In the 1990s I had a window air conditioner in a room that bore the
brunt of serious summer storms. This was a closed-in porch that was
built poorly in the 1950s. We had serious water come in through the
window with the air conditioner- soaking and rotting the drywall and
insulation at least 4 times over a period of years. imagine water
puddling on the window sill and streaming into my house. At one point
ice formed underneath the siding.

I had the entire back of my townhouse rebuilt and 9 new windows
installed. However all contractors refused to build eaves/overhang
onto the house, so I still can get rain pretty hard against the glass.


Call me irrational, my wife sure does, but I have such a fear of water
coming in again that I never put the air conditioner back in and keep
the windows closed at night and whenever I'm out of the house. Result:
no more water problems.

Now, It's clear I need to get a window unit back in there.

I want something with absolutely the smallest opening we can get and
preferably something I can pull out of the window in case of severe
weather. The old unit struggled at 5000 btus.

I like the idea of the portable AC unit. I know traditional AC people
cringe. I saw brands like Royal Sovereign and WindChaser in the $300
range. Anyone know about reliability with these brands?

Are there other options for someone looking for the smallest possible
chance for water to get in the house? I don't want to focus on one
solution if others exist.

thanks,

Don