Something like this:
hmmmm OK ... I understand what you're describing, now. I don't think the potty chair is wide or deep enough, though, to fit the dimensions of the rolling AC. That is a good idea.
I thought you were pulling my leg on this one! Sorry!
Bariatric commode chairs can be 40 inches wide - -
This is so typical. Here you are talking about using a commode when one of the first posts gave you an excellent, easy, solution:
Gfre: "Why not just add a small condensate pump and send the water down a drain somewhere? "
You: "I don't know how I'd do that, but it sounds like a good idea."
So, you're too lazy to google a bit, educate yourself, figure out what he recommended, which is so simple a child could do it. Instead you prefer an endless thread of more BS. The village idiot rides again and this time, you're riding the commode.
I'm not mechanical, and I don't know how to open up a portable AC unit and tinker with it by adding a pump to it. That involves needing to know about things I've never done or seen done, plus, it involves needing to have some knowledge about electricity, pumps, and the guts of an AC unit (what to mess with and what not to mess with). PLUS, I don't want to drill any holes in my house just so I can drain the water to the outside. That's just not a good idea.
I DO know how to work with wood, power tools, screws, various hardware, and stuff related to building things. So, I built a scrap wood platform high enough to allow space enough to put a bucket under it, AND sturdy enough to hold the weight of a heavy portable AC unit. THEN I put a plastic liner in it that I inserted a drain plug into the center of it.
Asking for advice and help with a home project is totally 'on topic' here, and even if I don't know how to do everything other people can do, at least I try to build something that is designed to meet the need I'm asking about.
You're no help at all.
You don't need to open it up, it's not added inside the AC unit. But you'd know that if you just used google to look at a condensate pump instead of yacking about commodes.
We call that learning. If you're limiting yourself to what you already know, why are you asking how to do it here?
plus, it involves needing to
The let it continue to overflow or add Claire's commode to it, which will eventually overflow too. Let's see, what would sensible people prefer? A small drain hose going to outside or a drain so that it never has to be emptied? Or a commode sitting in their living space?
So, WTF is the problem then?
Then by all means go with Claire's commode, because you know how that works and a simple condensate pump is too overwhelming. Good grief!
A small drain hose going to the outside will not work. I'm not drilling a hole in my house, AND I'm not going to use a commode because it won't work, either. It's not heavy duty enough, and not the right dimensions.
I was looking for a similar product or idea to what I made that had a better design.
Using a pump might be a good solution for someone who knows about pumps, wiring things, and electricity. For example, if you set up a pump to trigger a switch to cut off the AC when the tub is full, how do you wire that up to turn off the AC? I don't want to electrocute myself or damage the AC. I'm not an electrician, or AC repair guru. If I break it, I don't know how to fix it.
So, I do what I can with the skills I have and build a platform to catch and drain the excess water into a large basin so I don't have to sop up the excess water- I can just dump it out of a bucket once every other day.
The condensate pump is NOt put inside the unit. It is put in the drain pan so you don't need to empty it, or in many cases just connected to the drain. It has a small reservoir, and when it gets full it starts the pump. When it gets empty it shuts the pump off. They are used extensively on furnace mounter AC units and on condensing furnaces.
If the commode can handle a 400 lb ass it can handle the AC (Bariatric commodes can handle 600 lbs) and even a standard one can handle 250 lb with no problem. I'm 110% certain your portable AC weighs a lot less than that - and with minor mods it won't even resemble a commode.
You are, as usual, being your petulant self. (or petty if you like that better))
You asked for a factory made solution with a better design. I gave it to you, yet all you can do is kvetch (as usual) You and Mikey need to get together!!!
furnace unit like:
AC unit like:
OK I understand what you're describing, now.
This is the problem with this particular machine: The reservoir is at the upper portion of this AC, and it has a hole in the back of it where I can and have attached a hose to drain that into a large container. I could drain it outside if I could find a way to run the hose outside without drilling a hole in the house. We just don't want to do that right now. Maybe we will in the future, but the reservoir never backs up and is always freely draining, so that fluid isn't dripping into the bottom pan.
That aside, the second problem is when humidity is high, the machine produces excess condensation that drips into a pan that is at the bottom of the machine, but has no drainage holes. I'm guessing it's generally meant to catch sweat that drains from the sides below the main collection reservoir and is supposed to just evaporate. BUT, our high humidity in the summer ends up producing too much water for that bottom pan and it runs over onto the floor.
Initially, just sitting the AC on a plastic lid that could catch that bottom pan water that overflows worked fine. It would usually evaporate, but our humidity got worse producing more than the plastic bottom pan I used could handle, and I'd have to soak up the excess with towels which got old pretty quick.
The main reservoir isn't really a problem. It's the fluid that overflows from the bottom of the machine, and there's no access hole to hook up a tube to even connect a pump too. So, he only thing I could think of for that bottom pan issue was to make a platform for the AC where the bottom pan could drain into a large container that could be easily emptied if it got too full and didn't evaporate quickly enough. That was all I could come up with on my own to solve the problem until I could figure out a better solution.
So... I could put a pump to drain the bottom pan outside, but I really need a better design than what I came up with that includes a pump (that isn't loud when it kicks in) with the design if I'm going to do that. I'm not even sure how to go about designing it. I'm open to ideas, though.
I'm not worried about the weight of the AC by itself. The machine is tall, and on wheels, and awkward dimensions, and a potty chair/bariatric commode won't work. It may very well carry the weight of the AC, and the width, but it won't handle the depth of the machine. I'm not adept at altering commode tubing, either, whereas, you might be.
How would you modify it to work?
ok I hadn't looked into those before, but will. Thanks!
If the air conditioner is doing it's joband the house is kept closed up, the humidity very quickly drops to the point condensation is no longer a problem
Where do you exhaust the heat from the portable air conditioner?
And the commode will do the job, or a tray and condensate pump
I've never had any use for the portable units. I used one in a computer room for a while, and I swear the motor put out more heat than the thing removed from the room. It evacuated the moisture out the exhaust with the captured heat, after a fashion. I gave up on it.
Go to Walmart and spend $38 on the commode. take off the backrest and the seat. Go to Home Despot and by a 1/2" or 3/8" plywood "handi-panel" and cut it to fit the top of the commode. Run hose from the outlet into the commode bucket (or just into the tray-coming up) and get a plastic tray to put on the plywood. A boot tray will do the job Put a hole in the tray above the commode bucket so the drips drain into the bucket..Possibly route the drain hose through the tray as well. Set the commode at the lowest possible height - or even remove the adjustable legs and put rubber "cane feet" or chair tip rubbers on the bottom to protect the floor - you want it as low as you can set it without the bucket touching the floor. It will look decent and work very well for an investment of under $50 in the USA. Closer to $75 in Canada.
What are the dimensions of youy monster. It has to be a HUGE portable if it won't fit!!!
In the early summer before it gets REALLY hot, the humidity isn't that bad so there's really no problem with the excess overflowing from the bottom. It's later or after a rain that we have the problem.
It has a flexible vent you insert into a partially open window similar to a dryer vent.
I've been looking for hard plastic trays with the dimensions:
26"x20"x4". That gives a little bit of room for finding one that isn't exactly the same, but close.I was surprised how well these two cool the house, and they aren't noisy like a window unit is when the compressor kicks in. I liked the first one so well I bought a second one.
OK ... thanks for the idea. I may need to make a second platform for the #2 portable AC, and will keep this design in mind.
The base of the AC approx. 18" x 25". All the potty chair frames I've seen would be a tight fit.
How well sealed is that "partially opened" window??? A double hung (or single hung) window that is not tightly closed generally has a HUGE air leak between the 2 sashes. What have yoiu done to seal that? If it is left leaking you WILL have serious humidity problems. That window needs to be 100% air-tight, or as close to that as possible. Stuffrinf the gap with sponge rubber is a start, but only a start. Taping it up with vapor barrier tape helps too.
That is a HUGE portable. A drop-arm commode would give you the required width. Most wide units are 24 inches -X 18 inches - a tight fit between the arms. Something like this would do the job.
It has insulation we put around the window where the air might leak, and we tape it, too.
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