Airconditioning

[NathS101]

As we enter another hot summer I'm going to need airconditioning in my newly built mixing suite. At this stage I can't install anything permanent for various reasons so a small portable one on wheels is the only solution.
Now I could just go out and spend $500 on any old unit at the local electrical store however I'd like to get the best one for the studio that is power efficient & whisper quiet.
What do you guys suggest?
Cheers
steeley

[chrisjw]

Ive got a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries which about 2 years ago was one the quietest ones around. As quiet as a Daikin but much cheaper.

Cheers

[Simon B]

Back in the dream time Rick wrote an article in Audiotech about doing it with Madonna, an there is a point where he mentions all the gear we run has to be at 19 degrees.

Maybe a more permanent approach might be best.

[rick]

well that was the dream time ! and very few places even HAVE that kind of heat seeking equipment nowadays

i am fighting a cheap less then ideal air con install diy myself at the moment .. and losing !

[Wiz]

when I built my studio... i very nearly cheaped out on the aircon. The wife of all people put her foot down in the end, and said something sensible and annoying like, "You spend all this money on other stuff, for heavens sake buy a decent aircon" she was right.

I can do takes with it running, which actually is a great bonus, I used to have to shut the one in my old room off, and up here it can get pretty hot.

I have a DAIKAN, though I am sure there are probably many that are better, but it was something I dont regret ponying up the dosh for now.


A bit, like the Aeron chair, its money i dont regret spending for a second, actually that purchase was prompted by an article by Rick as well.

[Manning]

As someone in the same boat as Nathan, I've been doing a lot of study of portables.

So far my conclusion is that no portable unit can do the job "as is". Even the most expensive ones are unacceptably loud, and you've got to get rid of the heat they generate effectively or else you end up with zero efficiency.

So I eventually decided I needed a duct system. I picked up a generic $499 portable from Bunnings (I got it for $250 because they'd lost all the bits like the window kit) and I'm building a duct system out of some cheap aluminium ducting and a yellowtongue case. I'm running the duct through a window that I removed.

If you come up with a way to use a portable without building your own ducts, let me know.

And just for anyone else reading this (and at the risk of stating the obvious), never use a portable AC if other options are available.

[rick]

oh christ blame me for 19 degrees cooling blame me for aeron chairs

the thing is i have dismantled $150,000 air conditioning system from the old place sitting in my warehouse and i am F@#$ing around with a small split system install , because right now i could not face and don't need the electric bills that big

[Wiz]

oh christ blame me for 19 degrees cooling blame me for aeron chairs

seriously, best purchase I can think of.

I have a real bad back, and that chair was a godsend.

Your article just gave me the push I needed.

[rick]

yes well i still sit on mine daily .. what is it fifteen years after buying it .. so its still a walk up do it again purchase
and my back has been great now for years .. touch wood

[NathS101]

Thanks for your suggestions guys, will look into something more permanent.