Soleus Air MAC-10 10,000 BTU Portable ...

• No water bucket to empty-collected moisture is recycled and eliminated through the exhaust duct.
• Smart chip technology - computer driven controls and LCD display remote give you precise control
• 50 pint dehumidifier
• Energy efficient dual motor design includes a dual hose venting system
• CPU Driven remote control

Not for high-humidity climates!!:
Earlier this year we purchased the LX-120 Evaporative Mobile Air Conditioner w/Dual Exhaust Ducts for our basement bedroom. Our windows are too small to accommodate a standard window air unit, and the basement can gets very hot and humid in the summer months. We were very happy with the performance of the unit until a few weeks ago. According to the product description and the user manual the "evaporative technology means there's no water bucket to empty." Apparently no one tested this product in a hot and humid climate, where one might actually need an air conditioner with dehumifiying capabilities. It's so wonderful that there is no water bucket to empty. But would someone mind telling me why, then, there is a water-full indicator light? Furthermore, why does the water tank, even when emptied at 9 p.m. fill up and necessitate emptying, lest the unit stop working, every night between 1:30 and 3:30am? I would be very interested to know how this feature was programmed. Is this on a timer? This is especially amazing because our use of a separate dehumidifier unit in the same room, does not affect the timing or reliability of this process. Truly an amazing feat of engineering. Even though we're not supposed to have to empty the water tank, I would also like to thank your thoughtful engineers for providing a convenient vent plug for this task. I can't imagine a better placement of this 1/2 inch diameter and 1 inch long inflexible port than less than 1 inch above the floor in a recessed area in the back of the unit, making gravity completely useless. This design feature makes emptying the water tank, that we're not supposed to have to empty, an exciting challenge - especially at 2:30am. And the heavy duty casters that allow the unit to roll easily? Genius! This ensures that we are unable to place the unit on a raised surface above the floor to help drain the water. I would also like to say thank you for not including with the unit, any instructions, recommendations, or accessories that we might use to empty said tank because one of my favorite activities is strolling the aisles of the hardware stores looking for viable alternatives that I can construct on my own. I can't think of a better use for my time. The only way we can empty the water tank is with a cookie sheet - as this is the only object low enough to the ground that will hold any amount of water. We tried some plastic tubing to drain into a bucket, but alas, the port is so low to the ground that this is practically useless. We have also tried the low-tech procedure... open the port and let it drain onto a towel on the floor. This ruins our towels and creates extra laundry in the process - FUN!

when is the class action suit?:
I have a soleus Air 9000 PE2-09R-32. Soleus PE2-09R-32DB 9000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner It worked okay for a year. Now the drip pan red light comes on everytime I use it. The design to drain it as noted in other reviews is very poor. I flooded my carpet the first time I drained it. The little pan and hose does not give you an indictation of what to expect. I used the exhaust to dry the rug after. Since then i've been pushing it outside to drain. This isn't an easy task and water has been spiling over. The manuel says not to move it when the pan is full inside. This was an expensive endeavor. It cannot be run unattended. I wish the evaporation system worked. It did work for one season. Last year I didn't have the light come on to drain it at all. So what happened? Did it break? Could it be fixed? When it did work and I didn't have to drain it -- I would have given it 3 1/2 stars. It did cool the room and I was able to move it from the bedroom to my office well enough. This is after modifying the venting system with better insulation on a wood fitting for my window. Last year -- too much heat was coming back in the room from their window kit.

Is Not Self-evaporating in Mid Atlantic area:
We are well satisfied with the cooling capacity of our Mac 10 but if you live in a high humidity area do not plan on the unit keeping up with the amount of moisture produced. We were having to empty the very small reserve tank every 2 hours and were getting about 2 cups of water each time. The tap to empty is in a very inconvenient place. We finally drilled a hole in our floor into the basement and attached a hose to it. Now it drains directly into a wash tub in the basement and we empty that into the sump hole every couple of days. Again, the cooling capacity is wonderful and takes care of 3 rooms for us but with our humidity the unit can't keep up with evaporation.

Go with a window unit:
If you plan on using a Soleus, be careful. The unit will leak water all over your floor in addition to requiring constant emptying which is a huge pain due to the fact the valve is less the .5 inches off the ground. Soleus considers a normal 90 degree day in Chicago to be "extreme circumstances". I guess most of you want an air conditioner for those cool dry days.

Does what its suppose to do very well:
I have this unit for over a year (14 months). Bought it at another outfit (Costco) and use it to cool a my basement where I have my computer systems. The unit performs as as described. Keeps the whole area quite cool. Once i accidently set the heat and I can attest that it does that quite well. I would have given it 5 stars if it wasn't for the fact that it all of a sudden stopped working. Of course, naturally it stopped after the 1 year warranty. Searching for answers and help is almost next to none until I found the reviews here and noticed that the some were saying that the water tray may be full. So I drained it and bingo it started up again without any hesitation. So if it wasn't for the moment of thinking I would have to go out and get another one or find some service center to fix it, and now have to keep an eye out when the water collector gets full, I would have given it a 5 star.