I’ve had portable AC units before that had reservoirs which needed to be emptied a couple of times per day (constant use) and I’d have to dump a gallon of water out.
I don’t understand how this portable AC unit is able to function without moisture collecting in large amounts.
This is a portable, not a window-mount. It doesn’t drip water from the out-duct.
Additionally, about every 30 minutes it makes a sound that is very clearly ‘trickling water’. Not sure if that helps, but I’m trying to add as much info as possible.
I’m baffled
In: Engineering
I’m not an expert. But since nobody else has tackled this, I’ll explain what I do know (primarily from watching Technology Connections videos).
The trickling you hear is refrigerant – a substance that boils at a relatively low temperature and is kept in a sealed loop. It is compressed to a liquid which heats it up, it is then run past a radiator outside to cool it down, then brought back in where it’s allowed to decompress back to a gas, cooling it down. This cycle is what produces the cooling effect, a d it’s completely sealed.
The water in the reservoir is a separate thing. Cold air holds less moisture than warm air so as the air is cooled, water vapour becomes liquid (this is condensation you see on windows on a cold day). Since the pipes carrying the now cold gas are very cold, the water vapour in the air around it condenses into water droplets on the pipes. These water droplets then fall into the reservoir.
If you live in a dry climate, then there isn’t much vapor in the air to condense. Additionally, a lot of it will evaporate back into the air as it warms up, so you would expect there to be much in the reservoir when you empty it.
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