Is the Hisense double duct portable AC worth it for a small apartment?

The dual-hose setup is defintely the way to go if you're stuck with a portable unit, but don't count on that 350 square foot rating being accurate for anything but a perfectly insulated box. In a real-world living room with windows and electronics, it’s more likely to handle about 150 to 200 square feet comfortably. If your space is truly 350, it'll be running constantly, which is where these units tend to fail after a couple of seasons. Regarding reliability, Hisense and LG are honestly in the same ballpark. Most of these units are built by the same handful of OEMs like Midea or Gree anyway. You aren't really getting "premium" internals with LG; you're mostly paying for the brand name and maybe a slightly better app. The main thing that kills these is the internal condensation management. If you're in a high-humidity area, that **auto-evaporation** feature can only do so much. If the air is over 70% humidity, the water builds up faster than the unit can sling it onto the hot coils to vaporize it. Since you already had a floor-ruining leak, I’d highly recommed getting a cheap **leak sensor** and a plastic washing machine tray to sit the unit in. Even the best units can have a drain plug vibrate loose or a float switch get stuck with gunk. It’s cheap insurance for your floor and your security deposit. The dual hose design is much better than the single hose becuase it doesn't create negative pressure in your room. This specific Hisense uses a hose-in-hose design where one duct is nested inside the other. It's way more efficient than a single hose unit because it isn't constantly sucking the cold air it just made out of the room to cool the compressor. As for the 39dB claim, that’s almost certainly on the lowest fan setting. Realistically, it’s going to hum, but it’s still quieter than the old-school rattly units. It should last you four years if you clean the filters every two weeks and don't let it sit with stagnant water in the pan over the winter.

That hose-in-hose design sounds way less messy than having two giant pipes sticking out of the window. Does it make the window kit super bulky though? My windows are kind of narrow and I’m worried about it fitting. Also, you mentioned the washing machine tray—is there a specific size that fits these portables? I’m terrified of another leak but I don’t want a giant plastic tub taking up half my living room. I’ve never heard of a leak sensor before, are those hard to set up or do they just beep relly loud?

The window bracket for that Hisense is definately chunkier than a standard single-hose kit, ussually around 6 or 7 inches wide. If your window is tight, you might need a hacksaw to trim the plastic slider down to fit. For the tray, a standard 24x24 inch HVAC drip pan is perfect and low profile. One tip for the "best bang for your buck": wrap that hose in some Reflectix or an insulated sleeve. Even with the double-duct design, that plastic pipe gets hot and acts like a radiator right next to the unit. Insulating it makes a huge difference in how often the compressor has to kick on.