Vostok Portable Air Conditioner VOPORAIR18HA

For the price this thing is a beast – Our primary concern was how cool this unit could make our large 5x5m business room while we work and it has turned our hot box into a freezer even while it was 39 degrees outside today and I only got it set up mid afternoon. Double thumbs up for performance. In Winter using the heating mode I discovered that like other have noted that the unit… Read more

generates a lot of water via condensation. The unit would stop running and produce an error wanting me to empty the water tray at least once a day. Fortunately the unit came with a bit of clear tubing that can be inserted into the drain port so I raised the air conditioner up on some bits of timber, attached the drain hose and placed a large container at the end of the hose. Now rather than push this huge, heavy thing outside to drain it every day I can just drain the container.

The two clear trade-offs for the price/performance are the window kit and the noise. The window kit was not tall enough for our windows and is made from cheap plastic so it makes for a terrible seal. A good seal is essential if you don't want the hot exhaust air coming back into the room and ruining the cooling. That said some cardboard and packing tape soon has that little problem solved so for the price it was within expectations.

The noise level is very much the same as an old square window/wall unit you can find in any cheap motel, perhaps even a bit higher due to it's high cooling output. I would be able to sleep with it running no problem but I would also be able to sleep through the zombie apocalypse so that's not saying a whole lot.

Overall this was the cheapest solution to our hot/cold business room and while it has some caveats, in general I am really happy with the purchase so far.

It works. But not as well as it should – I bought this product on sale so the value for money is greater than that of anyone unfortunate enough to pay full price. It's loud. Doesn't heat well at all and when running on heat constantly requires draining of the condensate tank. Show details

After 2 months keep getting FL error – This Unit works well overall even in extreme conditons, except for constant FL error meaning the unit is full of water. I then need to unplug the bottom drain plug and drain out the excess water. Weird thing is sometimes the Unit goes back to working normally and after awhile constant FL error again. The Unit is clean and so are the air filters. Show details

Powerful Portable Air Con - Great Value for money – This portable aircon is cheaper than some other big brands for the same power output. It has a healthy 18000 BTU per hour pumping out. It cooled my entire 45m2 apartment without a problem and made a huge difference during summer and also warmed up during winter. It comes with a remote and is very easy to operate, doesn't need too much water… Read more

added for daily applications.

Very happy with purchase, it does go through your electricity a fair bit so keep this in mind when searching for an air con.

Final Verdict: 4/5

Great air conditioner than is really powerful at cooling down large rooms or small apartments, inly downside is that it does use a fair bit of electricity so bare this in mind when purchasing, otherwise it's excellent.

Value and quality – Suitable for 1,000 square feet of cooling or heating at 18,000 BTU. Easy to use control panel and display, also has a remote. Purchased from Kogan for $599 reduced from $899. Alas 2 weeks later Kogan offered another $170 off this unit to clear the end of season stock. The home is a four room semi detached brick and render house, no ceiling… Read more

insulation installed and house has corrugated iron roof. The Vostok unit seems to keep the home around 22C according to my room thermometer in these 30C+ days outside we have had. It is true that it has an option to inject water during cooling but this water is injected into the exhaust to cool the exhaust tube so it does not add heat to the room from that exhaust tube. It is not an evaporation cooler. Cheaper models do not have this facility and the heat from the tube can heat the room quite a bit.

ITs an evaporator style air conditioner – Item needs 120 litres of water a day to work effectively. We have to put 10 litres of water every two hours for the thing to work to some degree. Without the water the air is mildly cool. Struggles to cool our 9m2 bedroom. Don't waste your money. Kogan aftersales service is non existent. they will not replace item they say that's how it works. Again waste of money. Works like an evaporator style cooler but cost a lot more. Show details

What I learnt buying a portable air Conditioner – Firstly, if you own your unit/flat install a wall unit. It will cost you more and you will need to have it professionally installed - but it will be more effective than a portable unit. Secondly, if you rent or cant afford a wall unit this air con may fit the bill. Thirdly, these units really aren't very portable. Ideally you will need to… Read more

choose an ideal location (more below) and leave it there all summer. Why? see the next item.

Fourthly, if your portable is to be effective its ALL about sealing the outlet tube/pipe. And if you do that properly it will be too big a deal to move it and reseal it in another window.

Fifthly - and this is really important too, you MUST calculate whether your choice of air con can cope with the area you want to cool. If it can't you are pretty well wasting your money. The machine will struggle and actually fail to cool your area AT ALL. Fortunately unlike a lot of sites Kogan actually provides all the info to allow you to make those calculations. In my case I have a smallish lounge kitchen area. This, the largest portable available JUST passed the area test. The smaller units available are unlikely to be much use except for the smallest bedrooms. So watch it. Buy the biggest and most powerful a/c you can.

Now I was pretty skeptical that this a/c with a name that sounds like a Russian space ship from the 70s would be any good. When it arrived it was well packed and pretty easy to unpack. But it is HUGE. you will need room for it to fit. Once it is on its wheels it is easy to move round.

It took me about an hour to set up properly. Mainly fitting and adjusting and sealing the outlet pipe. For me there were no surprises or real difficulties. The pipe isn't a great fit into the fittings either at the back of the unit or into the window fitting. The window fitting is pretty basic but should work with most windows.

You will need some decent wide tape. Gaffer at a pinch or plastic electric tape - which is ideal (about $5-10). Seal everything with the tape. Both ends of the pipe and the whole window fitting. You need to get the exhaust hot air out of your house. Make sure the big piping has no big bends over 45 degrees. Later when it is running find the hot air leaks and seal them again.

The instructions aren't clear but then you need to add water. Turned out to be about 5 litre. There is a window but its a bit hard to see. don't overfill. Yo will need to top this up after an hour or two.

The controls are pretty straight forward. I just turned it on and the default settings were fine.

The screen will show you room temp and when you turn it on it will show target temp. I started with room temp at about 28. Within 40mins I reached target (C.22) and then it held it between 22 and 23 for about 5 hours. It was 36 outside.

I reckon that is a very good outcome. It wasn't too noisy but it wasn't quiet either. The fan is quite powerful but turning it down reduced the noise. There is a remote - it worked fine. There is a timer, it worked fine. I haven't tried the dehumidifier. Probably won't need to. Based on a few uses I have no hesitation in saying it worked well, was easy to use, is reasonably well built (it's a molded plastic box). I paid $600 and it was delivered free. 1 year warranty.

The unknown is how much power it uses. At 5.2kW and 18,000 BTU I'd say your electricity supplier will be delighted with your purchase

Extremely happy I purchased – This is the first air conditioner I’ve owned so I have nothing to compare it to but I think it’s awesome for QLD heat! I got it because I have a 6 month old and fans just aren’t enough during the harsh Queensland heatwaves, anyway I have quiet a large room with a fairly high ceiling and this unit is perfect for this room! I keep it on 24 degrees… Read more

and it is amazing! Certainly takes the harsh edge off the heat, as mentioned above this is the first aircon I’ve owned so I don’t know if this is normal or not but when turn it off within about 15 minutes the room is hot again. Took me about 20 minutes to set up and has wheels which makes everything so much easier, also has a thermometer built in when turnt off but still plugged in which is really cool. I’ve run this unit for over 8 hours non stop in the recent heatwave and it functioned just as well in the 8th hour as it did in the 1st. Keep in mind the exhaust hose is extended to the max as I have to try and make the cord reach the power point and it’s recommended to be at its shortest to work most effectively! I %100 recommend getting an industrial extension cord if you don’t have a power socket near a window.

This is just the best thing I have ever bought! – This was like a perfect  Show details

Fantastic – l got my reverse cycle Aircon January and am very happy with it does the job exactly as it says it should do easy to move around about if needed has a big water tank so not forever filling it up every 5 min.