Machine Mart Air Conditioner Reviews: Clarke AC7050, AC10050 & AC13050

For most UK rooms, the Clarke AC7050 (7,000 BTU) is the sweet spot — enough cooling for a bedroom, home office or single garage bay without the price or noise of a larger unit. Step up to the AC10050 for rooms above 20 m², or the AC13050 if you are cooling a full double garage or workshop.

Clarke air conditioners at a glance

All four Clarke units are 3-in-1 (cooling, dehumidifying and fan), use eco-friendly R290 refrigerant, run on a standard 13A socket and ship with a window venting kit and castor wheels. They are sold through Machine Mart.

How many BTU do you actually need?

The common mistake is buying too big. An oversized unit short-cycles: it hits the target temperature fast, shuts off, and never runs long enough to pull humidity out of the air — so the room feels cold and clammy rather than comfortable.

As a rough UK guide, allow roughly 400 BTU per square metre of floor area, then add 10–20% for a west-facing room, a conservatory, poor insulation, or a garage with a metal up-and-over door.

• Small bedroom, box room, home office (up to 12 m²): AC5000B
• Standard bedroom, larger office, single garage bay (12–16 m²): AC7050
• Living room, large office (16–20 m²): AC10050
• Double garage, workshop, open-plan space (20–30 m²): AC13050

1. Clarke AC13050 Review — 12,000 BTU (Best for garages and workshops)

Rating: ★★★★★ (4.5/5)

The AC13050 is the most powerful unit in Clarke''s portable range and the one to pick if you are cooling a space that gets genuinely hot — a double garage, a workshop with machinery running, or a large open-plan room under a south-facing roof. Twelve thousand BTU is enough to pull a stifling workshop down to a workable temperature within 20–30 minutes.

Three fan speeds, a 24-hour timer and a remote mean you can set it running before you head out to the garage. Like all portable units it needs the exhaust hose venting through a window or door — the supplied kit handles a standard sash or casement window, but a permanent wall vent is worth the effort if the unit lives in a garage.

• Cooling capacity: 12,000 BTU
• Room size: up to 30 m²
• R290 refrigerant, remote control and window kit included
• Noisier than the smaller models — not one for a bedroom

Price: £382.80

View Clarke AC13050 at Machine Mart →

2. Clarke AC10050 Review — 9,000 BTU (Best all-rounder for living rooms)

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)

Sharing the same chassis and control layout as the AC13050, the AC10050 trades peak output for a lower price and slightly quieter running. It suits rooms in the 16–20 m² bracket — a typical UK living room or a large home office — and the dehumidify mode earns its keep through a damp British autumn as much as the cooling does in July.

• Cooling capacity: 9,000 BTU
• Room size: up to 20 m²
• Cool, fan and dehumidifier modes
• Same footprint as the AC13050, so no space saving

Price: £334.80

View Clarke AC10050 at Machine Mart →

3. Clarke AC7050 Review — 7,000 BTU (Best value)

Rating: ★★★★★ (4.5/5)

This is the model we would buy. Seven thousand BTU covers the majority of UK bedrooms and home offices, the cabinet is small enough to wheel out of the way, and it keeps the full 3-in-1 functionality of its bigger siblings. Running cost is noticeably lower than the 12,000 BTU unit, which matters if it is on for eight hours a night through a heatwave.

• Cooling capacity: 7,000 BTU
• Room size: up to 16 m²
• Compact, easy-move design
• Fan and dehumidifier modes included

Price: £286.80

View Clarke AC7050 at Machine Mart →

4. Clarke AC5000B Review — 5,000 BTU (Best for small rooms)

Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)

The entry point to the range, and the right answer for a box room, a small home office or a caravan hooked up to mains. It will not cool a garage, but in a properly sized space it is quiet, cheap to run and takes up very little floor area.

• Cooling capacity: 5,000 BTU
• Room size: up to 12 m²
• Compact footprint
• Best value per pound in the range

Price: £227.98

View Clarke AC5000B at Machine Mart →

5. Sealey SAC12000 — 12,000 BTU 4-in-1 (Best for year-round use)

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)

The Sealey is the alternative to the Clarke AC13050 and adds a fourth mode: heating. That makes it a genuine year-round unit for a UK workshop or garage — cooling through summer, dehumidifying through autumn, and taking the edge off a cold January morning. It costs more and the heat output is modest rather than transformative, but for a space you use all year it is the more sensible buy.

Running costs: what a portable air conditioner adds to your bill

A 12,000 BTU portable unit typically draws around 1.2–1.4 kW when the compressor is running. At a UK price cap rate of roughly 25p per kWh, that is about 30–35p an hour of active cooling. A 7,000 BTU unit draws closer to 0.8 kW, or about 20p an hour.

Two things cut that meaningfully: sizing the unit correctly so it is not fighting a room it cannot handle, and sealing the window kit properly. A badly fitted vent lets hot air straight back in and can add a third to your running cost.

Getting the best from a portable unit

• Seal the window kit. Foam tape around the panel makes more difference than any setting on the unit.
• Keep the hose short and straight. A long, sagging hose radiates heat back into the room.
• Close curtains on the sunny side during the day, then cool in the evening.
• Empty or plumb the condensate tank. In humid weather the smaller units fill quickly and shut down.
• Clean the filter monthly. A blocked filter is the single most common cause of "it stopped cooling".

Verdict

Clarke''s portable range is well built, sensibly priced and easy to live with, and the Machine Mart backing means spares and support are straightforward. Buy the AC7050 for a bedroom or office, the AC13050 for a garage or workshop, and only step down to the AC5000B if the room is genuinely small. If the space needs heating as well as cooling, the Sealey SAC12000 is worth the premium.

Buying a Machine Mart air conditioner: what to know

Every portable air conditioner in this guide is a Clarke unit sold through Machine Mart, so the choice comes down to BTU output rather than brand. Match the output to the room and you will be happy with any of them; buy too small for the space and even the best unit will run flat out without ever cooling the room.

Two practical points in Machine Mart's favour: spares and window kits stay available for these models, and stock can be collected in store during a heatwave when online delivery slots disappear. Prices move with seasonal promotions, so check the current figure before ordering.