Ordering a window seal panel for an air-conditioning vent.

[David001]

Every year for a few weeks the bedroom in the timber-framed part of our house is too hot to sleep in.
We have a small portable Pifco air-conditioning unit with a flexible (but somewhat unbending) vent which is about one a half metres long.  So we ought to use this AC more effectively.

 

So, when it's hot, I'm sold on the following method of air-conditioning:

1. opening the window (our windows are outward-moving casements),
2. attaching a solid panel to the inside of the window-frame (by way of window-clips),
3. inserting one end of the "flexible" hose through a circular hole in the panel,
4. switching on the air-conditioner.

 

There are a few challenges:

 

There will be considerable drag from the weight and pull of the ventilation hose.  This drag will pull on the panel.  The panel will be kept in place against the window frame by two window-clips along each edge of the panel (the panel will be 82cms high and 44cms wide), but the clips are small things which ought to suffer from as little backward pulling as possible, otherwise they eventually come out of the uPVC frames

. 

Also, if the panel is cut from a sheet of clear acrylic (to let in light during the day), the panel could bend a bit in the area where the vent is dragging on it.  It seems that some people use a 4mm acrylic sheet to make such panels, but I'm inclined to pay more and order a 10mm-thick sheet.

 

An alternative would be to order a sheet of plywood and paint it.  It wouldn't let light in during the day, but given that the panel would only be in position for a few weeks in summer, that wouldn't be a problem.

 

However, the length of the shaft of available window-clips has to be considered.  I've found some on Amazon which would hold a panel which is 10mm thick firmly in place.  What is the thickness of the thinnest plywood?

 

Any advice on any of this?

 

[Nickfromwales]

It would be a serious compromise to security, plus it’s going to kill your window beads from taking in/out seasonally. 
 

I’d core drill a hole down low, to match exactly where the outlet exists the AC unit, and just blank the hole off when not in use. Simple blanks with EPS plugs to insulate through winter and be draught-proof would be simple to make, and no unsightly hose or flimsy plastic panel to contend with.

[David001]

@Nickfromwales, thanks, as ever.

Our window is on the first floor and miles from humanity, so there will be no security risk, but thanks for the thought.

The room's exterior is timber-framed, insulation panels, with horizontal boarding, so a bit messy to create a hole beneath the window.

Other thoughts?

[Nickfromwales]

2 hours ago, David001 said:

@Nickfromwales, thanks, as ever.

Our window is on the first floor.

 

Other thoughts?

Yes, won’t it be quite dangerous to be swapping out a glazed unit if you’re above the ground floor?

 

2 hours ago, David001 said:

The room's exterior is timber-framed, insulation panels, with horizontal boarding, so a bit messy to create a hole beneath the window.

I’d still say this is your best bet tbh. Saves the risks of juggling the glazed unit and (eventually) buggering up the seals / beads. 

[elite]

As a "temporary" solution I have a 4mm sheet of arcylic held by velcro onto the casement, the velcro doesn't look great but it does the job until I get around to renovating the bedroom and coming up with a more perminant solution like having proper insulation or even proper AC. I haven't had any issues with the weight of the hose

[David001]

16 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

Yes, won’t it be quite dangerous to be swapping out a glazed unit if you’re above the ground floor?

 

I’d still say this is your best bet tbh. Saves the risks of juggling the glazed unit and (eventually) buggering up the seals / beads. 

@Nickfromwales, the business is to open the window outwards when it's hot and the AC is going to be used, then place a panel or board against the inside of the frame of the window and clip it in place, then to pop the ventilation tube through the round hole in the panel/board.  The glazed unit will be untouched.  The uPVC frames are sturdy and thick, nevertheless I think you're right in triggering the idea that if the panel is, let's say, a heavy and thick piece of plywood, then there could be some degree of stress placed on the frame.  So I think I will go with the 4mm acrylic panel solution, which seems to be commonly used for this purpose.

[David001]

6 hours ago, elite said:

As a "temporary" solution I have a 4mm sheet of arcylic held by velcro onto the casement, the velcro doesn't look great but it does the job until I get around to renovating the bedroom and coming up with a more perminant solution like having proper insulation or even proper AC. I haven't had any issues with the weight of the hose

@elite, yes, I now think I will go for the 4mm acrylic sheet which many people use for this purpose, but I won't use the usual velcro strips because I've read quite a number of reviews saying that they come unstuck in the heat, and if you go to renew them you find a nasty lot of glue left on the acrylic which is difficult to remove without using a solvent which wrecks the finish of the acrylic.  So I think it had better be acrylic sheet plus window-clips.
24 Pack 3/8 Inch White Window Screen Clips and Storm Window Clips, Offset Retainer Clips for Securing Window Screens and Storm Door Panels with Easy Installation : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

 

I'm looking for bits to bind the end of the vent tube to the panel.  The closest I've got so far is a kit for a tumble dryer but the AC tube vent is 15cms in diameter. 
Wall Vent PVC Kit Tumble Dryer External Extractor Black Gravity Grille 4" 100mm | eBay UK

Surely the fitting exists somewhere?  If there isn't a louvre on the end then there needs to be an insect mesh and a guard to stop rain slipping down the tube and into the machine (not that there will be a sudden downpour during a heatwave, but you never know, do you?)

Edited 4 hours ago by David001