We haven’t tried running them that way, but it’s not how they’re designed to work. In cooling mode, the system should evaporate almost all of the condensation, but there’s a chance you’d have dripping in humid climates. Is there a specific reason you want to remove the plug?

These types of devices are known as “swamp coolers” because they rely on evaporating water to cool you off. Basically, they will help you feel more comfortable in very dry climates, but they won’t actually cool off the room. If you live somewhere with a humid climate, they don’t work at all.

Hi! We’re in the middle of testing the 12,000 BTU Whynter to see what efficiency and noise levels are like in the same conditions as our single-hose top pick, but here’s some general advice:

Expect a dual-hose unit to perform better than a single-hose, but not in a way that will significantly reduce your electric bill.

For reference, the DOE down-rates our 12,000 BTU single-hose top pick to 7,000 BTU, and the equivalent Whynter dual-hose model gets down-rated to 7,500.

Under those adjusted numbers your 10,000 BTU is still within spec to cool your 250-square-foot room, but obviously the adjustment isn’t fully reflecting the weaknesses of a portable system.

I’m assuming that you don’t have double-hung windows that will work with a window AC unit. If you can find a way to install (or get your landlord to install) a through-the-wall model or a mini-split system, it might be worth it.

The better-sealed your room is, the better any AC system will work; this goes double for a dual-hose since the main advantage is not relying on infiltration air as part of the cooling process. All the portable AC kits have some air gaps in the window-baffle that could be sealed with tape to improve efficiency.

I’m in Dallas (high humidity – 5:30 pm is 86° but feels like 98°.) The bedroom is approx 240 SF room w/ 8′ ceiling, shade, and questionable attic insulation- although it IS an attic so I guess it’s supposed to be hotter than everywhere else,) which according to the calculator, means I need 6,000 BTU.

I’m currently using a Haier single hose 10,000 BTU that’s not cooling the room so great. I think it’s killing my electric bill (Model HPD10XCM – LW) which is why I think I need dual hose. (Maybe my expectations are too high.)

Help! Any suggestions are appreciated.

Hi Don,
Portables are tricky to size. If you’ve got a bigger spot in the house you’d also use it, the LG we recommend above is still our pick. It’ll cool down the small room very quickly; you’d probably want to keep the door open to allow the AC to run longer so it can dry out the air.

If you have a vertical-sliding (“double hung”) window, we really like the Frigidaire window units (we just finished testing the 8,000 BTU model.) A 5,000 BTU unit is still fairly big for a room that size, but a window unit is always far more efficient than a portable if you’re going to use it all summer.
Check out Frigidaire’s brand new 5,000 BTU model on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076QM34LC/?tag=ybdig-20

Hey StereoGuy! Humidity removal was one metric we weren’t able to fully test firsthand because we don’t live in an environment that would have made it significant. However the Haier seems to be your best bet if humidity removal is the main concern.