Need recommendation for a personal air conditioner

I am looking for a recommendation for a small personal air
conditioner. Something to cool a small home office cubicle that gets baked in
the early afternoon sun.

I know there are a lot of small air conditioner units out there.
Looking for a small one, inexpensive, and that got good reviews.

Also looking for what it might cost to operate such a unit for 2 hours
a day 5, days a week, given California?s current power costs.   My
computer, CRT monitor, stereo and lights are on the same circuit, so I
am a bit worried about overloading it.

thanx in advnce

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Request for Question Clarification by larre-ga on 25 Jun 2004 11:05 PDT

Do you have a window available for installation, or do you have a
portable, freestanding unit in mind?

---l

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Clarification of Question by sherpaj-ga on 29 Jun 2004 19:20 PDT

I do not have a window available for installation!  Ya, I did have a
freestanding unit?

I purchased a unit at WalMart for $188.00 that would cool 300sq for my
office.  It was on the same circuit as my computer, printer, fax, tv,
etc. I popped fuses all the time.  I suggest seeing if you could find
a different circuit to put it on. A long extension cord is how I
solved the problem.

Good luck

If you're not worried about cooling the ROOM, but rather cooling
YOURSELF, there are alternatives to window air conditioners that are
much less expensive up front, and don't have nearly the same power
draw.  My personal favorite is the Desktop Personal Air Conditioner
(http://www.thinkgeek.com/cubegoodies/toys/60ad/)

Again, this won't cool a room, and might not be up to the task of
handling a California summer afternoon, but is definitely a cheap
(~$25) alternative without the energy overhead.  In the absence of
that, just4fun2's advice sounds about as good as any I could provide:
WalMart has some amazingly cheap gear.

bananarchy-ga, that is a neet idea.  The main problem I see with itis
the extra labor of having to go get it from the freezer every morning.
 If it were nto for this, it would be worth a try.

thanks for the thought. much appricated.