Costco has a pretty small 6000 btu AC now
I bought one and am going to see if I can mod it to work just venting from the back for a in-cabinet side wall installation. It is very very tiny and $139. I will let you know how it goes.
Forum Discussion
It is pretty close to the same as my mock up, except I didn't end up sloping in the sides toward the front of the AC and just made them 90 degree box shaped. I bent all of the aluminum on a $50 harbor freight bender.
I taped strips of paper in various places on the vent to watch the airflow and it does blow and suck in the correct areas as it should. I put some fiberglass screen on the inside of the outside vent grill to keep bugs/spiders out. This does not seem to impede the airflow. I attached the screen with dobs of JB weld. Dobs might not be a word since it is underlined in red. Am I babbling yet? I purchased the outside vent grill at either Lowes or Home Depot. If I had pants on I would go outside and measure it. Your dimensions sound right...you just want the vent to be large enough side to side to allow air to flow in both sides so it can be blown out the front.
Here is a picture from the inside without the vent cover on to give you an idea of the ducting. Note that before I added the cover I taped the seams of the shroud with a rubber type tape (like eternabond or something?) so if water blows in from the outside it will just collect in the pan. Oh yes, the bottom of the shroud is made up of an aluminum pan I bent up and sealed the corners with JB weld to make a water catch if the AC's condensation overflows. I have a sponge in each side to absorb the water and wick it up into the air where the ducting action will cause it to evaporate and assist in cooling the unit. Did that make any sense? So far I have not seen the water overflow the actual Danby pan, even in the humid NW.
I taped strips of paper in various places on the vent to watch the airflow and it does blow and suck in the correct areas as it should. I put some fiberglass screen on the inside of the outside vent grill to keep bugs/spiders out. This does not seem to impede the airflow. I attached the screen with dobs of JB weld. Dobs might not be a word since it is underlined in red. Am I babbling yet? I purchased the outside vent grill at either Lowes or Home Depot. If I had pants on I would go outside and measure it. Your dimensions sound right...you just want the vent to be large enough side to side to allow air to flow in both sides so it can be blown out the front.
Here is a picture from the inside without the vent cover on to give you an idea of the ducting. Note that before I added the cover I taped the seams of the shroud with a rubber type tape (like eternabond or something?) so if water blows in from the outside it will just collect in the pan. Oh yes, the bottom of the shroud is made up of an aluminum pan I bent up and sealed the corners with JB weld to make a water catch if the AC's condensation overflows. I have a sponge in each side to absorb the water and wick it up into the air where the ducting action will cause it to evaporate and assist in cooling the unit. Did that make any sense? So far I have not seen the water overflow the actual Danby pan, even in the humid NW.
