There is an HVAC forum, and you can edit your post to cross-post there.

I do know that our A/C (which is not portable) has a drain, and if this is plugged up, the A/C will stop working, and so we have a hose that drains it out at all times. We never leave it plugged.

You do not want to have to be draining the water out manually all the time.

Portable ACs are like dehumidifiers in that respect - the collected water has to go somewhere. If you can attach a hose to continually drain it, that's much easier than emptying the reservoir yourself, which might have to be done quite often depending on how hot and humid the weather is.

It may vary depending on the specific brand of portable AC. We had one that collected the condensate and we had to drain it out of a tube at the bottom. It was very annoying.

I was surprised how much water/condensation there was in the little time we ran it.

I recently bought one for the office in the barn, because that is where I spend most of my day. I paid more for it than I wanted to...$377, with tax. Due to the windows, which slide to the side, and are too narrow for the typical window unit, I had to buy one that has a huge hose, or maybe you might call it a duct, that goes out the window. There is a panel that fills the space, with just an opening that you insert the hose through. There are a couple of places on the back that are marked as water drains, but they are plugged, and there is a light that tells you when they need drained. I am surprised that I have had it almost a month and still haven't had to drain it.

I will say though....it is the best $377 I have spent in a long time. I keep it on 78 or 79, and with the ceiling fan (small room....24 x 12, but several feet closed off that is the bathroom)....it keeps it very comfortable.

I'm unclear as to what you mean by a "portable AC" got a pic or a website for your particular unit?

@vgkgZ-7Va Portables sit on the floor with a window kit for the hose to exhaust the air. Window a/c's sit in the window.

Mine is a portable and has a drain plug with a tray to collect any water. I've never ever had water come out of it. The only time is drains water is on the Dehumidify mode, when the hose will drain into a floor drain. Otherwise I leave the plug on the drain hole. I took it off yesterday to see if any water came out and none did.

Marilyn, I'm glad yours is cooling. I don't care for mine, and I paid $500, a Danby. It runs all the time, on the lowest setting at 18C. (64F), and I can't get the living area where it's situated to cool under 27C (81F). I'm sitting in the livingroom now with the a/c running beside me and I'm hot.

The bedrooms are all 30C+.

I had the service guy come out last year and he said it's working fine, just that we've had a lot of hot days. Duh. Cost me $150 to tell me that my a/c doesn't do what an a/c should do?

Jasdip, does your unit cool better when it's in dehumidify mode? I'm used to summers that are so humid there's no way an a/c unit could operate without producing water.

Mine had a little bucket inside you could empty or if you wanted you could hook up the drain to be drained away. I used to just empty the little bucket. It would stop when full. I bought mine used for $30.

Sue