Stand-alone air conditioners. Do they really work?

[foodfiend]

I live in an apartment with no air conditioning. The windows don't allow for air conditioners, so I'll have to get a stand-alone one. I've only seen one once, but I didn't think it was very effective. It seemed to cool the air about 2 feet away from it.
Any experience with this or good brands to buy? Tx.

[munchies]

We bought one this summer for our master bedroom. We have central air, but it just doesn't cool our room much during the hottest days of summer. We got ours at Lowe's. It just has a tube that vents out the window. It looks fine from the street, which is something I was worried about. It doesn't have to be empty from a dehumidifier, but it does have a drip pan which I think you can empty. I think it somehow pushes the moisture back out the exhaust vent. I don't know - it just works!

It works great, as far as I'm concerned. We keep the bedroom door closed and it has no trouble keeping our room nice and cool. Again, though, it is supplementing central air. I'd say our room used to be about 10-15 degrees warmer using only our house a/c.

Oh- ours is a Danby. Not sure of other brands that are out there.

Heather