Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

**2021 update at the bottom! 👍 I am in a two bed open plan flat. I use this unit to cool the living/dining/kitchen area leaving the bedroom doors closed. I've had experience with two other (different brand) 'portable' units and the main complaint with those is they didn't cool the space and the water tray needed emptying all the time. If the tray was not emptied several times a day they would just shut off. I waited one full season before writing a review as I really wanted to see how well it works. It's a year later and I've just dragged it out of the closet and set it up again and its running beautifully. Running from 9am-8pm with the temp set to 68/70 I empty the tray once every 4-5 days. It has never once shout off on me and I have had ZERO trouble with it. (2021 Update: I no longer empty the tray as it’s self evaporating) I made a few modifications given my previous experience with these units and would like to share them with you: 1. I added a filter to the INTAKE side. I bought a sheet of basic air filter (this is a washable DuPont carbon air filter). Often the reason units stop working is they become dirty in the bowels of the machine you just cant get to and a cheap filter goes a long way to extending the units life. 2. I REALLY made an effort with the window installation. The units I've had in the past came with a sticky on one side foam strip to bridge the inevitable gap which allows air through. My only complaint with this unit is that it did not come with one of these (why I subtracted one star). So what I did - and it worked brilliantly - was to use the foam packing that the unit came in. It came with two densities and worked perfectly using dble sided sticky tape and a Stanley knife on the top, bottom and sides. 3. My third tip is about emptying the water. Nothing comes with unit to help. What you need it a shallow rimmed dish (The Ikea KALAS plate is PERFECT) and a smoothie straw (Bed Bath & Beyond) which is just wider diameter straw cut to desired length. This fits the spout like a glove. It can be done alone but better with two people. When emptying you will need the shallow dish, a straw and a container to toss the water into so you're not dashing to the kitchen 5-10 times. Have one person at the back - I use my 9 year old - and one larger person a the front. With shallow dish and straw in place the larger in front person tips the unit towards the rear. The rear person says when to stop and will empty the shallow dish into the other container with out having to get up then tell the 'tipper' when to resume. Do this till empty. 4. This unit comes with two holes, one intake and one venting. There is a flaw in the design in that the exit holes out the window are RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER. Imagine two mouths glued side by side one inhaling one exhaling. The inhaling/intake side is going to breath IN the hot exhaled/venting air. What I did was to saw off a portion of the PVC slider (it was just going in the bin) and attach it like a wing between both outside holes. Perfect! Many have made mention of the noise. The sound doesn't bother me and I have it next to my desk where I work all day in my living room. It' very subjective. I have tried to attach 8 descriptive photos. Yes, I would recommend this product. Here is a helpful Whynter YouTube video installation video: [...] 2016 UPDATE: I ordered this in June of 2013. I was prepared for disappointment as I'd had two other units (different brands) that were utter disappointments. It's three years later and each year I pull this unit out of the closet it fires up flawlessly after a less than 10 minutes of install time done no less by my 11 year old. I have however, changed how I handle the filters. The same (filter) sheet I initially bought is still providing the material needed. I now only cut out one disc and this I place OUTSIDE/OUTDOORS. What I mean by this is that I place the filter where the air/INTAKE is from the outside NO LONGER inside the machine. This is much easier and does the trick! I will adjust the photos ASAP to show what I mean. I've received A LOT of queries about what type of filter. Don't overthink it; any filter you can cut to size that's recommended for air filtration can be used. This is an amazing unit and is the best money I've spent!! 2021 Update: I’ve moved and it’s now installed in a new window. I had to come on here to say I’m writing this durning the RECORD BREAKING heat wave here in Seattle. Yesterday it was 113°. I’ve had this a/c on for THREE DAYS STRAIGHT and it’s worked brilliantly. Now I’m in a badly insulated old building so knowing about this heat wave, I made insulated panels for all windows and sliding glass doors with 2 pieces of Refectix w/cardboard sandwiched in between. Is my flat cold with the a/c ? No, BUT given the conditions it’s doing a great job keeping us from dying. I have large fans dotted around the flat to circulate the VERY COLD AIR the Wynter blows. Remember, you can look above and see I bought this 2013!! PS : I no longer empty the drain tray; it’s self evaporating!