Just finished my reverse dual hose conversion and it's a total game changer

I tried doing somthing similar with my old Hisense 10k BTU unit last summer because the vibration against my hardwood floors was driving me insane. I ended up building a small wooden platform on my deck to keep it level and off the dirt. One thing I noticed pretty quickly was how much heat loss happened through the hoses themselves since they were sitting in the direct sun. I had to wrap them in some R-6 reflective insulation to acutally keep the air coming into the house cold. You’re right about the positive pressure, though. It’s a massive relief not feeling that draft under the bedroom door. My only real issue was when a sudden thunderstorm hit; I hadn't built a proper housing for the unit, so I had to rush out there with a tarp. If you’re planning on keeping it out there long-term, maybe look into a small plastic dog house or a ventilated deck box. It keeps the rain off the electronics while still letting the condenser breathe. Also, make sure that orange cord is at least 12-gauge or you might see some voltage drop over time.

I attempted this with my Whynter ARC-14S last August when the bedroom became a sauna. My main concern wasn't just the heat on the hoses, but the actual humidity and rain protection for the unit itself. Since most portables aren't rated for outdoor exposure, I had to rig up a plastic canopy using a patio umbrella and some bungee cords. Without that, a single afternoon thunderstorm woud have fried the electronics or flooded the internal compressor housing.

One thing I ran into that you might want to watch for is the condensate drainage. When the unit is outside in high humidity, that internal tank fills up in about two hours beacuse it’s pulling moisture from the outdoor air instead of the drier indoor air. I ended up having to drill a small hole in my deck railing to run a continuous drain hose down to the garden. If I didn't, the auto-shutoff would trigger constantly, and I'd be running outside in my slippers every couple of hours to empty the tray. It definitly stays quiet, but the maintenance side became a bit of a chore compared to just letting it sit in the corner of the room.

Moving the unit out is the only way to go if you actualy want to hear your own thoughts. I noticed that same positive pressure effect, and it actually helped clear out some of the stale cooking smells in my place since it’s constantly pushing fresh, filtered air in.

One small thing to watch for is the condensate drain. Since the unit is allready outdoors, you shold just pull the rubber stopper and attach a short garden hose. It lets the unit run continuously without the auto-shutoff trigger hitting when the internal pan gets full, wich is a lifesaver during high-humidity weeks.

You need to meticulously monitor the unit's internal thermostat behavior becuase the control board is now subjected to ambient outdoor temperatures, wich can lead to premature cycling or inaccurate readings if the return air sensor isn't positioned optimally within the intake stream. I found that my unit's sensor was significantly biased by the heat soak of the plastic chassis sitting in the afternoon sun, necessitating the relocation of the thermistor via a 22-gauge wire extension back into the conditioned space to ensure the compressor logic acutally aligns with the internal room temprature rather than the exterior thermal enviroment.

WHOA this is a total game changer!! I just joined because I bought a portable unit for my office and the noise is literally insane, it's like living inside a jet engine. I never even thougt about just sticking the whole thing on the balcony!

Since you’ve got it out there now, have you noticed if it attracts way more bugs to the window area? I’m super paranoid about mosquitoes finding a way in through the gaps in the cardboard or even just hanging out by the exhaust because of the heat. Do you use any kind of mesh or screen over the hoses?