i have an LG portable unit bought on Craigs List to use before putting central air in my current house. I found it quite nice.
In the old house, which had radiators, I had a few bids for split ductless. It seemed art as well as science as a single unit can cool more than one room depending on how they route the lines.
I had a portable in my old apartment that I purchased at Home Depot in around 2013. It did not collect water to be emptied, and it really worked!
For short term, I ordered the fan from Amazon. There is relief today on the heatwave in NY, but summer’s not done yet. To really make sure it stays cool we’ll probably have to buy a new AC unit to scare away the hot weather.
We do not have central air and have radiator heat in our 1925 home. We hope to see soon and I do wish that we had considered the mini splits some years back because we’ve heard it would be MUCH cheaper than all the vent work that would have to be done to have central air.
I think the newer mini splits look even less intrusive than previously. Around here they go up the side of a home usually to the second floor
Just reporting back that I did order the the tower fan shown in post 10. The house we visited did have two window AC and a variety of fans, but this new one also helped. It is very quiet.
We had a Honeywell one while in a vacation rental. It cooled one normal sized room nicely. But which model I could not tell you. It did collect water which needed emptying but it was super humid where we were. In CA, I doubt that is an issue.
We have 2 of these and they seem to work well. You don’t need to drain them.