Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The Honeywell brand is not new to me. I have owned several Honeywell products and all were very dependable. I felt comfortable with the brand. When making a purchase such as this, one does not want to buy an unknown brand. Well, the 70 pound plus unwieldy box arrived via UPS. I am 78 years old and a box such as this is not an easy thing to contend with. The UPS man rolled it to the position I requested. After he left, I looked at the box and it appeared that it had been subject to a bit of careless handling! One of the strapping tapes was loose and I noticed a small blue plastic packet projecting from the bottom of the box. Hello! I carefully removed it from under the 70 pound box and it was the remote control! How did that find it's way out of the box? I was immediately concerned that it might not function. I quickly cut the strapping tapes and decided that the only way I could manage to access the air conditioner was to put the box on it's side and cut the side of the box. Smart move! I then noticed that the bottom of the box was detached... so, that's how the remote found it's way out! I was able to remove the air conditioner and thanks to adequate foam protection, the unit was undamaged... but will the remote function? I quickly placed the air conditioner where I wanted it and plugged it in... checked the remote! Whew! The air conditioner started ok. What a relief! I could only imagine what I might need to do to order a replacement. The machine runs quietly and cools well. I have a comparison to this unit. A few weeks ago, I purchased a LG 9,000 btu portable air conditioner from Home Depot.com (Amazon was out of stock). The LG came via UPS also. When the LG was removed from the box, one of the wheels was shattered. No problem, I said, even though I ordered the unit via the internet, I simply took the wheel remnants to the Home Depot store two miles from my condo. I went to the returns/exchange counter and explained the situation. I assumed that the person behind the counter would ask for information and a copy of my sales receipt. Then assure me that they would order a wheel and apologize for the inconvenience. NO! The lady said that they do not replace individual parts and that I would need to contact the manufacturer. I was upset and made a second request. The lady went to another person and the second person emphasized the fact that Home Depot was not responsible plue since I had purchased the unit from Home Depot.com, the brick and mortar Home Depot was not involved. Instead of blowing my top, I returned home and looked for a website with LG parts. Bingo! Google found one. The wheel was listed and the price was $17 plus shipping and the wheel was out of stock but they would order a wheel. $17 for one wheel? It looked like wheels I have on items in my condo. I checked eBay for a 2" diameter wheel and ordered one for $4 with free shipping. It wasn't an "official" LG wheel but I can't see any difference. I got off the subject of the Honeywell air conditioner but want you to see what can happen if you get a portable air conditioner via the internet and have a problem. Why did I want a portable air conditioner? I live in a condominium apartment that was constructed in 1970. The hvac system is one that can supply either air conditioning or heat but is not easily converted. This is a central unit that serves all 300+ units. The heat is turned off around mid-April and over a period of weeks is converted to provide air conditioning on May 15th. I live in the Washington DC area and we have some very warm days between these dates. The area I live in is not safe. I had been using ten fans to attempt to remain comfortable. We have had to endure this for more than 20 years and this year, on the first 85 degree day, I could not sleep and was nearly sick. I'm 78 years of age. I thought that now is the time to do something about this problem. Portable air conditioner prices have finally reached a less expensive level that they were when we considered one a few years ago. I found the LG unit for an acceptable price, was familiar with the brand so I ordered one. I thought that it would cool only the large bedroom but was surprised that it cooled beyond that when I place a fan in the hallway. It is not only in the spring that I suffered but when the air conditioning is turned off on October 15th, we have numerous warm days before the weather gets comfortable. I do believe that with the LG unit and the Honeywell unit (in my living room) that i will no longer face these nightmares twice every year. If you are considering a portable air conditioner, I assure you that these produce really chilled air. As for the two brands... I like the styling of the Honeywell better. Remember I'm an old man! The Honeywell runs quieter than the LG unit. Here's one undesirable feature about the Honeywell unit... there is a sticker on the front (about 10"x8") that shows how easy the set-up is. I thought it would be some sort of 'static cling' material but it is a hard to remove adhesive that I could almost not even get started. I feared that it would come loose and leave the base of the paper on the surface but fortunately it didn't. I bet it took 20 minutes for me to release it. If I tried using one hand, the paper would stick back onto the unit. Why in the world would anyone use a 'permanent' sticker on the face of this nice machine? Another hard to put together part is the exhaust hose. The two terminals for the hose are almost impossible to connect to the hose. I was about to use duct tape to attach the ends but with enough persistence, I finally managed to connect them. The LG unit had these pre-connected to the hose. All-in-all, I'm satisfied that this is a first rate, well made unti that will serve me for years to come.