New small ACs-inflation!

[cfz2882]

noticed small 5000BTU Chinese import air conditioners are around $170 now instead of $99 like they were recently.Back in the pre-import days of 1991,almost bought a new White-Westinghouse small AC of about 5500 BTU-it was $219 on sale...

 

[kalanikaau1]

$99 for a 5K BTU A/C unit is quite a bargain, I wonder how long these units will last?

Then again, no one repairs window A/C units anymore, unfortunately modern washing machines have gone the disposable route as well...

 

[cfz2882]

cheap china ACs

I have recovered several of these at the curb-often only need cleaning of condenser, on one ulta-thin tubing of evaporator corroded through and released the butane refrigerant...

 

[launderess]

Am seeing lots of barely used "new" air conditioners along with older models at very good prices if not "free" at usual places.

So many are going with split ductless/mini systems making window units surplus to requirements I suppose.

 

[kenwashesmonday]

I bought a $94 Haier 5000 BTU (made in China) air conditioner for the kitchen 21 years ago. I take it apart every 3 years or so to clean it, and it still works like new.

It looks like this (not my picture):

 

[gusherb]

That Haier looks just like the Montgomery Ward window unit my aunt bought in 1995. She ran it for many years without cleaning the filter as it wasn't obvious that it had one until one day as a kid I found it and pulled it out, what a mess it was. The unit lasted almost 20 years before it leaked its refrigerant out and she tossed it.

 

[gusherb]

I remember buying a 12k BTU GE branded window unit from Sam's Club around 2010 for $279. That was a bit cheaper than anywhere else at that time. Now I see a 5-6k BTU window unit going for nearly that price and built cheaper than ever. I used to like the LG window units from about 15-20 years ago as they still had plastic and not styrofoam insides, and were quieter than most other units sold in stores at the time.

 

[petek]

Last time I looked which was last year those Walmart made in China 5000 units were about $170 Cdn whereas pre covid they were anywhere from about $90 (cdn). Habitat had a good supply of used a/c up until about a month ago but they were all gone my last visit. There was a pretty newish 220v window unit still there come to think of it . Can see why no takers on that as most people don't have a 220 plug other than their stove or dryer

 

[combo52]

Any new window air conditioner under $200

Is a bargain look at the price of that compared to having a mini split system installed, the mini split systems have a lot of problems and they’re not very repairable. I know so many people have had replace the entire system less than a decade.

I’m going to stay with my very repairable split system central units where you can easily replace capacitors fan motors or even replace the outdoor unit and indoor coil for far less than a mini split.

Biggest gripe with window air conditioners, and mini splits. Is they often smell musty, and you don’t get circulation throughout the whole house it’s not even like a central ducted system.

The other problem with window units and mini splits is the air filters are pretty much nonexistent. They don’t do anything serious about removing smoke and fine pollen.

John

 

[gelaundry4ever]

central AC

I'm just fine with central AC. The window units don't do anything but cool the whole area where it's placed. I want my entire house/apartment climate controlled. Period.

 

[DADoES]

 
Jerome, my family had window units in our first house.  The entire house was cooled quite nicely.

 

[kalanikaau1]

I installed a 10K BTU Panasonic window unit in my bedroom some time ago, as my home is of single wall, redwood T&G construction the Panasonic made the wall act like a big vibratory speaker, so to speak.

I tolerated this for 5 years until I had a Daikin mini-split unit installed just last month.

The bedroom is now habitable again...

 

[DADoES]

 
... and then there's me, who grew up with window units, became accustomed to the background sound and can't sleep well in a completely quiet room.  I run a small fan in my bedroom year-round accordingly.  I take one along or use a white noise app on my phone when staying the night at mom's house or visiting friends or at a hotel/motel when the HVAC is too quiet..

 

[kenwashesmonday]

We have 3 window units in our apartment. I like the fact that I only have to pay to cool the bedroom at night. The other two are set to turn on an hour before I get up. When I get up, I turn the bedroom unit off.

 

[william8]

Used to cool my whole house to about 70-71 with a 8000 BTU window unit. House is very well insulated and sealed.

Problem is it ran all day except when sleeping. Not only was it noisy, but cost about $50+ a month to run, and didn't control humidity well. Put central AC in a few years ago, cost less than $20 on the hottest months, only runs a few hours a day usually. And I keep the thermostat at 69 during the day, 68 at night. And it's quiet.