I'm looking to put an air conditioner in my basement which is
furnished.  However I do not have a window to put the airconditioner
in.  I only have one external door.

I have looked at portable "rolling" air conditoners but they all seem
to have a window mount kit.

Can anyone recommend a good air conditioner for my situation? 

I have an area where I could possibly cut a hole in the house but I'm
a little nervous doing that.   I also have a dryer vent about 20 feet
away (on the unfurnished side of the basement) but I'm not sure how to
intergrate it.

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Clarification of Question by jimerb-ga on 11 Jul 2005 19:16 PDT

Note that the room that I'm trying to cool is between 400-500 sq ft.

Hi Jimerb-ga,


The standard for air conditioning is approximately 10k btu per 500 sq ft.

There are some details which will alter those numbers, for arguments
sake, a longer room is harder to cool then a square room. The more
windows per wall, the direction the room faces (south picks up alot of
heat).

Here's a few links to a decently priced free standing AC units. I also
included a link to an site indicating btu per sq ft.

New Egg
10,000btu Portable Air Conditioner w/ Heater 
http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16896100105&CMP=OTC-Froogle&ATT=SUNPENTOWN+WA-1010H+10,000btu+Portable+Air+Conditioner+w/+Heater

Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center
12,000 btu Air Conditioner
http://store.universal-akb.net/grso12btupoa.html

Sizes.com
Air Conditioners
http://www.sizes.com/built/air_conditioners.htm

Hope this solves your problem,
Mother911-ga

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Request for Answer Clarification by jimerb-ga on 12 Jul 2005 05:25 PDT

The information I'm looking for is related to the basement having no
windows.  There are tons of portable units on the market. What makes
this a more difficult situation is that I don't have a simple way to
vent the unit.

I'm not familiar on how a door vent would work.

I don't know if I can intergrate it into the dryer vent.

I don't know if I can install a house vent.

I'm looking for a device that provides a solution for this as well as
some general information on how to vent it.

---

Clarification of Answer by mother911-ga on 12 Jul 2005 21:56 PDT

The AC unit must be vented, there are other options such as venting
out different style windows, into drop ceilings and of course using a
dryer vent. I have included some corroborating links about venting,
mostly about dryer vents, and some including other options.

http://www.compactappliance.com/content/buyersguide/buyersguidemain.jsp?cid=1141#cani
Can I vent a portable air conditioner out a dryer vent?

Generally, this is not recommended by the manufacturer, especially if
the diameter of the vent hose is greater than the diameter of the
dryer vent. A standard dryer vent is 4". Most portable air
conditioners have 5" exhaust hoses. Some units have smaller diameter
vent hoses (the Delonghi units, for example) and these units may be
vented out a dryer vent. However, you should not use the external part
of the dryer vent that has flaps, as the compressor is not strong
enough to push these flaps open. If you need to cover that exterior
opening of the vent, we recommend using a screen.



http://www.air-n-water.com/portable-ac-faq.htm
Could you explain why and how portable AC's are vented?
Portable air conditioners extract hot air that must be vented.  If the
hot air is not vented, the portable air conditioner will not be able
to cool a room effectively. Window and venting kits are always
included with our portable air conditioners at no extra cost. You may
also vent the portable AC through a wall vent, into the attic or drop
ceiling, or even around a door!  You are only limited by your
creativity.  *** For venting these Portable AC systems through
casement windows (windows that crank out), Plexiglas can be used. 
Simply cut the Plexiglas to the size of the window, cut out a 5" hole
to vent the hose, and place this over the open window.  not only is
the Portable AC vented, but Plexiglas will allow the same amount of
light to pass through the window as before.

Can the exhaust hose be extended?
All the Portable AC's come with the standard hose length of 5-7 feet. 
If you need a longer hose, they are readily available at the local
hardware store but it is a good idea to avoid hose lengths over 12
feet as well as 90 degree bends.  You can also vent through the dryer
hose as long as the hose diameter is 5" or more and the outdoor
venting flap is removed.


http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/05/ecoefficient_ai.php
All of the portable air conditioners have to be air
vented and have a 4-5 foot vent hose. They can be
vented to a sliding door, a window, a hole in the
wall, or through the dryer vent. 


Mother911-ga

Hi jimerb-ga,

   In order to use any airconditioner, you need to exhaust the heat in some form
or the other. What the portable units do this through a flexible tubing to
be attached to a round cutout on a platic/foam plate placed under your existing
window.  Most of the portable units also need the condensed water to be removed
(while some have recirculation pumps, that circulate the water over the heated
coils, and exhaust it along with the hot air). It should be fairly easy to add
a simple round cutout without much difficulty.

   One other possibility of avoiding the vent is to use the exhaust to heat
water(kept in a insulated picnic cooler), which is occasionally drained and
filled.
You might have to make a custom heat exchanger in that case(made out of coils
of copper tube or using surplus auto radiators).

Hope this helps.

Regards
ldavinci-ga

Good Day Jimerb,

    I would also like to inform you of a relatively new product of
mitsubishi electric.  It involves both an indoor and outdoor unit that
are connected by only a 3 inch tubing.  Mitsubishi offers several
models and the product has been advertised on television.
    It should be relatively easy to find (you might try sears).  I
have no information on prices or cooling capacity but I believe that
multiple indoor units can be connected to the outdoor unit.
    Also here is a link to the mitsubishi electric website:
             http://global.mitsubishielectric.com/bu/air/index.html
    I hope I was of some assistance and happy hunting,
                                              Traddy

There are several different options for mini split air conditioners
that do not need a window kit for venting.  They are a very good
option if you cannot use a portable air conditioner.

See: http://www.atrendyhome.com

Search the store for "mini splits"