This gets an F in my book

The Soleus LX-120 Portable Air Conditioner has by far, got to be one of the worst manufactured products on the face of the Earth. This particular product was designed in mind by executives who have no real idea of what the consumer experiences at their own home. They don't take into account what people face at their homes since each living situation is obviously different. What the Soleus LX-120 is, is an expensive quick fix that doesn't address long term problems. It also cost a whopping 400 bucks at Target and was a pain in the tush to transport unless you have the convenience of a moving van or truck.

What this particular item tries to do, is possibly try to solve the problems a consumer will face when they live in a place where there are upright windows. That being the case, it's expensive to buy an upright air conditioner and the only way to purchase one is to get it online. Forget Home Depot, forget Walmart, forget Target. You can only get them on their websites since the case is rare that people need them. That being for people who can purchase normal A/C's. So that leaves people with having to buy a piece of junk at the same equal price: the portable air conditioner. What they should really call it is Bug Trap Central since this thing seems to have no problem attracting bugs and trapping them into one of the air pockets provided, giving a quick death and leaving a rotting thing behind for the customer to find when they have to do any kind of maintenance. You can thank Soleus for that, since they're impossible to return the item and they need to protect their profit since this item costs them a buttload of money to make in order to make a buttload of money to get, and in turn, providing inferior service and a complicated situation of setting this thing up.

So to be more specific, I will tell you my firsthand experience with Soleus, complete with abstract instruction guide and obscure contact information that just screams how much they want to avoid any problems with consumers. There's even a section devoted to portable air conditioners on their website for anyone who experiences problems firsthand, which might suggest that I'm not the only one who has gripes with this "air conditioner" as they call it. The key ingredient of this machinery are two very long, retractable plastic tubes (of cheap material you could find in the plumbing section of a hardware store), that lock into the two round air holes provided, which are designed with filters that prevent any insect from being sucked up into it more. Now mind you, these tubes are a pain considering what you have to do to get them to stay. They supposedly lock into the two plastic ring connectors between the air holes and the tubes. But there's no actual groove designed to lock the tubes into the connectors, providing the only thing you can do is twist the tube into the connector. This practically never pans out, and reduces you to making a trip to the nearest Home Depot for high quality duct tape to get it to work.

Now, let alone the already 68 pound piece of crap you have to lug around to get places. The tubes are connected with duct tape, comes the next fun job. There's an adjustable plastic board in which the tubes also connect through, with the usage of more connecting crap. This adjustable board is meant to stand upright through the window, where the window slides over to lock it in. This in itself is tough because the "adjustable" part of this board doesn't quite satisfy all, and what's worse is it never seems to fully lock in with the pressure added by the tubes that weigh it down. Hence, more duct tape is needed. So after plugging this thing in and dealing with much frustration later, comes the easy part. Turning this thing on, which is a multiple machine: A/C, Heater and Fan. Somewhere in between, they forgot high quality product. The temperature range is between 61 and 85 degrees. It doesn't get any higher, and it doesn't get any lower.

Now, alternating between the A/C, Heater and Fan is rather easy, as there is a digital readout on top of the A/C that provides symbols indicating which mode your machine is in. Right now, it's in A/C mode which stands for All Crap mode. Pardon me if I sound bitter, and pardon me if my opinion is going over the line. But honestly speaking, I don't think I'm the only one with a grudge against this machine, judging by the reviews of the Soleus portable A/C on Epinions. Soleus has crafted a highly complicated product that should be far easier than it ever lets up to be, and not to mention, very, very, very disgusting which I'm about to reveal in a justifiably immature fashion.

The Soleus machine attracts f*cking bugs. I mean f*cking insects that stupidly fly into one of the open tubes and end up meeting their maker in one of the holes. Now the thing is, Soleus' instructions are rather vague as to the placement of these tubes over a window screen or just an open window. They don't explain this clearly if at all and make you question whether the machine works better with or without the screen. In my experience, it works a heir better and instead of boiling, you're just at that point where you can comfortably move without peeling off the furniture from sweat. But without the screen, you get the honor of cleaning up dead insects both out of the air hole and the air filter that slides up. I myself saw a few winged creatures. It seems on top of everything, Soleus basically put out a product that needed more testing, but instead, felt that there are no problems with a machine that they clearly have no grasp on. You can thank them for that.

I also forgot to mention this thing is LOUD. You can hear it going to bed and you can hear it when you wake up (if you're still awake). Soleus as a company doesn't make a quality product, not to mention a sound one just as they do with this "thing". This thing is also awkward to move around like a full filing cabinet. It just sits there like an inanimate shape and thanks to the retail stores that sell this product, they won't make it easy to return if not harder. So you're up the creek without a paddle, since Soleus and whoever sold this product are the ones who have broken that paddle in half and expecting you to do the job.

Personally speaking, do not buy expensive junk like this Portable Air Conditioner by Soleus, because it will just lead you to the road of frustration. One of the more "admirable" traits is they don't bother with straightforward instructions in the proper way of water disposal (which in itself, let out a few more dead things), which makes up for much aggravation like it just did for myself, on a 90 degree day, trying to empty an upright water tank at the bottom of an upright machine, at an angle. This provided several times alternating between draining the stupid tank and pouring out the water. The Soleus LX-120 Portable Air Conditioner is quite literally, one of the most aggravating, poorly constructed monstrosities to ever come out of the air conditioning business, only indicating a serious flaw and irresponsibility of how it would be presented to the public.

This is part of a trend of people purchasing these items, believing they'll find a quality product that won't require much maintenance. But instead, will lead to the feeling that you got ripped off some serious cash, that instead, could've gone to an equally expensive upright A/C that would've required some technical maneuvering when setting it up, but not lead you down a path of frustration and disappointment, much like this item has done.

So in rounding up my final review, I just want to say simply:

Do not purchase it.