Danby DPA120B1WB 12000 BTU Portable AC

First of all I need to add context to this review. I live in the tropics, the temperature can range from 21C to 35C (69.8F to 95F) with relative humidity varying but is generally above 50%. Specifically the ASHRAE design values are ODDB = 90F; ODWB = 77F; IDDB = 75F; IDRH = 50% I bought this unit at the local pricesmart for use in my apartment. I placed it in my study room which is 11' x 12' (121 sq.ft), and the unit is rated for 550 sq.ft maximum (which is almost near the size of my apartment at 585 sq.ft with an 8 ft celing height). I have two windows at 4' x 4' each, one on the north face and one one the west face of this room. Both are covered by black out drapes AS well as other curtain panels in front them. Usually I alone am in the room and I run a gaming computer; with a flourescent lightbulb for lighting. The unit came preset to 17C, Auto, with high fan.... I decided to try it in conjunction with four 16" standing fans to aide circulation in my apartment as a test with all windows closed and drapes drawn. Granted I have an open laundry room with some ventilation blocks as well as my windows aren't necessarily fully air tight (but they aren't highly porous either), so I expected apartment performance to not be spectacular because of this leakage as well as my climate. However there was not a noticeable coolness in the rest of the aparment. Coldest area seemed to be isolated to the room I had it in. I thought okay, I'll try it in my study room alone, it's supposed to cool that room real good. However when I tried it at the default 17C, the temperature never drops below 27C (I have a temperature clock that fairly accurately reprsents the ambient temprature). 27C C is a standard nightly temperature... and even when the AC is running at night it doesn't go below this. I'm not sure if the unit needs to be re-gased (because I mean, it IS pricesmart), or if it wasn't designed for the light intensity at this latitude (10 Degrees North) or for the overall relative humidity. But for a 110V, 11.8Amp unit at 1800W, the benefit to gain doesn't seem worth it.... I have to run the maximum wattage anyway since the compressor never turns off. I would hold off of this unit if you're in the tropics. I intend to have the unit serviced just in case to see if its a gas problem and will update the review as necessary. I have also included the tag information for those who may want to verify power characteristics... Hope this helps other people.

Not a bad unit for under 300$ (when on sale). Little loud but same as a big window unit (remember the whole unit is now within the room). Far from the coldest air I've felt from an AC unit. and forget about anything larger than 350-400sq ft. Exhaust hose should be couple of feet longer.... and new design adaptor. Big problem is that the window strip (very cheap design slider) is thinner than the hose. The hose attaches to it with a "flat-mouth". That's a (too) short adaptor to change the 6 inch hose into an oblong 3X7 outlet to clip into the 4 inch window strip. The hose therefore hits any window frame/ledge and forces it sideways. Did anybody at Danby ever "try" this before selling it?... Think NOT!!!!. A+ that it is portable (casters and handles) so it stores easy. Extra slider for patio door is great but could have used better quality design...same problem with hose hitting frame.

Easy to ise

Excellent for our purposes.this really cooled half our house (3000 sq feet) but then we are in the mountain os NC where it is not really hot in the summer. Easy to move, so we could move it for the sleeping area at night to the area where we were during the day.

good product if you want an A/C .... but the dehumidifier option is very bad. it use around 1000 watts for the both mode. if this is ok for a 12 000 btu A/C .... this is very bad for a dehumidifier. and l ike i said, the dehumidifier is low performance. very low, nothing to compare with a true 30 pints dehumidifier that will consume very less watts. so go for it if you want a very nice A/C .... but forget about it if you are looking for a performant dehumidifier.