Whynter 14000 BTU Portable AC & Heater Combo

This thing is huge and comes in a massive box that contains another box.
Its possible to unbox alone but would recommend having someone help if possible.

I got one unit to help keep my apartment cool during the summer.
Shipping was quick and in good condition.
Machines installation and setup was quick and easy.

The unit is loud, so if you’re a light sleeper then you may not want this in your bedroom.
It takes a while to cool down a room and I used my fans to help push the air around and cool down the rest of my 1 bedroom apartment.

Overall, I’m happy with it so far, works as expected.
Will update this in a couple months.

I will start off by saying that this AC unit is amazing, easy to use, has great portability, and overall great quality. This AC unit has been crucial to keeping my room cold, and it keeps it that way. It came with some window attachments for the intake and exhaust. The attachment is great. It fits my window. I only have to cut some off because it blocks the intake a little, which isn’t a major problem. I have had this for about 3 months now, and I haven’t had any problems; the only thing is, when you drain it, you have to get a sheet pan that’s less than 4″ in height and drain it. When you have to… It’s a lot of condensation, so be careful to make sure you get a big enough pan. Other than it being close to me because my room is not that big, it fits perfectly, and it isn’t too loud, it would be nice if it was quieter, which I notice because my room is small, so if it was in a big area, you wouldn’t even notice honestly. Great Buy!

I did a lot of research on these before choosing this one. I already have a Sharp Library Quiet in my bedroom. It is 4 years old and runs like a champ. But with Seattle heat in the 90’s I needed something more to cool the entire one bedroom apartment, approx. 700 sq ft.
The prior reviews with pictures were an enormous help in making my decisions. Granted, the few negative reviews gave me hesitation, but i decided to go with this unit knowing Amazon would take it back if it did not live up to my expectations.
It was delivered via Prime quickly. Had to help the FedEx guy unload it, it was shipped upright, at least in his truck. I sat it inside the door and cut the strap, then lifted the outer carton off. Beautiful machine well packaged and no damage.
I have encasement windows, so with advance planning had gone to Lowes and had the plywood cut to fit the window minus the 6″ plastic hose connector that came with the unit. ($11 for thin oak, I use blackout shades so Plexiglas was not a necessity for me)
Super easy setup after letting it sit for 2 hours per the recommendations. I also bought cut-to-fit air filters for the intake air hose. The window kit was set up and the plywood in place within 30 minutes and weather stripped. As a previous review noted, the intake and exhaust outlet are side by side. To make it more efficient, I got a 5″ to 4″ converter nozzle and attached it to the exhaust vent. I got an elbow joint turning the exhaust away from the intake opening. I then put a 4″ dryer hose on the outlet and ran it far away from the intake vent. I also bought some insulated wrap for the exhaust hose running from the unit to the window inside my apartment. This is a must since the hose gets VERY hot and cancels the cooling effect somewhat.
At this point it was 90+ degrees outside, and it was 85 inside. I plugged it up and was kind of disappointed in the not-so-cool air blowing out. Within an hour, it had the temp down to 78 inside. It stayed there all evening making me think this unit may be a dud. My old Sharp keeps my bedroom at a constant 65. Like another reviewer stated, I went to bed hoping for the best, but expecting to return this on Monday. I closed my bedroom door at midnight and went to sleep. I slept in till 8am and when I opened the bedroom door, I was met with a gush of COLD air. I left the unit on high fan speed set at 64 on the blue display. I set a digital thermometer at waist level in the room and it read 63 degrees. The unit just needed time to cool the room and did it WAY better than I expected. I did leave the ceiling fan on low overnight to help keep the air moving. This unit does blow the air straight up, slightly angled outward from the front. The ceiling fan helps circulate the air. Be sure you have the fan set with the blades rotating counter-clockwise to move the air downward.
Today the temp is at 90 outside, a comfy 70 inside. I have the unit set to 65 on med fan speed. I could not be happier! The unit is not that loud, either. My Sharp is a single hose and is a bit quieter, but this one is by no means loud. I have it sitting right behind my couch between 2 surround speakers. I can hear sound fine from both speakers behind me.
I hooked up a drain hose to a bladder bag to capture any drain water from the unit. I have the same hooked up to my Sharp and it drains about a gallon a day. This one has not drained any after 24 hours of constant use.
Overall I am extremely happy with this unit. It is sleek, does not take up a lot of space and does what it is supposed to very well.
I will update if I find any negatives.
***UPDATE***
Still very happy with this unit. The thermostat actually keeps the temp in the room at the set temp on the display. The unit does an excellent job evaporating the water that collect in the drain pan, as I have yet to have any drain out. I disconnected the drain bag and tipped the unit back just to make sure it wasn’t blocked. It wasn’t! But no water has drained after a month of this running. I am still emptying the one in my bedroom multiple times daily. Will update again when my first electric bill since installing this arrives.

It’s not perfect, but it gets the job done, and after comparing everything I can find, many times, it’s right in there with the best price and performance combination that can be had. I just ordered a second one, and I’ve owned an EdgeStar AP14001HS (almost identical) for over two years. For the last 10 days, one of these Whynter ARC-14SH units, along with the EdgeStar unit, for a total of about 28000 BTU rating, have kept me comfortable in the blazing Modesto, CA heat, averaging over 95 degrees F, with many days well over 100 degrees F. Moreover, the two 14000 BTU units are replacing my 3-ton (36000 BTU) main central unit while using far less electricity! To be fair, the two 14000 BTU units are only keeping about 3/4 of my 1000 square-foot home cool, which is why I’m buying the additional Whynter unit, so I’ll have 3 (counting the EdgeStar) for a total of 42000 BTU.

August 15, 2017 Update: The second unit I received was installed and turned on August 13, 2017, and only worked fully for about 1.5 hour, then developed a problem. I think it’s temperature sensor failed, because it acts like it thinks it’s too cold to turn the compressor on in cooling mode, no matter how low it’s set at, and when in the dehumidify mode the compressor works fine, but displays “LO” as the temperature, whereas my fully-working other unit displays the sensed temperature in the dehumidify mode. It also heats with the compressor on in the heating mode, but I think that’s because it thinks it’s cold in the room. It’s serious drag to be faced with having to re-package this thing to send it back.

I decided to buy another Whynter instead of another EdgeStar even though both have their advantages and disadvantages. The EdgeStar has the advantage of displaying the room temperature, and only displays the set temperature when you are adjusting it. This is significant when you are unsure how close it is to turning the compressor on or off, because even though it’s cheap and easy to add a separate room thermometer next to the unit to see the room temperature, you never know for sure if it’s reading exactly the same temperature as the heat pump (A/C) unit thinks it is. So, a point to the EdgeStar. Maybe it’s because the EdgeStar is over two years old, but the EdgeStar is louder than the Whynter, especially when the compressor turns on and off with a noticeable clunking sound, and the Whynter is noticeably quieter, so that’s my I ordered a Whynter as my third unit.

I’m buying a third unit, because when it gets over 100 degrees F for multiple days in a row, even the old 3-ton central unit couldn’t quite keep up without a gradual rise in home temperature during those blazing afternoons, so even though the two 14000 BTU units have done an adequate job, with far less electricity than the 3-ton unit, they too loos the battle by a few degrees during those 105 degree afternoons.

So, the Whynter is a little quieter than the EdgeStar, but the EdgeStar displays room temperature as well as set temperature. As far as I can tell, otherwise they are almost identical.

Note I have used the EdgeStar for heating as well in the last two years, and it works very well. Note you will need to drain some water when in heating mode, and even in cooling mode if it’s a humid day or night,

Don’t believe the skeptics who claim these units are like those single-exhaust hose models, because I have checked them out, and there is no significant outside air being sucked into my home like there is with single-hose units. These units are really doing the job, and they are saving me many thousands of dollars that it would cost to buy a new central unit. Moreover they use less electricity, because the circulating fan of the central unit consumes about 500 Watts, and that isn’t needed with these units distributed around the house. The central unit has the advantage of being quiet, so if you can afford many thousands of dollars more to keep it really quiet, a central unit is best,