Understanding and Maintaining your Portable AC Unit
**Warning: Before performing any maintenance, please turn off the unit and unplug completely**
ON THIS PAGE:
- Basic Information
- Safety Measures
- Common Troubleshooting Solutions
- Unit Specific Maintenance
- End of Season Storage
Basic Information
You received an AC unit from Cooling Portland: A PCEF-Funded Climate Resilience Program. This program is a collaborative effort between the City of Portland, Earth Advantage, Inc., and various community distribution partners. Your AC unit should have an orange or red sticker on its surface, with an installation date recorded in the white box.
.png)
This identifies your unit as a part of the Cooling Portland program and will direct you to additional resources for troubleshooting, maintenance, and questions.
How to identify which unit you have: The most surefire way to identify your unit is to look at the manufacturer label on the back or side of your unit. This is also where you can find your unit’s serial number.
For AUXAC
For Haier
For Whynter
For Friedrich
For PerfectAire
General Precautions about your Cooling Unit
-
When storing or moving your unit, keep all accessories together with the unit.
-
Exhaust hoses should not be bent and cords need to be tucked away safety to prevent any tearing or damage.
- Try to clean filters once a week. Vacuum or wipe dust and debris from the filter. DO NOT use any harsh cleaning solution. If water is used, make sure water is lukewarm and be sure the filter grate is fully dry before placing it back into the unit.
Safety Measures
- Accessories and Attachments: ensure your unit is not connected using extension cords, power strips, or outlet adapters. This increases the risk of fire.
- Ideal Temperatures: set the temperature between 65-77 degrees Fahrenheit for the unit to function efficiently. Extremely high or low temperatures will cause the unit to provide inadequate cooling/heating.
- Turning off and on: wait at least 5 minutes before turning the unit on again once switched off. Do not unnecessarily power on and off.
- Moving the Unit: never put the unit on its side as this will redistribute the cooling agents inside. If unit does lay on its side, immediately right the unit and wait 24 hours before plugging into outlet and turning on.
- Electrical Surges: When using your unit at full capacity, do not plug other high amperage appliances into the same outlet. If your home has a history of flipping breakers, be cautious not to plug in other high electricity drawing devices i.e. hairdryer, vacuum, microwave, etc.
Common Troubleshooting Solutions
Please try to follow these troubleshooting steps before contact the organization that installed your unit. More information can be found on your orange or red PCEF sticker.
- Unit isn’t blowing cool air: check the temperature settings to ensure it is within the ideal range (65-77 degrees Fahrenheit) and make sure the exhaust hose is not damaged or blocked. The exhaust hose should lead outside your home for accurate results.
- Unit won't turn on:
- Unplug unit, wait 30 seconds and plug it back in again
- While plugged in, press the TEST button on the plug, and then press the RESET button. Turn unit on.
- Try disconnecting some other appliances i.e. toaster, hair dryer, vacuum
- Water tray may be full and needs to be emptied (see “tank full” section)
- Unit says “tank full” or similar indicator is lit: the water tank on your unit needs to be emptied. See specific model instructions to properly empty the water tank.
- Unit is Leaking Water:
- E5 Electrical error is displayed: Your unit may be too powerful for the outlet it in using. Try disconnecting some appliances that share a circuit with that outlet and press the reset button on the plug. This may also be a manufacturer issue, please follow the instructions on your PCEF sticker for further help.
- Loud noise coming from unit fan: The fan on your unit may be misaligned. Please turn off and unplug the unit for 24 hours, then plug the unit back on and turn on a low setting to begin with. This may also be a manufacturer issue, please follow the instructions on your PCEF sticker for further help.
Unit Specific Maintenance
Your AC unit should have a clean, unobstructed filter, an empty water tank, and clear access to outside through the exhaust hose. Portable AC units are not a replacement for central air/heat, but rather a quick solution to ensure high heat days are manageable. Please consider retrofitting your home and/or talking to your property management team to discuss various cooling options.
AUXAC
Drain your unit if full! Your unit may display a “P1” code if the water tank is full.
Step 1: Locate the drain outlet on the bottom of your unit and remove the rubber stopper
Step 2: Attach the drain hose. If one was not provided with your unit, a shallow pan works as well.
Step 3: Water should drain out of the unit. Once done, please reattach the rubber stopper, restart your unit, and use as normal.
Haier
Drain your unit if full! Your “Bucket Full” LED light will activate if the water tank is full.
Step 1: Locate the drain outlet on the bottom of your unit and unscrew cap, then remove rubber stopper.
Step 2: Attach the drain hose. If one was not provided with your unit, a shallow pan works as well.
Step 3: Water should drain out of the unit. Once done, please replace the rubber stopper, screw the cap back onto the drain outlet, restart your unit, and use as normal.
Whynter
Your Whynter unit will automatically drain water out of your unit via the auto-pump feature located on the bottom left of your unit.
If your unit display this image: *picture from Whynter manual (STOP warning light and display) [WT4]
Please use the steps below to drain the water from your unit.
Step 1: Please use a shallow pan and place under unit to catch any water.
*picture from Whynter back with circle around drain outlet [WT5]
Step 2: Locate the drain outlet on the bottom of your unit and remove the rubber stopper.
Step 3: Water should drain out of the unit. Once done, please replace the rubber stopper.
*Whynter Only* If you need a new carbon-activated filter, please contact your installing organization.
Friedrich
Drain your unit if full! Your unit may display a “Ft” code in the display window if the water tank is full.
Step 1: Locate the drain outlet on the bottom of your unit and remove the drain cap
Step 2: Attach the drain hose. If one was not provided with your unit, a shallow pan works as well.
Step 3: Water should drain out of the unit. Once done, please reattach the drain cap.
PerfectAire
Be sure to clean the filters! This unit has 3 filters, one on the upper grate of the unit, and two for the lower section. Begin by taking off the grate on the back (show below)
Drain your unit if full! Your unit may display a “P1” code in the display window if the water tank is full.
Step 1: Locate the drain outlet on the bottom of your unit and remove the drain cap
Step 2: Attach the drain hose. If one was not provided with your unit, a shallow pan works as well.
Step 3: Water should drain out of the unit. Once done, please reattached the drain cap.
Stepl 4: Restart your unit and wait until the P1 symbol disappears from the display window.
End of Season Storage
To upkeep your unit and ensure it continues to function please follow these steps when the cooling season has ended and you are storing your unit:
- Wipe down the exterior with a soft, damp cloth for the surface level only
- Drain the leftover water and clean the filter using the instructions above specific to your type of unit
- Store in a dry place away from sunlight
- Keep all components and accessories with your unit if unit is to be uninstalled and reinstalled throughout the year
See something we could improve on? Let us know! Feel free to email hrp@earthadvantage.org