SereneLife Portable Air Conditioner

This is a review for SereneLife SLPAC14 Portable Air Conditioner (14,000 BTU). I had a great AC that died recently. So, I did some research to find the ideal AC, however I had the hardest time choosing one due to lack of information on the AC’s listing pages and lack of honest opinions. So, I’m writing this review to help you make the right decision, or rather to save you from making the same mistake I made.In short, this AC is not good. Stay away. Don’t buy.To elaborate more:- Manual is in broken English. Some instructions are hard to understand.- The AC is heavier and larger than an average portable AC. Plus, you need around 20 inches of space around it, and the hose needs to be 35 inches up and away from the floor. Small room? Low window? No good.- Manual states “When the temperature is higher than 40c/104-f, it’s not recommended to use this unit.” Go ahead, buy this AC, but don’t use it when it’s hot outside. Shouldn’t this be in the product description? Shouldn’t one know BEFORE buying?- Wheels are useless. Needs A LOT of effort to move the AC if you have carpets on your floors. Therefore, it’s not truly portable. You can’t easily move it from window to window, and you might need help to get it to the window you want to install it in. Can’t comment on wooden or tile floors.- Manual states “If the machine is shut down in the cooling operation state, it needs to wait for three minutes before it can be turned on automatically”. And that is exactly what it’s been doing. You set it to cool and pick a temperature. When it reaches the set temperature, it turns totally and completely OFF. Three minutes later, it turns on again, then off. Without switching to fan mood in between. Why is this a problem? Well, you know when you first turn on white noise? You notice it at first, then it blends into the background. It drowns out all other annoying noises and helps you sleep, work, study, etc. Even when it’s loud, you don’t notice it until you shut it off. That’s what this AC does. It turns on with a LOUD white noise, then it turns COMPLETELY off. Doesn’t switch to fan mood. Then, a few minutes later, it turns on again. So you are constantly listing to the sound of white noise turning on and off, repeatedly. It gave me a terrible headache within the hour. It wakes me up every single time it turns off, or on. No restful sleep what so ever. I woke up exhausted and grumpy. If you want peaceful, restful sleep, this AC is not for you.- Control Panel: It sings TELALA in a loud, high-pitched voice, announcing itself to my entire building every time I press any button (panel or remote). How do you feel about your AC shouting at you every time you touch its buttons? If someone is sleeping, and you attempt to adjust the settings on this AC, you’ll wake them up.- Remote: Doesn’t sync with the panel on the AC. If you use the panel to turn on the AC and adjust the settings, then you grab the remote to change something. The settings on the panel will suddenly revert to the last settings you choose the last time you used the remote. All the settings you picked on the panel are now changed. Basically, you’ll need to stick to either the remote or the panel at all times and don’t touch the other. Although, if you want to use the temperature in celsius, your only option is the remote.- Window Kit and Hose: The hose is paper thin. So thin it wrinkles and lets in heaps of heat and sunlight. Window kit is just as bad. Thin plastic. Warps when you close the window, leaves tons of gaps, and doesn’t even fit a standard 35”-36" window. You’ll need to shed an extra $50 for a new kit.- Filter: A cheap thin layer of mesh. Never seen AC filter this cheap. Already showing signs of wear and tear and it’s brand new.- Drain Outlet: There is only ONE drain outlet. Positioned at the very bottom of the AC. It’s so low, it’s touching my carpet. No space, not even for the thinnest pan or tray. If there was a second outlet, you could easily open the bottom outlet (water won’t flow yet), hookup a drain hose, then open the top drain outlet, and THAT will cause the water to flow from the bottom drain. But with just ONE outlet, you need a yard, balcony, or other suitable place that allows for draining without a tray or hose. Many people don’t have such options. Also, when the AC tank is full of water, according to the manual, it’ll start beeping. Who’s in for a midnight awakening during a heat wave because the AC is throwing a fit?- Cooling Power: Even though I got the 14,000 BTU, and the temperature outside is only 22-c/72-f, and the room the AC is in is about 350 sq, I’m sweating! Most likely because the AC is not switching to fan mood. It just keeps shutting down every few minutes. Leaving me feeling suffocated with no flowing air or white noise to save me from my noisy neighbours like my previous AC did!Conclusion: The heat is sneaking upon us here in south California. It’s hard to believe how unlucky I got with this AC. Trapped in this terrible situation. Unable to afford another AC, and have no physical strength, transportation, or help to return it. I just want to cry. So upset. Sad beyond words. Do yourself a favor and look into other ACs from other companies. With that, I end my review and hope that it helped you in your search. Best of wishes to you all.