Older A/C Memeories...

[toploader55]

I am sitting here ready to go to bed... I always turn the A/C down to 64 and really chill the room down. Then I shut it off.

The Old units would make noises like "Bubble and gas noises."

Anyone remember these things ? My Old Chrysler Airtemp and my Dad's Old Fedders with the "Weather Wheel" always made these noises when they kicked out of cooling.

The Newer Friedrich is "Ehhhhhh".

 

[arbilab]

You turn it cold then off? So do I.

My Hotpoint fridge makes those noises. But it stays cold and makes ice so I don't care. Besides, it belongs to the landlord and if it quits it isn't my problem for more than a few hours. This apartment has responsive maintenance.

Gurgling noises from refrigeration systems are normal if you listen closely. The refrigerant IS boiling. That's how it works.

 

[rp2813]

I've heard such noises from motel units that are wall mounted down by the floor.  They're usually heat pumps and are so loud that they keep me awake.  Motel rooms get stuffy fast so cooling the room way down and shutting the unit off for the night isn't an option.  I've tried.

 

[tomturbomatic]

You also have pressure difference between the two sides of the system, hence the warnings on old units to wait two minutes for the pressure to equalize before restarting. The gassy, gurgling noises when the compressor cycles off are those of the pressure equalizing between the low side where the refrigerant is a cold liquid and the high side where it is a hot gas.

 

[tomturbomatic]

You also have pressure difference between the two sides of the system, hence the warnings on old units to wait two minutes for the pressure to equalize before restarting. The gassy, gurgling noises when the compressor cycles off are those of the pressure equalizing between the low side where the refrigerant is a cold liquid and the high side where it is a hot gas.

I remember our old Fedders with the Weather Wheel sometimes short cycling if the wheel got turned too much in the direction of the intake. It would cycle off when it sucked in the cold air, but try to cycle back on too quickly. It would try to start twice with the long sound of the start windings not being able to get the compressor going, a pause followed by another attempt, another pause and, generally, success on the third try. When the Lovin' Spoonful came out with the song Summer in the City, the two long opening notes with the pause between them seemed an almost perfect musical approximation of the Fedders start windings.

 

[whirlcool]

Our thermostat for our new a/c has a restart preventer on the a/c side. If you turn the a/c off, the compressor won't restart for 15 minutes. The manual states this is to prevent compressor damage.

 

[sambootoo]

Ooooh yes, I remember those sounds from our Weather Wheel Fedders, too. I can hear them in my 1957 Coldspot and early 60's GE that I have now,but not as pronounced as the Fedders. There's nothing like sleeping to the sound of a window unit AC!

 

[cuffs054]

Wait, when you say "older models" making bubbles and gas noises you're not talking about husbands are you...