All portable AC's have issues, but...

I bought this unit under a different name 2 years ago. I immediately had problems with it because even though it was sold under the heading that it 'self evaporates', that function (I think there must be an internal pump)broke the second night I used it. The resevoir would fill up and the cooler shut off until it was manually emptied (more on that later). The window kit melted out place, and even with duct tape it warped and pulled away from the window. The company I bought if from, (after I filed a BBB complaint) gave me my money back and told me to keep the unit. They obviously knew it was not worth the return cost. I live in a centrally air conditioned NYC Hi-rise, but there are days when the central system breaks down, so, rather than pay my a building porter to throw the thing out, I decided to keep the it, and work out a way to make it operational. Here is what I had to do:
1)All PACs have a problem that makes them inherantly inefficient. The 5 foot duct gets very warm and eliminates much of the cooling effect of the unit. I bought a mylar/fiberglass insulation sleeve and fitted it over the duct. This helps tremendously...it does not look very good, though.
2)The cheap plastic window kit is useless on its own. At the very least, you should buy foam rubber stripping to put around the edges. After my plastic window kit warped, I threw it out and fashioned my own out of the styrofoam packing material that came with the unit. I cut the styrofoam strip to a length and height that fit my window...and cut a hole at the end to house the duct. It keeps the outdoor heat out, keeps its shape, and is even easier to remove and replace than the plastic window kit...I still use the foam rubber stripping around the perimeter, but no duct tape is necessary.
3) after the pump broke, I had to find a way to manually allow the thing to drain while the unit is running. It came with a plastic hose that fits the drainage spout that is located at the very bottom of the unit. This means that I have to elevate the unit so it is higher than a bucket that has to be used to collect the water as it accumulates. So, once again, I found a large styrofoam block (15x15x10), wide enough to accomodate the unit and high enough to channel the drain hose into the bucket. Of course, this means hoisting a cumbersome 50 lb unit about 10 inches off the ground. It also means that the bucket fills up in less then 7 hours, so if you oversleep, you've got a flood.

Is all of this worth the effort? It depends. It takes about 3/4 hour to get the thing out of the closet and installed. But for the emergency occasions that I've had to use it (funny how the central air system seems to break down on a Fri night before a holiday weekend)it allowed me to sleep the night (with earplugs). It lowered the temp in a 180 sq ft room to 74d when it was 90 and humid outside. But it should be noted that before I used the duct sleeve and concocted the insulated window kit, it barely budged the temp by 1 degree. I would not recommend this air conditioner for one's primary source of cooling. To expensive to run, too much trouble to look after, takes up a lot of space. It is not portable in the respect that you can easily roll it from one room to the other as the name implies.