small aircon unit - any recommends?

Is this a shed? I don't think aircon would be practical. Needs a through-draft. How many large openings are there?

Where's the heat coming in? Is the ceiling hot -- not enough insulation. Is a wall hot -- again not enough insulation. Is there lots of sun beaming in windows -- maybe an awning, shutters, or other type of external sun shield required.

Yes - but well insulated.

:-(

ah - problem there then.

Only one - a door of size = 3/4 width of one side

All walls and ceiling well insulated and lined.

That'd help a bit but there are blinds which are (in this heat are) always closed.

The heat is being produced internally - only small power tools/lathe etc but it all adds up and I can't get it out. It's a great little place in cool colder weather but in this heat phew... what a scorcher! :-) I just though maybe on e of those aircon boxes seen on ebay might do it. Ah well...

Hmm, stick a vent pipe into the roof with fan assist - would have thought that'd get rid of the heat pretty well and should be cheap to implement (and run)

cheers

Jules

In general, split units are far better than monoblock ones since these tend to pump air out of the building in order to lose the heat. This means it must be replaced by more hot wet air from outside as well. Some monoblocks can be ducted to take cooling air from outside - this improves them no end.

A heatpump unit might be quite good at providing heat in the winter - cheaper than resistive heating, and handy for outbuildings where getting other services may be harder.

:-) Wrong letter :-) take pity its damn hot in here.

Hey John,

No offence, but you might want to consider re-writing the above paragraph. It's somewhat ambiguous and definitely not up to your usual high standard. Must be the heat ;-)

I'd second this - I gave a monoblock away, when fitting a split system. I don't know what an earlier reply meant when saying you need a through-draft, because with a split system you certainly don't (monoblocks, you need to vent the damp, warm air outside, which obviously means you'll draw warm air from outside back in - possible meaning of the through-draft). Basically, forget monoblocks as a noisy waste of time and energy.

Many split-system air-cons also provide a heat-pump system.

Anyway, I installed a 9000BTU split system into an upstairs west-facing "toy room" (where the computers are), and sit on the hottest of days in an nice cool 18 degrees. Absolute god-send.

Yes. I installed one for my parents a few years ago. Decided it was so good, I then installed one in my house. Mine's in the open plan living/dining room, 12000BTH/hr.

I work from home quite a lot, and I use it during the day when it's cold rather than the central heating, just to do that one room.

Used it yesterday for cooling for, I think, first time this year, when I just came back from a bicycle ride. For cooling, I normally have it set to somewhere between

Crikey. Move to The Sun if you like it hot ;)

Well, I bought a portable aircon from HopelessBased a few years ago, not the cheapest one, one up from that, black and silver. Works a treat in our (largish) bedroom. Forgot to turn it off last night and had an 18 degees C bed to get into :)

Probably not very efficient, but it's slim, looks OK, works well, cost a

I'd deffo consider one for a small space and an opening window (Oh, included all of the necessary gubbing for a semi=perm install).

Al.

Hmmm, yup I would tend to agree - slightly too many ideas squeezed into a few words ;-)

Simplified version:

Split unit good. Monoblock Bad. Monoblock with ductable in and out cooling air somewhere between.

Heatpump better than straight aircon.

Talking of which - don't buy from AirconDirect.co.uk - hopeless bunch of muppets.

I'd second that. Bought a cheap shed mono with hose for my mother when she was sick, almost got it out this evening after a day replacing gutters. They are a bit noisy, though.

Hi there,

I have the 9,000 BTU slim one from Argos, works well enough to cool my loft bedroom, though it can struggle when the outside temps go over

I thought all split unit aircons were heatpumps. i.e. it moves the heat from the room to outside.

Well all aircons are heatpumps in that sense. The ones marketed as a heatpump however can also run in reverse - pump the heat from outside to inside. Hence you can use them as low cost (i.e. with a notional efficiency > 100%) heaters in the winter, and traditional aircon in the summer.

And the currently recommended split unit for a small office is?

AJH

And if you can answer that one, please also answer this:

Is it possible to repeatedly connect/disconnect the inside/outside units of the mobile split units? Or do you lose some of the coolant each time it is disconnected?

was in local Machine Mart the other day ... they have a large 'bargains' area, usually items that have damaged packaging etc. They had a couple of small aircon units for sale there.

what is a 'split' unit ..... someone care to explain ?