Posted: 7/6/2007 9:57:24 PM EDT
|
Do any of them work worth a damn anymore? When we moved into my house in 1995 We had a window unit. A Carrier 25,000 BTU. I used it the first few years before installing Central Air. The house was easy to cool and I had it on on during my sons first birthday in 1996. It had been on the majority of the day when I went in. It was a 100 degree day and the house was in the mid 60's. I mean it was freezing. All the rooms on that floor were. Its about 1300 sq feet. Anyway the house is way bigger and zoned with CA. I moved the window unit to the basement. We have hot water heat and no duct work to the basement. I like a room pretty damn cold sometimes. My wife doesn't. When I first put in the window unit in the basement it worked great.It felt like you were diving into a mountain stream when you went down the stairs.The next 2 years it didnt blow as cold as air.It used to drip water like a fountain when upstairs and the first year downstairs. After that no water. Long story short I took i to 2 diffrent guys in town but they said it worked fine. It does when you first turn it on. Then it warms up after 20-30 minutes. I think it need recharged. Neither wanted to do it and didnt charge me I took out that one and bought a Samsung 25,000 BTU unit. It works of but not great. You put the thermostat on 70 and it will run for a while and shut off and then turn back on in a minute and shut down (rpeatedly) It doesn't drip water either One of the clerks where I bought said they work on evaporation now(I think thats what he said) so they wont drip.There is no way it is 70 in the room. I bought a 6500 BTU acouple of years ago for a bedroom when adding onto the house and the duct work was out of commision. It blew cold air and removed humidity but did not drip water.If you put it on 70 it was 70 and didnt kick on and off like the Samsung.It would run for a while and turn off for a while. Whats the deal? Did I get a bad one? Or is that how they make them meet SEER now? |
|
Rather than draining the condensation out the bottom of the unit, most "modern" window units now use the condensor fan blades to splash it on the condensor. It's like spraying the condensor with your water hose - helps remove heat, thereby improving the A/C's efficiency. Unless you install an external thermostat, the window unit is only going to measure the air temperature at the air conditioner. Usually, selecting a higher fan speed will provide more uniform cooling of distant areas, by getting warm air back to the A/C quicker. Also, since the "energy saver" function only allows air to circulate when the compressor is actually running, turning it off often helps provide more even cooling of the room. You can install an A/C that's too big for the room. For any given room size, a large A/C kicks on and off more often than a small one, which makes it harder to maintain a consistent temperature. Often, a better solution is to install several smaller units (located far apart from each other) instead. |
|
I recently had my central A/C die. I installed two windw units in the house, a big on for the livingroom / dining room area and a small one for the bedroom. No a/c in spare bedroom, kitchen, bathroom or storage room. The two window units keep the house plenty cool to be comfortable, and my electric bill is about 2/3 smaller this year than it was when the central A/C was working. |
Even if I turn off the energy saver function thermostat and all the other junk off and let it run it just doesnt get really cold like the old one. Im going to get a vent thermostat and see how cold the dischargetemp is. Even with the thermostat set at something like 75-77 I dont think it should be kicking on and off every thirty seconds. The wear and tear , plus the energy used cannot be saving energy. |
| Try putting a fan in front of the unit to blow the air away from it, if it works better then you know that the unit needs a remote thermostat, or a more open space to operate.. And dont make the mistake of getting one of those portable units. I just waisted my money on a 10,000 btu model. It wouldnt cool worth a shit. I bought a 10,000 btu window unit that totally blows the portable one away. |
Did that didnt make a diffrence. All I'm saying is why did an older model the same size work great and this one is what I all medicore. |
I dont think an older one should either. I just think 2 of the same size should be close.These aren't. do they all suck or did I get a bad one? |
If the old one has a less powerful blower (i.e., moves less air), the air temperature will be colder. Slower airflow = more time in contact with the evaporator coil = colder air temperature. |
Best improvement I made was to add a window unit to the upstairs. Central A/C runs 1/5 of what it used to. And with the price of electricity these days, every little bit helps. |