portable AC/heat

[Dan-o]

I am considering buying a portable AC/heating unit for my 400 sq ft shop. Any recommendations on brands to consider or to not consider? thanks in advance.

[Howard]

I just purchased a Fujitronic FA 1300 portable AC unit. My shop is a very well insulated loft. My home is part of a homeowners association that prohibits window and thru the wall units, so a portable with two 5 inch ducts complies.

I have found that I need very little heat in winter (Philadelphia weather) because the lights, dust collector and motors add significant heat. Conversely my cooling load is substantial, which is why I went with a dual tube 13,000 btu/hr unit.

I've had the unit about a month and it works well. I keep a eye on the dust filter and expect to have to blow out the coils periodically although not yet. The unit does cool well. Before the unit I could not work in the loft in the summer. Now it has been used almost daily.

I purchased my unit from the brilliant store based on price plus shipping, no other experience, but the transaction was fine.

[Joseph Connors]

What size is your loft? How do you exhaust?

Howard wrote:

[Howard]

The loft is about 14 by 24 feet. It faces South and is under the roof. The roof space is ventilated and insulated @ R30.

The portable AC has a 5" inlet and 5" outlet hose. Right now I'm using the window adapter (supplied with the AC) so all that shows is two 5" holes in a slighty opened window. In the fall they will be piped into my soffit so there will be no noticeable vents.