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[mb30]

Hello, i was wondering if anyone has any knowledge of portable air conditioners.
I've moved to the UK and last year i purchased my first chinchilla, "chinchoo". She is an awesome little animal.
Summer is approaching and there isnt any central air conditioning out here. It doesnt stay hot enough long enough. With the weather being as crazy as it has been and the upcoming week or two of summer we get i figure i might as well buy an air conditioner just to be safe. Im looking for one that isnt evaporative as i do not want to increase the humidity. I do not want a wall mounted unit nor a window mounted unit. I want it to be a stand alone portable. I have been doing research and was looking at a delonghi pac 90.b. I guess worst case scenario i could go for an evaporative and move the chinchilla to the bathroom where it stays cool while the room she stays in cools down and then use the dehumidifier to take the moisture out then move her back into the room. Does anyone have any suggestions or worthwhile advice? Thanks in advance. Any help would be much appreciated.

[GrayRodent]

Evaporative coolers will not work on days with high humidity. I used to live in a desert area (Phoenix, AZ) and we used our evaps all the time, but during the rainy season they just didn't work. I've never used a portable air conditioner before but I've used window-mounted air conditioners that work well but they are only powerful enough to cool one room. Also keep in mind the summers got real hot there like 46 degrees. I think there's an advantage to using a standalone because you can put it near the cage (just make sure your chin isn't in a cold draft) where it is needed. I have a friend who says she likes hers as I was asking about the same thing. This was an earlier post on that one: http://www.chinchillaclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,3537.0.html

[mojito]

Yea look at the topic that Gray posted, I have had mine since that post and love it. It uses a refrigerant and connects to the window but has it still sealed (it still a stand alone its a tube that goes to the window). It dehumidifies, acs and is a fan! And I don't think its messed with our bill very much at all (I keep it on almost all the time)

[mb30]

Is that alright with your chinchilla? I dont have to worry much about humidity i guess. Ive never used one before so im not quite sure how much humidity they actually release. That specific one wouldnt be an option since im in the UK but at least i could match the specs up.

[GrayRodent]

Using an evaporative cooler is terrible for bringing up humidity in a room and this can be uncomfortable for chins increasing the risk of behavioral issues like fur chewing. In the desert it felt good because the air was too dry in the summer (RH around 10%), but when it was higher (30%+) you could feel the moisture on your skin and the efficiency came down to the point where it felt like it was doing nothing. Having an air conditioner is much better.

By using a regular air conditioner that uses a compressor it will actually dive the humidity down. In fact there is a bucket that collects water that you'll have to empty. I used to use one in an office where I worked where the humidity was high in the summer(over 50%RH) and it could generate a couple of gallons a day.

[mojito]

I have not used the dehumidifier yet, it can hold like 20 or so gallons but even when it rains it drops the relative humidity enough that its comfortable. Where I'm at (South Carolina) its usually pretty humid so I'm sure you won't have to worry about it (depending on where you're at in the UK). I didn't know all that about evaporative coolers, I just didn't get one bc I needed a dehumidifier as well so got one that could do both.

My AC is also very close to my chin, and it does not bother him one bit bc its pretty quiet for an AC.