Portable air conditioners

[nursemelody]

My tanks are usually around 70 degrees, but I live in Florida, and have had the air go out a couple times where I had to scramble to keep my yellow-spotted sallies, and my firebelly newts cool enough... I was also thinking of keeping a Pseudotriton ruber and I know they need it especially cool.....

Has anyone tried using portable air conditioner units in their caudate rooms? If so, what do you recommend? I was thinking that I could bring the room down maybe 5 degrees, and put it on a timer, and turn it off in the winter... Also if the air were to go out again it would be a lifesaver!

I am just so confused with all the different types of units I see out there....Help anyone?

 

[SludgeMunkey]

In my old house, prior to installing central AC, I used the cheapest window AC money could buy set on an old end table with some clever tubing and buckets to catch the condensate. Eventually, I had to run a garden hose all the way to the floor drain in the basement, which upset my wife greatly as I had to bore a two inch hole through the floor to do it...

It worked, but we get the humidity here in Nebraska just as bad as Florida gets. In short you have to make sure the buckets get emptied every few hours religiously or you ruin your floors and get mildew.

As for the portable conditioners, we tried them out at the box factory I used to work at and found them to be a very expensive waste of money. Window conditioners are much more cost effective when placed on a frame or cart as previously described.

Also, do not be fooled by manufacturer's claims of systems that do not require a condensate collection system. If the relative humidity is above 60%, these "self emptying" systems cannot keep up and you get warped hardwood and squishy carpets.

My advice for terrestrial caudates? Go the cheapskate route and buy a hundred dollar minifridge. Set the thermostat on the warmest setting for a few days, then set the temperature where you want it. Once you have it stabilized to the temperature you desire, Keep your critters in there during the hot weather. Just make sure you check them every day to allow some fresh air in!

For fully aquatic species, I am a huge fan of the frozen two liter soda bottle method of cooling. I used it for years in California with great success, but then again I was an even bigger cheapskate then than I am now.

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