Draining a Portable Air Conditioner

[Yeshuasdaughter]

I noticed a puddle on the carpet underneath my portable a.c. unit. It's located in my bedroom.

The drain plugs were both in firmly, so I figured the tank was full. It was really difficult to drain it.

There are two drains, one up high, and one down low. The high up drain had hardly any water in it, and draining was a breeze.

The lower down drain plug is about an inch above the floor. The only thing I could use to drain it into was a cookie sheet. And that's not ideal, because I don't feel that's a hygenic use of a food cooking pan. We got a bit more than a quart of water out of the unit.

The instructions say to lift up the a.c. onto something high up and then let the water drain down into a bucket. But the unit is so heavy, and it's just me and my daughter. Neither of us could lift it.

Does anyone have advice for draining the a.c. unit, the next time this happens? I can't lift it, and the only thing low enough to catch the water is a cookie sheet.

 

[Tom]

Same issue. Can't lift it. I use lids from tupperware type storage containers, usually shoebox size. I also find it helpful to put several papertowels in the lid as well to hold water and make it easier to empty without spilling. I make sure to wash up well after it and also washing the lid as well. Very suspicious of what lurks in that drainage water.

 

[Alexej]

Will a tray from the oven work? It may have a side that is 1/2 inch high but will be big enough to hold a bit of water.

 

[maycontainthunder]

Could it be possible to sit it on a couple of wooden blocks? You could slide the drain tray underneath that way.

 

[Rodafina]

Does it have to be lifted straight up (remaining level)?

I was thinking of some kind of pry bar or even a car jack (although I think you said you don’t own a car). But lifting one side at a time might spill the contents. I was thinking something like this could be helpful to raise it.

or this

I know you also recently said you are not trying to spend extra money, so perhaps something around the house that could give you some leverage? Also, just curious how often the unit needs to be drained?

Clearly I don’t have too much solid advice, but for some reason this little problem has really sparked my curiosity this morning.

 

[Gerontius]

I would get a piece of tubing, stick that in the tub, fill the tubing with water from a pitcher to prime it, & then siphon the stuff out of it. Siphons are underutilized technology--pump water with no moving parts, and they don't take up space in storage.

 

[Forest Cat]

What brand and model is the air conditioner? It would help to see a picture of it.

 

[Judge]

Had to see it to visualize the problem. At least here's someone addressing this issue regarding a Fridgedaire.

 

[Forest Cat]

I assume it has wheels if it is portable? Can you move it to the bathroom and empty it in the shower drain?

 

[grommet]

I noticed a puddle on the carpet underneath my portable a.c. unit. It's located in my bedroom.

The drain plugs were both in firmly, so I figured the tank was full. It was really difficult to drain it.

There are two drains, one up high, and one down low. The high up drain had hardly any water in it, and draining was a breeze.

The lower down drain plug is about an inch above the floor. The only thing I could use to drain it into was a cookie sheet. And that's not ideal, because I don't feel that's a hygenic use of a food cooking pan. We got a bit more than a quart of water out of the unit.

The instructions say to lift up the a.c. onto something high up and then let the water drain down into a bucket. But the unit is so heavy, and it's just me and my daughter. Neither of us could lift it.

Does anyone have advice for draining the a.c. unit, the next time this happens? I can't lift it, and the only thing low enough to catch the water is a cookie sheet.

This is exactly the same for me, including using a cookie sheet for the water. The air conditioner is too heavy to lift. The only thing that helped me was pushing it using its wheels up on to small pieces of wood so it was a little higher. I do not understand how a person is supposed to use the lower drain to empty the water. My portable AC sends the water it condenses back into the exhaust so no matter how much I run it, there is no water to empty but when I clean the AC I do have that problem.

Oh, so you know, with another portable air conditioner I collected 2.5 gallons of water in less than 24 hours. I thought that was remarkable. This one, that evaporates the water for me is much easier. The noise bothers me very much though. I wish I was rich so I could live somewhere with what they call central air conditioning. Cool air comes into the room through a vent and you do not hear the machine. That would be like heaven for me.

I hope you find a solution. Sorry I could not help.