Portable Camping Air Conditioner Review (Pictures Included)

Since the Summer is here, the weather has been brutally hot and humid. I did not wish to pause my camping due to the heat, so I started researching portable air conditioner options.

• EENOUR QN750 Portable Air Conditioner (Amazon:
  EENOUR QN750 Portable Air Conditioners, Home AC Unit 2900 BTU's, Dual Hose System, 250W Low Power Consumption for Camping Tent, Truck, Car, Van and RV
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09TDXWC4Q?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details )
  
  
• HISENSE 5000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner (Lowes: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hisense-Hisense-150-SF-Portable-AC/5005373569 )
• EcoFlow Wave Portable Air Conditioner ( EcoFlow: https://us.ecoflow.com/products/wave-portable-air-conditioner )

I initially ordered the EENOUR from Amazon, but the shipping got screwed up and did not receive it in time for a scheduled camping trip. Since I did not wish to sleep in the humid heat, I purchased the Lowes portable just for the trip. Side note for each one:

1. EENOUR: I own and have physically tested
2. Lowes: I own and have physically tested
3. EcoFlow Wave: I DO NOT own and have not physically tested, but have done lots of research and spoke with EcoFlow several times asking question. So, my comments on the Wave are solely from research.

My comments on ear are as follows:

EENOUR Portable Air Conditioner

PRO:

• Relatively small footprint
• Light: is the lightest of the 3 at only 22 lbs
• 2900 BTU. The smallest cooling size coming in at 2900 BTU but is sufficient for a tent.
• Price: Comes in at $999
• well packaged
• Panasonic twin piston compressor
• Downscales the compressor and fan speed when temperature is met.
• Uses the least power which is ideal for battery power station
• Most ideal for tents at night

CON:

• Still a bit pricey but cheaper then the Wave
• Must be level so that the condensing water may drain.
• Cannot keep up with the hear in a tent during a bright sunny hot day (no problem at night)
• Digital read out does not display the ambient temperature but rather the temp the unit is set to cool to. I had to use an external digital thermometer to know the ambient temp in the tent.

Lowes 5000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner

PRO:

• Definitely cools the tent
• Cheap

CON:

• Big, Bulky, Heavy
• Uses lots of power (800watts)
• water needs to be drained frequently
• Unit shuts off when temp is met thus feeling the humid air instantly

EcoFlow Wave Portable Air Conditioner

PRO:

• Portable
• Will cool a tent
• No water draining (if under 70% humidity)
• Can be used with the EcoFlow Detlta Max and Delta Pro battery power stations

CON:

• Price
• Uses 400 - 500+ watts of power
• Only DC connection is to the Delta series battery power station. Any other power station needs to use the AC plugs which takes 500+ watts of power.
• Not the smallest

Summary Experience

After ordering the Amazon EENOUR air conditioner, it did not arrive in time for my scheduled camping trip. I ended up purchasing the Lowes one, just to be comfortable. The Lowes AC is still big and bulky but managed to get it in the RTT. It cooled the tent fine, but once temp was reached, the unit would just shut off. Humidity levels were about 75% so when the unit shut off, the humidity instantly shot up and became uncomfortable. It would take about 2 minutes for the unit to come back on, but that 2 minutes was uncomfortable. To prevent this, I simply turned the thermostat way down but ended up getting cold. Not the most ideal solution

The Amazon EENOUR AC arrived in time for my next camping trip. This unit fit better in the tent and definitely cooled it down at night. I set it at 70 degrees and when the unit reaches it temp, it scales down the compressor and fan. This keeps the cool air flowing, but at a much smaller rate. There was no humidity spikes and when needed, the compressor and fans automatically ramp up to meet the temp. It kept the tent at about 68 degrees with the outside air in the 80's and a humidity level of 75%. I was impressed.

I followed up with a test during the day and the sun beating down on the tent. Outside air was lower 90's with a humidity level at about 75%. With the sun beating down on the tent, the tent temperature inside was 104. The AC unit could get it to the lower to mid 90's and reduce the humidity level, but really could not keep up with that amount of heat. So, I would say this is a night use air conditioner.

My final test was to use my EcoFlow River Pro battery power station to power the air conditioner. My total watt hours was about 1440 wh. The EENOUR does include a DC power cord, but in my opinion is useless. The unit uses 24 volt DC. I would have to parallel 2 12 volt batteries together to get the needed 24 and this is not practical. I simply plugged the AC cord into the AC plug in the power station. I was surprised as to how little power this air conditioner uses. Here is the energy usage:

• Night outside temperature was 86 at 75% humidity
• set the AC on it's highest fan setting and set the thermostat to 70.
• Once 70 digress was reached, manually set the fan speed to low
• 
  
• Highest cooling power getting the tent to 70 degrees: 250 watts
• Low setting once 70 degrees was reached: 170 watts
• Unit automatically scales down once temp is reached: 7 watts
• My River Pro and extra batter of 1440 watt hours powered the unit and kept the temperature at 68 for 9 hours
• Lasting 9 hours really impressed me.

As a comparison note to the the EcoFlow Wave Air conditioner, the main point that bothers me about the Wave is the only way to directly use a DC cower station to power is the proprietary cable to the EcoFlow Delta Max and Delta Pro power stations. All other power stations must use the AC connection which requires more power. Even with the DC connection, it still uses 400 to 500+ watts of power. This is significantly more than the EENOUR air conditioner.

In summary, if you are wanting to cool a smaller tent, I think the EENOUR is a much better option due to:

• Cheaper
• Uses less power and more ideal for a power station
• Smaller
• Lighter
• sufficient to cool a tent