than a hose condenser model.

You will still need an open window or door to allow the connecting tubing although it's more of a 'gap' than an 'opening' for a 100mm diameter hose.
Also it should be a little quieter as one of the fans, the condenser, is now outside of the room being cooled.

[CharlieFar]

Thanks a lot, Brian, that's what I wanted to know, I thought it would be better than the normal hose models.