repair or replace

[washerboy]

Wise one's..please help!!! About 6 weeks ago I posted a question that my Fridg. AC was blowing chuncks of what appeared to be dirt...from the response it seems it was mold..I contacted a repair person but before he could come to the house a friend was over and blew the unit out with the water hose and took the front cover off and stuck his arm in the hole where the air blows and wiped it out. Although there are still a flake or two they are far and few between. Now last night I trott off to church and when I get home the unit is not running. I turned it to the off position and checked the breaker box..no problem there..so I went and turned it on again and it would make a humming sound for a few seconds then stop. I bought the unit in 2002 as a end of the season close out...best I remember I paid 485.00..and I forget what the BTU's are but it's supposed to cool 2000 square feet ( I only have 1100 so I thought I'd be cool for sure!). Other than the mold blowing problem I have'nt had any problems..the unit pertty much runs 24/7 from the first of June until mid September. So..my question is..since we live in a throw away society now days....am I better off to have it repaired or just go buy a new one. I would appreciate you all's thoughts!!!/thank you!!!!

 

[cycla-fabric]

You know it is a shame that the unit quit on you. It is possible that maybe a capacitor might have gone bad on the unit. As you said it is a throw a way society and it may be in your best interest to get a new unit. I think I remember that Frigidare units from that period werent' that reliable but yours may have been the exception. They may be better built today though. Just my thoughs, good luck in what you do.

Doug

 

[gmmcnair]

Unless it's vintage...

I would replace. You will have a warranty, better energy efficiency, and the units are MUCH lighter.

The only way I would repair is if I had a vintage unit. The wonderful de-humidification, the truly FRIGID air (no pun intended) that they blow would be worth it.

Sears runs some great specials on their lower end stuff, and it holds up fine. I have two LG built Kenmore units that are light and easy to handle, and they do the job.

 

[westie2]

LG at Home Depot

Mark if you are having the heat we are in NW Arkansas I know you are sufering.

Here is link to a good rated LG they have and a good price. It is 230 volt and 20 amp. I think HD still has the thing if you purchased on their card you get no interest on that purchase if paid off in a year.

http://www.homedepot.com/Appliances-Air-Conditioners-Fans-Dehumidifiers-Air-Conditioners/LG-Electronics/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xk3ZasfhZ21j/R-202073152/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

 

[toggleswitch]

.
What is humming, the fan or the compressor?
Is it a standard-sized (Fedders, General Electric) sleeve unit?
Is it through-the wall or in a window?

IIRC it is recommended to have 20 BTU/h per square foot for cooling so that's 40,000 BTU? WAY TOO LARGE for your house. Won't dehumidify and will leave air cold and clammy. With a too-large unit you are better off getting an additional small 4,000 BTU/h to 6,000 BTU/h unit to run constantly and dehumidify.

Mother Toggles had a 23,000 BTU/h unit through-the-wall. It used a 30a 220v circuit (yes a plug the size of a DRYER!) The EER was 6.0 [energy efficiency ratio i.e. BTUs moved per watt]. Today, 12.0 and 14.0 are not uncommon. These use half the power to do the same work. But they don't dehumidify as well as the larger coils don't get as cold. When mother replaced her unit with a slightly smaller one (but hugely more efficient) it went down to a 20a circuit, so I had to change the outlet and the breakers themselves.

If you need a heat-pump A/C for any reason (to avoid resistance electric heat or natural gas if it is hugely expensive) then I'd say upgrade to that. If not, it may pay to fix what you have especially if your unit does NOT have electronic controls which are generally perceived as, and are, less reliable.

In my experience those units that discharge cold air into the room on the right side(instead of along the of the inside front) tend to be much quieter.

 

[whirlcool]

This brings back memories of living in a condo in Oak Park, IL.
It was a very long and narrow 3 BR, 2ba, about 1600 sq ft. The only A/C it had was a thru the wall unit. The only power for that unit was a 115V plug right next to the hole in the wall for the unit which was under the window in the LR. The LR was on the extreme east side of the condo, and the condo ran from east to west with the bedrooms being on the west side.
Every summer it was a nightmare. The only 115V a/c unit we could find was a 12,500 or 14,000 BTU unit. We had a Fedders in there. At night the bedrooms would only get semi cool. We found ourselves sleeping in the living room on hot nights. There was a long hallway on the south side of the unit, we put fans in that hall trying to get that precious cool air back to the bedrooms.
We tried to get 220V up to the unit, but it was a 4th floor unit and there just wasn't any way to do it without spending megabucks and distupting other tennants condos.
When we sold the condo, fortunately we were able to sell it in the dead of winter.
But it seemed in buildings that were built in that region in the 60's & 70's seemed all to have thru the wall units placed under the living room window.

 

[washerboy]

Thank you!!!!Thank you!!!

Sory to have taken so long to express my thanks..had a sick parnet in the hospitol and was dealing with that all weekend...all well now.Thanks to everyone who expressed concern and help!!! I've printed off Westie2 suggestion...looks like I'm on my way to the Home Depot...one of my coworkers whose about 20 years my jurinor and an ex college football player has told me he'll be glad to help me pull the old unit and install the new one..has even offered to go the Home Depot and help me load it on the truck..looks like a new AC was in the cards for me. Although I hate the thought of tossing the old unit..I think I'll do better in the long run..the LG has a timer and temp controll..I'll be able to set it to come on mid day rather than having it run in the early morning hours while it's still cool outside.I had bourght a small room sized AC a couple years back for my bedroom..I've got that one in the window and have my dogs shut up in the bedroom during the day while I'm at work..I checked on them this morning before I left for work...I could tell they felt abused as they were laid out on their backs across my bed!!!! Thanks again!!!/mark

 

[toggleswitch]

Quote:We tried to get 220V up to the unit, but it was a 4th floor unit and there just wasn't any way to do it without spending megabucks and disrupting other tenants condos.

OK but a 110v 15a (or 20a) circuit AS LONG AS IT HAS ONLY THAT ONE RECEPTACLE ON IT can be converted to 220 by simply changing the outlet itself and adding a double breaker. ONE wire in the circuit-breaker panel (consumer-unit=> UK) simply needed to be moved.

Stated another way: One does not need a three wire (plus a ground /earth conductor) cable. Any ordinary 2 wire + ground will do. You see, both the compressor and the fan motor utilize 220v so a third wire as a neutral is not needed. A/Cs are purposely made to need only two wires, even when they are 220v; exactly to facilitate voltage conversions.

My mother-in-law gave us a 220v unit that I used to replace a through-the-wall unit that was 110v. The voltage conversion was a snap. And yes, I had it installed even though what was there previously worked and was the same age as the "gift" unit. Sometimes it pays to be diplomatic and to thank in-laws up-and-down for something that has little value to you. It's just the right thing to do.

 

[westie2]

Mark were you aboe to get the old one fixed or did you purchase a new one?

 

[whirlcool]

Toggles:

I wish we knew that back then about converting the wire! We could have had many more cool sleeping nights! I wonder why the electrician didn't know about that?

 

[kqkenmore]

I just bought a LG air conditioner today to replace the one in the bedroom.

Besure that you register your unit because it has a 5 year parts and labor warrenty no need for services contracts.

Good luck it is hot here in Memphis.