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expired Posted by UN0335 • Apr 1, 2025
expired Posted by UN0335 • Apr 1, 2025

Costco In-Warehouse: Midea U 12,000 BTU Smart Inverter Window Air Conditioner

(Availability May Vary)

$280

$380

26% off
Costco Wholesale
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Deal Details
Costco Wholesale [Deal Reference] has Midea U 12,000 BTU Smart Inverter Window Air Conditioner Unit w/ MShield (White; MAW12AV1QWT-C) on sale for $279.99 valid for in-warehouse purchase for Costco Members only.

Alternatively, if you wish to purchase this unit online, it is available for $299.99. Shipping is free.

Thanks to community member UN0335 for finding this deal

Note, must login to your Costco account w/ an active membership to purchase.

About the Product
  • U-Shaped Groove/Drop-In Install Design
  • 12,000 BTU/32 dBA/1140W
  • 4-Way Air Direction/
  • 5 Cool Setting/4 Fan Speed
  • 550 Sq. Ft. Maximum Coverage Area
  • Energy Star Certified
  • MShieled Air Ionizer Technology
  • Smart Control w/ SmartHome App

Editor's Notes

Written by Discombobulated | Staff
  • About the Deal
    • Product is available for in-warehouse purchase at the reduced/listed price; maximum of $80 Off/discount
    • Easy installation w/ snap in bracket; recommended for areas/spaces up to 550 sq. ft.
    • You may open your window to enjoy fresh air even w/ your AC installed
    • Product Item #2677429 for reference
    • Limit 5 per customer
    • Offer valid through May 4, 2025 or while promotional price/supplies last

Original Post

Written by UN0335
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Community Notes
About the Poster
Costco Wholesale [Deal Reference] has Midea U 12,000 BTU Smart Inverter Window Air Conditioner Unit w/ MShield (White; MAW12AV1QWT-C) on sale for $279.99 valid for in-warehouse purchase for Costco Members only.

Alternatively, if you wish to purchase this unit online, it is available for $299.99. Shipping is free.

Thanks to community member UN0335 for finding this deal

Note, must login to your Costco account w/ an active membership to purchase.

About the Product
  • U-Shaped Groove/Drop-In Install Design
  • 12,000 BTU/32 dBA/1140W
  • 4-Way Air Direction/
  • 5 Cool Setting/4 Fan Speed
  • 550 Sq. Ft. Maximum Coverage Area
  • Energy Star Certified
  • MShieled Air Ionizer Technology
  • Smart Control w/ SmartHome App

Editor's Notes

Written by Discombobulated | Staff
  • About the Deal
    • Product is available for in-warehouse purchase at the reduced/listed price; maximum of $80 Off/discount
    • Easy installation w/ snap in bracket; recommended for areas/spaces up to 550 sq. ft.
    • You may open your window to enjoy fresh air even w/ your AC installed
    • Product Item #2677429 for reference
    • Limit 5 per customer
    • Offer valid through May 4, 2025 or while promotional price/supplies last

Original Post

Written by UN0335

Community Voting

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Top Comments

No comment on these specific units but if you're having problems with mold on any AC, you should just turn it to fan mode for 20m or so before shutting off.

All AC's work by transferring heat from one side of the unit to the other side, as part of this process the coils on the inside of the room will be ice cold (so they can absorb the heat in the room and move it to the outside) moisture will condense on the cold coils, it will then drip down in the pan and be directed outside, that's why AC's always dribble water on the outside.

If you shut the unit off there will be a lot of moisture, all over the coils and in the pan. That moisture be food for mold in the right climates..

To avoid this, run it on the fan mode before turning it off, this will dry the unit out and avoid the mold issues
You do lose efficiency doing that. Most, if not all, are designed to hold a certain level/amount of water. They do this intentionally so the outdoor fan will "spray" the water on the outdoor coils, which helps with efficiency by cooling them down.
YMMV, I just spray it all down with coil cleaner, blower wheel and all, spray it with a brand new clean water pump up sprayer after 10 minutes and put a fan on it to dry everything out thoroughly. I use mine in Florida continuously. Way easier than disassembling everything. I maintain 4 of them doing this exact technique. I should do a youtube video of me doing mine, but I am sure it could potentially break the unit one day. So far, 12-15 cleanings later, their all going strong, and clean too.
BTW: This air conditioner 12k uses nearly the same amount of energy as the 8k and idles down to 95W or so when cooling minimally. The 8K Idled back about the same cooling minimally. The main difference is that the 12K can ramp up to using 780W or so while the 8K maxed out at like 460W.

221 Comments

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Apr 2, 2025
145 Posts
Joined Sep 2017
Apr 2, 2025
benagood
Apr 2, 2025
145 Posts
Good deal! Prices are often less in-store so get it at the store if you can. These also go on costco clearance during summer, so you can probably do better if patient.
These are quiet! Also, mine dont get along with GFCI outlets. Dont put on a GFCI outlet.
I have an 8k and a 12k. The 8k is a year older than the 12k. Both work really good. The 12k is used in our master during summer and keeps the master cold. We save $$$ by not cooling the entire house, and the power company cant cut it when demand is high (like they do to our central AC). The 8k is used for festivaling/car-camping. Inverter ACs start gently and dont require an oversized generator or a hard-start kit just to start them. I run the 8k on a 12V to 120V sine inverter.
Apr 2, 2025
354 Posts
Joined Jul 2009
Apr 2, 2025
nerds
Apr 2, 2025
354 Posts

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The way to avoid mold is never turn it off without running the fan a while AND never use the default energy save mode... because that turns off the fan *every time* they compressor turns off at the same time, leaving all the moisture everywhere. Leave it on auto or a specific fan speed and turn off emergy save mode always whenever use the AC. Because when it sits right after the compressor turns off, that's when all the moisture accumulates everywhere. Energy save node = grow mold inside AC.
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Apr 2, 2025
287 Posts
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Apr 2, 2025
BENJAMINB1246
Apr 2, 2025
287 Posts

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Quote from xulong :
we got one shipped by costco.com last year. it had a blue rubber plug that was supposed to be removed "between seasons" but we just removed it and ran it all year without the plug. so, no drilling necessary.
You do lose efficiency doing that. Most, if not all, are designed to hold a certain level/amount of water. They do this intentionally so the outdoor fan will "spray" the water on the outdoor coils, which helps with efficiency by cooling them down.
5
Pro
Apr 2, 2025
316 Posts
Joined Dec 2008
Apr 2, 2025
naranja
Pro
Apr 2, 2025
316 Posts

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Cover for the winter if you aren't wanting to remove/reinstall the ac. Fits very well.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BKZP6..._title_0_0

I also use foam filter to help keep it cleaner:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002GKC...tle_1&th=1
1
Apr 2, 2025
633 Posts
Joined Nov 2013
Apr 2, 2025
professorxavier
Apr 2, 2025
633 Posts
Quote from WhatIsSlicking :
Get portable ac and use plywood with cutouts for vents

Ahhh this is still like half the work of making the OP item work.
Apr 2, 2025
2,405 Posts
Joined Oct 2012
Apr 2, 2025
WhatIsSlicking
Apr 2, 2025
2,405 Posts
Quote from professorxavier :
Ahhh this is still like half the work of making the OP item work.

That's how I have it working with my horizontal window. Open the window. Make plywood cutout. Then make cuts on the piece for the ducts. Screw the ducts.

Now install that piece on window. Seal around it. Finally connect ducts from this piece to portable AC
Apr 3, 2025
259 Posts
Joined Dec 2007
Apr 3, 2025
brettaculous
Apr 3, 2025
259 Posts
Quote from Musicaholic8000 :
Read some reviews. People still complain of mold and it's not the easiest to disassemble. Real pain to clean the blower wheel as it's like 2ft long.
https://youtu.be/esPGXI-nVjI?si=LiFYHgfSkE__Ix-4

Same exact experience. It was full of mold at the end of last season. It's been sitting on my back porch disassembled all winter. It was great while it lasted (one summer).
1

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Pro
Apr 3, 2025
891 Posts
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Apr 3, 2025
vsspam
Pro
Apr 3, 2025
891 Posts
Quote from dapperdeals55 :
The 12k BTU's peak is listed as 1140w. Where is the 780w figure from?
Quote from robsnyder22 :
Thats what I get off my Kill a Watt electrical meter.
I've seen up to 1100 w on my wattage meters for my 12000 BTU Midea.

Some meters may measure RMS (root mean square) values which is typically about .707 of peak values.

This is important to me as I use my Mideas as home AC backup in case of an electrical outage, having a portable generator, not a full standby generator.
Last edited by vsspam April 2, 2025 at 06:44 PM.
1
Pro
Apr 3, 2025
891 Posts
Joined Apr 2008
Apr 3, 2025
vsspam
Pro
Apr 3, 2025
891 Posts
I have a 8000, 10000, and 12000 BTU Midea U.

Going forward, I plan to only purchase a 12000 BTU since, as others have said, they can run at lower power/capacity as necessary, but may also be able to cool down an adjacent room or two.

My experience is that the 12000 unit also has a stronger fan that blows the air further away from the unit.
Apr 3, 2025
638 Posts
Joined Jun 2012
Apr 3, 2025
C17chief
Apr 3, 2025
638 Posts
Def good unit for the price. I picked one up a couple years ago as a backup against central AC problems and for after hurricanes or any other extended outages. The main draw was the inverter and efficiency meaning ideal for generator since it doesn't have a big inrush when starting up, and the efficiency also helps, especially with solar/power station if you have a setup big enough to entertain running a small AC on it.

As it turns out, that purchase really payed off. Since then, it has seen over a month of use. In that time, a hurricane did come and had no power for about 10 days...and also since having it, my central AC catastrophically failed, so I was using it for almost 3 weeks to get by, allowing me to really consider options, find the right contractor, no huge rush to get installed, etc vs making rash decisions to get something slammed in as fast as possible. I was so impressed by the midea I had half the mind to get 2 or 3 more and just run them permanently!
Last edited by C17chief April 2, 2025 at 07:17 PM.
Apr 3, 2025
607 Posts
Joined Jul 2005
Apr 3, 2025
blahbbs
Apr 3, 2025
607 Posts
Quote from xulong :
we got one shipped by costco.com last year. it had a blue rubber plug that was supposed to be removed "between seasons" but we just removed it and ran it all year without the plug. so, no drilling necessary.
Nice. That must be a new feature. I definitely don't have that on my units.
Apr 4, 2025
37 Posts
Joined Nov 2013
Apr 4, 2025
vaca232
Apr 4, 2025
37 Posts
FYI, there is a newer version of the MIdea U-Shaped air conditioners that addresses some of the problems mentioned in this thread. Home Depot sells them. The have part numbers with a 'U' in it instead of a 'V'. Like MAW12U1QWT, for example.

They have capacitive buttons and a chrome trim strip on the front.

The newer versions have a drain plug, have a 'Flash Cool' mode and seem to do a better job actually reaching their rated capacity, and also support Matter for smart home integration. They're also a little bit more expensive.

We have a few of the 8K versions and it's basically central air conditioning for a tiny fraction of the price.
Apr 4, 2025
1,548 Posts
Joined Feb 2010
Apr 4, 2025
DallasGG
Apr 4, 2025
1,548 Posts
Quote from vaca232 :
FYI, there is a newer version of the MIdea U-Shaped air conditioners that addresses some of the problems mentioned in this thread. Home Depot sells them. The have part numbers with a 'U' in it instead of a 'V'. Like MAW12U1QWT, for example.

They have capacitive buttons and a chrome trim strip on the front.

The newer versions have a drain plug, have a 'Flash Cool' mode and seem to do a better job actually reaching their rated capacity, and also support Matter for smart home integration. They're also a little bit more expensive.

We have a few of the 8K versions and it's basically central air conditioning for a tiny fraction of the price.
Is this newer version worth $145 more in price compared to Costco? Would Home Depot match the Costco $280 price?
1
Apr 4, 2025
1,152 Posts
Joined Jan 2007
Apr 4, 2025
bamx2
Apr 4, 2025
1,152 Posts
Due to power limitations, I am looking for the 8K BTU model. Will it be available at Costco ?

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Apr 5, 2025
152 Posts
Joined Jun 2014
Apr 5, 2025
NLCT
Apr 5, 2025
152 Posts
Quote from vsspam :
I've seen up to 1100 w on my wattage meters for my 12000 BTU Midea.

Some meters may measure RMS (root mean square) values which is typically about .707 of peak values.

This is important to me as I use my Mideas as home AC backup in case of an electrical outage, having a portable generator, not a full standby generator.
It's because it's an inverter unit. It will throttle the fan and compressor to maintain a consistent temperature instead of turning on and off. So it may peak out at 1100W but once has cooled the zone it will draw less power to maintain it. That's why some people are saying 500-700W to maintain a zone.

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