BLACK DECKER Smart Portable Air Conditioner 12 000 BTU for Rooms Up To 550 Sq Ft Portable AC

Ordered this days ahead of the record setting heat wave in Oregon. Found this on amazon because it showed it would arrive in time for the hottest two days we were forecast to have. Amazon delivered as always! Shipped on time and delivery truck came early in the morning. Setup was fairly easy. I used the window panel vertically and it didn’t fit the entire height of my window. In attempts of combatting the brutal heat, I cut a piece of cardboard from the box to fill the gap. The next day I called the manufacturer who immediately sent out the expander piece that was missing from the box. Not the end of the world and they made it right quickly. Installation would have probably taken all of 10 minutes from unboxing to turning on had the window workaround not happened. The rest of the install was fairly easy and straightforward. Unit makes noise, but what AC unit doesn’t? It’s basic white noise and isn’t disruptive while I’m working at home or anything else. Unit makes the area it is facing cooler. I have vaulted ceilings so it takes more to cool my space than average height ceilings. This is definitely a product that saved me during record setting heat and will be a new favorite thing during summer months. So pleased with it I’m looking to purchase a second for the back part of my apartment. Can’t speak to energy efficiency since I have only used it for 2.5 days and haven’t seen the power bill it leads to yet. Added benefits include the heat, fan and dehumidifier functions I have yet to test. Remote is a benefit tool if you need to use it from a distance I guess. Read more

This is the first portable A/C unit we've ever had, so it took a hot minute to get installation right. The hardest part was figuring out how to properly twist the tube pieces together so that it would stop falling apart. Once we got that figured out, it was pretty secure and set up was easy. We placed the foam in the panel instead of the window so we wouldn't have to add foam to each window we wanted to use it on. There are videos of this on YouTube and I recommend going to check those out. We have been using it almost every day and night now for a month and it is still working great. I swear there was a weird smell the first two nights, but that went away. I absolutely hate the bright blue light that is always on (especially at night), but we have just placed something over that part and isn't an issue. Since we rarely change the settings (always at 68 and low), then it is easy to turn it on and off without having to look at the screen. Sleep mode is interesting. It will slowly increase the temperature by one or two degrees (can't remember what the guide book says) over a 6 hr period and then it will shut off. I dont have a problem with it increasing the temperature, its just too bad it shuts off after 6hrs. Solution for us was just leaving it on low all the time. It is loud. As a light sleeper, I now wear ear plugs at night. Im fine with it since its nice and cool. Design and look are sleek and easy to clean. Remote control works great too. The farthest Ive been from the unit is about 10ft and it works just fine. We were looking at other, potentially more fancy (more options), but glad we went with this one. Bottom line, we needed a unit to cool our space and not leak everywhere. This has been meeting those needs. Cools very quickly and haven't had an leakage. Tried out all the extra stuff at the beginning, but wasn't necessary for us. Read more

Okay, here's the update I promised now that I'm using the AC portion... It kicks butt!!! I live in a hot area 90-115 is possible during summer, and I keep this in my insulated garage (garage door has styrofoam panels on it as well) , about 440 sq ft. I've had it keep up to a 112 degree day while I'm working on my hot rod in the garage. 90 -95 degree day and it keeps the garage VERY cool. Highly impressed with it's cooling ability. The heating, eh not so much (read below) but overall happy with this unit. I just attached a hose to the bottom with a clamp and run the condensation outside. I'd give this a 5 if it only heated things up more. Original review---Unit works okay for heating the garage on cold evenings, have not tried the AC yet. We'll see this summer. As stated in the other reviews, the water outlet barb for the dehumidification tank is mounted on the very bottom of the unit. If you leave the plug on it fills up fast and shuts down the unit. If you install a hose, (not the crappy little one they put in the kit) the hose will fall off anytime you bump or move the unit even slightly. If only they would have installed a barb long enough to put a hose clamp on.... You could always put the unit on a raised platform, even by just a couple of inches so the water could run into a pan or something, but then you lose the portability of the unit. Still debating return this thing based just on this alone. Very frustrating for an expensive unit like this. Read more