Amcor AMC10000 Review

Overall Rating

Relatively cheap to run. Easy to install. Portable

Noisy. Very heavy. Not great cooling power

I bought the Amcor AMC 10000 portable Air Conditioner from my local Comet. My flat has very large windows and consequently gets very hot during the summer, so I decided to buy an air conditioner.
The model I picked was mid priced when I bought it (£270) although now it is the entry level model in the Comet online store.
The unit vents externally so has a large plastic pipe that comes out the back similar to a tumble dryer. Luckily I have an existing vent in my wall for this purpose - although I had to buy an adapter as the hole is c.90mm and the pipe from the unit is 100mm.
I carried the unit home - something I won't do again. It weighs 36 Kilos and my arms nearly fell off after only a hundred yards or so. It has castors on the bottom so you can wheel it around once it's out of the box, but be wary of trying to carry it up any stairs.
My main problem with it is the noise it produces. The Comet website description of the item reads "Ultra quiet operation, offers little disturbance". This is blatantly untrue; the unit produces a lot of noise from the internal fan. The unit isn't faulty - the noise is not mechanical, it's simply the sound of the air rushing out of the unit. Imagine a very large fan running at a very high speed and you get the idea. When the system is running at high fan speed with the compressor on then you can forget about watching the television etc., unless you turn up the volume to full. I think the manufacturers/retailers should quote dB figures for the noise a unit produces to aid comparisons.
The amount of cooling the unit provides is also not great. The packaging states that the unit is suitable for a room up to 29 square metres - which is about the size of my front room. With all the windows closed and the unit externally vented it seemed incapable of getting the temperature below 25 degrees C. It wasn't a very hot day outside either. I think that manufacturers room size doesn't take into account the room height. I have 13 foot ceilings and if the manufacturers information had quoted the room volume I probably would have purchased a different unit.
The digital controls on the system are easy to use though. Simply set the temperature you desire and set the unit to automatic. It then cools and sets the fan speed as required, proportional to the ambient temperature of the room.
I wouldn't recommend buying this unit though. If I had the choice again I would buy a more powerful unit - this unit provides 10,000 btu's of cooling. I am assuming that a unit with more cooling power means that the fan etc. can be run at a lower and quieter speed. Although it seems that power can only go up a little without resorting to a unit that needs a box placed outside - which isn't an option for me in a 3rd floor flat.

Members' Comments ongeclinke's Review

• Kingdom Come on 31st Jul 2006

  I am sorry to hear your were disappointed in the noise of the unit. This is something I fear. I haven't bought one yet and am researching as much as I can. I won't use Comet that's for sure. As I live in a flat the last thing I want is a noisy unit, as I do not want to bother neighbours, even though I have concrete floors and mine will be kept in the bedroom during summers.

• barclayal on 13th Jun 2007

  
  
  I've got the same problem with my unit and that is without the 13' ceilings. The unit is too noisy for a bedroom at night or in a normal household room.
  
  Also even in a bedroom it does not cool under 24degrees and the humidity is unbearable. I wish that I hadn't bought this unit. Manufacturers are wrong about noise levels and capacity.